1.) DParker - 04/10/2014

...I'd say your deal is here. Complete basic kit w/chrome-lined 1:7 barrel for $419.99 from Palmetto State Armory:

[url]http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/psa-16-m4-cmv-rifle-kit.html[/url]

I don't recall complete AR kits from a reputable company ever being that cheap. I suspect one would need to move quickly on this before they sell out. I don't jnow anything about the quality of the components, but like I said, PSA is a reputable outfit, so there's that.

2.) Jon - 04/10/2014

Good find DP, sounds like an affordable option for an entry level AR build. Parts are right, shouldn't be any problems shooting straight with that upper.

3.) Deerminator - 04/10/2014

I'd be all over that if I didn't live in NY

4.) DParker - 04/10/2014

[QUOTE=Jon;18651]Good find DP, sounds like an affordable option for an entry level AR build. Parts are right, shouldn't be any problems shooting straight with that upper.[/QUOTE]

And I figure that at that price, even if one or a few parts just flat-out suck it's still so cheap that replacing the offending part(s) with something better is still no big deal.

5.) Triton Rich - 04/10/2014

[B] I'm really not much of a fan of the AR but this offer is tempting. It would be kind of fun with all the customizing options and what not.[/B]

6.) Triton Rich - 04/10/2016

[B]My, how things change in two years! I took the plunge and put together an AR for myself. Ironically, I went with a PSA upper and parts kit on an Anderson lower even though I had completely forgotten about this thread. I reached the same conclusion that DParker did. This is about the most reasonably priced way to get into an entry level AR with decent quality. So it is a 416R Stainless 1:8 Freedom upper in 5.56 NATO. I immediately removed the plastic handguard, ground down the front sight and installed a cheap quad rail off of ebay. I intend to upgrade later to a keymod. I started out with iron sights but one trip to the range reminded me that I hate iron sights! It turned out the Pops had a few scopes just laying around so he donated the Simmons 1.5-5 power shotgun scope to the cause. This scope actually fits my needs perfectly as I really only wanted a 100 yard coyote gun. Now, anybody who has ever shot a mil-spec AR knows that the trigger is awful. I started out with a 7-8 lb gritty creapy trigger but after hours of online research, a little polishing and several modifications, I have a smooth 5 lb trigger with just a tiny bit of creap. I sighted it in last weekend and shot just over 1" groups with 3 different types of ammo. So far, it has functioned flawlessly but only with maybe 100 rounds. My Dad, who also said he didn't like ARs, is now seriously considering having me build one for him :-) So here it is.... [/B]

7.) DParker - 04/11/2016

Awesome. The 1:8 stainless barrel is an excellent choice for an all-around hunting gun. It should properly stabilize everything from light varmint bullets up to 75 gr pills. I forget which state you're in. Are semi-auto and .223 kosher for medium-sized game in your neck of the woods?

8.) Jon - 04/11/2016

I just did a new build as well, found a very nice upper built by KM Tactical, it's 18" twisted/fluted 1:8 built in .223 Wylde. I put it on a Anderson lower with some red components to bling it a little. I put a Hogue grip and buttstock to make it even nicer. I'm sending the barrel to the local cerakote guy to have the grooves of the barrel cerakoted red. Fairly cheap build and she's a shooter!

[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20160404_173927.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20160404_174027.jpg.html][/URL]

9.) Triton Rich - 04/11/2016

[B] I'm in Illinois DP. For it being a liberal controlled state, you would think it wouldn't be legal but the DNR is practically begging you to use an AR for coyote hunting. I'll have to find the particular passage for you, it's almost comical. Of course, Cook county has a ban on them but that is preempted by local ordinance. My hunting would be in a different county so I am good.



Jon, that's a nice looking rifle! I wanted an 18" Wylde but the budget wouldn't allow it. Perhaps a barrel change in the future.[/B]

10.) DParker - 04/11/2016

[QUOTE=Triton Rich;40763][B] I'm in Illinois DP.[/QUOTE]

Well, that's embarrassing. I was born in IL. You'd think I'd be able to remember which members live in the state of my birth, wouldn' you?

For it being a liberal controlled state, you would think it wouldn't be legal but the DNR is practically begging you to use an AR for coyote hunting.[/QUOTE]

What about medium-sized game (deer and hogs)?

11.) Triton Rich - 04/11/2016

[B]No way. IL is a shotgun/muzzle loader only state for deer. [/B]

12.) DParker - 04/11/2016

[QUOTE=Triton Rich;40765][B]No way. IL is a shotgun/muzzle loader only state for deer. [/B][/QUOTE]

Bummer. And it also looks like you can't harvest hogs except as an opportunistic by-product of hunting deer.

13.) Triton Rich - 04/11/2016

" Coyotes may be hunted on private property
using dogs, archery devices, any
type and caliber of handgun, any type of
legal rifle including large capacity semiautomatic
rifles...."

[B]Pretty clear :-) As far as hogs go, I think it's pretty silly that they talk about how destructive they are and how much they reproduce right in the hunting digest yet they are pretty restricted as far as killing them. I think they should sell pig tags (they need the money) and open up a long season with virtually any weapon much like the coyote regs. Let's not let the pig problem get worse before we do something. Having said that, I'm up north and I've never seen or heard of someone seeing a wild hog. [/B]

14.) DParker - 04/12/2016

According to the IL DNR blurb I read their reasoning is that they don't want pure hog hunting to become a thing there for fear that people will import and release pigs into the state for more sport hunting opportunity.

I hate to break it to them, but if you've already got enough of a feral hog population to be regarded as a destructive problem then it isn't going to make much difference if some more are set loose. The ones you already have will multiply and spread so quickly a few more imports won't make a real difference. The winters up there will likely help some though.

As for not seeing them...if they're mostly nocturnal (very common) you likely won't see them no matter how many there are unless you lure them with bait. There are areas I've been hunting for 10 years that are FULL of hogs (some places you can't take a step without walking over their tracks, or through entire fields that they've turned over like 4-legged plows), but have never actually seen them.

15.) Swamp Fox - 04/12/2016

Jon, that's gonna be a sharp-looking rifle when you accent those flutes in red.

I bet the importation bans on feral pigs is more a location thing than a rate of reproduction thing. Confined to their normal haunts and routes of travel and distribution (drainages, river bottoms, etc.) the hog problem doesn't spread anywhere near as fast as if you dump cages full porkers here, there and everywhere, filling in the distribution map before shouting "Go!"

I never understood the deer rifle restrictions in places like Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa. I don't think Missouri is in that group (?). My guess is it's more political and "dumb conservation" than it is safety (flat land and all that nonsense) which is what you hear all the time. If the paved-over metroplex surrounding a big city prohibits rifles, that's one thing. Why the guy out in Corncob County can't use one for deer--unless it's a muzzleloader--or black powder (?)--but can use one for coyotes is one of those glaring examples of too many lawyers with too few real problems to work on.

16.) Jon - 06/21/2016

Well, I finally got the barrel back from the cerakote folks, they said turn around would be 3 days, they had the barrel for 6 weeks!
It's assembled and sighted in with one small problem......the NiB BCG only cycles properly with 5.56 ammo, doesn't do so well with .223 ammo. I installed a different BCG and it fires anything I give it. The folks who make the NiB BCG say it's a head space issue, I say the NiB coating is slowing it down. Who knows at this point. Gun looks great and is far more accurate that my eyes are. I have 2" groups at 120yds now, after 60 rounds down range.

[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/edited_1466383494902.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20160619_154523.jpg.html][/URL]

17.) bluecat - 06/21/2016

Looks cool Jon!

18.) Swamp Fox - 06/21/2016

:tu:

What's your recourse with the manufacturer/finish applicator?

19.) Jon - 06/21/2016

I will have my gunsmith check head spacing and then discuss it with the manufacturer

20.) DParker - 06/21/2016

If anything the NiB finish [I]should[/I] make the BCG slicker than a standard magnesium phosphate coated BCG, so at least in theory the headspace issue does sound more likely.

Then again, that is just in theory....so like you said, who knows.

In any event, the Cerakote job looks good.

21.) Triton Rich - 06/21/2016

[B]Is the weight of the two different BCGs exactly the same? I only ask because I've read about how changing to different weights of buffer changes how it cycles so it's only reasonable to assume that if there is a weight difference in the BCGs it could cycle differently. I'm sure you'll work it out. It certainly is a great looking gun though! [/B]

22.) Triton Rich - 10/19/2016

[B]So I went and added a super-slim keymod handguard to my AR. The thing about the super-slim keymod, it's really quite slim! Not sure I like it. I'm looking into some keymod fillers to smooth it out and bulk it up a tiny bit. I guess I'll give it some time, maybe it'll grow on me.[/B]

23.) DParker - 10/20/2016

Key mod has been all the rage for a while now. Have you tried any attachments on it yet?

24.) Triton Rich - 10/20/2016

[B]Not yet. I had offset iron sights but I'm looking to switch to an offset reflex sight. The only thing I'll likely add other than fillers/grips is a sling attachment. [/B]