My goals and priorities for 2021 did not include a new gun, but it wasn’t inconceivable. A gun chambered for a cartridge not currently found in the collection? I had not considered that possibility and might very well regret it given the current ammo crisis. But that’s where I’m at today nevertheless after an impulse acquisition, starting a project with a 300 Blackout pistol.
Let’s take a quick look at the PSA 7.5″ Pistol-Length 300AAC 1/7 Nitride 9″ Lightweight M-Lok MOE EPT SBA3 Pistol I will be working with. The purchase included:
- the pistol,
- a chamber flag,
- a trigger lock,
- a single 30 round Magpul PMAG Gen M2 magazine,
- a manual,
- a Palmetto State Armory sticker,
- the nifty cardboard box it’s all packaged in.
I haven’t finished forming my initial opinions about it because I haven’t taken it out of the range yet because it did not include any sights and I haven’t added a sighting system yet. That will be the first step in this project. That said here are some of my initial thoughts after getting the gun in my hands.
I’m curious about the fluted flash can muzzle device. I don’t have any experience with these types of muzzle devices and I’m interested to see what it does to the muzzle flash. It seems obvious to me that it will direct the flash forward. What that actually means to the flash coming out of the 7.5″ barrel remains to be seen.
I’m digging the way the PSA 9″ Lightweight M-Lok handguard looks. The aesthetics of the handguard floating over a good chunk of the muzzle device is pleasing to my eyes. Sadly, this aesthetic may not last as I have plans to change out the muzzle device so that I can attach a suppressor to it.
I found the feel of the pistol’s single-stage, enhanced polished trigger to be heavy and gritty when I’ve function tested it. This might just be because the trigger is brand new and not “broken in”, or perhaps my trigger finger might be spoiled by the amount of time I’ve spent behind a Daniel Defense DDM4. I’m not going to go and say it’s trash just yet, but will say I’m not impressed at all.
The grip is a Magpul MOE grip. It’s okay. Nothing to write home about. This will probably end up getting replaced (along with the trigger if it doesn’t “break in” quickly).
Nothing fancy about the charging handle to talk about. However, charging the bolt felt stiff and gritty compared the feel of charging the DDM4. I suspect the stiffness might be related to a stiffer buffer spring used for the pistol length gas system, but I’m just guessing here. Maybe it’s just that a few things need to be broken in as well. Or maybe it will end up being a combination of other things that I will end up replacing. Time will tell.
The SBA3 adjustable pistol stabilizing brace seems okay. Adjusting it feels clunky, which now seems to be somewhat of a trend as I also compare this to how adjusting the stock on the DDM4 feels. Given I have no experience with pistol braces, I’m withholding my final judgement until I’ve spent more time with it.
That’s it in a nutshell. I realize my initial thoughts are a bit unfair since I’m comparing how a budget priced PSA pistol feels against a premium priced Daniel Defense rifle feels. I know it’s apples and oranges, but that’s my point of reference.
While it may sound like I’m not thrilled about the PSA pistol, nothing could be further from the truth. I am really excited about it for a few reasons.
First off, I am excited to learn about 300 Blackout. It’s a cartridge that I have been curious about for quite some time. Especially curious about the subsonic loads after starting to dabble with suppressors last year. This little gun is providing me an opportunity to learn about.
Another reason I’m excited about it is because it is a platform on which I will learn more about tinkering with the AR platform. There are a few changes I want to make to other rifles but have been hesitant to use premium priced rifles to learn on. I’m pretty sure that tinkering with this PSA pistol will be hesitation free.
Lastly, I’m excited about the potential of this project pistol ending up as a sweet little home defense tool. As long as my tinkering doesn’t leave me with a nonfunctional paper weight, the potential is there. It’s going to be a fun project that I will provide updates on as it progresses.