PSA JAKL vs. Brownells BRN-180: Head-To-Head Tested

There is no question that the AR-15 dominates the market. It is the most popular rifle in the United States. It is America’s Rifle.

It’s a great rifle and deserving of its spot on the throne. But let’s be honest, they can get kind of boring after the millionth company releases their “new” AR, right?

Even if the AR platform can get a little stale, it is still easy to see the appeal of a semi-automatic, modular, intermediate-caliber rifle that uses AR magazines.

Some people want something different but not too different. If you start looking around for AR-like alternatives, chances are you’ll likely run into Palmetto State Armory’s JAKL and Brownell’s BRN-180.

With both being relatively affordable and made right here in the US of A with the backing of two major firearm companies, the question remains — Which is better?

Well, let’s dig into it.

PSA JAKL Specs & Features

Specs

• Caliber: 5.56 NATO, .300 BLK
• Action: Semi-auto, long-stroke piston
• Capacity: 30
• Barrel Length: 8.5″, 10.5″, 13.7″, 14.5″, 16″

Features

• Monolithic upper receiver
• Toolless 4-position gas block
• Non-reciprocating charging handle

Brownells BRN-180 Specs & Features

Specs

• Caliber: .223 Wylde, .300 BLK, .350 Legend
• Action: Semi-auto, short-stroke piston
• Capacity: 30
• Barrel Length: 10″, 10.5″, 13.9″, 14.5″, 16″

Features

• AR-180-style 3-prong flash hider
• Adjustable gas block
• M-LOK handguard easily detaches by removing one screw

Operating Systems

Both the JAKL and BRN-180 use standard AR-15 lowers, which solves a lot of logistical issues. Up top is where things get radical.

The JAKL uses a long-stroke gas piston system, the same system used in legendary rifles like the M1 Garand and the AK series. It’s reliable, functional, and simple. Long-stroke gas piston systems use an internal buffer that eliminates the need for a receiver extension.

This means we get a folding stock! Who doesn’t love a stock that folds?

Brownells designed the BRN-180 to closely mimic the old Armalite AR-180. This means the BRN-180 uses a short-stroke gas piston system, just like the original AR-180 and other more modern guns like the FN SCAR.

Like the JAKL, the BRN-180 uses an internal buffer, eliminating the need for a buffer tube and allowing for the use of a folding stock.

At the Range

I have a standard rifle variant of the JAKL with a 16-inch barrel and a Gen 1 BRN-180 with an 18.5-inch barrel. I’ve been shooting them a ton and have taken note of a few things to consider if you’re torn between the two.

Ergonomics: Fit & Feel

The use of standard AR-15 lowers in both guns is great because Eugene Stoner’s design is extremely ergonomic. It works and works very well.

Since it’s an AR lower, you can configure it almost any way you want. This means you can toss on ambi safeties, upgraded triggers, ambi magazine releases, and more to make the rifle what you want it to be.

However, the JAKL requires a slightly smaller proprietary bolt release to function correctly. The BRN-180 can use any standard bolt release. Edge goes to the BRN-180 here.

With the upper receivers, we see a much bigger difference.

Since Brownells wanted to create something akin to the original AR-18/AR-180, this means it is a bit stuck in the 1960s.

The dog leg charging handle sticks out and up. It’s stuck on the right-hand side, and it basically requires right-handed shooters to break their firing grip and position to operate the charging handle. It’s placed a bit awkwardly to do the underhanded AK swipe.

The charging handle can also create a minor hassle with certain optics setups. If the optic mount sits near the charging handle, it can make the charging handle a bit difficult to grab.

The JAKL comes with a left-sight but reversible charging handle placed above the barrel in a very HK-style way. It does not reciprocate and stays well out of the way of the optic. In my opinion, it’s the superior charging handle between the two.

Even with my BRN-180 being the 18.5-inch barrel model, it feels more balanced than the shorter-barreled JAKL. Shooters get a hefty monolithic handguard with the JAKL, which weighs it down a bit more and makes it quite front-heavy.

Accuracy

Sadly, one reality with piston guns is that they tend to be less accurate than direct impingement guns. I’m not saying you can’t get a 1 MOA piston gun, but it seems to be a lot easier to get a 1 MOA DI gun. The piston affects barrel harmonics, according to people smarter than me.

I say all this because neither gun is a 1 MOA rifle for me. Both rifles were shot in a rested position, with a bench support, and took my time. I used the cheapest 55-grain stuff I had and let it fly.

The JAKL produced 2.5-inch groups with the cheap stuff. From experience with higher-quality ammo, the JAKL can shoot 2 MOA groups.

With the same 55-grain ammo, the BRN-180 was producing 1.75 to 2-inch groups.

