Rock Solid:
Why PSA’s 5.7 Pistol Is a Steal
Palmetto State Armory’s Budget-friendly Pistol Delivers Low Recoil, High Fun, and Impressive Accuracy
After careful observation, I’ve come to the conclusion that rocks are not only useful, but also offer great value.
Rocks are made in America, great for fun and recreation, and can serve admirably for self and home defense if you like. This one retails for just $499, but as I write this, it’s on sale for $399. You heard that right. The Palmetto State Armory 5.7 Rock pistol can be yours for less than 400 bucks. You’ll pay a little more for the optics-ready or threaded-barrel version. Oh, and did I mention it’s made in America? Yep. Right here in South Carolina, where it’s always a great day.
The PSA 5.7 Rock
Palmetto State Armory is nothing if not prolific with gun models, and as I write this, there are numerous Rock pistol options from which to choose. The base model has a 4.7″ barrel (1:9 twist rate) and includes a single magazine with 23-round capacity, for a total including one in the chamber, of 24. Definitely a benefit of those tiny 5.7 miniature “rifle” cartridges.
The 5.7 Rock is a striker-fired design using a delayed blowback action. With striker block and trigger leaf safeties, it operates like most any other striker design, so expect the usual.
You get the standard forward rail, left-side slide lock, and magazine release controls. The magazine catch is reversible. The sights are also GLOCK-compatible. If you want to upgrade the included “three white dot” sights, you’ll have hundreds of aftermarket options from which to choose.
The Rock is a standard striker-fired design, with trigger leaf and striker block safeties.
The magazine release is reversible.
Note the fluted barrel. This variant also has the slide cuts.
They look cool, lighten the load and presumably help the barrel cool.
Handling
The grip on the 5.7 Rock seems … normal. Most 5.7mm pistols have awkwardly “deep” grips to house the longer 5.7x28mm rounds. Think of stretching a standard pistol grip in the muzzle-to-rear sight plane. This one looks and feels more like a grip you’d find on a 9mm. I’m not sure how PSA did it; perhaps some judicious trimming here and there, but it’s the first thing I noticed when gripping this pistol. I’d suggest an optical illusion, but that doesn’t account for how it feels in the hand.
You’ll also find the slide very easy to operate. Yes, most slide resistance can be overcome by proper technique, but for those with weaker hands or arms (arthritis or whatever), this one is light, so maintenance, loading and unloading require minimal effort.
Somehow, the Palmetto State Armory designers made this 5.7x28mm pistol far less awkward in the grip area.
Most 5.7 pistols have obviously elongated grips.
Recoil? Ha! There is virtually none. The 5.7 round is as noisy as other centerfires, but the light and fast ballistics generate little felt recoil. If you can afford the ammo, this is a fun pistol to shoot all day long.
The trigger was also a pleasant surprise. The takeup was a little rough (remember the $400 part?), but the pressure stage was constant and the break crisp. I pulled out my Lyman Digital Trigger Gauge and measured 10 trigger presses. The calculated average was just 4 pounds, 1.2 ounces. The break and weight, combined with a lack of recoil, make this an easy pistol to shoot well. I’m sure this contributed plenty to the excellent accuracy results I observed.
Takedown is simple once you get the hang of it. There’s a spring-loaded pull-down lever forward of the trigger. After clearing the gun, point it at a safe backstop and press the trigger, releasing the striker. Draw the slide back about ¼” (not so far as to cock the striker again). Then pull down on the takedown bar and allow the slide to travel forward of the muzzle. It’ll lift right off.
Luxury Model
I tested a version with all the bells and whistles. While the standard Rocks come with cool-looking fluted barrels, this one offers a threaded barrel for suppressor use and is optics-ready, complete with an RMR-compatible plate. I immediately stuck a Trijicon RCR on there, spending a whopping three minutes give or take to get it figured out and mounted. Especially since I was using a suppressor (just for fun), the optics proved handy. Of course, there are a million tall sights on the market that will fit this pistol if you prefer an irons configuration and want to add a silencer.
The cost of all this? Just $559.99 at list. Prices change frequently, and PSA has lots of sales, so you might get lucky and find one for even less.
Some Rock models, like the one tested, come with an optics-ready slide and mounting plates.
Mounting a Trijicon RCR was no problem with the gear included.
The test model also had a threaded barrel, so Tom did most of the shooting with a
SilencerCo Sparrow suppressor attached.
Embrace the Weird
I’ve always been sucker for unusual calibers. You know, like .357 SIG, .38 Super, and the subject of this pistol, 5.7x28mm.
The 5.7 embraces the idea of small and light bullets going fast. Super fast. From this 5.7 Rock, velocities from different loads hovered right around 1,800 feet per second. From a pistol. I tested four different ammo options …
American Eagle’s choice “only” broke the sound barrier by about 600 feet per second. Using the nifty Garmin Doppler radar bench chronograph, I clocked these 40-grain FMJ bullets at an average of 1,691.6 fps. Given my altitude and weather conditions, the speed of sound hereabouts is a hair over 1,100. While doing the gun science, I set up targets at 25 yards and shot for accuracy using a Ransom Multi-Caliber Rest to keep things steady. Five shots grouped into precisely 2.0 inches. From a $400 pistol.
The 5.7x28mm was originally designed for a carbine and was later migrated for pistol use.
Standard bullet weight is usually in the 40-grain range.
Tom tested four types of ammo with the PSA 5.7 Rock. All produced excellent accuracy at 25 yards.
Next up was the Fiocchi Tipped Hollow Point. Also weighing in with a 40-grain projectile (Sound familiar? That’s the common weight of a standard .22LR projectile), it moved a bit faster, averaging 1,790.3 fps. As for 25-yard accuracy, it grouped into just 1.6 inches for five shots. Impressive.
I also had a box of FN-branded ammo on hand, the SS197SR V-Max load. Also sporting a 40-grain projectile, it averaged 1,802.9 fps — the fastest of the bunch. Accuracy was stellar in this one, too, at just 1.75 inches for five shots.
Last, since I had my 5.7x28mm-compatible SilencerCo Sparrow suppressor on hand, I tested another Fiocchi load, the Range Dynamics Subsonic. This one flings a 62-grain bullet, very heavy for the caliber. I measured the average velocity of 986.4 fps. Accuracy was solid too, punching a 2.1-inch group at 25 yards.
I did have some cycling issues with this subsonic combination, which is not at all unusual with a pistol, suppressor, and subsonic load. There’s often some debugging to do. Perhaps a boosted suppressor is in order, additional break-in, or maybe inadequate lube on the new pistol. I’ll be tinkering to work it out. It was very close to operating consistently.
As a side note, I used the suppressor with all loads. While they’re supersonic and will still generate a minuscule sonic boom, the overall blast noise was greatly diminished. Like all suppressors, this one also tamed even further the already-negligible felt recoil of the pistol.
Accuracy at 25 yards was excellent with all loads tested. This Fiocchi Tipped Hollow Point
produced a 1.6-inch five-shot group. That's two holes adjacent on the right.
Denouement
Don’t tell Dabbs, but I’m stealing his closing comments header for this piece.
My bottom line? This is a keeper. I had great fun with this one and was pleasantly surprised at what you get for the price. Any pistol that easily shoots sub-2″ groups at 25 yards and costs less than $500 is a win in my book. You’ll even get a nifty canvas carrying case.
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