Opinions on this BCG

[Koda]

For knee jerk reasons I acquired this PSA premium BCG that I dont need but rather than return it I think its better than what I got.

Just curious what everyones opinion is on this BCG? Is it a keeper?

specs:
Bolt is made of Mil-spec Carpenter 158 steel, Shot peened, High pressure tested and Mag Particle Inspected. Gas key is machined out of bar stock, chrome lined phosphate coated, and secured with grade 8 fasteners and staked per mil-spec. Bolt carrier is phosphated outside and chrome lined inside. Laser engraved with the PSA logo.

Link:

PSA 5.56 Premium Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group with Logo - 8779

Milspec Carpenter No. 158® steel bolt Shot Peened Bolt High pressure tested Mag particle inspected Chrome Lined Carrier (AUTO) Chrome Lined Gas Key Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications Gas Key Grade 8 Hardened Fasteners Gas Key Staked Per Mil-Spec Tool Steel Extractor Extractor Spring...

palmettostatearmory.com

Photo:

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[arakboss]

For knee jerk reasons I acquired this PSA premium BCG that I dont need but rather than return it I think its better than what I got.

Just curious what everyones opinion is on this BCG? Is it a keeper?

specs:
Bolt is made of Mil-spec Carpenter 158 steel, Shot peened, High pressure tested and Mag Particle Inspected. Gas key is machined out of bar stock, chrome lined phosphate coated, and secured with grade 8 fasteners and staked per mil-spec. Bolt carrier is phosphated outside and chrome lined inside. Laser engraved with the PSA logo.

Link:

PSA 5.56 Premium Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group with Logo - 8779

Milspec Carpenter No. 158® steel bolt Shot Peened Bolt High pressure tested Mag particle inspected Chrome Lined Carrier (AUTO) Chrome Lined Gas Key Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications Gas Key Grade 8 Hardened Fasteners Gas Key Staked Per Mil-Spec Tool Steel Extractor Extractor Spring...

palmettostatearmory.com

Photo:
View attachment 2154518

If you got it for $49.99, it's a keeper.

 

[Koda]

If you got it for $49.99, it's a keeper.

What if I got it for $110?

 

[arakboss]

What if I got it for $110?

Return it.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Lately, PSA seems to have really stepped up their game. Toolcraft and even Aero seem more expensive. I'd keep it.....as they say, one man's opinion....

 

[Koda]

Lately, PSA seems to have really stepped up their game. Toolcraft and even Aero seem more expensive. I'd keep it.....as they say, one man's opinion....

Thats why Im curious what others thing, Ive always considered PSA a good but dedicated budget brand but this one seems to meet the "premium" label they give it.

 

[Duneblaster]

o

 

[Kruel J]

Always keep a rebuild kit or two on hand regardless of brand.

 

[Koda]

I think their premium bcg's are made by Toolcraft.

I should have got the toolcraft one as it was the same quality specs and same price but came with a trigger kit as well, but this was a late night impulse "upgrade" buy....

 

[Koda]

Always keep a rebuild kit or two on hand regardless of brand.

I do have a spare parts kit with (hopefully) all the critical parts. Now I have a complete BCG spare, the old one. I do think I will keep this one and swap it out and use this new "premium" one now.

 

[gmerkt]

Okay, legit question, not meant to be small-A or argumentative.

I've got two AR's, both have, so far as I know, stock BCG's in them. They both work flawlessly. How much better is a "premium" BCG? What advantages does a premium part convey? I can see a barrel upgrade as a possible improvement, but other parts I wonder what the advantages might be.

Both of my BCG's have a layer of chrome down inside where the little actual bolt fits, a terrible place for carbon build-up. The screws that hold the little snout on top have never sheared off, that's a good thing. I haven't seen a need to keep a spare but maybe I should. Don't know if I could get one now in Wash. state. I did buy the actual bolt because it included an extractor and the little gas rings which I figured were potential weak links.

The one part I've replaced on several AR's that I've owned was the little bolt cam piece. Which when it wears is still functional, but it gets those weird wear marks on it from pivoting back and forth in the hole with every shot.

 

[Koda]

Okay, legit question, not meant to be small-A or argumentative.

I've got two AR's, both have, so far as I know, stock BCG's in them. They both work flawlessly. How much better is a "premium" BCG? What advantages does a premium part convey?

Legit question, and kinda why I'm inquiring about opinions. Like you, I only own stock (cheap) BCGs and they all work fine. But I'm also not a heavy AR user, I just typically buy the best I can afford. Reviews Ive read suggest phosphate chrome lined BCGs, so when I went to buy one I looked for that. Being mechanically inclined (or so I like to think) I can "see" the benefits of the "premium" features, my guess is less wear in critical place equates to longer life over like 10000s of rounds. As a light recreational AR user I may never see the end benefit of that even with a cheap stock BCG, but part of the fun of upgrading and improving ARs is knowing yours will survive some sort of perceived apocalypse.

 

[Kruel J]

I've seen a few cheap OEM ones fail on the range. Usually the extractor and then the BCG gets pretty jammed up. Needs to be hammered out most of the time, or at least lots of stock drops.

Not saying that expensive ones are perfect either, but I would guess most failures are from OEM "mil-spec" BCGs. There's better metallurgy available.

 

[gmerkt]

As a light recreational AR user I may never see the end benefit of that even with a cheap stock BCG,

Yes, this is about where I am. I don't imagine that my two rifles will ever see service like that of innumerable cycles of army BCT.

At one time, my good friend in NM extolled the virtues of nickel boron BCG's but these days I see there have turned out to be downsides. But I'm thinking regardless of coating, the actual machining done on the part is more important than coatings or platings or the potentiality of hydrogen embrittlement. For hobbyist use, my stock BCG's will likely outlast me. When I take one of the AR's out, if I fire 200 rounds in a session, that's plenty. A few weeks ago, I took one of my sons-in-law out with his adopted son. Both of whom had never fired an AR. They were able to burn through the 200 rounds easily. But more typically I fire 100 rounds to keep up my marksmanship repeatability and I'm done. At age 75, I like to prove to myself that I can still stay on the target. Were that skill ever to be needed again.

 

[BlindedByScience]

if you plink or punch paper, stock BCG's will work great until they don't. In that use case, it's a drag, but not a big issue to get something new. Unless they were dimensionally bogus or otherwise horrible, I can't imagine how they'd affect accuracy. I've never had a BCG failure, but most of mine say Aero on them. My AR10 has a Toolcraft 'dual extractor' BCG and with the bigger rounds, it works very well.

For folks that use the weapon as a duty rig (my son the LEO, for example), the BCG is obviously a critical part in the operation of the rifle and picking a solid one, made from the right stuff and assembled properly, is far more critical.

One man's opinion.......

 

[nwslopoke]

I think those premium spec BCG used to be what was considered normal. Possibly imo, if you are shooting a lot of steel cased ammo, or heavens forbid, only have one AR to go through all your ammo, you could see a problem.

I don't go through 1000s of rounds in a session. My only mechanical failure after thousands of rounds total was a broken firing pin retainer clip on a PSA AR10. That was replaced with a normal cotter pin.

 

[P7M13]

Anything phosphated instead of nitrided is not premium.
Chrome lined? Where? Can you see it?
Think you can do better or prefer the money back in your wallet, return it.
Like @Kruel J sez, spares in your kit are a good thing.

 

[Steel Head]

Always keep a rebuild kit or two on hand regardless of brand.

This.

 

[fre3]

That bcg holds up under super safety use.

 

[FilthyDirty13]

What if I got it for $110?

That's a little pricey compared to others on the market. For an extra $26 you could have gotten a fail zero