I haven’t seen these at this price in the last few years – PSA has them for $649.99. I suspect they will sell fast at that price.
I have one of these 52009 Ultra HC pistols and it is rock solid. Magazine customers tell me the same thing. If you’re looking for a double stack 10mm on the 1911 platform, this is a really good deal:
This is from a range visit last year. My RIA 52009 is at the bottom. The pistol on the top right is a 10mm TRP Operator. I still have the 52009 and like it but sold the TRP.
Do You Need 10mm or .40 S&W Magazines
We make custom high reliability magazines for the 10mm and .40 S&W RIA A2 HC pistols if you are interested. Click here for our store page.
This is one of our 3rd generation magazines. We start with a Mec-Gar P14 .45 magazine tube and modify it to hold both the 10mm and .40 S&W rounds. We have tons of satisfied clients using both calibers.
Conclusion
Just a short post today. That’s such a good price on the 52009 that I figured it warranted it and hope this helps you out.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
In 2021, there were reports that Palmetto State Armory (PSA) was going to start producing their own ammo. For those of you who don’t know PSA, they started with discounted AR parts and sporting goods stores and grew rapidly now producing a variety of platforms including AK rifles and pistols and a Glock 19 compatible pistol known as the Dagger.
At any rate, the ammunition market could not keep up with demand starting with the fear of what would happen when Biden took office, the pandemic, etc. When and where there is unmet demand there is potential opportunity and that is what PSA went after. PSA is investing in a new ammo plant being built in Columbia, SC, with plans for it to be fully operational in 2023 using the letters AAC – America’s Ammo Company.
Uh… wait … isn’t there already Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) using a similar logo? Why yes, there was. Emphasis on “was”. You see, AAC was a brand owned by Vista along with Remington. When Vista tanked, the parent company of PSA, JJE Capital, bought them so AAC is a sister company to PSA.
JJE Capital also now owns DPMS Panther Arms, Stormlake, AAC, H&R and Parker Brands. The JJE website doesn’t mention those but I read them in another post about the sell-off of Vista. JJE does identify PSA Defense (safety and training), Palmetto State Armory (PSA), and Palmetto Outdoors Shooting Facility.
Okay, returning to Advanced Armament Corporation’s fate: Going forward AAC was split into two divisions – AAC suppressors and firearms (which are to be resurrected) and then AAC Ammo adopted the slogan “America’s Ammo Company”.
Some of the items have one to four reviews – it’s all new after all and they are largely scoring 4-5 starts. One reviewer criticized the quality of the .223 (.224) 55gr bullets/projectiles and said accuracy suffered.
I think it’s good for all of us that PSA/JJE has entered the ammunition market. There was a blog post back in October 2021 that they had spent $100 million on starting up ammunition production including primers up to that point – I’ve not seen a total amount referenced. Clearly they are just getting started and it will very interesting to see how they do over time as they come up to full production.
All photos are the property of Palmetto State Armory.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
I’ve had a few guys ask me about my experience with the Palmetto State Armory AK-V and if I thought it was worth it. Well, I bought mine on July 20, 2019 and it was solid right out of the box. Although I did do a bunch of customizations, none of those changes were to improve reliability – they were all cosmetic.
An AK-V is basically an AK that has a blow back operating system to handle the little 9×19 (or 9mm Luger) cartridge. They did have some initial problems with the design such as cartridges getting stuck under the dust cover, they had fixed them by the time I bought mine.
This is my AK-V right out of the box still sporting the Magpul MOE grip, handguard and SBA-3 brace.
The biggest problem I had was finding one. There were a bunch of us watching the PSA website trying to snag any model we could. Finally, on July 1, 2019, I snagged one of their MOE SBA3 models and proceeded to change it to my liking – first with an SBA4 brace and then to look more like a Vintorez. [Click here for a listing of all of my posts on the AK-V].
This was my AK-V after my first round of modifications – I move to the stiffer SBA-4 brace, added one of our quick takedown rings so I could get the dust cover out of the way when cleaning the pistol and one of the Vortex Crossfire red dots.
This is my current confiruation – a CNC Warrior/Bonesteel Arms side folding brace (they are way beefier than the side folding triangles PSA sells), K-Var handguards and one of our Molot Gen 2 grips.
To be very clear, I bought it so I can saw whatever I want about my experience.
I really had fun with the little braced pistol and found it reliable, accurate and just an all around fun little gun to shoot. The good news is that for people looking for AK-Vs now, PSA production has finally caught up and you can hop right over to their website and buy one.
I do want to give you a tip for breaking in the AK-V before your first range trip:
Field strip the rifle
Clean the bore and make sure the action doesn’t have any junk in it.
