Romanian PSL, educate me

[Erik M]

I can purchase one of these for <$500. I've read alot aboutthem in the last few days. THR is the largest collection of gun nuts of largest wealth of knowledge I can think of so I want to see if some of you can help me dispel some myths about the PSL variant.

*does it or does it not have a chrome lined barrel
*Is it true that you should not shoot heavy ball ammo, namely the bulk packaged surplus stuff.
*Is accuracy really as terrible? some people say that they can out-shoot it with a 16" AR platform at 1-300 yards.

*Im between this gun, an AR, and a Saiga .223.

 

[shotgunsrfun]

from what I understood, you SHOULD NOT shoot heavy ball ammo, it damages the recv I heard you should shoot low grain, I think 120 or less I am not sure, other people should post more about this.

if this gun is $500< and NEW thats a deal, local and on GB they run $650-$700

 

[Erik M]

Dealer claims that they are new. Im not sure if they are InterOrdnance, Century, or TG Knox. Dealer says they are a SL-54C models. Wikipedia and other gun boards dont really have any negative feedback about this model, except it is aparrently a de-militarized model made specificly to export to the US.

 

[SpeedAKL]

IIRC any light ball ammo (150gr or less) should be perfectly fine...

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I have not owned one.....but it has been on and off my wish list for many years......so I've researched it.

The common complaints are that they are not as accurate as you would hope, many have posted 2" (2 moa) groupings.

The barrels heat up and after the first 5 +/- shots they start to produce some "flyers"

In most reports it comes down to being a good "Designated Rifleman's Rifle".

All that said, I still want one, and for 500 I would definately buy it (If I had the cash).

 

[Deckard]

it has been on and off my wish list for many years

Same here. I just looked it up on GunBroker to see what some going rates were and saw people still trying to sell the for $1000+. I expect that sort of thing, but usually only see prices a couple hundred too high, not 200% too high.

 

[cbrgator]

$1000+ ?!?!?!? That's nuts. Aimsurplus has them w/scope for $580.

To the OP, AR's will tend to be at least as accurate, if not more so, than the PSL. That being said, they are a blast to shoot. The cool factor on them is very high, just look at 'em. If you are looking for a tack driver, your money is better spent elsewhere but if you have realistic expectations, get it. Plus you can't beat the price of surplus 7.62x54R. Just be prepared to clean it as soon as your done.

 

[justashooter in pa]

the PSL is a designated marksman's rifle, not a sniper gun. it has a designed 2-3 minute of angle capacity. the light ball is usually 154 grain, and what the gun was intended to shoot. i have one, and am considering buying 2 more for my boys. the ammo is comparatively cheap, and equal to 30 nato or 30-06.

most AR will outshoot it in terms of accuracy, but will not turn cover into concealment like the PSL will. think of it as an AK on steroids, with about 60% increase in terminal ballistics and an effective kill range of 600 meters, compared to the effective kill range of 300 for the AK, and the actual effective kill range of 300 for the AR, which is often overstated as 500-550 meters.

the detriments to accuracy are centered on the composite carrier/piston, which tends to warp the barrel minutely when it begins to move rearward just after the bullet passes the gas port. on a true dragunov the piston is seperate from the carrier, so the drag becomes a 1.5 minute of angle gun. most people can't tell the difference in real world shooting.

this gun was not designed to be locked in a safe and laid across sandbags twice a year. it was designed to solve problems on a battlefield that an AK just can't. it performs it's designed roles admirably. bad guy behind a cinder block wall at 400 meters with a GPMG? bring up the PSL.

 

[FMJMIKE]

Does the PSL you are looking at come with a scope ?

 

[Erik M]

Does the PSL you are looking at come with a scope ?

negative, although it does have the standard mount on the side with will accept an SVD style mount/optics (so im told)

Can anyone testify to the fact that the weapon either does or does not have a chrome lined barrel? A co worker claims that it is in fact chrome lined just as the russian manufactured Dragunov's are, and that they are comepletely resistant to corrosion from the old surplus ammo. I always keep my mosin M44's clean, I just hate the thought of anything corrosive sitting in my gun for any amount of time.

 

[Joe Demko]

I have one. They are chrome lined. Accuracy from mine is as described above. I get 1.5 to 2 inch groups with different varieties of surplus ammo. They are intended to fire light ball ammo. Heavy ball doesn't seem as common, in any case.
I like mine a lot. It is more fun, to me, than any of my AR or AK variants.

 

[nalioth]

Dealer claims that they are new. Im not sure if they are InterOrdnance, Century, or TG Knox.

