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PSA Dagger 9mm

INTRODUCTION

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) has been a big name in the firearms industry for some time. Their mission of arming law-abiding Americans has brought affordability and options to many.

Whether it be MSR rifles, parts, or accessories, PSA sells it, probably in seven different colors and calibers. Today we are going to review one of PSA’s own productions, the new Dagger SW3 9mm pistol.

The Dagger is a polymer-framed striker-fired 9mm pistol with incredibly similar features to the venerable Glock 19. That is no mistake either. The popular pistol has been copied, cloned, and customized by countless manufacturers.

But what makes the PSA version different you might ask? Well, that’s what Gun Made is here for; we’ll show you.

The Dagger utilizes fifteen-round flush-fit Glock magazines and is available in too many different models to mention. There are threaded and non-threaded barrels, extreme carry cut slides, night sights, optic-cut slides and so on.

I would recommend you go browse their selection as there is surely one you will like.

There are many advantages to the Dagger, and most of them are related to its kinship with the Glock. Magazines and other parts can be used to customize the pistol if one of the many models doesn’t perfectly fit your fancy.

The polymer frame is textured nicely to give the shooter a good purchase on the grip area, and the undercut trigger guard allows you to ‘choke-up’ your hand into the grip and seat the pistol deep into your grip.

The trigger features a flexing shoe safety, similar to those I’ve seen on S&W M&P pistols.

The Extreme Carry Cuts and Gatormouth slide add some custom detail to the pistol, and add to the gripping area of the slide while reducing weight. The slide itself is stainless steel with a Cerakote finish and topped with Tritium Tru-Glow night sights.

The 1-10 twist barrel inside has a hard DLC coating for durability and long life.

psa dagger disassembled parts

Upon receiving the Dagger, I wasted no time in giving it a thorough look over. And I must confess I was quite impressed with the little pistol; not only did it feel quite robust and smooth, but I had no idea they could be purchased for as little as $259.

The model shown here goes for about $60 more, but if this thing lives up to my hopes, I’d consider it a steal for that price.

DAGGER 9MM REVIEW

 

SPECIFICATIONS
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 15 rounds
Action: Striker Fired
Weight: 22.4oz (unloaded)
Overall Length: 7.15″
Overall Width: 1.28″
Overall Height: 4.78″ (Without Mag)
Barrel Length: 3.9″
Twist Rate: SAAMI Spec 1:10
Slide Finish: Cerakote, Flat Dark Earth

PROS & CONS

PROS
  • Very Affordable
  • Lighter than a Glock 19
  • Magpul Magazines
  • DLC Barrel coating
  • Cerakote over stainless finish
  • Picatinny accessory rail
  • Included night sights
  • Striker block and trigger safety
CONS
  • I couldn’t come up with something to dislike

ON THE RANGE TESTING

With the Dagger in a holster and several boxes of ammunition I headed out into what we call springtime here in Utah. After a short ride on my snowmachine, I found myself at my spot, and after hanging a target, I started loading magazines. I’d never loaded a Magpul Glock magazine since I’ve never owned a Glock; they do feel stiffer than I expected.

With fifteen rounds in the magazine, I chambered a round and prepared to shoot. The lockup feeling as the slide closed felt great, and I tightened my grip around the pistol as I settled the sights on my target.

OVERALL FEEL

The Dagger felt great in the hands; it really does feel above its price-point.

The trigger isn’t anything out of this world, but I certainly wouldn’t expect it to be for a CCW pistol. I kind of expected it to be a little long, and a bit stiffer than I would normally like. Turns out I was pretty much spot on. I wouldn’t consider myself a trigger snob, but I do like a good trigger, and this one impressed me as pretty standard.

I broke one shot after another, listening to the trigger reset between shots. After emptying my first magazine, I gave the pistol a good look over to ensure everything was in place before reloading.

I carried on through magazine after magazine of Magtech 124 grain FMJ ammo. I was very pleasantly pleased with how the Dagger felt in my hands and how it pointed so well. Every time I’d lift the pistol, the sights were lined up on my target.

The snappy recoil was easily controlled, and follow-up shots came fast and accurately. I’m also not a competition pistol shooter, so I wasn’t expecting to be particularly accurate with the Dagger. And yet I felt quite confident at hitting what I aimed at after just a few magazines.

I holstered the pistol and drew it from retention quite a few times. Since this is sort of a CCW-focused pistol, I figured I would try and simulate drawing it. Again, everytime as I drew it from the holster, it would come up on target for a good clean shot. Well, almost every time.

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RELIABILITY

The Dagger was very reliable during my testing; no significant malfunctions or jams occurred.

During my range time, I experienced no malfunctions other than one time the pistol failed to lock back upon emptying the magazine. The magazine appears to make good contact with the slide-lock, so I’m not sure if there was another issue or if maybe my thumb was riding the release. But I haven’t been able to repeat it yet.

