I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
I bought the Palmetto State Armory AK-V, an AK pistol chambered in 9mm, back in October 2019. I’ve been shooting it sporadically over the past seven years, but we’ve finally crossed over 1000 rounds.
This particular gun doesn’t have a folding brace (it has the SBA3 brace). It has black Magpul furniture. I originally planned to order the red wood furniture, but I now prefer the Magpul furniture, as it has heat shielding.
This is the day I received the gun.
The gun has never had any ammo-related issues. It feeds and extracts without issue. The only issue I ever had with it was related to a Manticore CZ Scorpion mag – I’ve two of those and one of them has feed issues (I’ve marked it but have since not been shooting from those two mags).
I’ve not ever shot JHP from this gun (I’ve no plans to use it for self defense). I’ve only ever shot FMJ from it.
This gun has always been a nice gun to shoot. Although the AK-V uses a blow-back operation, it maintains manageable recoil. The trigger is not an ALG trigger, but it is very nice for a standard OEM trigger. The trigger is nice enough that the gun can accidentally be bump-fired. In fact, I had several unintentional bump-fires the last few range visits.
The mounted optic is satisfactory, as well. I’m using the Vortex Sparc II red dot, which is an older optic with sub-par battery longevity, but it works.
The gun’s internals are OK, as well. I also have a spare extractor and firing pin (with replacement roll pins) that I’ve stored in the Magpul grip storage compartment.
This gun is a dream to shoot and I’ll probably keep shooting it, as I’ve a need to compare it with my Springfield Armory Kuna. Although one uses a roller-delay system and the other uses a blow-back operating system, both are 9mm PCCs—so I know they’re very different, but they’re also similar.
I’ve a BUNCH of AK-V mags, as well (probably 12-15).
Again, this is a very fun gun to shoot. I’m extremely glad I bought it. It is one of my favorite guns!
Can the Alpha Foxtrot S15 use the PSA Dagger Micro 15-Round Mag?
I’ve asked that question on at least one 1911 forum and was told that it wouldn’t work, but no one has tried.
I’m not interested in hearing assumptions.
It either will latch or it won’t
It will either release and drop free from the mag well effortlessly or not.
It should feed properly.
The Alpha Foxtrot S15 is built around Shield Arms S15 15-round mags, which are 3rd-Party mags made for the Glock 43X and the Glock 48. Because of that, the AF-S15 can also use the OEM G43X and G48 mags, although those particular mags have a 10-round capacity.
In the quest to check for yet another source of mags for the AF-S15, I’ve ordered one PSA Dagger Micro magazine, which has a 15-round capacity and can be used with G43Xs and G48s.
I saw that PSA had the mags in stock. I ordered a blem mag with the Micro Slick finish, for $29. Shipping was $9.99 and the total was $40.72 (shipping is always a lot and I didn’t need anything else from PSA).
Note that the Dagger Micro mags are polymer-coated, even around the mag latch area, which means that this will be a wear point, as the AF-S15 uses a metal mag catch within it’s mag well. I’m also curious if the mag will slide easily into and out of the mag well, and also unlatch without hangup issues.
I ordered one mag to test, initially, as I didn’t want to order 2-3 only to find that they won’t work.
The test results will determine if I order more (specifically for range use).
I’ll share my findings with the rest of the world, as I keep seeing folks asking this question or outright verbally assuming that the Dagger Micro mags will work with this gun.
I returned that flash hider but wanted to try again with another brake, thinking there was something wrong with first flash hider.
I bought a used one a few weeks later (slimmer version but has the same threading). That one would not screw down fully flush, either. I decided to keep the flash hider but was going to ask for an RMA of the pistol, thinking there was something amiss with the threads or muzzle.
Last night, I did some research and found a few folks having the same issue but with other rifles and pistols (some non-AKs). One guy said he took a copper brush to the threads of the muzzle and the threads of the flash hider, and had success in fully screwing down the brake. I tried it and it worked! There was a lot of crud on the threads of the muzzle and flash hider (the muzzle device was used and not clean).
