Palmetto State Armory AR-V 9mm PCC Review

Today we've got the Palmetto State Armory AR-V, a 9mm pistol caliber carbine built on the AR platform — blowback operated, standard charging handle, bolt, safety selector, the whole nine yards. Full transparency: PSA sent this to me, but you guys know how it works here — when it comes to gear that's used to save your life, I'm a shill for no one.

Starting butts to nuts: the SB Tactical PDW brace on the back slides on a lever, and my only real negative on the whole gun lives here — the buffer tube limits its travel, so you can't get it as compact as a side folder would let you. To be fair, that's an SB Tactical thing, not a PSA thing, and the brace does carry the gun's only QD sling point, which is good because there's nowhere else to hang a sling.

The controls are where it gets interesting. I'd seen complaints that the bolt release is difficult; on my gun it's not difficult at all. The Magpul MOE grip has a comfortable, not-too-raked angle (I prefer the K2+, but the MOE is a nice step down). The magazine release sits in front of the trigger guard, modeled almost exactly on the CZ Scorpion's — because this gun takes CZ Scorpion magazines. The AR-V mags that come with it are really nice, with metal inserts on the feed lips, and they're so easy to load by hand that you won't miss having a mag loader.

Up top you've got a full-length rail — I ran a Holosun AEMS pushed as far forward as the receiver allows — and an MP5-inspired handguard that's actually metal, not plastic. My one concern there was heat, and sure enough I felt some transfer into my gloves after a few hundred rounds; I anticipated it and wore gloves anyway. Up front there's a tri-lug adapter plus 1/2x28 threads, so either style of suppressor bolts right on. Fitment across the whole gun is really, really good — no wiggle, no rattle, which isn't always what you hear about PSA builds.

The star is the enhanced polished trigger. I took my first couple shots easy, expecting a standard AR pull, and it absolutely is not — it's somewhere around 5 pounds but does not feel like it. Running drills on CCI Blazer 115 grain, I was hitting first shots in the mid-.80s and splits of .17 — those splits are as fast as I shoot my fastest AR. Last-round bolt hold-open works, mag loads and ejections were perfect, ejection was consistent, and I had zero misfires through the roughly 300-400 rounds we shot. And here's the kicker: I took it right out of the box and started firing. No lube, no oil, nothing.

Final thoughts: if you're in the pistol caliber carbine market and don't want to spend SP5 money, this is a fantastic option. It's made in the USA, runs $700-900 depending on configuration, and it's earning a spot in a three-way showdown against the CZ Scorpion and the Freedom Ordnance FX-9. The AEMS deserves a mention too — bright, instant target acquisition the second the gun comes up. That optic might get its own review.