Palmetto State Armory has recently released the Guardsman series of AR-15 rifles. The Guardsman series aims to occupy the slot between a basic PSA AR and the Sabre series. It’s a value proposition to obtain an affordable platform with a high degree of brilliance in the basics. These radically new AR-15s are a new genre for PSA to eek their way into the world of affordable, defense-grade firearms.
I got hands-on with the Guardsman AR pistol with the classic 10.3-inch barrel. This micro-sized AR pistol is just about the perfect size for home defense use, and is the perfect length to pair with a suppressor for when things go bump in the night. I’ve attached a Holosun optic and a Streamlight light to create a fairly basic, but competent home defense firearm.
The Guardsman Series
What makes a Guardsman series AR-15? These AR-15s feature a chrome-lined 4150 steel barrel with a phosphate finish. The barrel is topped with a simple flash suppressor we’ve seen on AR-15s for decades. The barrel is surrounded by PSA’s new Guardsman Hex M-LOK free float rail. The rail offers you an additional M-LOK slot on the upper edge of the M-LOK rail. On this pistol, it’s a 9-inch rail.
The rail features anti-rotation tabs. The rifle variants feature Magpul furniture, and the pistol series comes with a HAR-15 brace. The trigger guard and pistol grip are Magpul options. PSA installed an ambidextrous safety selector, but that ends any new ambidextrous controls.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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PSA Guardsman-15 8" Pistol-Length 300BLK CL Phosphate 7" MLOK Pistol | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 |
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PSA Guardsman-15 16" Midlength 5.56 NATO 1/7 CL Phosphate 15" MLOK Rifle | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 |
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PSA Guardsman-15 10.3" Carbine-Length 5.56 NATO 1/7 CL Phosphate 9" MLOK Pistol | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 |
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PSA Guardsman-15 16" Midlength 5.56 NATO 1/7 CL Phosphate 15" MLOK Rifle, FDE | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 |
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The BCG is PSA’s new Enhanced BVG with SpringCo gas rings. They are high-pressure tested and magnetic particle inspected. PSA installed a new Guardsman flat bow single-stage trigger to top things off. This rifle uses a carbine-length gas system with a pinned low-profile gas block.
It’s not a radical departure from the standard AR lineup, just some selected changes to improve the rifle’s overall function. There also isn’t a massive change in the price point, with this pistol variant retailing for less than 600 dollars.
The Guardsman series gives you a great base platform to upgrade as you see fit, with most of the more common upgrades already in place.
At the Range
The Guardsman AR pistol is equipped with a simple 2 MOA red dot, which seems appropriate for this type of AR-15 pistol. I used M855 at 100 yards with the gun rested in a Zeiss tripod. After a 50/200-yard zero, I went to 100 yards and tried to see what kind of accuracy I could get out of this fun-sized AR.
With M855, I was able to create 4.5-inch groups at my best. That’s fairly standard for M855, and for me, that’s absolutely fine at the sub-600 dollar price point. I didn’t have anything close to match grade to test accuracy, but for budget shooters, the M855 is likely going to be their go-to practice round.
The flat-faced trigger is quite nice. It’s light and short, and I’m partial to flat-faced triggers. The gun allows you to shoot quickly and accurately within the 10.3’s specialty zone, which tends to be close-range firepower.
With a magnified optic, better ammo, and most importantly, a better shooter, those groups would shrink considerably.
A Little Faster
At 50 yards, I did some quick ready-up drills at 50 yards. From this range, I could put a single round in an 8-inch circle in 1.5 seconds. It took a few warmups to achieve this, and I was wishing my dot was a little higher, but it’s perfectly achievable.
I also did a little offhand slow fire into the same ten-inch target, five rounds at a time, aiming for less than one second per round after the first round was fired. I had no problems hitting the target with every shot fired. It wasn’t a braggable group and was roughly the size of my hand.
Double-tapping into the same 8-inch circle targets at 25 yards was a blast and plenty easy. It’s very satisfying to see those rounds hit right next to each other and a blast to get it under a second.
Going Fast With the Guardsman
I’m not uber familiar with super short AR-15s and expected this gun to be a little more gasy. All of my shooting was outdoors, and I didn’t detect any gas to the face to make my eyes water. A suppressor might change that, but without a can, it was fine.
At close range, I shot a Bill Drill, which is six rounds at seven yards into an IPSC A-Zone. My first run was 1.85 seconds from the low ready and continued to shrink. Recoil was controllable without much muzzle rise to speak of. The impulse was smooth and enjoyable.
Should you misuse the brace, you’ll find out why it’s called a balde. Even with the light recoil of a 5.56 cartridge, the brace gets irritating about 30 rounds in.
I shot numerous drills from numerous ranges. I did a little shoot-and-move, used cover, and shot from kneeling and low-kneeling positions. The Guardsman, with its 10.3-inch barrel, is easy to maneuver and short and sweet. Shooting things like the VTAC 1-5 drill feels smooth and natural.
When reloading, the lightweight, short nature of the rifle makes it super easy to hold up in all sorts of positions. Standing is always easy, but behind cover and in different positions can be a little tricky with larger rifles. That’s not the case here.
The handguard stays surprisingly cool, even during long strings of fire and long days at the range. I never desired a glove, even after dumping a Magpul D-60 in various close-range, rapid-fire drills.
Ammo and Reliability
I used the included P-MAG, as well as some cheap ETS magazines, a Daniel Defense DD32, an older ETS magazine, and finally a D-60 drum. I had a few malfunctions with one of the cheap ETS magazines; it would fail to load the first round when fully loaded, but I guess that’s what a six-dollar magazine gets you. It became my reload drill magazine.
I shot mostly M855, and 90 rounds of some old Tula I dug up. I had no ammo malfunctions, but I forgot how dirty Tula ammo can be.
The Little Fella
The little Guardsman is a great SBR candidate and well-suited for indoor self-defense. It’s small enough to be maneuverable and even easy enough to wield with a single hand. The Guardsman series appears to be a great starter rifle at a great price point. It doesn’t need much to be operable, and a light and optic top to it off quite well.
What do you think of the Guardsman? Or of super short AR-type pistols and rifles? I’m getting more and more acquainted with ultra-small ARs and coming to see the light. (My heart still resides with the classic 20-inch barrel.)
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.
Travis, I like you.
I like this review just fine, too, with one exception:
there is no reason to believe it’s “likely” that shooters will practice with M855 instead of the cheaper, more accurate, and generally more effective M193.
~John