I’ll be taking the AK-P to the range this week to test the new muzzle device.
UPDATE (8/5/2025):If you’re curious about how well the flash hider works, have a look at the below – while there’s still flash, I could not see it behind the gun with the 4-pc hider (I can see tons of flash with the OEM booster):
I took out the Arsenal SAM7UF and PSA AK-P. The former is a milled rifle that I’ve owned 2-3 years but never shot until today. The latter is an AK pistol that I bought 3-4 years ago and have been shooting off and on.
Both are dreams to shoot. I’ve no range footage because I hate recording when shooting long guns (my mounting point doesn’t agree with the rifle shooting position).
I shot the SAM7UF first. I thought it would be hard on my shoulder but it was rather mild, especially considering that the folding stock’s makeup is usually something that folks complain about. It’s supposedly not easy to shoot, but the stock didn’t bother me (I’ve the rails covered with paracord).
I thought the recoil would bother my shoulder with that stock but much of the recoil never made it to my body. The milled rifle is heavy and the heft absorbed much of the recoil.
I shot out to 25 yards. I wasn’t hitting point of aim but I think it’s because the rifle may be zero’d to 100 yards. I need to study the method of zeroing AKs. When I do, I’ll revisit the range with the SAM7 and zero the gun (on the 25 yard range, since I’ll have a difficult time seeing further than that).
The gun has some blast, too. It seems it has more blast than my other long AK (a bastardized AK-63D from Classic Firearms). I shot 30 rounds before I switched to the PSA AK-P.
The PSA AK-P is a flamethrower but I already knew that. I didn’t feel like squinting trying to hit 25 yard targets so I moved the target closer, to half that distance.
I’ve a red dot sight for this firearm but I removed it when I last took it out, as I hated it. I’m decently accurate with the iron sights, so I shot 30 rounds at one of those target papers that have 5 targets on it. all but maybe 4-5 landed on paper (because the targets on the edge of the paper don’t leave much room for error and I was doing a lot of quasi double-tapping). The groupings were pretty tight for the rate of fire I used. I also shot while standing. A picture is below.
12 yards, standing w/ irons…
The gun bucks and throws fire. Additionally, it got HOT! I burned myself once and had to wrap it up in rags before I put it in it’s case so it wouldn’t melt the inside foam. Also, keep in mind that this is a pistol and the brace is HARD on a shoulder with the kick of an AK pistol. I also tend to pull the gun in really tight while gripping the mag. I’ll be bruised tomorrow.
Lastly, I always try to shoot my carry gun when I’m visiting the range, so I shot some defensive ammo from the Canik TP9 Elite SC. This ammo is something new to me, but I bought a batch of it from my range 2 nights ago, since it was on sale at 19.99 for a box of 50. The make and model is Federal 115-gr Hi-Shok JHP. I bought 250 rounds of it, not knowing if it was good or not but liking the sub-$20/box price. I later researched the ammo and found that the ammo is GOOD and that law enforcement uses it. I’d assumed that since the box was white and since the ammo wasn’t being sold in 20-round boxes, it was range ammo. It is not. So, tonight I bought 100 more rounds of it just to shoot with tonight. It shot well, without hiccups, and without feed or extraction issues. I may end up trying to buy it in bulk but my research shows that when looking for it online, the low price is 0.49/round, which is a bit high compared to what I found at my range. My range will carry it until it runs out and won’t let me buy in bulk anymore (the person that sold it to me apparently shouldn’t have let me buy so much without shooting – I bought it after my shooting session).
Right now, I’m right at 482 rounds shot through the TP9 ESC. Expect that number to go quickly as I continue to practice with it.