ACCURACY

Accuracy was perfectly acceptable; I would like to shoot another one with the red dot sight.

The Tritium sights were great for targeting, even though I’m a bit of a red dot kinda guy. But the nice thing is that you can certainly get the Dagger with a cut slide for your red dot.

psa dagger hands on review and range test

FEATURES

POLYMER FRAME

The lightweight polymer frame with its grippy texture felt great in my hand; the slippery polymer allowed the magazines to drop free easily and seat properly as well. The mag release is not reversible.

TRITIUM NIGHT SIGHTS

The low-profile night sights work well for targeting, and they were unobtrusive. I think they could be improved by perhaps rounding off the edge to reduce the likelihood of snagging.

CARRY CUT SLIDE

The carry cut slide reduces weight and also gives an excellent grip area to cycle the pistol. I suppose it is possible that the large cuts allow more dust and debris to enter the pistol, but as long as you have it holstered, I don’t see a problem.

psa dagger hands on review and range test

HOW WE TESTED

During the course of more than a couple of hundred rounds, I got a good feeling for the function of the PSA Dagger. Shooting many courses of double taps, reloads, and other typical pistol drills.

I carried the pistol as my CCW for the better part of a month in a compatible OWB holster.

Part of my daily interaction with the pistol included repeated drawing and presenting of the pistol, and when in the right kind of place, shooting a few rounds to see how well I could place them under time limits.

It didn’t take long to see why these style of pistols are so popular. It was relatively easy to get comfortable and present some modicum of proficiency.

Shooting the pistol on the range got me very comfortable with the Dagger, and after spending a few weeks and boxes of ammo shooting the pistol I was very happy with the performance.

AMMO USED

For this review, I used Magtech 124-grain FMJ ammunition, and it worked great.

psa dagger unboxing for review

SCORE CARD

RELIABILITY (9/10)

The Dagger worked almost perfectly and flawless during my shooting. The controls felt and functioned perfectly.

ERGONOMICS (9/10)

The Dagger felt fantastic in the hands. I think the only way you could improve it would be to add some kind of adjustable backstrap or grip.

CUSTOMIZATION (8/10)

The incredible custom options of the Dagger allow you to get almost anything you want in the pistol. The various colors, slide, and barrel options make it easy to please nearly any shooter.

APPEARANCE (9/10)

The Dagger is a handsome pistol; again the custom options make it more so. The finish and look of the pistol are every bit as good as the famous Glock pistols they mimic.

VALUE (10/10)

I was literally blown away when I saw the price of these pistols. I had played with and shot the pistol quite a bit before I looked and saw the street price of the pistol as tested was only $359.00

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CONCLUSION

Palmetto State Armory has certainly hit a major goal in its mission of arming America.

The PSA Dagger is an outstanding value. I think it would serve as a perfect start for someone who is new to the firearms game and looking for an economical entry.

The great features and function of the Dagger come not just at a good price but with market compatibility and customizability.

I have no doubt these pistols will be very popular with the American shooting public. I myself look forward to seeing how this pistol continues to kick.

The only thing left to do is shoot a few thousand rounds through it. That might take a while, so follow along if you’d like to see how that goes.

-CBM

Palmetto State Armory Rock 5.7×28 pistol

INTRODUCTION

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) has been a well-known supplier of many firearm parts and products. They live with the motto of selling as many guns to law-abiding Americans as possible. That’s something I can get behind!

PSA has recently entered the polymer-framed pistol market, offering several PSA branded pistols. ThePSA Rock 5.7 is one of those, and the subject of our review today. We are going to take a look at how it works and what it brings to the table.

psa rock 5.7 unboxing
The PSA Rock 5.7 is a polymer-frame striker-fired pistol

The PSA Rock 5.7 is a polymer-frame striker-fired pistol.

It is chambered in 5.7x28mm. It feeds from twenty-three round magazines to its 5.2 inches and 1-9 twist barrel.

The fluted barrel is also threaded to install a suppressor or other muzzle accessories. The Rock’s slide comes precut for adding optics and also includes suppressor height sights with the threaded barrel models.

The un-threaded models come with Ameriglow sights. The pistol operates using a delayed blowback system, making it a very simple operation.

The pistol is available in various color combinations, including black, FDE, grey, and combinations of the same.

I must have missed the Belgian 5.7 train years ago when it passed, as I never got too excited about it. And over the years, as other guns chambered in the diminutive cartridge popped up, I didn’t pay much attention to them either.

So being my first encounter with a 5.7×28 pistol, I encourage you to come along and discover the pros and cons with me.

The Rock comes in a nice little soft pistol case with one extra magazine and a few other accessories.

