PSA ROCK 5.7 Pistol ~ A Handful Of 5.7×28

Initially printed 7/5/2024.

The 5.7×28 is an attention-grabbing cartridge. Developed initially at NATO’s request as a potential alternative for the 9mm Luger for PDWs and pistols, it underwent a couple of modifications, and I keep in mind studying about it at the moment. I recollect questioning if it will make the transition to the civilian world, pondering that it will be an amazing addition to a gun homeowners’ arsenal. It’s firmly my perception that the 5.7×28 cartridge is right here to remain. I’ve come to this conclusion regardless of seeing it launched to us in a single pistol (the FN 5-seveN), after which virtually being placed on life assist resulting from gradual gross sales.

The issue wasn’t the cartridge – it was the truth that the one pistol capable of chamber it for an extended whereas was that lone FN pistol, an costly ($1409 as we speak) proposition. Many shooters needed so as to add the 5.7 to their assortment, however couldn’t afford to till Ruger, Kel-Tec, Smith and Wesson, and some different producers added a 5.7×28 pistol to their line-ups.

Palmetto State Armory ROCK 5.7 Optics Prepared Pistol

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) jumped on that exact bandwagon by providing its reasonably priced (beginning at $420. PSA web site) ROCK 5.7 on the market in Could of 2022. Now, many shooters can benefit from the punch of this centerfire .22. Coming in at lower than a 3rd of the worth of the FN 5-seveN, this cost-effective PSA gun is being snapped up by savvy shooters wanting a hard-hitting pistol that makes little-bitty, very-close-together holes in a goal with out a lot felt recoil. Varmints particularly fall into the bailiwick of this zippy little spherical, though that wasn’t its unique meant function. Let’s take a fast take a look at the 5.7×28 cartridge first, then we’ll study the ROCK 5.7 up shut that PSA kindly despatched for overview.

5.7×28 Backstory

Developed by Fabrique Nationale and launched in 1990 on the request of NATO as a potential substitute for the 9mm, the SS90 (because it was referred to) featured a 23-grain, plastic-core bullet at 2800 fps when fired from FN’s P90 PDW. When fired from that weapon, the cartridge may defeat a NATO CRISAT vest or a Degree IIIA Kevlar vest at a variety of 200 meters. Three years later, the SS90 was changed by the SS190 with its 31-grain bullet at 2350 fps. It additionally featured a barely shorter case to operate in a pistol extra simply. After a couple of extra variations and additional growth of the 5.7×28 cartridge, the FN 5-seveN pistol went into manufacturing in 1998.

I gained’t go into the army/NATO evaluations of the cartridge… suffice it to say it underwent a collection of assessments in 2002 and 2003, alongside the H&Ok-developed 4.6×30 cartridge. These assessments had been terminated resulting from a weird flip of occasions, as H&Ok cried ‘foul!’ and testing was suspended.

Evidently, the venerable 9mm was not changed, however the civilian world gained a fun-to-shoot little spherical that excels at penetration, velocity, and lack of recoil. That leads us to the gun-of-the-hour, the PSA 5.7 ROCK.

PSA 5.7 ROCK

Introduced in January of 2022 and obtainable in Could of that 12 months, the PSA 5.7 ROCK has been a constant vendor for them. Proudly owning a function set much like that of a dearer pistol, the PSA 5.7 ROCK seems to be, feels and shoots prefer it ought to value a few Benjamins greater than it does. Finally depend, I noticed 71… yup, 71… completely different fashions of PSA 5.7 ROCKs obtainable on PSA’s web site. That counts all 5.7s… these each out and in of inventory, but it surely provides you an concept of how widespread the spherical and the gun are. In the event that they weren’t promoting them, they wouldn’t make them. Can’t idiot me! The weapons promote nicely as a result of the function set outweighs the worth tag.

Talking of options, let’s check out the specs…

Specs

Mannequin: PSA 5.7 ROCK
Caliber: 5.7x28mm
Capability: 23+1
Weight with Empty Magazine: 25 oz
Barrel Materials: Carbon Metal With QPQ End; Fluted
Barrel Size: 5.2″
Twist Charge: 1/9″
Thread Pitch: 1/2×28 TPI
Entrance Sight: Co-Witness Sight, suppressor peak, Glock-compatible
Rear Sight: Co-Witness Sight, suppressor peak, Glock-compatible
Slide Materials: 416 Stainless Metal with Sniper Inexperienced Cerakote End
Motion: Delayed Blowback Striker-fired; single-action
Magazine Catch: Reversible
Security: Set off & Striker
Accent Rail: Picatinny
Colour: Sniper Inexperienced
MSRP: $699.99 with Holosun HS407K X2 purple dot

