This is my first time posting on the AR page… I purchased and just received, the # PSA PA-15 16" Nitride M4 Carbine 5.56 MOE EPT AR-15 Rifle, OD Green, as a Merry Christmas to me present. (https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-pa15-16-nitride-m4-carbine-556-nato-moe-ar15-rifle-black.html)
This is my first time owning/working with this platform. I am more comfortable/familiar with PSA’s AK’s.
With that being said, I am already in the process of personalizing/upgrading components, and have come up with a question that I haven’t been able to find an answer for…
Is the BCG nitrided like the barrel or coated/finished in anyway? The reason I ask is because I have read multiple articles recommending that it be “upgraded” for one that is either lighter and/or has a friction reducing finish.
Thanks for any and all assistance and tips.
A link would be helpful. Can’t paste the full description in the search bar on PSA’s website
A nickel boron BCG is slicker. However, I have two ARs both have the same bolt yours came with. It is perfectly fine, save your money. Lube it up good, keep it clean, and it will not fail you. Try not to get oil in the chamber area. The military has used nitrided BCGs since the platform was invented
I used the M-16 in the military and they worked perfectly, Army, Marines, etc use them.
I use NiB and like them, nothing intrinsically wrong with what you have though.
I have stuck with the nitride BCGs in all 5 of my ARrs.
Run it until it wears out, then decide if you’re happy with how it performed, or if you want to upgrade.
Lube it well. School of the American Rifle on YouTube has a video on how to properly lube an AR, especially the BCG, and the lube that he uses.
I personally follow his advice and use the same lube.
Spend the money you save not replacing it on ammo and go shoot.
Couldn’t find the Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease around here so I went with a little different mix but still works well. All synthetic. The grease that I use is black though and I don’t like the mess I make every time I use it.
well a link to what you bought would probably tell us definitively, but without it heres a brief visual check you can do.
flat black kinda faded is usually like a parkerized bcg…
black and shiney is usually a nitrided bcg…
and a nickle looking bcg is nickle boron these are usually very smooth feeling.
while they do have chromed bcgs too, psa has never put one into their rifles, and i’d be willing to bet yours is one. of the first two i mentioned. not the third.
I have a NiB BCG in one rifle and a nitrided BCG in another (probably the same BCG you have in yours). I oil the heck out of both the exact same way and they both run the same. If you want to spend more money on a $500 rifle, go for it. It’s your rifle. But there is absolutely no good reason to do so. Personally, I would just get a better trigger assembly and maybe an adjustable gas block (one of my rifles needs it) and rock and roll. But that’s just me, I’m like that! 
Very limited felt performance out of an upgraded bcg.
Light weight bcgs are a different beast as thats more of timing efficiency.
If you need one and find one on sale sure but lots of other functional upgrades exist before swapping your bolt.
PSA bcgs are made by Toolcraft. They are GTG.
All of ours are phosphate coated or nitrided, but one NiB because I wanted just one flashy bit for the 14.7 FN barreled upper 