Tag Archives: suppressor

Review, Shopping

PSA “Blem” 10.5″ Upper Review

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Just in time for Palmetto State Armory’s Memorial Day Sale, I was able to get my hands on one of their “Blem” complete uppers, so I figured I’d do a short review.

Regular price on these are $349.99 when they have “blemished” ones to sell, and in checking over the last few weeks they haven’t not been in stock. As is typical, after careful inspection I haven’t been able to find the “Blem” anywhere, so whether this is clever marketing on their part, or their QC is just that strict, I’ve always felt like I’ve gotten a good deal in buying their “Blem” items.

Note that with the current Memorial Day sale, these are currently going for $169.99 and free shipping. (Currently out of stock)
Non-blem versions are currently on sale for $179.99.

Palmetto has always been pretty quick about their shipping, and it showed up in a discreet cardboard outer box, with this one inside.
Opening that finds your upper ready to go.
As mentioned, I tried my best to find the “blemish” and came up blank.

Disclaimer – As this is a 10.5″ upper, current legal situation where it is, I’m using it on a registered SBR. Reviews for the product show a ton of folks using ’em for braced pistols, but I’m definitely not in the business of giving legal advice. Follow all relevant laws, etc. etc.

That out of the way, I was able to drop it right in place on my preferred lower which started it’s life as a Ruger AR-556. I simply swapped over the Bootleg Adjustable BCG and charging handle, and functionally, it was ready to go.

Except it wasn’t. Yet. While this upper has an A2 front sight, it’s got a flat top at the rear, so a sight was needed. There were a lot of ways I could go with this, but since I’ve already got a “modern” SBR, and I’ve got an affinity for retro ARs – I figured I’d lean that way with this one.

The “Mekut’zar” look is a good look.

So, detachable carry handle it is. Palmetto was out of stock on their detachable carry handle, so I went with this one from 80% Arms (also currently subject to a Memorial Day 20% off, code: MD20). To stick with the retro look, I also went with one of these slings, which will look familiar to readers of my XM177E2 review.

As I’m already running a 10.5″ Faxon Pencil’ed upper with modern optics, I figured it was time for another retro rifle.

And finally, to finish it out, while I wanted to leave the A2 birdcage for the aesthetic, I also wanted to be able to run my Rugged Razor 762, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to try out their lightweight M2 Brake mount.

So then, the big question – how does it shoot?

Pretty darned good. In setting the Bootleg BCG to Unsuppressed and going for it, I got through several magazines of both Winchester White Box .223 and IMI m855 with not a single issue. This was doing absolutely nothing aside from what was mentioned above, checking the bore for obstructions, and function testing it. I didn’t clean it. I didn’t lubricate it. I just attached the stuff right out of the box, checked it, and let ‘er rip.

Through a mix of luck, and I suppose some quality work on both Palmetto and 80% Arms parts, the irons were just a hair right of bullseye at 25y, and that’s good enough for me. Next up was running it suppressed. Rugged Razor attached, and BCG set to the same position I use with my Ruger (“3” or just one mark shy of full suppressed). Again ran another 6 mags, 3 of each ammunition I was testing, without failure. Ejection pattern was perfect, and minimal gas to face, and no noticeable POI shift.

For a total cost of $208.98 with the Carry Handle / Sight, this thing’s a steal, and ran flawlessly. If anyone’s looking for a great budget shorty upper for an SBR build, don’t sleep on this one while they’re on sale.

Specs:
Barrel Length 10.5″
Carbine Gas System
Nitride finish Barrel
4150V Chrome Moly Vanadium barrel steel
5.56 NATO Chamber
1 in 7″ Twist Rate
Chrome Lining – None
Barrel Extension:  M4
Handguard Type: PSA Classic Polymer
F-Marked Front Sight Post
Muzzle Thread:  1/2-28
Muzzle Device:  A2 Flash Hider 
Receiver Material: Forged 7075 T6
Overall Length:  18.5″

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HPA of 2015 Reintroduced in 115th Congress as H.R.367

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As anyone on the ASA’s mailing list would know, the 115th Congress has reintroduced the Hearing Protection Act of 2015 (previously talked about here), this time as H.R.367 “To provide that silencers be treated the same as long guns.” Yeah, I’m hoping they work on that title a bit, but it was just introduced yesterday and currently has 43 Cosponsors.