Oil the fire control group
Use a light grease on the frame rails, where the bolt goes into the bolt carrier and on the bottom. You can switch to oil but the grease really helps lubricate things druing the wear in period — If you are in cold weather, say below 30F, then use oil as the grease will be too thick.
Reassemble the AK-V
Without a magazine in the AK-V, rack the slide (meaning move it back and forth) a couple hundred times to help the wear in process get started. You do not need to use anything abrasive to wear things in – I’ve heard of folks using valve compound to accelerate wear in but it’s just not needed 99.9% of the time.
I would also recommend using a stout/strong/stiff load initially. Rather than 115gr FMJ ball ammo, I will use 124gr FMJ as it generates more of a recoil impulse. I use 124gr Sellier & Bellot (S&B) FMJ 9mm a lot for this.
After a few hundred rounds you can shoot anything you want and it will cycle.
I kid, you not, this can make a world of difference when you go to the range the first time. What I find frequently happens is that a new gun owner gets excited and takes his/her brand new purchase right out of the box at the range, loads it and then gets upset at the weapon and labels it as an unreliable POS, which isn’t fair. I always tell new owners to do the above for any semi-automatic firearm.
Another view
Here it is with the brace folded. I would have preferred a left-folding brace but CNC Warrior was sold ouut so I opted for the rifle-folding model. Regardless of the model, this is the best in class folding triangle brace and I highly recommend it.
So, with that said, get an AK-V, do the above to break it in and have fun. There is a huge parts aftermarket for the AK rifles and pistol and I am sure you’ll enjoy it.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
Hi folks. I like building AR rifles and sometimes I just want a kit with all of the parts. Sometimes I will then swap stuff out and the original parts go in a bin but they are nice to have as spares and sometimes I will build the kit with the included parts – it just depends on my mood and budget to be perfectly honest. For years now, my main source for kits has been Palmetto State Armory (PSA) headquartered in Columbia, SC.
I almost always get my stuff off their website but they do have some very cool retail stores scattered around South Carolina. I had an opportunity to go to one a couple years back and it was very cool. Unfortunately, I lacked funds at the time and just picked up a couple of items. A person could put a serious dent in their credit card by going in one of their stores … or their website for that matter 🙂
People used to complain that they were slow to ship and to respond. First off, I always knew they were trying to keep costs low – they always shipped and they did respond – just not right away. For over a year now, I have noticed they are far faster at shipping – sometimes even the same day – and they are also faster at responding. So, if you hear bad stuff about this, I wouldn’t worry about it.
I’ve also heard people question their quality. Folks, if you want a tier one rifle, go buy a tier one rifle or the parts from them. Palmetto gives you a decent combination of quality and price. For folks planning on hunting and target shooting with their friends, I have no reservation to recommend them. If you are shooting in competition or planning to use this rifle in some kind if law enforcement situation or somewhere that requires high reliability, I think you probably need to look at the higher end ARs that are designed to handle tens of thousands of rounds. Look, I’m just being candid – the PSA AR rifles and pistols are solid but they have a different intended audience. There are reasons besides “coolness” where certain buyers must move to suppliers like Daniel Defense, BCM, Knights, LMT, H&K, LWRC, etc.
At any rate, back in April of this year (2021), I asked what their top four complete kits were (meaning everything except the lower receiver) and they had a list! If you like building AR kits like I do, I thought you might find this interesting in terms of what is included:
Noteworthy here is the entry level Magpul MOE buttstock and grip plus Magpul MBUS flip up sights. They are also including a PSA EPT fire control group – this means that the trigger and hammer have nickel boron finish causing them to move easier because friction is reduced.
It has one of the PSA 13.5″ long handguards set for M-Lok attachments. Everything else is typically found in any of their AR kits with a collapsible stock. They make and restock these kits all the time.
Despite a cool looking 15″ handguard, this is a basic AR and you can replace the grip and buttstock later if you want. It’s selling so well that PSA is out of stock right now but you can be notified when it is back in stock. They tend to make and restock these kits all the time.
The price isn’t listed right now since they are out of stock but I would expect it to be slightly less than the first kit – unless they are charging a premium for that handguard.
Definitely a basic 15″ railed rifle kit. Everything looks entry level but you can always customize it down the road if you want.
Again, no price as they are out of stock. I’d expect it to be cheaper than the two kits above. You can sign up to be notified when they do get it in stock if you want. They tend to make and restock these kits all the time.
This one has the Magpul BUS sights, an interesting looking handguard … and that’s about it. Everything else is what you tend to see in any of their basic AR rifle kits with collapsing stocks.
