Palmetto State Armory has likely armed more Americans with AR-15s than any other company. They have long been one of the biggest producers of AR rifles and pistols, as well as their uppers, lowers, and everything that attaches to them. That said, Palmetto State Armory has always had a tier-type setup with its price points and features, but overall, it is a budget brand. That was until the Sabre line premiered.
The Sabre line is a PSA’s premium grade and arguably their most modern brand. The Sabre series represents modern rifles for modern users. The price point varies depending on the rifle, but we are considering spending less than a thousand bucks with the Sabre 15, with a 16-inch barrel like we have here. It’s about 850ish. This puts it in line with guns like the IWI Zion, which is often a good entry point for a well-made AR.
Someone will ask, ‘what tier’ is it? I find the tier discussions to be stupid and often missing context and user needs. Also, most people who create these tier lists don’t do so from experience. They are just parroting what they’ve heard. With my rant out of the way, the Sabre comes off as a modern AR-15 with premium touches. It’s a duty-ready rifle that works well in a squad car, at a three-gun comp, or by the bedside for home defense.
PSA Sabre 15 5.56 Rifle
Live Inventory Price Checker
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PSA "Sabre" Forged 16" Nitride 5.56 with 15" Sabre Lock up Rail and Magpul SL Furniture Rifle - FDE Cerakote | Palmetto State Armory | $ 849.99 |
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PSA "Sabre" Forged 13.7" Mid-Length 5.56 Rifle w/ 13" Quad Rail & JMAC GFHC-E Pin/Weld, FDE Cerakote | Palmetto State Armory | $ 999.99 |
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PSA "Sabre" Forged 13.7" Mid-Length 5.56 Rifle w/ 13" Quad Rail & JMAC GFHC-E Pin/Weld, FDE Cerakote | Palmetto State Armory | $ 999.99 |
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PSA "Sabre" Forged 14.5" 5.56 FN CHF CL 13.5" Geissele MK14 Pin/Weld with Sabre Furniture Rifle | Palmetto State Armory | $ 1199.99 |
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Sabre 15 Features
The Sabre series is packed with features, and like most PSA products, there are tons of options. The Sabre 15 PSA sent me is the standard 16-inch carbine variant, which comes with B5 furniture. I am partial to B5’s products and find the stock especially comfy when used with optics.
The Sabre series uses standard Mil-Sepc forged upper and lower receivers. The barrel is the famed FN design that PSA has been known to use. It’s a fancy machine gun steel barrel with a chrome-lined bore. The BCG is a standard Carpenter 158 design—nothing fancy but long proven to be functional.
PSA shipped mine with the Hiperfire RBT trigger, and that’s quite nice. It has ambidextrous safety from Radian as well as a Radian Ambi charging handle. Even the take-down pins are nice and are from Battle Arms Development.
The fifteen-inch M-LOK handguard provides plenty of room for accessories, and the QD ports make adding a sling easy. The barrel is tipped with a Sabre Compensator. It’s an easy to swap option if you want to replace it with a suppressor-ready device.
At the Range
I took the Sabre 15 on several range trips with different types of ammunition. I started with 250 rounds of AAC’s 77-grain OTM ammo, then shot 250 rounds of PMC .223 and 100 rounds of Tula .223. The gun wears a Cosmic Tactical Saturn scope, a 4X ACOG-style clone optic. It’s a neat prism optic that keeps the rifle light handy.
For accuracy testing, I established a rested bench position with a front sandbag and fired six five-round groups. I used five-round groups because three seemed too easy to score good groups with. Six five-round, rested groups gave me a solid average.
One of the six groups was .92 MOA. One of the groups was basically 1 MOA, depending on how you measure groups. The other four were all in the 1.2 to 1.3 range. It’s a rifle capable of 1 MOA group, but I wouldn’t call it a 1 MOA rifle. I’m also not a 1 MOA shooter, so take that for what you will.
The gun still shoots straight when you apply speed. It’s lightweight and balanced. The B5 stock remains one of my favorites. It makes it easy to find the optic’s eye box and get on target quickly and efficiently. The Sabre 15 is balanced and easy to hold up and on target. I was nailing a ready-up drill at 50 yards in just over a second on a 10-inch gong.
Rattling Your Sabre
The Sabre 15 uses a mid-length gas system that delivers the best compromise of recoil and reliability. It’s smooth and something I’d hardly consider difficult to shoot. Yeah, it’s a little over-gassed, but that helps when I’m shooting the worst ammo on the market. The Sabre 15 features a compensator that helps keep recoil low and the gun on target.
The Sabre handles very well and is easy to shoot quickly. A sub-2-second Bill Drill is easy to rip off while keeping the gun on the A Zone. The recoil impulse was soft and predictable, and I knew how far my reticle would rise with every shot, making follow-up shots accurate and easy.
The AR-15 has mastered the ergonomic layout, and the Sabre 15 capitalizes on that. The thin M-LOK handguard and adjustable stock make it easy to assume a modern firing stance and control the gun. Pull the gun in, lower your elbow down, roll your shoulder, and let it fly.
The Sabre 15 put half their foot into the ambidextrous world. The charging handle and safety are ambidextrous, but that’s it. No ambi bolt release, and no ambi magazine release. If you can handle an AR, you’ll know what to expect from the Sabre 15.
Reloads are quick and easy, with the magazines dropping free at the press of a button. The bolt lock works, and while it’s not fancy, the classic AR design works fine, and I had no problems hitting the paddle to send the bolt rocketing home. The Radian charging handle is fantastic and huge, so it’s accessible with an optic hanging over it. The ambi safety is a nice touch and is easy to find.
Does It Run
I shot 250 rounds of AAC 77 grain, another 250 rounds of PMC 55 grain, and 100 rounds of Tula 55 grain. I had no problems with any of the AAC 77-grain ammo. It was the most accurate from the Sabre. The PMC had a failure to fire. The primer is noticeably indented, but it didn’t go bang.
Finally, the Tula craptastic ammo is the reason why this gun is a little over-gassed. The gun ate its way through the Tula with no cycling problems. I did have a magazine failure. After some reload drills, which are conducted over sand at my range, a Lancer follower failed to rise. Mixing the sand in the magazine with the steel ammo might be the problem. It’s not gun-related, but the magazine is marked, noted, and now cleaned.
Overall, I think the gun gets a hearty thumbs up for reliability.
Drawing the Sabre
The Sabre, which is not related to the printer company from The Office, is an exciting entry for PSA. They are stepping up in a big way. The Sabre proved to be accurate, reliable, and easy to handle, and it even looks nice. It’s a big move from their standard ARs and a good move from the brand that’s only grown and grown since their inception.
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.
Finally, someone got it right. Tier list are stupid based on what other have been parroting. That is the truth. Being able to run all types of ammo is a positive for most AR shooters. If a rifle is over gassed, it is quite easy to change the gas tube to the correct size with the EZ tune gas tubes. Excellent review and I look forward to more from Travis Pike.
Maybe I missed it, but what kind of barrel? I know he says it’s FN and chrome lined but what about twist? And contour?
People insisting on using under powered ammo like Tula and PMC and Wolf, are the reason why most AR15’s are over gassed.
They don’t even meet minimum SAAMI specs.
But people don’t care to learn, so gun companies are forced to over gas their AR15’s.