Posted before about this barrel, and PSA refusing a return unless the complete upper was reassembled and sent back.

Sent them earlier pics of the ridiculous machining of the throat, without success.

Attaching a couple taken with the barrel removed while installing a quality part. 180 degrees apart to show the  mess they made of the throat.

Avoid PSA barrels of the "Freedom" line.  They may ship you junk like this one.

I know you got a turd but  can't let you condemn the entire freedom line.  Between myself, coworkers and old college friends we've purchased 10 freedom uppers/kits and never had any problems.  $450 out the door to create a new 2a advocate is a deal that you just can't beat.

Out of curiosity, was that "bad" barrel a blemished discounted item?  If so, could that be considered the blemish by PSA, rightly or wrongly?

Just wondering.  I've gotten a few "blem" items from PSA and elsewhere.  Few if any of them had blemishes that I could find.

 

Only 2 of our 10 weren't blems.

I know you got a turd but  can't let you condemn the entire freedom line. 

I am sure most of the Freedom stuff is fine, my point here is their QC is AWOL or drunk.  PSA cannot convince me to trust their stuff if this sort of product gets out.   

Out of curiosity, was that "bad" barrel a blemished discounted item?  If so, could that be considered the blemish by PSA, rightly or wrongly?

Just wondering.  I've gotten a few "blem" items from PSA and elsewhere.  Few if any of them had blemishes that I could find.

Was a sale, but not listed as a blem.

O cosmetic issue is one thing, a barrel this bad would be like calling a new car with wrong size bearings a "blem"

Was a sale, but not listed as a blem.

O cosmetic issue is one thing, a barrel this bad would be like calling a new car with wrong size bearings a "blem"

I was just curious.  Sometimes they might catch one "blem" qualifying it for a discount, but then overlook another defect that's not cosmetic.

But, it's it's not a Blem item, that doesn't give any insight.

If it's that much of a problem, I would personally rebuild the upper and send it back as requested.  They get to make the rules for issuing an RMA.  I don't much like the RMA requirements most places email me when I ask for warranty service.  So many hoops to jump through.

I do love the new Amazon return process where you do everything on the website, then drop off the item without a label, box or any other packing, and the UPS Store takes care of everything.  For refunds, I usually see it in my account as soon as UPS transmits they received the returned item.

I get that it's a hassle, but is it really that much of a hassle to blow off getting them to inspect and replace it?  Barrels aren't really cheap.

I've had some companies tell me to keep the old part and they sent me a new one as a replacement.  I've also gotten refunds and told to keep the item I wanted to return.  Different rules from various sellers.

I can't tell you what would be best for you, just what I would do if it were me.

It’s like buying A Nissan Sentra, expecting Nissan skyline performance…..

If it's that much of a problem, I would personally rebuild the upper and send it back as requested. 

"That much of a problem"??

A rifle that "groups" at 50 yards like the attached pic is not a problem?  That was an attempt to zero the sights.

Other than taper pins, I can reassemble it.   Wonder if they care if the barrel is not torqued or taper pins in place? 

Not sure what you’re complaining about.

If you cannot figure it out, just stay clear and go do mag dumps.

FN dumps their less than stellar barrels on the market from time to time. I know. I have one.

"That much of a problem"??

A rifle that "groups" at 50 yards like the attached pic is not a problem?  That was an attempt to zero the sights.

Other than taper pins, I can reassemble it.   Wonder if they care if the barrel is not torqued or taper pins in place?

You're making my point.  If the upper/barrel is performing that poorly, I would do what PSA asks to have the problem resolved.

Asking you to send them the assembled upper is not unreasonable IMO.

If you don't send the upper back, why is it on PSA that you still have a rotten barrel?  It's unfortunate the barrel isn't 100%, but that can happen with pretty much anything you buy today.  Customer service, warranties and return policies are important, because you want to trust the seller will take care of any problems. 

Sounds like PSA  wants to make it right, but they need the parts "as sold" to act on it.  If they decide to issue a refund because they no longer have that barrel available, they can't without the whole upper.  They might be inclined to send you a better and available complete upper in its place. Or, you'd be free to buy another barrel or upper with your refund.

At the moment, they have your money and you have the defective part.  You have no leverage. The ball in your court. 

Good luck!   

Dunno about “as sold” policy. Colt let me send a barrel back from a complete gun for inspection. They inspected and sent me a barrel back pretty quick. This was maybe 4-5 years ago and not exactly when Colt had a good rep for CS. I forget if I called or emailed first, but ended up getting on the phone with a CS /gunsmith and he sent me a return label and instructions.