Your real question should be:

"I'm not sure if they are built by or just imported by InterOrdnance, Century or TG Knox"

Not all PSLs for sale here are built in Romania.

 

[Magnuumpwr]

In case you do buy it, be aware that when a scope is mounted that the cross hairs center to the left of the bore. Nothing is wrong with the gun, just the way they are made.

 

[stubbicatt]

Couple things. I had one of these rifles. Zeroing the scope takes awhile. The group centers shift as the barrel heats up. The barrel IS chrome lined. Mine kaboomed on me shooting S&B (Czech silvertip) "light ball" surplus ammo.

Years ago photos were posted on the i-net showing imprints from the rear of the bolt carrier on the front of the rear trunnion evidencing excessive bolt speed from shooting heavy ball ammo. The rifle I had shot heavy ball just fine, without exhibiting the trunnion impacts photographed by others. Maybe yours will too.

Tennessee Guns sells the last round bolt hold open device in the event that yours does not come with one. I had one installed and was happy with the results.

The rifle was fun to shoot for sure. I do not know whether the kaboom was due to faulty ammo or a tight chamber. I do know that unless the safety sear is installed on one of these rifles (which is illegal as BATFE calls it an "autosear") I will not shoot one again. If you do get one, before you load your magazines, do yourself a favor and strip the rifle and insert your cartridges into the chamber by hand to make sure they go all the way into the chamber easily before inserting them in your magazines. This *may* prevent you having an experience like mine.

Blew the magazine out the bottom, bowed the top cover, and put smuts in my eye behind my shooting glasses. I just threw the boxers away... no sense in laundering them.


PHOTO 1: View of kaboomed cartridge


PHOTO 2: Another view of kaboomed cartridge


PHOTO 3: Shot of headstamp of a different cartridge from same lot.

 

[nathan]

A Finn M 39 is more accurate than these. Price is lower as well.

 

[eldiabloe1]

I just picked one up a few weeks agao and it is now my favorite range toy. Ten rounds of 147g light ball will wake up the firing line. The scope that came with it is total crap so I have been using the open sights. Of the bench holding the same sight picture produces 2" groups at 100 yrds. I plan to buy another one once Christmas is through and possibly do some reloading. This is an excellent web site for the PSL, Tiger and Dragunov http://www.dragunov.net/psl_tigr.html

 

[WoofersInc]

I just got one of these myself. I can't wait to get out to shoot it.

 

[Joe Demko]

Don't be afraid of corrosive ammunition. Clean up isn't that much more difficult and the corrosive stuff is still cheap.

 

[Erik M]

I've got 2 M44's that I shoot Bulgarian surplus out of and I havent seen any affects from corrosion in it after several hundred rounds.

 

[winchester '97]

Think of it as a big semi auto mosin, it shoots 2-3 inch groups and is built to stand up to rough use. just clean the hell out of the gas system and then oil if you shoot corrosive stuff. I get surface rust in my mosin barrel the next day in central Ohio, thats why im buying some brown bear ammo, so i dont have to clean it rigorously for using 1 bullet to blow a groundhog to smithereens, i amagine PSL users do something similar.

 

[Col. Plink]

I can recommend Montana Xtreme bore solvent for one-step cleaning for all ammo types. Don't get your nose too close though; and it does protect so you don't necessarily have to do an oil swipe.

 

[Joe Demko]

I use hot Balistol solution. Strip the gun, dump some down the bore, dump some through the gas tube, rinse everything else down with it, run a couple patches through the bore and gas tube. Pretty much done. Everything dries from residual heat and has a residual layer of protective oil. The key is to use really hot water. This is all I do for a PSL and a TT-33 that never see anything but corrosive ammo. Neither has a speckof corrosion.

 

[FMJMIKE]

I loved my first PSL so much that I bought a second one. If you buy one make sure it is one made in Romania. The PSL has less recoil than my AK-47 and is a lot of fun to shoot. Make sure to shoot ammo that has bullets weighing less than 150 grains. The scope is good and you hear complaints from guys who do not know how to adjust them. Just download the English version of the scope manual. The price you listed is fine for a PSL without a scope. Good Luck....

 

[kingvillien]

Where can I find the english version of the scope manual?

 

[kingvillien]

I have a M39 and a PSL. The M39 is more accurate than the PSL. But the problem is that the PSL can out shoot the M39 at long ranges, because most people won't put a scope on a Mosin(excluding original sniper versions). The M39 is the more useful of the two because it can use the heavy grain bullets. If I was going to hunt at all with them I would go with the M39(might add scope to it). The PSL is more fun to have around.