Text for the bill has not yet been provided, but in the coming days it will likely be a verbatim copy of H.R. 3799, along with a companion Senate bill.  While I’m not getting my hopes up, introduction into the 115th Congress gives it some advantages that it didn’t previous enjoy.  While there was a slight increase in the Republican edge in Congress, there was previously and it never even got a committee hearing.  No, the advantage comes from the fact that not only would this bill have a significantly better chance to NOT get vetoed, it also has a proponent in the President Elect’s son, who notably met with SilencerCo CEO Joshua Waldron.

In any case, I’m cautiously optimistic, while I wholly suspect the pending stamp refund to get axed from the bill faster than an M-10’s cyclic rate, that was always there as a negotiation concession.  As said before, be sure to keep up the communication with your representatives telling them you expect to see their support of this during this session.

Edit: Found this thread, good bit of information on it, and it will likely be updated with a who’s who of key figures in getting this thing moving, so pay attention, and we might end up with a good list of representatives who need to be contacted.

Review, Shopping

Black Friday Sale at Silencer Shop

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As a good follow up to last week’s post about the hope for action on the Hearing Protection Act of 2015, Silencer Shop is currently having a pretty noteworthy Black Friday sale from now until 11:59PM CST on 28 Nov.  If you’ve been thinking about getting a can, it might be worth it to go ahead and pull the trigger this weekend.

In case you haven’t shopped here, or looked too closely, at how Austin, TX based Silencer Shop works, they not only have one of the widest selections of in-stock suppressors available, but a large dealer network that can handle all of your Form 4 paperwork, plus a new Kiosk system at specific dealers which allows you to handle fingerprinting on site, and finally a mobile app that lets you take and submit an ATF approved photo, so no more going to Walgreens for passport photos.

storepage

They’ve got 2 pages of good on sale deals at the moment, although some of the more desirable options are already Out-of-stock (looking at you Gemtech Multimount 9).  If you’re looking for a lightweight & compact .45ACP can, the GM-45 is still in stock, and lited for a very attractive $499, and the Liberty Cosmic is going for $664.

If you find something there you want (the easy part) and can afford (come on, you can’t beat these prices!), you’ll need to select a dealer on the left side menu after selection options.  Prices may vary slightly, as this includes transfer fees.  You’ll want to selection one with the powered logo as this indicates a dealer that will work with Silencer Shop to handle all paperwork, and if available nearby, one with the Fingerprint logo, showing that they have a Kiosk on site.

silencershop

Once added to cart, you will be reminded that you require a tax stamp (for now anyway, COME ON HR 3799!), which you will be able to add to the cart for $205.  $200 of that is to the ATF, and $5 goes to Silencer Shop for setting up such an awesomely streamlined system for making NFA purchases.  For more on that, see here.

If you find any other good deals, be sure to comment below, or on our Facebook Page!

Happy Thanksgiving, and good luck on Black Friday!

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Post Election To-Do List: Hearing Protection Act of 2015

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Well, a lot’s happened so far in November- so without rehashing what everyone’s seen nonstop for the last week or so, lets just say, some bills that may have been hung up to to not having a chance of getting signed, may actually start to see the light of day.

The one I’m personally looking forward to seeing get some action would be good ole’ H.R. 3799 / S.2236, the Hearing Protection Act of 2015.  In case you didn’t catch it when it was introduced, it’s a House and related Senate bill to remove “Silencers” (Suppressors) from the NFA and regulate like a long arm, 4473 / NICS and out the door (depending on state and local laws).  While in the short term, suppressor prices would probably spike as everyone would be buying them up the second they’re deregulated, but long term, once you can buy ’em off over-the-counter, so to say, the boom that will bring to the industry will be fun to watch.

Right, so down to what you can do to help- currently both bills have been languishing in committee since last year, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations for the House bill, and the even more exciting Committee on Finance for the Senate bill.  Republicans have House, Senate, and as of January, the White House.  There are no more road bumps left to getting this thing passed except the ones we allow.  That said CONTACT. YOUR. REPRESENTATIVES.  <- The form linked here will autopopulate a letter to your local reps based on the address you use, which you can change.  Personally, I added a line at the end indicating that I look forward to action on the bill that has sat since November of last year.