Glock style PSA 9MM Issues...already

Rs1200xl

Rs1200xl

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So I finally got my 9mm AR together and figured I would head to the range now that A6 is done. I had some 124GR freedom rounds left over from A6 which appeared to plunk test good(129 PF if anyone wants to know...). First two rounds I got FTE with a case seriously shaved down. Read up a bit and looked into the extractor. Adjusted it and cycled a few rounds it was good to go.

Then, BOOM with a face full of hot gas...it fired out of battery. Case head separation with brass left in the barrel. From what I have read best solution is to get some cerrosafe, melt it in the brass and once cooled knock it out from the muzzle end with a brass rod.

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After I get the the brass out I may be on the phone with PSA as there have been a few too many issues with this upper since I got it.
 
20170118_183634-1.jpg I had an issue with head space on my PSA 9mm when I first received it. The chamber was not cut deep enough and the cases were being mushroomed when chambered. Never fired it and returned it to PSA for repair/replacement. This was back in January and I know of at least two others with the same issue from my old forum. How long have you had your upper? I thought they had resolved this issue by now. I will say they took care of the problem quickly. Shipped it on a Monday and had it back Thursday thesame week.
 
Glad you weren't hurt. Keep us updated on progress and PSA's customer service.
 
What Tim said, the less you try to fix it the better since you ultimately want them to deal with it.
 
I'm not sure that wasn't an overcharged round. Looks like impressions of the extractor/ejector groove in the headstamp, and primer looks cratered.

The more I look at it, the more I think that may be the case.
 
It may have been over pressure....because the short chamber crimped the case mouth tightly on the bullet. I agree with Tim and Jim, send it back with the case in the chamber. See what happens.
 
Not saying it couldn't an overcharged...but the impressions were likely from me trying to get the brass out of the bolt at the range (my truck's battery died while leaving the door open and it wouldn't jump off...had some time to spare before my ride got there to get a battery...great day right?). I think the photo is creating an illusion of the primer being cratered. I'll try to get a better photo once I find the case head again. The other thing is the way the case ripped, it looks like it was not supported so I still lean toward an OOB shot. It could have been a combination of OOB and overcharged, however I chronoed several of those Freedom rounds Thursday before and they were pretty weak(1030-1040FPS).

I've attached one of the cases I picked up after sifting through my . As you can see it was shaved down not sure if that was due to failure to extract or what. But after talking with PSA they think there is an issue with the barrel. They are going to be sending me a return label and should have it turned around in about a week.
 

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I've had great luck with PSA customer service recently. I know they had growing pains during the frenzy, but they seem to have righted the ship.
 
From the first photo, there are distinct impressions in the case head of the extractor/ejector cuts in the bolt. Maybe it was an overcharge, maybe it was what John said, the short chamber may have crimped the neck into the bullet and cause over-pressure. But I don't think those marks in the case head will happen from firing OOB, they happen from high pressure.

Send it back to PSA and see what they say. FWIW, I was one person that got a bad barrel from them. The barrel extension was about 0.040" too short, and chamber was not deep enough. They replaced the barrel, bolt, and trigger group.
 
Update: After shooting PSA a note on AR15.com, I got an email from their Customer Support Supervisor wanting to get in touch and go over the issue. I spoke with him on the phone yesterday afternoon and discussed the issues along with going over the photos. From the photos and description they figure it is an issue with the barrel and are taking it in to evaluate/swap barrels.

I sent the upper out yesterday afternoon and due to the long 5 mile transit should be at their warehouse this morning. I could have saved them some shipping as I drive by the warehouse every day going to and from work, oh well. Their turn around time is about a week so I should be getting it back pretty soon.

Side note: PSA's customer service has been great so far. The reps I talked with were very apologetic about the issue and thoroughly went over everything in a timely matter. Heck they are even sending a package with some hats and stuff.
 
