Palmetto State Armory's NiB Full Auto Bolt Carry Group. Nice Upgrade, Great Price

The Bolt Carrier Group is the heart and soul of your AR-15 style rifle. There is nothing, except the barrel, that is more important far as reliable function goes in the rifle. You can have the crispest trigger, the sleekest lightweight rail and the most expensive sights you can find on your rifle. But if you got a bad bolt carrier group, you may end up with nothing more than a very expensive club in a bad time.

While I'm not the kind of guy who replaces stock components very often, especially internals, I have been interested in possibly upgrading the BCG in my primary AR. I've had my eye on a NiB coated full auto style BCG for quite a while. While that combination is suppose to create a smoother cycling rifle, I just never had the extra cash laying around to find out first hand. Then, I got a promotional email from Palmetto State Armory.

Palmetto State Armory M-16 BCS with NiB coating. All shiny and new.

If I ever get to the point where money is no matter of concern for me, I will just buy whatever Palmetto State Armory's daily deal is. Subscribing to PSA's email list really tests my self control when it comes to sticking to my budget. They offer a moderately priced full auto style NiB coated BCG, and recently it was on sale. At $108 including shipping & taxes, I couldn't resist.

As usual, Palmetto State Armory's customer service was excellent with a fast translation and delivery of the BCG complete with all the confirmation and tracking information emailed to me. The new bolt carrier group was at my door in a few days and it met all my expectations appearance wise.

The staking of the Gas Key to the Carrier Body was done nicely.

The fit of the components and their machining finishes are excellent. The staking of the gas key onto the carrier was done correctly. The NiB coating appeared to be applied evenly on all the parts. It dropped right into the AR and cycled like it should. My initial impression is that  it was a nice upgrade.

Now just because it looked nice, doesn't mean it really is an upgrade. Well unless your a mall ninja, then appearances are everything since a shiny carrier makes your AR look meaner and more tactical, then it is an upgrade. But for the rest of us, the proof is found on the range.

After a few range sessions I was satisfied with my purchase. The combination of the heavier, more balanced full auto body and the slick NiB coating seemed to make the cycle noticeably smoother to me. but since I may have been subconsciously trying to convince myself I did not waste my money, I had a few friends fire the AR with both the new BCG and the standard BCG that came with the rifle. All noticed a smother cycle with the NiB coated full auto style BCG from PSA.

The extra material at the rear of the full auto BCG does seem to make the cycle smoother.

Besides a smoother cycle that aids in faster follow up shots, the NiB coating really does make it the BCS easier to clean up when the range fun is done. I have not done any long term testing to see if the claims of a NiB coating allows for a longer time between cleanings, but I have no reason to doubt those claims.

Over all I am very pleased with this bolt carrier group from Palmetto State Armory and would (and do) recommend one to people who are looking for NiB full auto style BCG. Is it "oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-how-much-better-this-is" better, but there is a noticeable improvement. Personally, I'm not going to go and replace all my AR's bolt carrier groups right here and now. But if I ever put together an AR from scratch, it will have a full auto NiB coated BCG.