It’s finally time for Part 2 of the Palmetto State Armory AK-105 review. Part 1 was informative but not a very positive experience. Thankfully, Part 2 feels like (and is) a whole new gun.

PSA @ TFB:

• [SHOT Show 2023] Palmetto State Armory’s “Duty Grade” Sabre Rifle Series
• TFB Review: Palmetto State Armory AK-105 – An Abortive Part 1
• [SHOT 2023] Palmetto State Armory Krinkovs
• PSA Rock 5.7 Pistol 1,000 Round Torture Test and Review
• PSA AK-104 3000 Round Review

All reviews should include disclosures. PSA provided the gun for this review. I purchased the ammo. My relationship with PSA consists of a few reviews, some of which have been great and some not so much.

Background

Part 1 of this AK-105 series dealt with a -105 pistol which had some real issues. Thanks to the ATF ruining pistol braces, the best course of action was replacing that gun with a new rifle version. PSA let me pick out a new rifle version and they sent it right out.

This time around I opted for more of a base model. The official name is “PSA AK-105 SIDE FOLDING RIFLE W/PINNED AND WELDED EXTENDED BOOSTER, TOOLCRAFT BOLT, TRUNNION, AND CARRIER, FDE.” While descriptive, that’s a bit of a mouthful so I’ll just call it the AK-105 rifle.

Features

PSA’s AK-105 rifle is available in various models. As hinted in its full name, this gun features a left-side folding stock, tan furniture, and a pinned muzzle device. The AK-105 has a 13” barrel, so it requires a permanently-attached muzzle device to reach 16 inches.

A cleaning rod is included, and it is almost impossible to remove and replace thanks to the immobile muzzle device. But it is still a nice touch that PSA included one. Because it is 13” long and the muzzle device is permanently attached, this cleaning rod will not be much use for removing a stuck case.

The muzzle device is a sort of spiked brake. Prior to receiving this gun, I had wondered if it would be attached by welding the standard detent assembly in place or some other novel method. It is not. There is a visible weld over a pin into the threads on the bottom of the assembly.

Unlike the previous pistol, this rifle has standard AK sights, which I have never liked. It is an inferior design to aperture rear sights. This is not a particular fault of this gun, though, as this is a Kalashnikov thing (and yet another reason the AR is superior, but I digress).

The only initial problem that I noted with the gun was the tension of the folding stock button. It was stuck in the open position and would only release if it was smacked with something like a magazine. After a lot of use, it started to get easier and stopped requiring a bionic thumb. It still remains rather stiff, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On The Range

My first trip with the AK-105 rifle was to the indoor range for some basic function testing. It worked with a wider range of magazines than the pistol. It functioned well with Magpul PMAG (which was included), AC Unity, Tapco, Polish military, Circle 10, Circle 21, and commercial Bulgarian magazines. The only magazine tested which did not function was a steel Romanian mag. Some AC Unity magazines successfully hold the bolt open, while others don’t. This is much better than the last -105, which was far more picky with mags.

From the factory, the gun was shooting quite low, but it only took about ten rounds and a pair of needle nose pliers to get the group centered on the target. The front sight is straight and changes to front sight elevation only changed the elevation. No windage shift was observed, which is another sign that things are straight.

I fired as wide of a range of ammunition as I could find. 5.45×39 is not the most common caliber these days, and the Russian ammo ban has not helped. I fired an array of Tula 60-grain FMJ, 7n6 surplus, Hornady Black 60-grain VMAX, and 69-grain Red Army Standard. All cycled without issue (except for the Red Army stuff which we will discuss later). My ammo budget is somewhat limited by the current market conditions and not wanting to burn up too much of my stockpile. I fired about 150 rounds that day.

A few points deserve special mention. The trigger is very good for an AK. It has a standard curved shoe but a lighter-than-average pull weight. Ejection is at 3:00 and is enthusiastic. The recoil is very soft, even softer than my Tantal. Muzzle flash is pronounced thanks to the brake portion of the muzzle device.

 

 

Burn Down Day

After I was sure that it would work, it was time for real abuse. I took the AK-105 out to the desert to run up the round count which meant using Red Army Standard 69-grain ammo. To be clear, that particular load is awful. It consistently jams in my Tantal and one of my 5.45 ARs. The empty cases stick in the chamber when the barrel is hot. However, I bought a bunch when it was cheap and other loads are scarce right now. I tested it out and it worked better in this AK-105 so I loaded it up for the burn down. In the interest of science, I also fired a few rounds with the stock folded, one-handed, like a large pistol. It worked, which is not a surprise.

This burndown consisted of 225 rounds fired as fast as possible. That may sound like a random number but it is one 45-round magazine in the gun and six 30-round mags. I loaded all those magazines into my Pattern 84 chest rig and put on some gloves because it was going to get hot.

The entire burndown took about 2-3 minutes. I had one failure to extract about 85 rounds fired, but I cleared it promptly and continued. At about 150 rounds, there was a double feed caused by a stuck case. Mortaring the gun on a rock cleared that case and I continued firing. Once all rounds were completed, there was smoke coming from the barrel and gas tube area and the front sling loop was so hot that it was burning me through my gloves.

I continued shooting once the gun cooled off a bit. However, I was on a tight timeline to get home for a family commitment so I ran a sort of second unintentional mini burndown with the last few magazines. The gun was incredibly hot at this point and the crap Red Army Standard 69-grain ammo started sticking in the chamber.

After resorting to hammering on a steel rod to remove stuck cases I moved to desperate measures. I poured water down the barrel from the chamber end, let it evaporate off, then dumped the magazine as fast as possible to minimize the time each cartridge spent in the chamber. Pouring water in a rifle is not a common thing to do but it is my general practice after firing corrosive ammo. This method worked well for the last few magazines. I fired about 550 rounds over about an hour and a half.

Other Notes

I took the opportunity to shoot at some distance while out in the desert. It was easy to hit 8″ targets out to about 250 yards with the iron sights. Those sights are the weak point in the system as far as accuracy is concerned. My nonscientific testing of adjusting the rear sight to match the distance of targets matched up well enough to either hit targets or be very close out to about 500 yards. This is not a DMR or anything but it is a good shooter.

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

This is a much better gun than the first review sample. There is a night and day difference between the two. This is a handy, light, and effective rifle, and it seems to handle abuse well. The first gun left me with a sour taste, but PSA is constantly improving its products and this rifle shows it. With no cleaning and no lubrication, it ran just fine. I would like to run the round count up higher but that will have to wait until I can source more 5.45×39 ammo at prices less absurd than the current market. As it stands though, any real issues would have shown up by now. If you are a fellow nerd with a basement full of 5.45 ammo, you should consider the PSA AK-105.

 

 

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