By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2024
ABOUT PALMETTO STATE ARMORY
South Carolina-based Palmetto State Armory is one of America’s largest manufacturers of AR pattern weapons and parts. Based in Columbia, S.C., PSA has a mission to “Sell as many guns to as many Law-Abiding Americans as possible.” PSA also manufactures AK-47 rifles, pistols, and parts kits. How do they do all this and keep prices reasonable? They have a family of five other companies producing parts, so they have ownership in every step of the process. They also carry other manufacturers’ products and are a one-stop gun shop!
The leadership team at PSA consists of its founder, Jamin McCallum, and CEO and competitive shooter Chad Wylie. McCallum is an Iraq war vet, and his thoughts on freedom and the 2nd Amendment get right to the point:
“I’ve seen what a society looks like when it falls apart. It’s really, really bad. That’s why our mission is to maximize freedom, not our profits. We want to sell as many AR-15 and AK-47 rifles as we can, not to make a massive amount of money, but to put them into common use today.
“I don’t want my legacy to be that I made a lot of money; I want it to be that this company produced the maximum amount of freedom. And so, we work every day to do just that. Make high-quality firearms at a price that makes them affordable to the most people possible. Then we back them with a full 100% lifetime warranty.
“If we can do that, I can sleep at night.”
THE PSA JAKL
Rumors of the JAKL surfaced in 2020 at the SHOT Show and debuted in 2022. The JAKL was first available as a pistol version with a side-folding arm brace, but now the long-awaited rifle version is here also. One of the pluses of the long-stroke piston operating system is that it is much cleaner than gas impingement. It has some of the looks and features of the ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) designed by Magpul or the Fabrique Nationale SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle), but it’s much more budget-friendly. As with most PSA rifles, you can purchase the upper receiver and the modular stock and mount it to your lower for a custom rifle build.
THE RECEIVER & FURNITURE
The JAKL starts with a 6105 monolithic upper receiver finished in FDE Cerakote. It’s designed to be compatible with any AR-15 pattern lower. The buffer system is wholly contained within the upper, shortening the rifle’s overall length. The reciprocating charging handle is ambidextrous and can be positioned on either side. Gas pressure is controlled with an 8-position adjustable gas block and fitted with a PSA-enhanced polished trigger group.
The furniture comprises an F5 manufacturing PSA JAKL Modular Stock System folder, which can be folded to either side, with a Magpul MOE SL grip and a rifle-length M-LOK handguard.
THE BOLT & BARREL
The JAKL features a Carpenter 158 bolt and 4340 carrier that are AK/AR hybrids. The barrel is 13.7 inches long and manufactured from 4150V chrome moly steel with a 1 in 7-inch twist rate, pitch threaded ½ x 28 with a pinned and welded JMAC customs muzzle device.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Long Stroke Gas Piston Operating System / Semi-Automatic
Caliber: 5.56 NATO
Magazine Capacity: 30 Rounds
Sights: None, Full-Length Picatinny Rail
Barrel Length: 13.75 Inches – with pinned & welded flash suppressor 16 inches total.
MSRP: $1,299.99
URL: www.palmettostatearmory.com
THE VERDICT
The long-awaited JAKL is here, and the reviews are positive overall. One complaint is that it’s heavier at the muzzle end, which is typical for piston operating systems. Check one out at your dealer—ships with one 30-round PMAG.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, Soldier of Fortune, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected].