I’ve got two of the Remington ARs R15 in 223 and a R25 in 243 and I Thank they are just bushmaster’s. I’ve worked up a load for them and they both shoot under 1/2 in. Thank for sharing my friend.
The original Bushmasters were not bad at all. I felt they were as good as the Colts back then. Bushmaster wasn't dorking around with large pins and sear blocks either. Thanks for watching Brant!
I was looking at those JSE's you have been using. Sent them an email asking who machines their receivers? Double R Armory out of Conroe, Texas. The PSA A2 H&R receivers are no longer listed with the M4 receiver cuts which is what I used on my Colt HBAR clone build. I may try one of those JSE's so I can get the cuts. Very few barrel manufacturers are making rifle cut extensions anymore.@@n721sw
I don't know anything about them but apparently that is who does the machining for JSE at least on the retro stuff that I asked about. I think I'm going to try one of the JSE A2 uppers and then decide if I'm going with the H&R M16A2 lower for the roll stamp even though H&R never made A2's to my knowledge. My understanding is that Palmetto does the machining for the H&R stuff so your paying 3X for the H&R roll stamp and name.@@n721sw
I never knew you could secure the triangular handguard retainer to the front sight. When I build mine I just left it loose with the only thing holding it being the gas tube. No wonder I had some slight play in the forend but that rifle is sub-MOA so I don't think it matters. I went with WW A2 handguards because I was looking for light and slim. KAK makes a good 16" rifle length barrel if you wanted a true dissipator barrel for PSA prices.
I do have a Criterion Hybrid barrel at 16" with a rifle length gas system although I didn't go retro with it. I also have the WW that uses a roll pin instead of the screw that Palmetto used but both version end caps are captured. The WW is an HBAR 16" Dissy with the Carbine gas system under the hand guard. So I have four different versions of the 16" barrel gas system. Carbine/Carbine, Carbine (Dissy)/Mid-length, Carbine (Dissy)/Carbine and Carbine/Rifle. Maybe I'll get them all out together for a comparison?
I think I could get the standard A2 to work with the PSA Dissipator but I would have to remove the heat shield in the interference area or go Orange County Chopper on it! I'll just live with them the way they are! I'm pretty sure the IMI Defense Mid-length would have worked fine on the carbine but I'll just save them for some future build! Another bit of knowledge added to the WTF AR list! Lol!
I read that the little gas loss like you showed in your handguard would seal up from block/tube with carbon once you get some higher round counts on it. Don't know though, have you experienced that? Also, I just picked up a 20" ban era Bushmaster A2 and my delta ring has slight 1/16 side to side play. Could a weak weld spring cause this? Can't get anything from Windham yet. Probably never will get their former quality parts I'm guessing. Thanks Pete.
Yes, in my experience if there's a little blow by between the gas tube and gas block it eventually seals up over time and/or becomes very minimal. Most of my rifles have had some leakage initially and either stopped or improved over time. On your delta ring it may not be the ring or weld spring but the hand guard mating surface area that's off a little. Maybe inspect your hand guard for a wear ring and try to determine if the delta is making enough even contact. If they are original Bushmaster I would hesitate to file or grind. H&R makes a fantastic A2 quality hand guard. Great find on the A2 Bushmaster! I think they are becoming Unicorns!
@@peteregger7928..Yes they are original Bushy handguards, not quite as skinny all the way down as what I've seen on videos. I'm looking for a USGI set or those H&R's to try. But, with the handguards off I still have that play in delta ring assembly. It seems the tension is lighter than all my others, but they are new. So far I'm digging this rifle, it's just a slightly different animal. Target crown HBAR chrome lined, runs perfect 3-4 o'clock ejection, rifle cut extension, none on receiver. Thanks for the advice.
@@Allenmar73 Gotcha! I wish I would have bought a few more original Bushmasters back in the 90's. Always thought their roll mark was way better than a dancing pony! Lol!