Taking the guns off the bench and doing some freehand shooting, the difference dried up quickly. Both guns are accurate enough for easy shooting out to 300 yards. From 300 to 500 yards, most shooters will be able to engage man-sized targets in a rested position.

When we combine accuracy with speed, the BRN-180 comes out on top again. It moves less during recoil, which means the reticle moves less, which makes follow-up shots faster.

The differences are minor, but they do exist. The JAKL’s long-stroke gas piston system has more heft and movement with every shot than the short-stroke BRN-180, which seems to affect the accuracy a bit.

Reliability

Both guns were fed 55-grain, 62-grain, and 77-grain ammo. I have yet to run into any consistent issues with most ammo.

I even ran some of the old 55-grain Tula .223. This ammo is often known for being underpowered and can cause some guns to choke, depending on the gas block. However, it seems to run well in both of these rifles.

The only problem I’ve had is four rounds of Winchester white box 5.56 with the BRN-180.

Four of the twenty rounds in the box failed to fire. I put this on the ammo since Winchester’s ammo has sucked and sucked badly for the last few years.

Overall, both guns function well with whatever ammo I put through them. Additionally, the latest generation of the BRN-180 offers an adjustable gas block. The JAKL also has an adjustable gas block.

These make it easy to tailor your rifle to work with underpowered ammo like the crappy Tula stuff, as well as function with suppressors without all the gas blowback you’d typically deal with.

I also used magazines from Magpul, Lancer, ETS, and Okay Industries without a problem. Neither gun seems to be magazine-picky.

I’ve shot both guns a fair bit, but I have owned the BRN-180 for a much longer time. Overall, I don’t have any problems calling either rifle reliable.

Benefits of the BRN-180

The BRN-180 is lighter, slightly more accurate, and has less recoil overall. It is a smooth-shooting rifle.

Due to its lighter weight, it is notably easier to shoot offhand than the front-heavy JAKL.

As of this writing, the BRN-180 is available in more calibers and configurations than the JAKL. Brownells produces various barrel lengths, and the guns come in .223 Wylde, .300 Blackout, and .350 Legend.

The BRN-180 series uses simple, complete lower receivers and doesn’t require a special bolt release — a small benefit but one none the less.. If you priced out a BRN-180 build, the BRN-180 might be slightly cheaper if you go with basic mil-spec lowers and bare-bones parts.

Benefits of the JAKL

The JAKL’s thick, folded piece of metal, which PSA calls a handguard, is an excellent heat sink. The BRN-180 got hotter faster than the JAKL. That’s a problem with piston guns in general, but the JAKL’s brick-house handguard stands up well to the heat.

It takes a good rail to keep lasers zeroed, and the JAKL’s rail is extremely solid. The monolithic nature of the rail means your optics will always be aligned with any clip-ons you may be using. I’m impressed that PSA took the handguard to this level.

Ergonomically, the PSA JAKL scores high. It has a more modern feeling, and I like the JAKL stock on the rifle variants. The JAKL’s charging handle is better, but I really only use the charging handle to get the rifle going, and then it’s all bolt release after that.

It’s nice that the JAKL charging handle does not reciprocate, whereas the BRN-180’s does.

The JAKL series comes in 5.56 and .300 Blackout at the moment, but a .308 variant is just around the corner. That will give the JAKL a larger caliber design and allow it to step out of the intermediate rifle realm, which the BRN-180 has not done just yet.

Notably, the JAKL is also available as a complete rifle. It doesn’t seem like Brownells is currently selling complete BRN-180 rifles, and you have to buy the upper and lower separately.

Why You Should Trust Pew Pew Tactical

This article comes from Pew Pew Tactical author Travis Pike. Travis has spent thousands of hours at the range testing and evaluating gear as well as researching the best models available on the market. His experience as a Marine Corps machine gunner, NRA-certified instructor, concealed carry trainer, and 3-Gun competitor gives him unique insight into a wide variety of guns.

This review was edited by Pew Pew Tactical editor Wyatt Sloan. Wyatt is an NRA-certified instructor with previous experience as a USPSA competitor. He personally owns over 200 firearms and has 10 years of home-based FFL firearm sales. Wyatt uses his extensive experience with firearms at large to test guns for Pew Pew Tactical — evaluating them based on our standards and metrics.

Final Thoughts

The BRN-180 benefits from the fact it’s been around longer. They have had longer to work the bugs out, and they are still improving the platform. Their Gen 3 versions are rumored to be just around the corner.

The JAKL is still growing, and admittedly, the 2^nd Gen guns seem to have solved quite a few of their initial problems. Still, teething issues may occur with the JAKL, especially as more users get into higher round counts and newer variants come out.

I have both and enjoy both immensely, which leads me to ask, which would you pick? Already own either of these? Let us know in the comments below! Looking for other cool AR alternatives? Check out our article on the Best 5.56 Rifles That Are Not AR-15s!