Good evening, any luck with this? I have Soviet arms mags and continue to have problems. My firearm came with a Soviet mag btw. I purchased a heavier buffer (8.4oz) it helped some but still get fte and ftf.
Not so much. Got a single contact email from CS saying they’d assign a tech to diagnose. Still haven’t had a contact a week later. Yeah, I could have followed up, but I decided to trade the rifle away. Thinking about it, I’d spent $80+ for buffers and a spacer; I was considering a barrel reprofiling from Macon Armory, and an ambi safety. All in with rifle, parts, potential modifications I’d have about a grand invested. For that money, I could have gotten an SA Saint Victor 9mm. So I did.
Bottom line is this: I got this primarily as a range toy. I don’t expect match-grade performance from a range toy. But I expect it to work consistently and reliably. That last magazine was a friggin’ joy. But I didn’t trust that the next one would be. I get that 9mm PCC’s come with design compromises, but enough manufacturers get it right that there’s no sense in not getting it right. I’ll continue to shop PSA as an online (and occasionally in-person) retailer. They’re really good at that. But I don’t see myself buying another PSA firearm.
And a followup: I got an email from PSA CS today so don’t think they left me hanging.
And that Saint Victor is a friggin’ dream right out of the box.
IMO, they should offer a “buy back” program for anyone who has sent it in two or more times to fix their QC problem. Including all accessories, including magazines that may have been purchased. They knew there was a problem early on, and people have been left to try and reconfigure and fix their guns just to make them function. Mine just sits in the safe now. Bought a PSA AR15 and a Glock 19 gen 5 to replace it. They just move on making new models and don’t realize how many customers they lost because of the ARV. I still support PSA, but this has left a real bad taste in my mouth. I don’t want to hear 9mm blowbacks are finicky. If they couldn’t get it right, they should have never made it.
Yeah, it’s not hard to figure out. Looking at my Saint Victor, there’s some small but critical design differences. The SA’s chamber is sized for a 9x19 cartridge, not a 5.56x45 cartridge. The SA bolt is 15.5 oz compared to the AR-V’s 13 oz. The SA buffer is 5.5oz, but it’s a deadblow buffer with internal sliding weights. Also, SA includes a Delrin spacer in the buffer. I’m no engineer, but I think the most significant difference is the length of the chamber. It’s designed for the cartridge instead of adapted to it.
Out of idle curiosity, how does your PSA AR-15 run?
you do realize you guys are in the minority right? the thousands of other 9mm pcc’s theyve sold in the arv line run fine for folks. I’ve got 2, and neither have given me any issues. one i built and one they gave me, and neither have issues…
I’m glad to hear that they did contact you back, they are extremely busy in CS so i know that the delay sucks and all but glad they did call back. Also, I have a saint victor in 556 and love it. i bought it when the saint just came out, it’s a pistol. Love it.
As for not buying another psa firearm, thats your choice… personally i think youll be missing out, but again its your choice. I do think it silly to base a decision on all a companies firearms they produce off of just one singular model, of one gun in total.
I never said I would not buy another PSA firearm. I bought a PSA AR-15 to replace the ARV. I also recommended it to my brother and his best friend. I have sent many people to PSA. The Ar-15 runs like a sewing machine. Gamecock, we have talked before, you know I’m not down on PSA, I support them and their goals 100%, but there have been more issues with this particular model than anything I have seen. All I said, is if they couldn’t correct it after two call backs, they should offer a refund so the buyer could purchase something else. Yeah, I know that process of transfer would be extremely complicated, but I also have a copy of the original ad that specifically said they ran everything and anything thru it without one hiccup, including Federal Hollow Points among others. Do you run hollow points through yours? Going to send you a PM. I have specifically stayed out of this forum because of this issue.
If it means anything. My 9mm Black Rain Ordnance is a giant expensive jam machine. Sent it in, they replaced parts, it still needs a torch and a trash can. I’m crushed over that firearm. It cost 2-3 times what a PSA cost.
I hate it but it’s a “finicky 9mm pcc”
Give Hornady Critical Defense, or AAC XTP, same projectile and let me know how that cycles, if you haven’t already tried them. You might be in for a surprise. I had a positive result I believe because of the shape of the Hornady projectile. In order Hornady CD HP, AAC FMJ, Blazer FMJ.