Completely off topic: Ever use the CMMG 22lr conversion kit for your AR? Realized the back of that BCG rests on the buffer retainer pin and remembered in your videos you used, what looked, like a flat surfaced retainer pin and if it was compatible with the converted BCG?
So long as you're using a triangular hand guard end cap with an FSB you should be fine. The IMI Defense Mid-length won't work with the round carbine style end caps. To my knowledge most manufacturers make their FSB Mid-lengths with triangular end caps.
@@rillwill6538 Yes, it does. The PSA hand guard is of decent quality it's just the oval profile instead of the correct A2 round on the "Classic" series that has the FSB. PSA is known for canted front sights on their FSB versions so watch out for that one! I bought these two Palmetto's out of curiosity and both had the FSB's on straight. I usually assemble my own AR's using Criterion barrels and have had a few FSB's installed and pinned by John Thomas of Retro Arms Works! He does fantastic work and both times within a one day turnaround!
@@peteregger7928 im looking for a complete nitride mid length upper with the classic grip but I can't really find much but PSA do you have any suggestions
@@rillwill6538 If your looking for affordable but still decent quality Delton or Anderson for complete rifles. Not to many manufacturers offering the complete Retro stuff. If you have a little more in the budget then building your own is the way to go. JSE Surplus sells decent upper and lower Retro receivers. H&R from Palmetto is very good but not cheap. I run my own barrels from Criterion and use known good BCG companies. I have the FSB mounted by trusted gunsmiths who will get them on straight.
Sometime around 1990 or maybe a little later I went into a local FFL outside of San Diego when I was still active duty. For some reason which I don't remember he had a complete lower Bushmaster with the aluminum collapsible but no Bushmaster upper to go with it. The he had a Colt Carbine conversion 16" HBAR upper but no Colt lower to go with it. We put them together and they were a tight fit! I was in a hurry and didn't want to order a Colt lower or a Bushmaster upper which back then took forever! So that's how I ended up with the ColtMaster or BushColt depending on how you look at it! I got a great deal! Lol!
Replace the whole barrel and build a real dissipator. Criterion makes dissy barrels and Brownells also has dissy barrels. Midlength gas on a dissy kinda defeats the whole purpose eh?
That's why I called it a "pretend Dissipator"! Lol! I have a Criterion Hybrid 16" with a rifle length gas system. Didn't go Retro with it but it shoots fine! It's only been recently where some of the manufacturers are offering true Dissy barrels. In the past it's all been Carbine gas under the hand guards similar to my Windham HBAR faux Dissy. Even the 16" isn't the original Vietnam era barrel length. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I think even cutting the heat shield it would still be a close call. I have a Windham Weaponry Dissipator with a carbine gas block location and it's still very close.
Windham handguard profile much much better. I have some fat ovals and don't like them. I saw where the Anderson dissy has the ones like Windham. They're selling the Anderson complete dissipator rifle length gas for $549. at Aim Surplus.
Seems like the Dissy has been getting popular again! If you have the rifle gas then you won't have the A2 hand guard problem I had with this mid-length PSA. I prefer the A2 profile round handguard too! Watched a few videos on the Anderson's and they seem to run fine with the rifle gas.
I’ve got two of the Remington ARs R15 in 223 and a R25 in 243 and I Thank they are just bushmaster’s. I’ve worked up a load for them and they both shoot under 1/2 in. Thank for sharing my friend.
The original Bushmasters were not bad at all. I felt they were as good as the Colts back then. Bushmaster wasn't dorking around with large pins and sear blocks either. Thanks for watching Brant!
I love the oval man! When ya grab the forend, you know you have a good hold on that smoke wagon!
There not really all that bad! I was just wanting the A2 profile for some inexplicable reason?
