Palmetto State Armory seems to be happy to keep bringing democracy to firearm production. Last year, they began allowing their fans to vote on what they’d produce. These became concepts, and PSA would produce the final four. This year, they’ve brought it back, and with the concepts, they’ve brought the Concept Wall.
The Concept Wall allows folks to see, touch, and examine the concepts that are coming. Today, we are going to break the concept wall down and discuss what could be coming next year.
The PSA Concept Wall
The Switch
First, PSA is jumping on the modular handgun idea with their first of many PSA Concept handguns. This is a chassis-style pistol with a serialized removable fire control group. The Switch would allow users to swap grip modules, slides, and more to create a very modular pistol. The Switch could evolve into something like the Flux with its PDW-style setup. It would also lean into PSA’s culture of being a builder’s company.
The Emerge
PSA wants to bring their “you build it” reputation to the world of the Remington 700. You can start with a receiver and create the rifle in the caliber and configuration you want. It’s making it easy to produce a rifle or braced pistol theoretically out of a bolt action design. The Emerge on display was a classic wood-stocked gun, but that’s far from the only option they’ll make.
Vuk 9
The Vuk, a modernized 5.56 AK, was one of last year’s picks. The Vuk 9 brings the modern layout of the Vuk 5.56 to a 9mm platform that takes Scorpion magazines. The gun is a straight blowback weapon but features a highly modern setup with a fairly modular folding brace. I’m a subgun guy, and the Vuk gets my vote as a PSA Concept.
AK 338 ARC
If you’re a gun nerd like me, you might be familiar with the AK-9. The AK-9 is a Russian-made short assault rifle that fires the Russian 9x39mm ammunition. The AK 338 ARC takes the AK-9 idea with the .338 ARC cartridge. This heavy, hard-hitting cartridge is built to be used for subsonic use and to work from short barrels. This PSA Concept offers us a Russian idea in an American cartridge, and it’s rad.
JAKL Precision
Last year, the JAKL .308 won, and this year, PSA wants to know if you want a precision-oriented .308 JAKL. The JAKL Precision brings us a longer barrel and an accurized option with a precision stock and plenty of room for whatever long-range optic you want. This would probably be the fastest PSA concept to hit the market…if it wins.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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PSA JAKL 16" 5.56 1:7 Nitride MOE SL EPT F5 Stock Rifle, Black | Palmetto State Armory | $ 1299.99 |
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PSA JAKL 16" 5.56 1:7 Nitride MOE SL EPT F5 Stock Rifle, Black | Palmetto State Armory | $ 1299.99 |
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PSA JAKL 16" 5.56 1:7 Nitride MOE SL EPT F5 Stock Rifle, FDE | Palmetto State Armory | $ 1249.99 |
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PSA JAKL 16" 5.56 1:7 Nitride MOE SL EPT F5 Stock Rifle, FDE | Palmetto State Armory | $ 1249.99 |
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Olcan
The Olcan is what happens when the JAKL gets a purpose-built bullpup adaption. The Olcan uses the same JAKL-type upper receiver and long-stroke gas piston system. It’s simply converted to a bullpup format that’s much smaller and more compact. This is another PSA Concept that will likely have a fast turnaround time.
Sabre Lancet .50 Cal
PSA producing a .50 caliber semi-auto sniper rifle was not on my bingo list. This massive .50 cal uses a short-stroke gas piston design and uses Barrett magazines. It’s a massive rifle with a long optics rail and M-LOK handguard. I don’t know a ton about .50 cal rifle production, but I’m curious to see what PSA could do with a .50 cal rifle. Can we get a builder’s type atmosphere around it?
570 Semi Auto
Last year, the PSA 570 won the vote and will be entering production. The PSA 570 has now evolved into a semi-auto platform. This expansion of the 570 will retain the 570 receiver. It’s a gas-operated semi-auto shotgun and will still take 870 stocks. The charging handle is completely novel, with a set of dual charging handles sitting between the magazine tube and barrel that allow you to use the forend as a charging handle. As a shotgun nerd, this is my number one PSA Concept.
JAKL 338 ARC
The 338 ARC gained a ton of steam at SHOT with a number of guns embracing it. This is the second PSA Concept to do so. The JAKL 338 ARC is a large format pistol and features a 1913 rail for attaching braces. It’s uber short, and all JAKL.
JAKL 9
Now we have a JAKL that shoots 9mm. As you’d expect, they moved from a long-stroke gas piston system to a straight blowback design. The gun uses Scoprion magazines and looks and feels ergonomically like a JAKL outside of the Scorpion-style magazine release. I like the PSA Concept VUK 9 a little more, but I’d be happy with a JAKL 9.
X9
Last year, the MP7 wannabe from PSA, the X57, was one of the winning concepts. This year, they are bringing the X9 to the table. The X9 gives us the same PDW-sized platform, but this time, it is 9mm. The X9 at the show uses B&T magazines, but Glock options are planned if the X9 is successful. It like a MAC-10 from the future and is the third PSA Concept I’m voting for.
Dagger Micro 380
Dagger Micro 380 describes the gun well. It’s a dagger that’s micro-sized and in .380. It appears to be the same size as the Dager Micro but likely has less recoil. It’s friendly for those who are averse to a micro 9. There isn’t much more to say about this PSA concept.
PA .22
Do you want a PSA-created .22 rifle? Or, well, a receiver? PSA wants to make you one. It’s a 10/22 pattern and will come as rifles, pistols, and a build-it-yourself mentality. You’ll be able to create the .22LR of your dreams with this PSA Concept.
Thumper
PSA has gotten into the 37mm launcher game with the Thumper. The Thumper looks a lot like an M203 but has a stand-alone design with a stock, pistol grip, and optic mount. Stuff like this is fun, and while it might not be all that useful, who doesn’t want an affordable 37mm launcher? You will be the coolest kid on the block during July 4th.
Sabre 11
The Sabre 11 is a 2011 design that is a PSA Concept but will fall under the Sabre brand, which represents PSA’s higher-end firearms. The Sabre 11 will feature all the stuck you want from a modern 2011. It’s optics-ready, has ambidextrous controls, and will likely create an entire family of firearms, including more compact models. SHOT 2025 has had a ton of 2011s, and this is another one to take the cake.
MSP 45
Our last PSA Concept is the MSP 45. The MSP 45 is a single-shot, magazine-fed, straight-pull pistol designed to use a suppressor. It’s a Welrod that’s modern, and you don’t need to do any turns with the bolt. Just pull it back and shove it forward. It’s optics-ready, modular, and promises to be an extremely quiet pistol. PSA built the gun to work with the AAC Ti-Rant 45M, but you could use other suppressors, but you might lose the smooth look.
The PSA Concept Wall
The PSA Concept Wall is massive, has grown extensively, and has tons of cool stuff. PSA is smartly turning to the people and asking them what do you want/ So, let me ask you, what do want? You can tell me, but it works better if you go vote for your favorite here.
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.
Looking at the new stuff is nice but I like the old stuff that’s paid for better .
Nothing here that trips my trigger.