The AK-P currently has 370 rounds through it. I could shoot it more but for some reason, shooting that gun indoors gets old quickly (it has tremendous blast). I looked at the internals (trunion, bolt, and bolt carrier) and the parts aren’t beat up (this model is a GF3). Most AK snobs hate US-made AK, and think they’re sub-par. If I have any issues, it’ll be something like fire-pin issues, or something stuck in the firing pin channel (primer metal), or maybe a loose firing pin retaining pin (which probably won’t be an issue, as I’ve checked it and it is not loose at all). I will probably buy another firing pin, in case the OEM one breaks.
The SAM7UF only has 30 rounds through it but I’ll try to shoot it more, now that it’s no longer virgin.
While I was waiting form my PSA AK-V to ship, I decided to order two Manticore Arms CZ Scorpion EVO mags from Prepper Gun Shop. They were $20 each. I didn’t want to order PSA mags because I’d forgotten to order them with the firearm and they were taking a long time to ship the gun.
These are the clear mags that are made for Prepper Gun Shop to sell.
They are very nice. Whereas the PSA mags are 35-round, these Manticore mags hold 32 rounds. The PSA mags have plastic feed lips that are metal-reinforced. The Manticore mags’ feed lips are all metal. PSA mags have a soft rubber base plate. The Manticore mags do not.
The Manticore mag springs are stiff as hell. It took awhile to load the mags…they were that stiff. The PSA mag spring wasn’t anywhere near as stiff and loaded easily. We’ll see if the CZ mags will break-in, otherwise I may have to get two PSA mags to replace them.
I also had to wear leather gloves when loading them because the metal feed lips are sharp! I might have to take a file to them to lessen the sharpness of them.
I meant to go to the range today but ran out of time. I’ll try again tomorrow (Sunday).
I had been spending a good bit of time researching my next rifle purchase.
I was looking for a 9mm AK variant (but was also considering a Grand Power Stribog). I wanted a pistol caliber rifle, preferably short-barreled.
I had the following list:
Century Arms NAK9X
Century Arms NAK9
Palmetto State Armory AK-V
The Stribog was on the list but dropped it after a process of elimination.
I’d also struck the AK-V off the list because it was, 1) never available, 2) when it was available, it was a high dollar variant, and 3) compared to the NAK9 and NAK9X, it was expensive.
Last night I was looking at NAK9s and I wanted one with a brace already on it. That raised the price by ~$120. For a few more dollars more, I could’ve gotten a fully-optioned 9X. So I nixed the NAK9.
I found a NAK9X that had a great price (no tax and no CC fee). I had it bookmarked (on Gunbroker.com).
Then I checked PSA’s page as a last minute check before committing to the NAK9X. They had an AK-V for $799. While that was a quite a high price for me, I decided to get it anyways. Why? I can make it match my AK-P by ordering the red wood furniture later, it has a lifetime warranty, and it doesn’t have that cheesy plastic magwell that the NAK9 and 9X have. Full price for the firearm was $864.99. That does not include transfer fees at my end (it will be another $32). I balked at the $900 AK-V’s price but I’m close to that now. Granted, the $900 AK-V would be close to $1K when all the fees were added.
This WILL be my last firearm for a while (the next 12 months at least). My wife might flip, but I did let her know that with the anti-gunners on a rampage, I wanted some guns that might be banned from purchase in the near future.
UPDATE – 10/16/2019: The AK-V will ship tomorrow (it has a UPS tracking slip and number but UPS hasn’t picked it up yet. It’s two day shipping so it may not even get here until Monday. The FFL will probably call me on Monday to arrange for me to get it on Tuesday. I’ve no idea why PSA waited 8-9 days to ship. They said they were very busy with orders but they still took my damned money. I do NOT like spending that kind of money and waiting for them decide to ship…that’s hokey as hell and that’s one reason why I don’t buy from Bud’s Gunshop anymore. This will be the last time I buy from PSA. As well, I bought two 32-round CZ Scorpion mags for this pistol (they will fit). I’ll discuss them more in an upcoming video.
UPDATE – 10/21/2019: The AK-V was delivered around noon time at the FFL. I’m awaiting their call.
