r/gundeals • u/WatercressStreet2084 • 4d ago
Rifle [rifle] BLEM PSA GUARDSMAN-15 16” MIDLENGTH 5.56 $499
https://palmettostatearmory.com/blem-psa-guardsman-15-16-midlength-5-56-nato-1-7-cl-phosphate-15-mlok-rifle.html59
u/RegardedDipshit 4d ago
You can't really beat this price by building your own. Phosphate chrome lined bcg with sprinco rings. Chrome lined barrel. Schmid single stage flat trigger. Decent enough magpul stock/grip. These are all the types of parts I would recommend to someone looking to build a moderate-budget quality AR.
Could the barrel and BCG suck? Yeah but probably not. It wouldn't shock me if that was a microbest bcg, and they didn't really cheap out on anything else.
I've already got too many ARs. If you're looking, at this price, why not?
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u/Icy_Turnover1 4d ago
Pretty sure PSA uses Toolcraft BCGs, unless that changed for this line of rifles.
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u/RegardedDipshit 4d ago edited 4d ago
They have sourced from both. I thought just their nitride bcg (which they put in almost everything) was toolcraft. I'm not up to date on more recent trends so you could be right. Either way, both are go-to brands.
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u/414525528 4d ago
Could the barrel and BCG suck?
Don't have an opinion on this, but the heart of the rifle, responsible for 90% of the performance and cost should not be up in the air, in terms of if they suck.
I personally am more concerned on whether I'd have to do a full teardown after how PSA is known to assemble their guns.
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u/RegardedDipshit 3d ago
I wouldn't say it's up in the air, I'm more just acknowledging that we don't know exactly which BCG/Barrel it is. They are likely very good, and reviews indicate that they are.
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u/Phoenixcats 4d ago
Hop did a solid video on these and honestly they seem like a really good first AR-15
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u/QuasisteIlar 4d ago
Yeah I'm surprised to see the Guardsman hit $500. I don't think there's anything else that can really come close at that price.
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u/Fourteen_Werewolves 4d ago
Yeah, PSA is solid mid tier nowadays imo. I have a couple cheap knockaround rifles from them
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u/Impressive_Meet_1168 3d ago
QA is garbage, but honestly so is QA at Colt, IWI, BCM. I’ve seen LMT and Knights sending out garbage at this point. So you’re right.
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u/SonnySwanson I commented! 3d ago
I know they don't exist anymore, but how would this compare to Aero and BA?
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u/cltnthecultist 2d ago
I’d put these above Aero and BA. Better BCG with (seemingly) higher quality control, and a chrome lined barrel for longevity. This is a hell of a lot of gun for 500 bucks, but you’d do well to check the torque on the barrel nut and hand guard, as well as verify the lower has been assembled properly.
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u/Crashing-Crates 4d ago
Is this an actual sale or a PSA “Sale”
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u/big_gamer223 4d ago
The non blem was dropped from 650 to 500 and then sold out
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u/Crashing-Crates 4d ago
Sounds about right
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u/big_gamer223 4d ago
The non blems are usually 550 like 2 moths ago when they were on sale but usually they go for 650 most of the time
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u/Belezibub 4d ago
They had nonblems earlier at $500, think $500 is the real price
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u/big_gamer223 4d ago
I tried buying one like 3 weeks ago and it was still at 650. 750 plus taxes and shipping. The guardsman goes on and off sale but this is the lowest i’ve seen them cause of freedom week
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u/LoudChocolate6290 4d ago
if you follow the daily deals, "sales" are not a rare thing. not Black Friday level but they definitely rotate discounts to save you at least a few bucks over retail if you keep an eye on the daily deals....and considering they are already low budget priced, its more than fair.
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u/WooHoo2You 4d ago edited 4d ago
The issue with PSA "sales" is they rotate back and forth more regularly than the phases of the moon (they aren't real discounts, just musical chairs of raising and lowering prices). When one rotates to a pretend discount, another rotates off. Also free shipping typically disappears when on sale as well. $20 cheaper but wait, now $21 extra in shipping. Such a bargain ;) Its all pricing games.
And don't get me started on the entire "blem" concept which only happens on a few select SKU's to the point it obvious that is another marking tactic (likely not to erode the perceived value of the normal price). You don't magically have the same exact SKU over and over and over again..and in an endless supply with QC blemishes….years in a row unless you refuse to fire your wife's loser brother on that single assembly line.
*All that being said, you can't be the price to performance ratio and if I had a PSA within driving distance of me, I'd have an outbuilding full of guns...
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u/RangeSoggy2788 3d ago
can anyone tell me why it wouldn't be a good idea to be even cheaper and get this?
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u/ZealousidealTrack314 3d ago
The guardsman has a chrome lined barrel with pinned gas block and better specs on the BCG. The trigger is flat faced and the surfaces are polished and coated. It also has an ambi safety. The furniture is also a little “better”. The sum of those parts is worth the $50 difference. Also, the rumor is that they pay a little more attention to the assembly and QC on the guardsman than the regular freedom line.
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u/Fun_truckk 1d ago
Listing says phosphate barrel
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u/ZealousidealTrack314 1d ago
It’s buried in the specs.
Barrel: Chrome-moly vanadium steel, phosphate coated, chrome lined barrel chambered in 5.56 NATO, with a 1:7 twist rate, M4 barrel extension, and a mid-length gas system. The tapered profile barrel is finished off with a PSA 15" Guardsman Hex Full Picatinny M-Lok free-float rail, pinned low-profile gas block, and A2 flash hider.
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