@@peteregger7928 I have 4 A2’s, half are round. I don’t know what to build next. Maybe the XM177
I was looking at those JSE's you have been using. Sent them an email asking who machines their receivers? Double R Armory out of Conroe, Texas. The PSA A2 H&R receivers are no longer listed with the M4 receiver cuts which is what I used on my Colt HBAR clone build. I may try one of those JSE's so I can get the cuts. Very few barrel manufacturers are making rifle cut extensions anymore.@@n721sw
@@peteregger7928 Is Double R Armory a good thing? JSE has been great with me.
I don't know anything about them but apparently that is who does the machining for JSE at least on the retro stuff that I asked about. I think I'm going to try one of the JSE A2 uppers and then decide if I'm going with the H&R M16A2 lower for the roll stamp even though H&R never made A2's to my knowledge. My understanding is that Palmetto does the machining for the H&R stuff so your paying 3X for the H&R roll stamp and name.@@n721sw
I never knew you could secure the triangular handguard retainer to the front sight. When I build mine I just left it loose with the only thing holding it being the gas tube. No wonder I had some slight play in the forend but that rifle is sub-MOA so I don't think it matters. I went with WW A2 handguards because I was looking for light and slim.
KAK makes a good 16" rifle length barrel if you wanted a true dissipator barrel for PSA prices.
I do have a Criterion Hybrid barrel at 16" with a rifle length gas system although I didn't go retro with it. I also have the WW that uses a roll pin instead of the screw that Palmetto used but both version end caps are captured. The WW is an HBAR 16" Dissy with the Carbine gas system under the hand guard. So I have four different versions of the 16" barrel gas system. Carbine/Carbine, Carbine (Dissy)/Mid-length, Carbine (Dissy)/Carbine and Carbine/Rifle. Maybe I'll get them all out together for a comparison?
That Sucks Pete What Will Fit Now That You Know What You Know Now Or Is Palmetto Guards The Only Option 😩😩
I think I could get the standard A2 to work with the PSA Dissipator but I would have to remove the heat shield in the interference area or go Orange County Chopper on it! I'll just live with them the way they are! I'm pretty sure the IMI Defense Mid-length would have worked fine on the carbine but I'll just save them for some future build! Another bit of knowledge added to the WTF AR list! Lol!
I read that the little gas loss like you showed in your handguard would seal up from block/tube with carbon once you get some higher round counts on it. Don't know though, have you experienced that? Also, I just picked up a 20" ban era Bushmaster A2 and my delta ring has slight 1/16 side to side play. Could a weak weld spring cause this? Can't get anything from Windham yet. Probably never will get their former quality parts I'm guessing. Thanks Pete.
Yes, in my experience if there's a little blow by between the gas tube and gas block it eventually seals up over time and/or becomes very minimal. Most of my rifles have had some leakage initially and either stopped or improved over time. On your delta ring it may not be the ring or weld spring but the hand guard mating surface area that's off a little. Maybe inspect your hand guard for a wear ring and try to determine if the delta is making enough even contact. If they are original Bushmaster I would hesitate to file or grind. H&R makes a fantastic A2 quality hand guard. Great find on the A2 Bushmaster! I think they are becoming Unicorns!
@@peteregger7928..Yes they are original Bushy handguards, not quite as skinny all the way down as what I've seen on videos. I'm looking for a USGI set or those H&R's to try. But, with the handguards off I still have that play in delta ring assembly. It seems the tension is lighter than all my others, but they are new. So far I'm digging this rifle, it's just a slightly different animal. Target crown HBAR chrome lined, runs perfect 3-4 o'clock ejection, rifle cut extension, none on receiver. Thanks for the advice.
@@Allenmar73 Gotcha! I wish I would have bought a few more original Bushmasters back in the 90's. Always thought their roll mark was way better than a dancing pony! Lol!
Completely off topic: Ever use the CMMG 22lr conversion kit for your AR? Realized the back of that BCG rests on the buffer retainer pin and remembered in your videos you used, what looked, like a flat surfaced retainer pin and if it was compatible with the converted BCG?
