The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - PA-10 Review

BigMikey76 · June 11, 2019, 11:22 AM

My PA-10 has now been to the range 3 times, and I feel comfortable with making some commentary, so here we go!

General Info
.308
18" stainless barrel
Magpul ACS-L stock
15" lightweight M-lok handguard
No additional bells and whistles

Fit and Finish
It has a nice well finished look to it, and the fit between the upper and lower is good and snug. The Magpul ACS-L stock looks good and functions well. Once the locking lever is pressed in, there is no wiggle. I bought this rifle for hunting, so I'm not too terribly worried about every tiny detail, but, having said that, I can't really find anything that displeases me in the area of fit and finish. Overall, I am pleased with how my rifle looks and feels.

General Shooting Experience
Having watched probably way too many YouTube reviews of various AR-10 type rifles, I had some misconceptions. I was expecting more recoil, in particular. Now that I've shot it a few times, I realize that is just a bunch of nonsense, and the folks who insist that you HAVE to get some sort of comp on the end are just not correct. I could shoot this rifle for the better part of the day without any problems. The rapport was also more reasonable than expected, so I really dont feel the need to add any devices to the muzzle.

Function
It has only been to the range 3 times, shooting through 200 rounds of various factory ammo, so time may tell a different tale, but for now, things look good. There has been only 1 malfunction - a failure to feed on the very first round I tried to load into it. That turned out to be my fault, though; I didnt get the magazine seated properly. Once I pulled my head out of my tuchus, it ran perfectly.

The first trip was strictly function testing, so I put lots of different stuff through it - Federal, Fiochi, PPU, etc., all FMJ. 80 of the 200 rounds were shot during that first trip. Once it had established itself as an "eat whatever you give it" kind of rifle, I was ready for the next step.

Accuracy
For the second trip, I added a scope. Nothing too special - just an inexpensive Bushnell that I already owned, but it has proven itself in the past, so I see no reason to replace it. Once I had the scope dialed in, I did some accuracy testing. Since my plan is to hunt with it, I chose 3 different loads to see which one groups best for me. The 3 were chosen for balance of good reputation in the field and reasonable cost at the counter. The Remington Core-lokt 150gr did well, with an average group of 1.6 MOA. My rifle did not seem to like the Hornady 150gr I brought. The best group I got out of that one was just over 2 MOA, and most of them were closer to 3. The best performing round for my rifle was the Federal Fusion 165gr. The average group for that one was 1.3 MOA, with the worst group at 1.8 and the best group at .7 (I'm attributing that one to luck, since I'm not nearly that good).

The third trip was more for fun than anything else, but I did run another 1/2 box of the Federal through it just to make sure the first test wasn't a fluke. The results were conclusive - I will be hunting with the Federal 165s this fall. The rest of the rounds that trip were more cheap FMJ just to have some fun with it.

Conclusion
I think I'm going to enjoy hunting this fall.

June 11, 2019, 11:22 AM	#1
BigMikey76 Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 2011 Location: Bellevue, NE Posts: 981	PA-10 Review My PA-10 has now been to the range 3 times, and I feel comfortable with making some commentary, so here we go! General Info .308 18" stainless barrel Magpul ACS-L stock 15" lightweight M-lok handguard No additional bells and whistles Fit and Finish It has a nice well finished look to it, and the fit between the upper and lower is good and snug. The Magpul ACS-L stock looks good and functions well. Once the locking lever is pressed in, there is no wiggle. I bought this rifle for hunting, so I'm not too terribly worried about every tiny detail, but, having said that, I can't really find anything that displeases me in the area of fit and finish. Overall, I am pleased with how my rifle looks and feels. General Shooting Experience Having watched probably way too many YouTube reviews of various AR-10 type rifles, I had some misconceptions. I was expecting more recoil, in particular. Now that I've shot it a few times, I realize that is just a bunch of nonsense, and the folks who insist that you HAVE to get some sort of comp on the end are just not correct. I could shoot this rifle for the better part of the day without any problems. The rapport was also more reasonable than expected, so I really dont feel the need to add any devices to the muzzle. Function It has only been to the range 3 times, shooting through 200 rounds of various factory ammo, so time may tell a different tale, but for now, things look good. There has been only 1 malfunction - a failure to feed on the very first round I tried to load into it. That turned out to be my fault, though; I didnt get the magazine seated properly. Once I pulled my head out of my tuchus, it ran perfectly. The first trip was strictly function testing, so I put lots of different stuff through it - Federal, Fiochi, PPU, etc., all FMJ. 80 of the 200 rounds were shot during that first trip. Once it had established itself as an "eat whatever you give it" kind of rifle, I was ready for the next step. Accuracy For the second trip, I added a scope. Nothing too special - just an inexpensive Bushnell that I already owned, but it has proven itself in the past, so I see no reason to replace it. Once I had the scope dialed in, I did some accuracy testing. Since my plan is to hunt with it, I chose 3 different loads to see which one groups best for me. The 3 were chosen for balance of good reputation in the field and reasonable cost at the counter. The Remington Core-lokt 150gr did well, with an average group of 1.6 MOA. My rifle did not seem to like the Hornady 150gr I brought. The best group I got out of that one was just over 2 MOA, and most of them were closer to 3. The best performing round for my rifle was the Federal Fusion 165gr. The average group for that one was 1.3 MOA, with the worst group at 1.8 and the best group at .7 (I'm attributing that one to luck, since I'm not nearly that good). The third trip was more for fun than anything else, but I did run another 1/2 box of the Federal through it just to make sure the first test wasn't a fluke. The results were conclusive - I will be hunting with the Federal 165s this fall. The rest of the rounds that trip were more cheap FMJ just to have some fun with it. Conclusion I think I'm going to enjoy hunting this fall. __________________ Some people are like Slinkies - not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs. Last edited by BigMikey76; June 12, 2019 at 03:55 PM.