By R.K. ‘Bob’ Campbell | Contributing Editor
There are many things to like about Palmetto State Armory: They have created a lot of jobs. They support the Second Amendment without reservation. They are an American success story.
Palmetto State Amory manufactures affordable AR 15 variants that have given good service and put the AR into the hands of working men. While they offer high end products such as the Sabre AR, the subject of this report is one of their more affordable firearms.
The PX 9 is an AR pistol chambered in 9mm Luger. The allure of a 9mm pistol that takes Glock magazines is a strong one. Such a firearm is a good choice for recreation, home defense, and that big and undefinable “truck gun” role we often talk about. The PX9 is affordable and offers the same handling and balance as a 5.56mm rifle, and 9mm is far more affordable than 5.56mm ammunition. It offers low recoil, and may be used in pistol-caliber-only indoor ranges. The PX 9 utilizes the most reliable widespread and affordable handgun magazines the Glock 17 9mm type.
Build quality
Looking over the rifle’s receivers, fit and finish are good to very good. There is little gap between the receivers. The handguard is so nicely fitted the PX 9 appears monolithic, and the safety snaps smartly into place. The trigger let off is consistent at 6.9 pounds clean.
Maintenance is simple enough; perhaps simplicity itself. The bolt carrier is especially nicely fitted and finished. This pistol features an eight-inch barrel with muzzle brake and a seven-inch M Lok compatible handguard.
The M Lok mounting system offers the option of fitting a combat light, and there is plenty of space for mounting an optic on the top rail.
While the PX 9 looks like an AR it is a blow back not gas operated firearm due to the 9mm Luger cartridge. The barrel length makes this a pistol.
Muscle memory and training with the AR translate well to this firearm. I tried a number of magazines with the PX 9 including Glock, PMAG, and the new MecGar steel magazines. All fit, locked in properly, and functioned well.
There is a manual bolt lock open while the PX 9 does not lock open on an empty magazine. This was a design decision and eliminates much wear on the Glock magazines from the heavy AR style bolt. It may be a drawback in some ways.
The PX 9 is supplied with an SB tactical brace, which is a proven piece of equipment that works well. The grip is from MagPul, and I like the balance of adhesion and abrasion a great deal in this hand grip.
An extended magazine release allows activating the release without breaking the firing grip. This makes for fast, fast, fast speed loads. I like this addition a great deal. The charging handle is the same as a full size AR 15. This makes for excellent speed and easy handling.
Firing Tests and Set Up
I proof fired the handgun with a variety of ammunition before adding any accessories. The PX 9 has been fired with a range of Black Hills Ammunition including the affordable 115-grain FMJ, 115-grain EXP, 124-grain JHP, and 124 -grain +P. There were no failures to feed, chamber, fire or eject.
With the pistol proofed in the initial range trip, I felt confident in the PX 9. The optic mounted on the PX 9 is the Vortex Crossfire. This is a quality optic with the usual 1x red dot magnification. This sight features a bright 2 MOA red dot and is powered by a CR2032 battery. There are ten brightness settings accessed by a dial with positive click adjustment making it easy to sight in once mounted on the gun.
Since the PX 9 is primarily for personal defense and practice, I sighted the pistol for 25 yards. With a dead on zero at this distance, the pistol fires slightly low at 7 yards. This makes for a good set up and great utility for all defense and pest popping chores.
I also added a Streamlight Pro Tac programmable combat light. This light features 625 lumens, a programmable strobe, and the durability and function for which Streamlight is famous. I slipped the M Lok mount into place and was good to go. I like the durability and functionality of Streamlight; I used their flashlights for many years in police work- and have quite a few well-worn but serviceable lights with many years of service.
More Shooting
This is a fast handling firearm. It didn’t take long to make a dent in the ammunition supply. The PX 9 features light recoil and is very friendly in its shooting characteristics. For a homeowner concerned with defending the castle, this neat fast handling pistol is a far easier firearm to shoot well than any conventional handgun. Recoil and muzzle blast are hardly a consideration. The pistol ran with every load and proved accurate. Shooters who struggle with handgun accuracy will find an AR pistol a great aid in shooter development.
Compared to a rifle, the pistol caliber carbine suffers at longer range but inside of 50 yards, accuracy and hit probability of the PX 9 are excellent. The longer barrel provides a little step up in velocity compared to a handgun. Compared to a Glock 19 on hand for comparison 124-grain loads pick up about 100 fps in velocity. Conversely heavy bullet loads in the 147-grain range may only gain 35 to 40 fps.
Shot placement is the real force multiplier here. As for accuracy potential, I fired the PX 9 at 50 yards and connected more often than not on small targets and even dirt clods at the berm. I settled into a solid bench rest firing position at the tale end of the test for accuracy testing at 25 yards. This is a pistol after all and the home defense role calls for short range engagement. I used a Glock 17 round magazine which make bench rest shooting simpler than one of the big stick magazines. Here are my results-
Load 25 yard group
Black Hills 115 grain FMJ 2.0 inch
Black Hills 115 grain EXP 1.3 inch
Black Hills 124 grain JHP 1.1 inch
Black Hills 124 grain JHP +P 1.15 inch.
A miss is the shooter’s fault. The PX 9 is an outstanding value in today’s market. I find no fault after firing this pistol to the tune of more than six hundred cartridges. Sure, I could like a bolt that held open on the last shot- but then that would need some serious re-engineering and would perhaps not work well with Glock magazines. I recently tested the Taurus RPC as an example, which uses proprietary magazines, and three months after the introduction their proprietary magazines are not available. The 9mm cartridge and Glock magazines are a huge part of the appeal of the PX 9. Build quality is excellent. This big pistol has my recommendation.
Specifications
Barrel Length: 8 inches
Gas System: Blowback
Barrel Profile: A2
Barrel Steel: 4150V Chrome Moly Steel
Barrel Finish: Nitride
Muzzle Thread: 1/2-36
Chamber: 9mm (9×19)
Twist Rate: 1 in 10″
Weight: 5.0 pounds
Receiver: Forged 7075 T6
Receiver Type: Slick Side
Handguard: Lightweight M-Lok
Lower: Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum
Finish: Hardcoat Anodized
