Catching Up On AK’s With Josiah And Colton Of Palmetto State Armory

The “Avtomat Kalashnikova,” otherwise loosely translated into American, means Kalashnikov’s Machine (trust me, I googled/Wikipedia that on the internets machine) or it could also be Kalashnikov’s Laundromat, depending on which translation thingamabob you get.

OK, I’m just messing with you, any gun guy worth his powder already knows more than enough about Kalashnikov’s from every ’80s TV Show and Action Movie. Even if he doesn’t currently actually own one, or even if he hasn’t read any books or done any research or anything silly like that. We mostly refer to them as AKs, as we humans ultimately abbreviate everything down to make our lives easier. If you add up all the different iterations or models of the original AK-47 in calibers ranging from that original Russian 762×39 round to 22lr and going all the way up to 50 BMG, is literally the most popular and the most produced weapon on the face of the planet! The estimated numbers are so wild and mysterious that there could easily be anywhere from 35 million all the way up to 150 million AKs on the planet! Urban legend says Jihadi’s in caves in Afghanistan make them out of shovels even!

So where does Palmetto State Armory, a quickly expanding American Firearms Megalodon, come into play in this conversation? In the last few years, PSA has set out to make the AR-15 so affordable that every single American can own one, or two, or three. And with deals on their site for a complete AR coming in at around $400, we can safely say they’ve achieved that goal at this point! So it only logically makes sense for PSA to turn their sights on the AK-47 platform next! Palmetto State Armory has been well on that path also for almost three years now with Made In America offerings like the PSAK-47 Gen 3 and the 9mm AK-V.

Recently, we caught up with Josiah McCallum, their Consumer Relations Manager and Colton Sons Senior Mechanical Engineer, dialing in via Skype from PSA South Carolina headquarters. They will also update us on their own experience during this ongoing overblown Orwellian crisis. Colton and Josiah also brought us up to date on PSA’s next AK offerings first announced at SHOT Show 2020. As of writing this article (over Memorial Day weekend), PSA is about to drop three models on us within the next few weeks: the GF4, the next generation of the PSA-47, the AK-74, a 5.45×39mm version, and the AK-103.

Live Inventory Price Checker

	Palmetto State Armory AK Folding Stock Hinge Pin, 4.5mm	Palmetto State Armory	$ 4.99
	Palmetto State Armory AK Folding Stock Hinge Pin, 4.5mm	Palmetto State Armory	$ 4.99
	PSA AK-104 GF5 Triangle Side Folding Pistol with Triangle Brace, PSA-SLR SOLO 9.45" Rail, ALG Trigger, Hinged Dust Cover, and Linear Comp	Palmetto State Armory	$ 1499.99
	PSA AK-104 GF5 Triangle Side Folding Pistol with Triangle Brace, PSA-SLR SOLO 9.45" Rail, ALG Trigger, Hinged Dust Cover, and Linear Comp	Palmetto State Armory	$ 1499.99

“We’re so close it’s hard to say which one is going to come out first!” Colton, the engineer and Kalashnikov enthusiast who’s mostly responsible for the development of AK’s at Palmetto, says. They’re just in the final stages of setting up production tooling and production parts inventory build-up. It appears they would have already come out with the GF4, except they had to make some last-minute tweaks to the barrel which is an in-house produced cold hammer forged chrome lined barrel, which is an upgrade from the previous gen.

The AK-103 variants are from Mikhail Kalashnikov’s Mid 90’s evolution of the AK-47, featuring modern polymer furniture and optic mounting features instead of wood and metal. Personally, what I’m looking forward to in the new line are the AK-74 models, even though the availability of the actual ammo has waned in recent years based on stupid politics. Josiah and Colton assure us PSA is working on having ammo available on their site alongside the guns. 5.45 is Russia’s version of 556 because, they thought maybe that would stop adversaries on the battlefield from using their weapons and ammunition, and basically, the lords of thunder forbid we all standardize ammo around the world! Smaller, faster and more effective over longer distances than 7.62, the round makes AK-74’s softer shooting and more civilized variations on Mikhail Kalashnikov’s original design. I’m especially looking forward to the “Krinkov” AKS-74U or shorter-barreled model coming out towards the end of this year. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool AK aficionado or just a fan of anything that PSA manufactures, you owe it to yourself to check out our video with Josiah and Colton as well as our 2020 SHOT show coverage with Colton and Upcoming AKs.

About Hank Strange

Hank Strange is an Enthusiastic Supporter of The Second Amendment, An Avid Filmmaker, Writer, Blogger, Music Producer, and Digital Artist: Hank is a Prolific YouTube Content Creator having Published over 1000 Videos to date relating to Lifestyle in the realms of Firearms, Cars, and Technology. A Proud American Citizen Since 2003 Hank was born of Mixed Race Parentage (his Father having African Ancestry and his Mother being of East Indian Ancestry amongst others) in Guyana, South America. He has traveled to a few places in the world with his Family living in London, England, and Nigeria in West Africa before settling in NYC. Hank & His Wife Lola are both Federal Firearms Licensees and currently live and work in Florida. Passionately Pursuing The Lifestyles Of The Locked And Loaded! Tune in to the daily Gun Culture News “Podshow” Who Moved my Freedom Podcast (WMMF) on the LIfestyles of the Locked and Loaded youtube channel. Hank’s work can also be seen on www.youtube.com/user/hankstrange/featured, Facebook www.facebook.com/hank.strange.77, Instagram instagram.com/hankstrange, his Personal Blog hankstrange.com, and other Social Media.