Wolffy said:
Is extreme brass the same as FM brass? If it is it has the internal step and is notorious for case head separation in PCC and open guns.

https://waynematteson.com/2017/04/07/stop-using-this-garbage-brass-in-your-pcc-already/
Click to expand...

I thought that at first, but after checking the fired brass it appears FM/Xtreme is no longer using stepped brass(this lot was delivered early last week for A6, cannot say when they changed).

I have begun tossing FM/IMI/etc. now that I am going to be reloading for PCC.
 
About an hour ago I got an email from PSA that they have completed the repair(no details given) and gave me a tracking number. Just checked and it is out for delivery, I might have to make a special trip to the range tonight. :D
 
Holy moly. Fast turn around.

I guess PSA is stepping it up.
 
Great news. Give us a report when you get a chance, I'm curious what the problem was. It occurred to me that it could have been a long piece of brass. I don't know how you would tell for sure, though.
 
That delivery time is a bit unrealistic for most as I live ~5 miles from their warehouse(hell I drive past it every day going to and from work). :)

They don't give much detail on replacements but I did get some feedback, the chamber was cut incorrectly which caused issues with feeding and OOB condition. They replaced the barrel and test fired it.

I already told the wife that we are heading to the range tonight to test it out.
 
So, I just got my PSA carbine (9mm hybrid 16" m-lok upper and x9 glock lower) this week. It is my first semi-auto rifle, My concern after seeing this is that maybe my barrel is not sized correctly, but since its 9mm I don't have a lot of photos to go by. When properly seated in this barrel, how much of the case should I see?
I have a few thousand 9mm reloads made and components for about 4k more, my Loadmaster is hungry but I don't wanna end up with a bucket of rounds that are unusable with this gun.
When plunk testing my glock/Xd/RIA I had the ability to use the barrel hood as a reference point as to proper chamber (with my glock I can even just swipe my thumb over across the back and can tell if not seated enough. With no real idea what I'm doing, anyone have a photo they can share of a correctly seated round in a PSA barrel? All the photos I can find are .223..
 
I expected to go to the range Friday afternoon, but UPS had other ideas. The upper didn't show up until 7:30, so I had to postpone PEW time until Saturday. I put about 150 rounds through it this weekend, both Freedom 124 gr and my 124 gr reloads I use in the M&P for Production. I had one issue due to a stepped case that I didn't see as I was loading mags, but that was easily cleared. Other than that the gun is accurate and hellafun, I cannot wait to run it in the PCC division this summer.

I am pleased to say the new barrel is cut deeper and accepts my normal 9mm reloads (1.150"). I can tell my loads are hot so I plan to drop the the powder charge to about 4.6-4.7gr and chronograph it later this week. I am still seeing the Freedom cases getting "shaved" after being fired, but I am not seeing that with my reloads. I can hand cycle the FM rounds and not get the shaving, so I am starting to wonder if that has to do with the powder Freedom uses.

As far as plunk test go, the case should be supported with only the head protruding from the barrel, this portion is held in the BCG when assembled. Properly sized case should still drop free as you would in a pistol. Below is a video which has a decent representation:
 
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Yes, you should be able to drop the round into the barrel chamber, spin it freely, even push on it, then turn the barrel over and the round should fall out on its own.

The problem I had with my original barrel was that I could get the rounds to pass the plunk test, but then the bolt would not fully close with the round in the chamber, it was short about 0.040".
 
Toprudder said:
Yes, you should be able to drop the round into the barrel chamber, spin it freely, even push on it, then turn the barrel over and the round should fall out on its own.

The problem I had with my original barrel was that I could get the rounds to pass the plunk test, but then the bolt would not fully close with the round in the chamber, it was short about 0.040".
Click to expand...

How would I know if this is a problem? I'm too ignorant to understand how to measure that. Could you visibly tell the bolt wasn't closed based off a four thousandth gap? I don't think I'd notice it myself.
 