Hopefully PSA makes it right. I haven’t dealt with their CS, but I have heard a range of experiences from “pretty good” to “disdainful indifference”.

Dunno about “as sold” policy. Colt let me send a barrel back from a complete gun for inspection. They inspected and sent me a barrel back pretty quick. This was maybe 4-5 years ago and not exactly when Colt had a good rep for CS. I forget if I called or emailed first, but ended up getting on the phone with a CS /gunsmith and he sent me a return label and instructions.

Hopefully PSA makes it right. I haven’t dealt with their CS, but I have heard a range of experiences from “pretty good” to “disdainful indifference”.

Just having them look at the damn thing and tell me with a supposed straight face that is was up to spec was all I asked.

Indifference is indeed what i got.  The usual hiding behind policy, rather than listening to a customer.

FWIW, I am putting the POS back together to return.   Got everything but the taper pins, so what the hell.  Have a new Aero reciever coming, so along with the Ballistic Advantage barrel and the good stuff from my attempt to get the PSA POS to shoot, I will have a decent upper assembly.

Just having them look at the damn thing and tell me with a supposed straight face that is was up to spec was all I asked.

Indifference is indeed what i got.  The usual hiding behind policy, rather than listening to a customer.

FWIW, I am putting the POS back together to return.   Got everything but the taper pins, so what the hell.  Have a new Aero reciever coming, so along with the Ballistic Advantage barrel and the good stuff from my attempt to get the PSA POS to shoot, I will have a decent upper assembly.

Keep us posted on further developments.  I'm very interested, since I've had nothing but great experiences with PSA, both online and when I visited them in SC.

Things change, and people come and go.  Good to know if expectations need to be adjusted.

PSA is a respected nationwide seller of firearms, ammo and parts.  Would be a shame if they outgrew their ability to provide the service to go along with the sales.

Just having them look at the damn thing and tell me with a supposed straight face that is was up to spec was all I asked.

Indifference is indeed what i got.  The usual hiding behind policy, rather than listening to a customer.

FWIW, I am putting the POS back together to return.   Got everything but the taper pins, so what the hell.  Have a new Aero reciever coming, so along with the Ballistic Advantage barrel and the good stuff from my attempt to get the PSA POS to shoot, I will have a decent upper assembly.

Ya, I hear ya.  Should be no reason they shouldn't.  One would think they'd want to know about how their products are performing and if customers are happy. 

Good luck with the new setup, as well as for resolution.  I've been meaning to borescope my Freedom upper. . .

You might, as a vendor, suspect a customer that has the wherewithal to borescope a barrel might have a small idea of what he was doing.  And what he found might be of interest.

The monolithic rejection of even bothering to consider the issue is what still pisses me off.

I understand they have to deal with thousands of buyers that barely know how to clean the things.

Still waiting for taper pins, at least I have the box it came in.  Probably have to deal with someone on the phone this time after the email debacle.

FWIF, the remainder of the Freedom barrel looked good, a lot of copper on the lands from (I assume) factory firing.  Might have been a return for all i know.  The crown looked perfect, there was no reason the barrel should have not shot decently other than the butchered chamber and throat job.

The upper has been reassembled and an email to PSA sent requesting a return.  Not holding my breath, and would prefer a refund rather than another crap shoot with their barrels.

I had noticed some time back that PSA had deleted my less than stellar review, so do not take all the glowing reviews as the entire truth.
who knows how many negative reviews they have buried.
They do delete any not favorable.  That is sleazy.

Don't take this the wrong way but I learned as you did with parts kits from mass merchandisers like PSA. Barrels and scopes - you get what you pay for. Criterion and Douglas are very good barrels for their price. Kriegers and Bartleins are known for their consistency and if not they usually fix the problems.  I did try to firelap a DelTon POS barrel. Didn't work.  I think the common cause for rough like yours from PSA is that they don't replace a worn reamer as often as the manufacturer should. Cost? Lazy?

I hear you, why I paid more for a Ballistic Advantage barrel and Aero Precision upper receiver than the PSA upper cost.   This was not intended to be my main rifle, but I had such good luck with the .308 I could not resist.

You know how that goes.  I have learned to scope out any new barrels as soon as I get them.  Their QC department should be purged for letting something that bad get out.

Have caught a lot of flak from happy PSA customers.  Most just refuse to believe the photos of the barrel and insisting PSA stands behind everything.  Must be me, etc.

Guess I will see.  Their deleting bad reviews certainly helps the appearance of everyone loving them, so I must just be a stupid newb.

Can imagine getting the cost of a Krieger or Bartlein past the wife.