Excess Arms makes a +7 baseplate for the Rock to increase capacity to 30 rnds

My first impressions of the pistol were actually quite positive, the gun doesn’t impress me as heavy, and it felt comfortable in my hand. I ran the slide a few times and pulled the trigger to get a feel for it, and I was quite surprised at how good it felt to my finger.

There are only a few options currently for 5.7×28 pistols, and it seems that the PSA Rock is likely the most affordable one available. That being the case, I determined to find out if it deserves a place in the safe, and if its performance justifies the new 5.7×28 inventory I’d need to feed it.

psa 5.7 rock disassembly
The Holosun 407K made an excellent red dot for the Rock

PSA ROCK 5.7×28 PISTOL REVIEW

The 5.7×28 cartridge was developed by FN Herstal for several of their firearms, notably the P90 bullpup assault rifle. The cartridge shoots a .224 caliber bullet like other centerfire .22 caliber rifles.

The bottle-neck cartridge closely resembles a shrunk rifle round, and compared to other pistol cartridges, it performs like one as well.

With its forty-grain projectiles leaving the barrel well beyond supersonic velocities, the 5.7 acts more like a rifle cartridge than a pistol cartridge, which is likely why manufacturers are chambering additional firearms with the 5.7 cartridge.

The performance of the 5.7 lends itself to high-velocity and high-energy shooting and comes with the attributes of supersonic performance. Just how good a performance I was determined to find out.

psa 5.7 rock review with holosun 407k yhm suppressor and surefire light
My Surefire X300 weapon light fit nicely and the YHM Phantom was a perfect match

The Rock 5.7 carries twenty-three rounds, and with the extended capabilities of the cartridge, it could certainly be useful at carbine distances compared to normal pistol cartridge rounds.

This could be very appealing to shooters who need such a thing. Before I even got started with this review, I was confronted by one of the drawbacks of the 5.7, and that was the price of a box of ammunition.

The local Cabelas had many boxes labeled at $50 each, which for a rifle isn’t unheard of, but for a handgun, it seemed to be quite excessive to me. Granted, the Rock isn’t just a plinking pistol, so I bit the bullets and left the store even more curious to see if this project would serve my purposes.

SPECIFICATIONS

Caliber: 5.7x28mm
Capacity: 23+1
Weight with Empty Mag: 25 oz
Barrel Length: 5.2″
Twist Rate: 1/9″
Thread Pitch: 1/2×28 TPI
Magazine: 23rd Steel 5.7x28mm Magazine (Ships With 2)
Action: Delayed Blowback Striker-fired
Mag Catch: Reversible
Barrel Material: Carbon Steel With QPQ Finish; Fluted
psa rock 5.7 disassembled grip

PROS & CONS

PROS
  • Comfortable grip
  • Quite affordable
  • Excellent trigger
  • 23+1 round capacity
  • Factory threaded barrel
  • Suppressor height sights
  • Optics ready slide
  • Excellent accuracy
  • Includes soft-case and many extras
  • Double-stack magazine
CONS
  • Failure to lock back on empty
  • Slide-release is a little stiff

ROCKING THE RANGE

psa 5.7 rock test

My first trip to the range with the PSA Rock 5.7 was on a snowy day in March. I had also acquired a couple boxes of American Eagle 5.7x28mm FMJ ammunition, and I started shooting with that.

After loading the double-stack magazines to their 23-round max, I seated my first magazine and dropped the slide.

I fired a few rounds and was immediately surprised by a couple of things; the recoil is quite mild, which is very nice, and the trigger in this pistol is very crisp. And the trigger reset is quite short as well.

These two attributes made it quite easy to do two things; shoot fast, and shoot accurately (not at the same time).

I continued shooting to see what else I liked with the pistol, only to be let down as the magazine emptied its contents.

The first hiccup I noticed was the failure to lock back when the mag went empty. I tried the second magazine and found the same thing happened. I even fired a single shot from both mags repeatedly to confirm.

It’s certainly possible that with some simple fudging of the magazine I could correct the problem, as it worked everytime when I ran the slide manually on an empty magazine.

With a target hung at 25 yards, I looked down the tall sights of the Rock and tried firing a group. To my great surprise, the shots were very consistent, and the group measured just under 2.5 inches.

I felt like it could easily be better if I used a red dot for a finer aiming point, something I was going to try for sure on my next range trip.

psa rock 5.7 range test with groupings

My next task was to try the pistol suppressed. I had brought along my YHM Phantom 22 suppressor to see how the Rock performed with a suppressor. The thread protector is secured with a small O-ring. I removed the protector and threaded it on my suppressor and loaded a magazine.