Metalliman27055 said:
How would I know if this is a problem? I'm too ignorant to understand how to measure that. Could you visibly tell the bolt wasn't closed based off a four thousandth gap? I don't think I'd notice it myself.
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That was a 40 thousandth gap. Yes you can notice. With the lower removed, turn the upper over so you are looking down into the upper. Place a round in the chamber of the barrel, and slide the bolt forward. You may have to bump the bolt to get the extractor over the rim of the round. If you see a gap between the bolt and the rear face of the barrel (compared to when there is no round in the chamber), you have a headspace problem.

If you have the rifle together and you chamber a round from the mag like you would normally do (pull back the charge handle and let go, or disengage the bolt catch), take that round out and look at it. If it looks like the one on the right in the photo JohnnyTyler posted above, you have the same problem I did.
 
Shot my first match with the PCC yesterday. Aside from a double feed the gun ran well. I am going to need to adjust my dot a bit and tune my buffer a bit...otherwise I am pretty pleased with the gun.
 
never buy anything assembled from PSA, I do have an AR9 that uses their barrel and hybrid BCG. it runs perfect with all the other parts being from other manufacturers.
 
It is just a stock buffer right now, but I can tell my rounds are a bit hot right now. My birthday is next week so I think I'm getting myself the JP silent buffer since it is tuneable, but the blitzkrieg is interesting too(engineer here...I love seeing innovation).

I'm taking about .2gr out of my loads for this weekend at Pinetucky to see how that works out.
 
Zedhound said:
never buy anything assembled from PSA, I do have an AR9 that uses their barrel and hybrid BCG. it runs perfect with all the other parts being from other manufacturers.
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I disagree. I have a complete upper from them with pencil barrel and it functions flawlessly. Granted I have a BCM BCG, but only because I had an extra BCG. I have the PSA BCG in an AR pistol.

They are like any other bargain, high volume manufacturer/dealer. Yes QC can be a problem at times, but overall they have a good product and it seems like their Customer Service has kicked up lately.
 
So whats the overall consensus on the PSA AR9, worth it or not? Seeing some good deals from them. Not looking for a competition or home defense gun, just want a fun, reliable plicker that I can abuse.
 
Phulish said:
So whats the overall consensus on the PSA AR9, worth it or not? Seeing some good deals from them. Not looking for a competition or home defense gun, just want a fun, reliable plicker that I can abuse.
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they have a good bcg and barrel, I would recommend the other upper parts else where, lower parts too. I do like their enhanced LPKs.
 
Good timing, I was about to give an update.

Ran the gun again this weekend at a USPSA match. Ran great, zero issues and accurate as hell. Dialing back the powder helped a bit with dot movement, but I am still going to go with a JP SCS in the near future.

After the barrel swap I have to say the gun is awesome. For the price, you cannot find a better 9MM AR, IMO. Last week I saw the same upper I bought on sale for $299, which is a hella deal. In all you could build the gun for about $600 with a SPARC when they are on sale.
 
Phulish said:
So whats the overall consensus on the PSA AR9, worth it or not? Seeing some good deals from them. Not looking for a competition or home defense gun, just want a fun, reliable plicker that I can abuse.
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Overall I am happy with mine. Since I handload my own ammo, I have a load tailored to mine that works extremely well. It seems to have a slight issue feeding some flat-nose or hollow point bullets, but the round nose bullets I've tried work fine.

If I were to build another one, I'd probably buy the components and build my own upper, but mostly because I just like to experiment and tinker.
 
The sale is for their complete uppers. But if you guys say just buy their lower and BCG there's no need to jump on this deal. I thought their AR9 only worked with PSA uppers? Who makes compatible complete pistol uppers?
 
As best I can tell, the PSA upper is not unique. I believe the PSA lower will work as long as the bolt has the slots milled to work with Glock mags.

Their complete upper does come with bolt and charge handle.
 
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