Hey all. This is gonna be pic heavy, so watch out.
I bought an AR parts kit from another forum, all original 1980s manufactured stuff (I opted for the seller to omit the stripped lower and sell me everything else). As was mentioned, manufacture is all original, 1980s stuff, down to the A1 rear sight, slimline handguards, 4-position buffer tube and teardrop forward assist. I haven`t shot it yet considering it`s only been assembled about a day.
The PSA lower is the only part not period correct as far as I can tell (I know AKs better). I haven`t yet fired it, work has put me in places I can`t just hit a store and buy a couple boxes on the way home. I`m just glad I kept my cleaning supplies!
So without further ado, here`s a look over:
Here are the parts, as I ordered them.
Very little fouling to be seen on the gas tube.
Bolt face showed light use, my guess would be...300-500 rounds? Bolt tail was caked in carbon buildup which was promptly scraped and wiped off - I don`t like dirty guns.
And as of yesterday afternoon, the rifle was assembled thanks to one of the PSA lowers Toys in the Toybox was selling/trading, ironically to fund a build of his own. As much as I despise standard, GI M4-pattern handguards, I find I rather like the slimmer guards. They may very well stay.
Interior is totally mil-spec, because I find I don`t totally mind a plain milspec trigger. In fact, I have more trigger time with a milspec set and it could be argued that my greater experience with them over an aftermarket means I may actually shoot better with a bad trigger than a good one. That has yet to be tested.
BCG and Charging handle are plain and unmarked. Again, I don`t mind considering the purpose of this rifle - as a blaster. Not to wring sub-MOA precision from, but to be used and abused.
I note slight rust in the flash hider and possibly a kind of knurled crush washer, assuming a crush washer is even present. My next afternoon project will likely be to remove the flash hider and give it a soak in cheap cola to remove the rust.
I find I enjoy the A1 pattern rear sight over the A2, and the A1 grip as well.
The barrel`s exterior has some strange wear patterns I note. I suspect this side to be the result of prolonged firing against some kind of slatted barrier or similar, however a single fiber (or hair) is caught in the wear as well.
The other side features an interesting pattern as well. I`d love to learn the story behind it.
Lastly, the brass deflector shows almost no discoloration. In addition to the bore`s excellent condition, I`m convinved the Diemaco C7 upper I have here has seen very sparse, but hard use. All told, for approximately the same price as a brand new PSA, I got a Colt.