Observations

We’ve the measurements, weights, and many others. listed above. Let’s take a extra subjective take a look at this pistol… what do I like about it? As a substitute of doing execs and cons, I’ll write about what impressed me, and one factor that didn’t impress me. One draw back that I noticed with this pistol didn’t have something to do with the pistol, however with the price of ammo. Be able to spend round $30 for a 50-round field of FMJ cartridges. Count on to pay extra for tender factors or different increasing rounds. You should buy ammo in bulk, but it surely nonetheless ain’t low-cost. (The reloader in me discovered that the spherical took small rifle primers and about 6 – 10 grains of powder. Reloading is an choice).

Really feel.

It is a 5.2-inch-barreled, full-size pistol. It suits my hand very nicely. I acquired this and PSA’s Dagger Compact 9mm for overview. After dealing with the Dagger, I picked up the ROCK and my hand mentioned “Ahhh…”. Properly, possibly not actually, however there may be extra room within the grip. Granted, the Dagger is a compact pistol and as such feels higher than its “G”-word competitor in my hand. However, the full-size ROCK has an extended grip and could be very comfy to carry. My pal Ed, a former deputy who frequently carries a Walther PPQ, actually preferred the bigger grip body of the ROCK over that of the Dagger. He’s tall, with giant arms. It’s a subjective name.

Crimson Dot.

This mannequin comes with the Holosun HS407K X2 purple dot sight. This 6-MOA sight is, nicely, tiny. It’s shorter and narrower than many different dot sights I’ve used through the years. With its auto-on and –off function, you’ll have 50k or so hours of battery life. Holosun makes good things.

Grip Texture.

I observed first with the Dagger that the grip texturing could be very efficient. I like a tough grip texture — I’m useful with a soldering iron within the stippling division — however this grip works very nicely. Once you decide the gun up, there isn’t a “grabby” really feel to the grip. It’s solely while you crank your grip down that you just really feel the stickiness. Put the gun in your hand, grip it tight, and attempt to transfer it round together with your different hand. I can’t get it to maneuver a lot in any respect. I expertise the identical feeling with my Springfield Armory Hellcst RDP… SA makes use of an identical texturing that feels virtually easy till you grip arduous. The texturing right here can be straightforward on garments.

Protected.

The ROCK makes use of a striker and set off security. The striker is blocked except the set off is pulled, and the set off is hinged like that on an S&W M&P 2.0. There is no such thing as a heart blade. I like this method – it really works nicely, doesn’t have an effect on the set off pull, and doesn’t pinch my finger like some bladed triggers do.

Sights.

The ROCK, just like the Dagger Compact, makes use of suppressor-height, co-witnessing sights which can be Glock suitable. They line up with the Holosun HS407K X2 purple dot that got here with the gun (after a little bit of zeroing… it wanted adjusting however was no huge deal). The Holosun is mounted instantly on the gun, no adapter plate is required, however a few plates are included if you must set up one other kind of purple dot. The ROCK means that you can instantly mount any Defend footprint optic, excluding the Leupold Delta Level Professional.

Magazines.

You could possibly load all however three from a field of fifty 5.7×28 cartridges within the two included metal magazines, plus one within the chamber… journal capability is 23 rounds. Not too shabby! They load like .223 AR mags load – push the cartridge down till it clicks into place … don’t attempt to slide it in from the entrance. That is sensible because it’s mainly a tiny bottleneck rifle cartridge being loaded. They do get moderately arduous to press down after you’ve loaded a couple of, so be ready to push with some power.

In regards to the magazines, PSA’s web site has this discover:

“Whereas this journal will slot in a Ruger 5.7 magazine nicely, we can not assure that it’s going to operate in a Ruger 5.7 Pistol

*Attributable to geometry variations, the 5.7 Rock 23 spherical *journal will slot in a Ruger 5.7 Pistol and our 5.7 Rock pistol, nonetheless, the operate can’t be assured.A 20-round Ruger 5.7 journal will NOT work in a 5.7 Rock.”

So now you recognize.

Case.

The ROCK and the Dagger Compact had been each shipped in soft-side, FDE zipper circumstances with holders for each magazines and the lock. A velcro strap for the gun’s grip rounds out the bundle. This case is a really good “additional” that was not anticipated.

Threaded Barrel. 