@dbwchas no you didnt, but @wrhinnc basically did, and i was addressing all who had anti psa commentary. but yeah i know your not against them like that. it was more in the general that my post was posted for. The ARV has been out for quite a while, without many having issues… so either they have had a batch that is out of spec, or like i had stated we’re hearing the minority negatives versus the silent majority whom are happy with their arv’s cause they function without issue… thats all i meant. In every issue i’ve ever had with anything PSA that was wrong, they’ve always made it right. which is why i am just flabbergasted that some folks are having issues where they get items that “cant be fixed” when they are sent in after repeated visits. When this happens, someone is wrong… and im inclined to believe that the manufacturer is usually less to blame that they are in the wrong as its to their benifit only to fix it and fix it right asap, they have no desire to not fix things, and no desire to put out faulty products cause that is against their entire business plan and the whole point of being in business. the main issue is that you cant have a PSA tech go home with the gun to the owners house and range and shoot it with him to show him here its fine see, or so the owner can show what they’re doing wrong or whatever. knowing what some of the questions that psa receives as the most asked question tells me that we’re giving entirely too much credit to the intelligence of our customer base on many situations. (agian i dont work for psa, these are just my personal opinions and are to be taken with a grain of salt and a ton of humor)…
I do run hollow points in mine… I run as many types of ammo, brands, grains, types, even RIPD stuff through every gun i am going to keep, as i want to know that that gun will fire wahtever i have picked up and put in it in case of a shtf situation. a gun that wont shoot a hollowpoint is as good as a brick to me.
cool on the PM… ill get to it soon… ![]()
Where I work I get multi-peats and they are frustrating for both myself and the techs.
Just discovered this forum. Purchased my ARV in March 2024, the first 500+ rounds were flawless. After that I started to get occasional FTFs, maybe 2-3 per mag. Slowly getting worse to the current point of 75-80% FTFs. Things I did to try remedy: polished feed ramp; added Macon Armory buffer and spikes tactical spacer; Aero precision barrel with enhanced feed cone
. FTFs only progressively getting worse. The brass is marred on cartridges that FTF. I think the bolt has a spur in it. Reached out to CS, hoping they make it right ![]()
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(upload://u17mf3lvA8EfM0A0VEtOFFHKmmp.jpeg)
That ain’t good.
PSA will make it right.
Did the bolt somehow get dropped or something? Maybe the pic makes it look worse than it is in-hand, but that’s some pretty savage peening.
Welcome to the forums! glad you found us!
yeah, if its getting worse and you’re having issues shooting let psa know and you’ll get to take advantage of their wonderful lifetime warranty.
Thanks for the reply guys! I did hear back from PSA, they are sending me shipping info to return the carbine for inspection
.
Bolt has never been dropped or damaged. I ran 500+ rds in factory setup before issues started arising. From what I read on these forms, the undersized buffer (weight + length) in factory arrangement can cause some issues. I’ve since installed a spacer and Macon extended buffer to slow the bolt down. But I’m afraid the damage was already done
Welcome to the PSA community forums ![]()
@jared.wang72
Did you check for bcg travel when you installed the spacer and ext buffer?
Yea, I have btw 1/8-1/4” travel after the BOLT CATCH. It has eliminated any casings falling into the trigger well and softened the recoil a lot.
Thats good. Too much travel can break a bolt catch with blowback pccs.
Hello,
New Member from NC here. We just had a store open up in our town who is a PSA dealer. Went in for a normal AR 556 platform but after discussing my needs and usage they sold me on the ARV 9mm. I’m not new to firearms, am a Fmr Marine , a Machinist/ Engineer and have several weapons that I have had to chamfer and polish to get to feed and run reliably. That said, I havent even fired this yet. Tore it down to inspect and lube then was cycling ammo from both mags (PSA Mags) just to check function. Tested with FMJ first and seemed fine, then tried some Critical Defense , No Luck, FTF and jams. Then switched back to FMJ, same thing. The brass was scared up something fierce so I’m sure the feed ramp needs tapered and polished. I also noticed that you cant ‘baby’ releasing the CH, If you let it ease home it will jam, You have to let it slam home. Already notified the store, that will call PSA on Monday as to how to proceed. I’m hoping the store will handle shipping it back and forth. I’ll attach some pics, but I’m a little disappointed to say the least. I wonder if I have an early model.