The price as of today s $649.99
What rifle is in the top photo?
It started out as a PSA 16″ kit. It had an Anderson lower, WMD bolt, and a Magpul ACS-L stock – I like those because they lock in place and don’t rattle. It had a BMC Mod 3 charging handle, Vortex 1-6x scope on a Vortex 2″ offset mount, YHM extended push pins and a PSA ambidextrous selector lever. The fire control group is one of the PSA EPT sets – I do like them for basic triggers. I like Geissele SSA-E triggers the most though. I honestly don’t recall who made the offset sights.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to build a decent entry-level rifle from a kit with all of the parts you need other than the lower receiver, the above should work great for you. At a minimum, they will all give you a foundation to start with.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
I have and IWI Galil Ace rifle in 7.62×51 NATO and it’s exceptionally well made. I notice that IWI has it in and an Italian version of the Garand known as the “BREDA” in 7.62×51 also. I thought I would spread the word – I sure wish I had the funds to buy both models of the BREDA.
Just to make the lack of funds hurt even more, they have a FIME Molot RPK-74 in stock also. Where these came from, I don’t know but they command a princely price.
If you are looking for one of the above and can afford it – rock on! I hope this helps you out.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
This is the PSA deal. Note, the photo in the ad shows a 10-round magazine loaded and the three 12-round magazines but to be clear, the deal is for three magazines and not three plus one. The photo at the top of the post is my personal P365 with a 12 round magazine inserted.
The Sig P365 is rated for +P 9mm ammo and is my every day carry. I can tell you that I have never had a failure to feed or extract with the pistol and have fired Hornady Critical Duty +P, Federal HST +P, all kinds of 115gr and 124gr FMJ ball ammo, etc. It just east whatever I give it and is reliable – that’s why I rely on it to protect my family when we are out and about and discretion is required – it’s an ideal concealed carry pistol.
I really like the 12-round magazines. The small plastic fitting on the bottom is ideal for my to put my pinky finger on and I wear size XL gloves. The 10 round magazines are even shorter. Most of the time I am carrying using a 12 round magazine. They do make a 15 round magazine but that sticks out a tad more than I care for.
Note, go for real SIG magazines. Some of the aftermarket ones, such as Promags, don’t get as good of reviews.
I can’t speak first hand to the holster they are including though – I use a soft Desantis 106 IWB holster and a High Noon shoulder rig. Given the holster is from SIG, I would expect it to be good enough to get started with.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
The following are various listings for SIG P365 pistols and accessories so you can scroll through and look at prices.
Well folks, we finally had a chance to go to the range for the first time this year. It was a beautiful day and the only shortcoming was that we had a number of rifles and pistols to test and not enough time to shoot a ton of rounds through each. To be honest, we had a blast 🙂
We were shooting 124 grain 7.62×39 FMJ ammo by Golden Tiger. This is great ammo and my favorite to use. For AK bulk ammo, it’s relatively accurate, reliable and consistent — notice that I say relatively. It will hold its own with any of the bulk steel case ammo or even do better. I’m not comparing it to hand loads or specialty ammo.
Niko is a heck of a shot and is familiar with AKs as well. He had to do Slavic Squat shot 🙂
I wish I could tell you that we shot hundreds of rounds but there just wasn’t time. We shot three mags through it – 90 rounds and did not have one problem. Yeah, it’s not many rounds but I figured some of you would like an update and I’ll post again after the next range trip.
Observations:
The little Vortex Crossfire did a great job and we had fun punching paper. The scope and the RS!Regulate optic mount worked out just fine. I’ve used the combo before and expected such.
The rifle functioned just fine with no feed or ejection problems
The rounds were grouping pretty well – we were not shooting for accuracy – more for function testing
The trigger was very nice – ALGs are great in general and what I like to use these days.
The brake did a decent job. I think a JMAC RRD-4C brake would have reduced recoil further but out of the box the recoil was not bad at all. When you think about it, even an AK with no brake is surprisingly pleasant to shoot during semi-auto fire
I definitely liked the feel – the weight and balance – of the rifle – the RS!Regulate handguard, our AK-12 grip and a Magpul ACS stock worked very well together
Me with my favorite AK shooting shirt 🙂
When we were done, I did take the rifle apart and did not see anything concerning. So, I definitely want to shoot it more and the rifle is off to a good start.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
In this final post, I want to share a series of photos of the end result:
By the way, the sling you see is from S2 Delta. I have a number of their slings now and they are nicely done.
Conclusion
This is it for now. Hopefully when the Corona Virus stuff calms down I’ll be able to take it to the range. I’m betting it’s going to run real nice based on how it feels.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at info@roninsgrips.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