Add a suppressor simply through the 1/2×28 TPI threaded barrel. Don’t lose the rubber gasket beneath the thread protector – you’ll want that.

Set off.

The one damaging statement I’ve about this explicit pistol issues the set off. I measured it at seven and a half kilos. It had a couple of half-inch of take-up. That wasn’t the problem. The set off pull itself was very arduous – after take-up, you hit the “wall” and it takes a variety of stress to journey the sear. I pulled the sights astray a few instances making an attempt to deal with the stress required to fireplace the gun. I might hope that, after a couple of hundred rounds, the set off would easy itself out however as it’s now, it certain took some concentrated effort to maintain the sights or the dot on the goal whereas urgent it.

That actually is the one remotely damaging side I observed about this gun. Different shooters validated my opinion on the powerful set off. A number of different evaluations I learn on-line praised the set off on their pattern, so hopefully, the one I obtained was a one-off.

Subject-Stripping The ROCK

The take-down drill is a bit completely different than your typical Glock-style process. It’s extra just like the takedown of a few .22 LR pistols I’ve dealt with.

First, pull the journal and ensure the chamber’s empty. Then, take away the magazine and pull the slide takedown lever down. Grasp and pull the slide to the rear about 1/2″. After a set off pull, transfer the slide ahead not fairly an inch, and raise it off the body rails. Don’t try to slip it off the entrance of the body… that’s not going to occur.  Simply raise it off the rails.

To reverse, place the slide again over the body, about an inch ahead of the locked place. Press it down and work the slide to the rear. That ought to do it. In the event you get caught go to the PSA 5.7 ROCK proprietor’s handbook. Go to web page 17.

The important thing to with the ability to take away the barrel for cleansing lies within the thread protector’s rubber gasket. I attempted pulling the barrel out at first and was unsuccessful till my pal Ed tried it and noticed, then eliminated the gasket. I hadn’t seen it, however he did. As soon as the gasket was off, the barrel got here proper out. Grasp on to that little rubber circle!

How’s It Shoot?

I purchased a few completely different manufacturers of 5.7 ammo… not one thing I say flippantly at its present value … and headed to my yard vary. As I mentioned above, I had reviewed the Ruger 5.7 earlier than, so I had some concept of what to anticipate when it comes to recoil, flash, and noise. Not a lot of the primary, extra of the final two. This gun was no completely different. When you think about that the 9mm operates at a max stress of 38,500 psi and evaluate it to the 5.7×28’s greater than 50,000 psi, you’ll know while you contact one off. Keep in mind that the unique army function of growing the 5.7 was to defeat physique armor at a distance. So, it’s sure to draw consideration while you pull the set off.

One of many two manufacturers of ammo I purchased was the FN-manufactured 40-grain FMJ (FN GUNR, #SS201 goal ammo). The primary two targets are the FN load and the third, black, goal is the Federal American Eagle 40-grain FMJ. Targets had been set at 25 yards. Right here’s what occurred…

It took some time to find that the purple dot wasn’t fairly zeroed, so we switched to irons. The tall sights had been straightforward to accumulate, however the outcomes had been not so good as they might have been if we had simply caught with the irons to start with. I lastly obtained the dot zeroed to co-witness with the irons, after our capturing session. The gun popped each clay pigeon I put the dot on – it’s correct, despite the set off. Except you’re searching varmints with this gun, this FMJ ammo is unquestionably OK for observe.

Conclusion

If you’re wanting so as to add a novel firearm to your gun protected and need that gun to place bullets out of its muzzle at very nice pace, you then would possibly need to take a look at the PSA 5.7 ROCK. The ROCK is constructed to a excessive commonplace, feels good within the hand, and is correct and dependable. I actually like capturing it — the shortage of recoil makes up for the blast and flash. If ammo was a bit cheaper, I may packing this factor round at residence for woods walks, and many others. Put one in your hand and provides it a attempt – you’ll be glad you probably did!

About Mike Hardesty

With expertise spanning over 45 years, Mike Hardesty has lengthy loved capturing and reloading. An inveterate reloader, he casts bullets and reloads for a various array of firearms, every dealt with with long-practiced precision. Residing in rural Indiana, his homestead boasts a private 100-yard vary the place he shares his love for weapons to his 4 sons, their wives, and eleven grandchildren. As a acknowledged writer, his writings have been featured in notable platforms like Sniper Nation, Bear Creek Arsenal Weblog, Pew Pew Tactical, TTAG, Dillon Precision’s Blue Press, and Gun Made, revealing his ongoing ardour for firearms on the age of 72.