Palmetto State Armory has made a number of excellent clones of popular weapons over the years, but should the PSA Dagger be counted among them?
Table of contents
Introduction
While Glock pistols started the so-called "poly striker craze" that continues to this day, there are a number of other excellent single action polymer-framed, striker fired pistols in circulation today- a number of them having filled niches the Glock couldn't quite reach or improving upon the basic Glock design.
Families such as Smith and Wesson's M&P Sport line and the Canik series of pistols, for example, while not strict Glock clones, fulfill the same basic niche of a lightweight single-action pistol uncluttered by safety levers and the like while also adding features of their own that sets them apart, but others are basically just Glock rip-offs.
That doesn't mean they aren't solid guns, however- Glocks remain the most popular handgun family on earth for the sole reason they are cheap, lightweight and reliable, and any Glock clone must have these features to compete.
And now, Palmetto State Armory- already quite established in the commercial firearms market- recently introduced another Glock-like pistol called the Dagger back in 2022 and while it was no doubt highly anticipated, it appears to have been met with mixed reception in the two years since its release.
Why is this? Is the PSA Dagger just a hyped-up Glock clone, or is it a truly a good pistol that deserves a second look?
Read on to find out.
Hands-on experience (first impressions, features, shooting and more)
First impressions
So, first thing's first- yes, the PSA Dagger feels exactly like a Glock does. It even looks more or less like a Glock does, as well- as you can see from the sample product image we used, it has the blocky "square" frame and slide they are known for and feels like it weighs roughly the same due to the materials used in its manufacturing (lots of polymer and various lightweight metals, as you can imagine).
It's rare that I say this about guns, but in my (probably reprehensible) opinion, it's an ugly gun- even Glocks look better than this. It's not important, but when I first saw it, it did seem rough on the eyes.
But since you can't judge a book by its cover, I decided to try to manhandle the Dagger a bit, and found nothing unusual- the barebones Dagger you're most likely to find in a gun store has a decent slide design with good serrations that help provide a firm grip (although some models, such as the "saber" variant have cutouts in the slide) and is otherwise true to the aforementioned Glock-ish look. It does have more rounded edges on the corners, however- which aids somewhat in reducing the weapon's imprint on clothing.
The trigger, too, is unremarkable but adequate- it's light (about 6 foot-pounds), somewhat mushy with a bit of a vague wall before it breaks but it won't hinder accuracy much unless you're running competitions, I'd imagine (aftermarket trigger upgrades where something I cannot find online on PSA's website at the time of this writing).
So, by now, you're probably thinking "ok, I get it- it's a Glock clone"- and you'd be right, but it's got a bit more variety to it- there's over 140 models offered on Palmetto State Armory's website as of November, 2024, so if any of this sounds unappealing to you, there's a girth of options to choose from when shopping for anything in this line.
Controls, function and basic features
Since we've already described most of the external elements to this pistol, this will be a quick segment.
Like many other poly-strikers, there's no manual safety on these pistols. However, it is virtually impossible to fire one without actually depressing the trigger, thanks to its internal trigger safety mechanism that blocks the firing pin unless the trigger is actually pulled.
One area in which it improves on the basic poly-striker formula is the magazine well- it's good to have some room to get your fingers on the magazine should it fail to drop free of the gun, and Glocks in particular don't leave much room for this, normally (unless using an extended mag).
The PSA Dagger has small cutouts at the base of the grip for this purpose, however, and they are large enough to utilize even when wearing gloves.
Internals on the Dagger, too, are remarkably similar to a Glock, and it's relatively easy to disassemble and put back together.
Do you understand why some people call it a Glock clone, now?
But alas, we have another important thing to discuss- how it actually shoots.
Shooting it
This is the area where I think the PSA Dagger really shines some light.
I wasn't interested in buying a poly-striker for any reason due to my hammer-fired elitism, so I never actually got a chance to shoot one until the day before Halloween this year at my friend's shop at the indoor shooting range they have (and that's almost always empty when I'm there, for some reason).
What impressed me was how much it felt like shooting a toy gun- I noticed very little recoil, muzzle flip or torque, and while not unique to this pistol in particular, it was extremely disorienting at first before I realized how pleasant it was to shoot in long, unbroken strings.
In fact, while I normally only use about 300-600 rounds when testing new guns for general reliability, this time, I shot over 1,500 rounds nonstop over the course of about 5 hours- that's over 100 magazines (lots of cheap FMJ, mostly, but also shot some 115 grain Hornady FTX- a prime self-defense load- as well as some other more pricey lead pills). I did this to see if it could match up with a Glock's reliability, and sure enough, it did.
It was decently accurate, too- slow aimed fire at 25 yards revealed 2–3-inch groups at that distance are quite doable even with that trigger that feels about as smooth as flipping a light switch in your kitchen.
So, while it doesn't look sleek and pretty like a 1911, it can probably be depended on at least as much as a Glock in a pinch and has decent accuracy and good controllability- and that by itself makes it a solid weapon.
Pros and cons
Pros: | Cons: |
Extremely reliable | Trigger is sloppy and feels weak |
Lightweight | No manual safety (for the more safety-oriented) |
Boasts decent accuracy despite trigger | |
Comes in well over 100 variants |
Final thoughts
So with all of this to take in... is the PSA Dagger just another boring run-of-the-mill Glock clone?
The verdict, in our opinion, is... basically, yes- but it's not "boring" because it does have some perks.
It's definitely going to make someone who has shot any poly-striker pistol feel immediately at home, but it has a few small things going for it here and there that make it unique enough that you'd consider buying one over a standard Glock.
For example, while not innate to the Dagger's function, it comes with cutouts on the magwell that can make ripping a sticky mag out of the gun much easier, and because it comes in so many different models, you can probably find a factory Dagger that has far more on it right from the factory than a Glock (slide cutouts, threaded barrels, improved sights, ergonomics, triggers etc. all exist at the time of this writing).
So overall, while the gun itself isn't revolutionary, it will do everything a Glock will- from working reliably to being easy to carry- plus a few extra (usually minor) things a Glock cannot do or does not have right out of the box.
As always, however, we cannot decide if it's right for you based on your needs. You must make that decision yourself- and with this information we've given you, hopefully that will not be a little easier!
Like the article and like what we do? Feel free to leave a comment or send us a message and feel free to subscribe anytime!
Comments