Read more about the YHM Phantom 22 here

The first few shots I fired in a slow cadence, inspecting things to ensure alignment. Everything looked and sounded good, so I continued to fire until the magazine went empty. The phantom did a great job at reducing the noise, I would consider it enough to shoot without ear protection, but I am also half-deaf, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would also mention always shoot with eye protection for safety, but this is especially important if you are shooting suppressed. With glasses on, I did notice debris coming back and hitting me in the face a couple of times while shooting suppressed. There was some additional gas blowback as well, which is not a big surprise, but something to be aware of.

After shooting a couple of boxes of ammunition thru the Rock, I had some good opinions formed about its performance.

The gun is very accurate in my opinion, and the action is smooth and predictable. It was very enjoyable to shoot with its mild recoil and excellent trigger pull. The only significant issue I encountered was the failure to lock back.

I did have one failure to go into battery, but I’m not convinced this was an issue with the gun, as I may have not seated the top round properly in the mag.

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RELIABILITY

The firing portion of shooting went fine, but the gun would not reliably lock back on empty.

ACCURACY

Accuracy when shooting the Rock was excellent, and exceeded my expectations

OVERALL FEEL

The gun felt great in my hand, I typically don’t like the wide grip of pistols because of the 5.7 length magazines housed inside, but it didn’t seem to affect my ability to grip it properly.

FEATURES

OPTICS READY

psa rock 5.7 review in snow

The Rock comes ready to install a red dot; I did so and found it quite easy and extremely useful to take advantage of its accuracy.

THREADED BARREL

psa rock 5.7 threaded barrel

The threaded barrel of the Rock fit my suppressor perfectly, it was a very nice add on to an already fun experience.

23-ROUND MAGAZINES

The 23-round double-stack magazines performed perfectly. It seemed like quite a shooting string to not have the magazine extended beyond the bottom of the grip.

According to PSA the magazines can be used in the Ruger 5.7 pistol, though they don’t guarantee function.

psa rock 5.7 23 round mags

TRIGGER

I again wanted to mention how good the trigger felt when compared to other striker fired polymer pistols, it was definitely above average.

psa rock 5.7 trigger

MAGAZINE RELEASE

The magazine release is reversible for left-handed shooters; I found it to be perfectly adequate and flowed perfectly with my shooting.

HOW WE TESTED

During the testing of the Rock 5.7, I shot almost two hundred rounds of ammunition through the pistol. I did a great many reloads during the process to see how the controls functioned.

I did notice that the longer 5.7 magazines are a bit tougher to hit the magwell that we are used to. I think perhaps a slightly more flared magwell would aid in this.

The other thing that I noticed while reloading the gun was the stiffness of the slide release. This may also have something to do with the gun not locking back on empty. I plan on breaking the gun in with a bunch more ammo. Follow me to see if it results in better function.

I only fired a couple magazines worth of ammo suppressed, just to see how it functioned. Recoil was slightly increased, and some additional blowback was noted, but it was still acceptable in my opinion.

I was surprised the suppressor didn’t heat up more than it did due to the higher pressure of the 5.7 cartridge.

AMMO USED

For the most part, I use the American Eagle 40 grain ammunition. The FN brand 40 grain ammunition also functioned flawlessly.

SCORE CARD

RELIABILITY (7/10)

Other than the issues I mentioned about not locking back, and stiff slide release, the gun functioned very well.

ERGONOMICS (9/10)

The Rock felt great in my hand, the textured grip makes it easy to hold onto, and the slide texture allows easy operation of the action.

CUSTOMIZATION (8/10)

I am unaware of any aftermarket parts for the Rock, as it is still quite new. But the threaded barrel and optics-ready slide give the user the ability to make it their way.

APPEARANCE (8/10)

The various color options are nice, and the Rock looks as good as any other comparable pistol

VALUE (9/10)

The Rock is significantly lower priced than the other options like the FN or Ruger 5.7 pistols. If the couple of slight issues I’ve had are easily worked out, I think it’s a steal by comparison.

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Conclusion

The PSA Rock 5.7 offers an affordable and accurate 5.7 semi-automatic pistol for those who are looking.

As I mentioned at the start, I was never a big fan of the 5.7, particularly in a pistol configuration. Having said that, I have definitely come around to the potential benefits of this pistol. I had never considered a small pistol like this so potent at distances more common for carbines.

I could easily see myself using this pistol as a hiking companion, taking small game inside 100 yards. And if you were ever unlucky enough to find yourself in a gunfight, twenty-three or 30 rounds of 5.7 would be an incredible advantage over traditional handgun cartridges. As would the added advantage of the Holosun 407K red dot sight.

Both the distance and accuracy would be very handy, and if distance wasn’t a concern, then you would definitely have velocity on your side.

The PSA Rock, despite my issues with it, is still a great little pistol, in my opinion, and has done far more to convince me towards a 5.7 pistol than against it.

The last hurdle I have is ammunition costs. Maybe PSA is currently working on removing that obstacle as well.

-CBM