PSA ARs work quite well

Nah

ya

It varies based off of who reviews them

I don’t wanna take the chance

what chance? they're built to milspec

@John Cavil yes that is a thermal

That means cheapest possible option

Milspec is just garbage that works

if they're built to milspec, they're gonna work

you said it yourself: "that works"

Not always though

Armasight zeus 640

There’s a difference between working, and working reliably

don't need gucci ARs for reliability, and most of the lowers are milled by the same limited set of mfgs anyway

The uppers are whah matter yeah

Alright I've got list of ars I found online. 1. S&W M&P 15/ 2. Diamondback DB-15/ 3. DPMS Oracle/ 4. Rock river lar-15/ 5. Adam's arms agency/ 6. Ruger ar-556/ 7. PSA ar/ 8. Bushmaster XM-15

But yeah PSA isn’t reliable

what, a gas tube and gas block?

the mfg science behind it isn't hard

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/864559488

I feel as though I’ve opened Pandora’s box with my question

Bro PSA is fine, you buy gucci and less money for optics and ammo

guns are figured out, @Poppa Sherman ; buy cheap and spend on optics, ammo, and training

as long as you avoid the freedom series

psa can be very reliable

What kind of optic then? I’m thinking a Triji acog

best budget AR imo

poor tolerances
out of spec parts
undergassing
over gassing
chamber burrs
failure to go into battery
poor barrel life
poor accuracy
poor staking
bent gas tubes
canted gas blocks
chinesium barrel nuts
terrible triggers
short spring lifespans
cheap extractors causing fte
^list of most common problems with cheap ARs, pretty much every AR under bcm quality will have at least a couple of these problems

psa has the most fixable, which is poor staking

and their premium series is pretty gucci

FN barrel and gas system on an aero upper with a geiselle rail for like $575

also, their $50 bcgs are toolcraft, which are very reliable carriers

psa, aero, and bcm are the only budget brands worth considering for ARs

as far as optics

there's nothing wrong with the acog but it's outdated

lpvo or eotech is your best bet

Swampfox is good

my friend has a freedom series that he's "fixed up" with a better gas system and better staking, it was unironically just as reliable over about 2k rounds as my friends brand new urgi

albeit at like 4 moa because freedom series barrel

Like a Eotech with a magnifier?