Palmetto State Armory Premium CHF AR-15 Upper
Palmetto State Armory makes one of the best budget AR-15s on the market. They’re the standard bar against which many compare other brands. They have a huge market share in the United States. They make cheap, reliable AR-15s, that go bang every time you pull the trigger. However, they are often looked down upon in the 2A community as the poor man’s rifle.
However, when I saw their premium upper go on sale for $399, my curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to try one. I’m very glad that I did, I love this upper.
PSA Premium 14.7″ CHF Pin and Weld Upper
Usually on sale for $399, this is an incredible upper. Featuring an FN Cold Hammer Forged barrel and pinned + welded from the factory, this is a great option for carbine length builds and is capable of long distance shooting with incredible precision.
A Budget AR-15 equipped with an FN Barrel
PSA equips their premium line with an FN cold hammer forged barrel. Their premium uppers are capable of very good sub 1 MOA accuracy with match grade ammo. Their premium line uses FN Cold Hammer Forced barrels.
If you didn’t know, FN makes their Cold hammer forged barrels for the U.S. Military, such as the barrel for the SAW M249. As such, you know you’re getting a proven and quality barrel. It is by far the biggest selling point of the PSA premium upper.
Palmetto State Armory Sells these in Many Configurations
Palmetto sells these with a variety of furniture options, with barrel lengths ranging from 10.5″ pistol lengths to 20″ rifle lengths. Some of their new sabre models feature the same barrel but with an ambidextrous billet upper and other variety of muzzle devices.
I own the 14.7″ FN barrel, permanently pinned and welded from the factory by PSA with an A2 bird cage bringing the upper to rifle length.
CHF Perfection Combined with a Billet Free Float Handguard
This upper is an absolute tack driver.
The FN barrel is free floating, as it is on many models unless you’re working on a cloner build with a fixed A2 front sight post. The rifle features a rock solid, billet handguard that runs most of the length of the barrel.
This is important as it won’t throw off the harmonics of the barrel when shooting at long distances, helping the upper achieve and maintain a high level of precision and accuracy. This is extremely appealing for competitive shooting, where being maneuverable is a key advantage but longer shots braced against obstacles are sometimes required. This sort of configuration with an LPVO is all the rage right now.
At under $400 on sale which is what I paid out of pocket, and I’ve seen my upper in particular go on clearance for $350 at times, you can easily build a quality complete rifle setup for under $1k, optic included. This setup can really perform well. If you shop sales and decide to use a PSA complete lower, you can easily have a $600 to $700 rifle that shoots comparably well to higher end brands, since most of that money is invested in the FN barrel.
An Incredible Value to Build Around
This setup is well balanced and basic, and can be easily upgraded over time. It’s highly manueverable. It’s perfect for the average home protector. This is my go to recommendation when anyone asks me about getting an AR-15 as it provides a solid base that will upgrade with you over time. That CHF barrel will probably out live you if you aren’t shooting with it daily.
At the price point, you get let’s just say 80-90% of the performance of higher end rifles, that can easily cost twice to three times as much. This makes this upper in my opinion the best value to dollar spent upper on the market today.
PSA Premium 14.7″ CHF Pin and Weld Upper
Usually on sale for $399, this is an incredible upper. Featuring an FN Cold Hammer Forged barrel and pinned + welded from the factory, this is a great option for carbine length builds and is capable of long distance shooting with incredible precision.
Conclusion
Overall I believe that the PSA premium upper offerings are more than worthwhile to consider for anyone who wants to push quality on a budget. The premium uppers provide a very solid base to build around. You won’t be disappointed.
