Pump action ar15 kits/uppers?

[NATEWA]

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/9/3/review-troy-223-national-sporting-pump-action-rifle/

Comgraf

https://www.ctlegalars.com/pump-action-rifle

UMOS
They out of business?

https://sofrep.com/gear/pump-action-ar-kit-bentwood-simple-effective/

UNITAH precision

https://uintahprecision.com/

Saltwater Arms

https://saltwaterarms.com/index.php/product/ar-15-siphon-slide-action-sport-upper-receiver/

[echo884]

I have a UMOS kit. Overall, pretty good. But I had to polish the chamber to get it to not be 'sticky' when running the action. This is also the Outcast garrision animus, but it looks similar to the Saltwater Arms. I would love to see one that is a free-float solution. So you can get the accuracy and manual action.

[gargodude]

Where do I start?

I have Troy Pump Action Rifle (PAR). I bought it new in 2016 when they still had the funky pump handle, fluted chamber and the blocky folding stock. The rifle is super accurate, but it came with terrible trigger (9 lbs. and g-r-i-t-t-y) which is started me on my long journey to improve the rifle.

Although the trigger group is made of standard mil-spec parts, you can't just drop in any aftermarket trigger. The hammer profile has to be EXACTLY like a stock hammer otherwise it won't release the slide to rack the next round after firing. The hammer force also has to be greater than a normal mil-spec trigger, hence the thicker factory hammer and trigger springs which create the lousy trigger feel. Some people don't mind a terrible trigger but those of us who do MUST find another. After trying a few different triggers I ended up with a Hyperfire 24E which has a really strong hammer force yet a light trigger pull. Even this had problems at first with light primer strikes because it has to operate the slide release mechanism BEFORE the firing pin. A lighter spring under the slide release lever seems to have solved this problem. Most folks won't spend $250 on one of these triggers (I didn't pay that much for mine) so the best you might be able to do on the cheap is use a polished sear mil-spec trigger with the Troy factory springs and learn to live with it.

Troy was selling a pump handle upgrade kit which I bought a few years ago. It is a must have item IMHO. Not sure these are still available, but the new rifles come with them now.

The new skeleton folding stocks are much nicer, but the early blocky ones had an adjustable length of pull. The problem with these was that the butt end was flat and slid off of your shoulder. I made a curved butt plate and added it on to the existing stock which solved the problem for me. They were selling the new stocks as a $200 upgrade but they no longer are. You can always buy the Optic Ready model without the folding stock which will save you a hundred bucks or so.

The final problem that I am currently working to remedy is the fluted chamber. If you ever had an H&K rifle you will know what this is. The early rifles had these because the designer thought it would help with extraction, but the opposite turned out to be true. First off, it leaves raised ribs on the fired brass which makes reloading them almost impossible. With softer brass ammo (American Eagle, Federal and even PMC) the fired case oozes into the chamber flutes and makes it really hard to extract. I contacted the factory about this and they advised against using AE and Federal ammo for this reason. So much for half of my ammo supply! They informed me that they are no longer using fluted chambers in these rifle any more and that any AR barrel will work. When I asked why they used fluted chambers in the first place, he told me that it was the designer's idea and they later found out that it wasn't necessary. An expensive mistake IMHO. I am in the process of replacing the barrel on mine and should have it done soon. I will report on my results.

If you can find a new one, you will hopefully have a better experience than I, but beware of the above issues should you consider a used one.

[NATEWA]

Thanks for the info.

[Bullets&Whitewalls]

I know Uintah isn’t pump but I have an upper from them and wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. In fact I am considering it.

[splithoof]

I have Troy Pump Action Rifle (PAR). I bought it new in 2016 when they still had the funky pump handle, fluted chamber and the blocky folding stock. The rifle is super accurate, but it came with terrible trigger (9 lbs. and g-r-i-t-t-y) which is started me on my long journey to improve the rifle.

Although the trigger group is made of standard mil-spec parts, you can't just drop in any aftermarket trigger. The hammer profile has to be EXACTLY like a stock hammer otherwise it won't release the slide to rack the next round after firing. The hammer force also has to be greater than a normal mil-spec trigger, hence the thicker factory hammer and trigger springs which create the lousy trigger feel. Some people don't mind a terrible trigger but those of us who do MUST find another. After trying a few different triggers I ended up with a Hyperfire 24E which has a really strong hammer force yet a light trigger pull. Even this had problems at first with light primer strikes because it has to operate the slide release mechanism BEFORE the firing pin. A lighter spring under the slide release lever seems to have solved this problem. Most folks won't spend $250 on one of these triggers (I didn't pay that much for mine) so the best you might be able to do on the cheap is use a polished sear mil-spec trigger with the Troy factory springs and learn to live with it.

Troy was selling a pump handle upgrade kit which I bought a few years ago. It is a must have item IMHO. Not sure these are still available, but the new rifles come with them now.

The new skeleton folding stocks are much nicer, but the early blocky ones had an adjustable length of pull. The problem with these was that the butt end was flat and slid off of your shoulder. I made a curved butt plate and added it on to the existing stock which solved the problem for me. They were selling the new stocks as a $200 upgrade but they no longer are. You can always buy the Optic Ready model without the folding stock which will save you a hundred bucks or so.

The final problem that I am currently working to remedy is the fluted chamber. If you ever had an H&K rifle you will know what this is. The early rifles had these because the designer thought it would help with extraction, but the opposite turned out to be true. First off, it leaves raised ribs on the fired brass which makes reloading them almost impossible. With softer brass ammo (American Eagle, Federal and even PMC) the fired case oozes into the chamber flutes and makes it really hard to extract. I contacted the factory about this and they advised against using AE and Federal ammo for this reason. So much for half of my ammo supply! They informed me that they are no longer using fluted chambers in these rifle any more and that any AR barrel will work. When I asked why they used fluted chambers in the first place, he told me that it was the designer's idea and they later found out that it wasn't necessary. An expensive mistake IMHO. I am in the process of replacing the barrel on mine and should have it done soon. I will report on my results.

If you can find a new one, you will hopefully have a better experience than I, but beware of the above issues should you consider a used one.

Thank you for the insight on that.
I was once considering such a contraption, but glad I let that go.
Sounds like yet another firearm model that should have never made it into production, or one that should have been perfected to the greatest degree possible while still in the R&D phase.
Not sure how deep the chamber flutes are in your particular example, but after reloading various calibers wherein the brass was initially used in Oberndorf produced weapons (HK), the striations on the brass are not an issue.