No experience with the 22LR conversions. Don't know if the these particular off-set buffer retainer pins that I use would work?
So would a mid length imi handguard fit on the psa mid length upper???
So long as you're using a triangular hand guard end cap with an FSB you should be fine. The IMI Defense Mid-length won't work with the round carbine style end caps. To my knowledge most manufacturers make their FSB Mid-lengths with triangular end caps.
@@peteregger7928 well is your mid length PSA using a triangle hand guard end caps.. I've not yet ordered my upper from PSA
@@rillwill6538 Yes, it does. The PSA hand guard is of decent quality it's just the oval profile instead of the correct A2 round on the "Classic" series that has the FSB. PSA is known for canted front sights on their FSB versions so watch out for that one! I bought these two Palmetto's out of curiosity and both had the FSB's on straight. I usually assemble my own AR's using Criterion barrels and have had a few FSB's installed and pinned by John Thomas of Retro Arms Works! He does fantastic work and both times within a one day turnaround!
@@peteregger7928 im looking for a complete nitride mid length upper with the classic grip but I can't really find much but PSA do you have any suggestions
@@rillwill6538 If your looking for affordable but still decent quality Delton or Anderson for complete rifles. Not to many manufacturers offering the complete Retro stuff. If you have a little more in the budget then building your own is the way to go. JSE Surplus sells decent upper and lower Retro receivers. H&R from Palmetto is very good but not cheap. I run my own barrels from Criterion and use known good BCG companies. I have the FSB mounted by trusted gunsmiths who will get them on straight.
Great content, Pete. We always learn quite a bit. Q.) Your "Colt Bushmaster" ?? tell me more
Sometime around 1990 or maybe a little later I went into a local FFL outside of San Diego when I was still active duty. For some reason which I don't remember he had a complete lower Bushmaster with the aluminum collapsible but no Bushmaster upper to go with it. The he had a Colt Carbine conversion 16" HBAR upper but no Colt lower to go with it. We put them together and they were a tight fit! I was in a hurry and didn't want to order a Colt lower or a Bushmaster upper which back then took forever! So that's how I ended up with the ColtMaster or BushColt depending on how you look at it! I got a great deal! Lol!
@@peteregger7928 Now that's a cool story. Thanks for sharing. 😎
@@peteregger7928... Cool deal. I'm calling it a Horse Snake. Lol
@@Allenmar73 It was my very first mix and match!
Replace the whole barrel and build a real dissipator. Criterion makes dissy barrels and Brownells also has dissy barrels. Midlength gas on a dissy kinda defeats the whole purpose eh?
That's why I called it a "pretend Dissipator"! Lol! I have a Criterion Hybrid 16" with a rifle length gas system. Didn't go Retro with it but it shoots fine! It's only been recently where some of the manufacturers are offering true Dissy barrels. In the past it's all been Carbine gas under the hand guards similar to my Windham HBAR faux Dissy. Even the 16" isn't the original Vietnam era barrel length. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@peteregger7928 how's the criterion shoot when suppressed? I have an 11.5 Criterion hybrid and a 16" mid criterion core and they are great barrels.
I don't have a suppressor yet. I might get one as it looks like wait times are way down! I've had very good results with Criterion barrels!
Can’t you clearance the WW guard ?
I think even cutting the heat shield it would still be a close call. I have a Windham Weaponry Dissipator with a carbine gas block location and it's still very close.
Thanks Pete
Your welcome! Just when I think I know a thing or two! Lol!
Windham handguard profile much much better. I have some fat ovals and don't like them. I saw where the Anderson dissy has the ones like Windham. They're selling the Anderson complete dissipator rifle length gas for $549. at Aim Surplus.
Seems like the Dissy has been getting popular again! If you have the rifle gas then you won't have the A2 hand guard problem I had with this mid-length PSA. I prefer the A2 profile round handguard too! Watched a few videos on the Anderson's and they seem to run fine with the rifle gas.