Palmetto State Armory’s Sabre 15 11.5” carbine isn’t just another budget blaster—it’s a rugged, lightweight rifle that took 2,000 rounds of hard use without a single hiccup.
In this recent range day breakdown, the crew put the Sabre through its paces, running mag after mag through it in realistic training conditions.
The result? No malfunctions, no complaints—just clean performance.
Right out of the box, the Sabre 15 impressed with its solid build and refined feel.
It features a Rifle Speed adjustable gas block with 12 settings, a Hyperfire trigger with a crisp, short reset, and a Radian Raptor charging handle for ambi control. The B5 stock and 10″ handguard round out a package that balances compact maneuverability with rifle-level capability.
A few highlights from the field:
- Runs slick and reliable, even under heat with minimal lube
- light up front and fast to drive on target
- Adjustable gas block actually works well with suppressors and ammo variations
- Excellent upper/lower fitment—no slop, no rattle
- Zero performance drop-off after multiple shooters burned through 2K rounds
The GBRS crew did notice that when running it slick (no lights, cans, or accessories), the rifle feels a bit rear-heavy. But once you start loading it up with the gear you’d normally run—light, IR laser, suppressor—it balances out beautifully.
If you’re shopping for a duty-grade shorty that doesn’t feel cheap and can hang with more expensive builds, the PSA Sabre 15 deserves a spot on your radar.
I thinks it’s hilarious when people mount an optic back up to the level that the carry handle had the irons. Stoner put the iron sights at that level because of the ergonomics. Flat tops make socketing the rifle butt awkward, so we get this sort of thing.
The extra high mounts are for wearing night vision goggles. Pig hunting with night vision is a thing.
This is mounted higher than a carry handle’s irons by quite a bit.
The rear iron sight built into a Unity FAST is the same height as a carry handle sight and it’s well below the optic which will have an optical center line above the rail of 2.26″. The thing on this rifle, a Lerna, is even higher by like 0.65″ as compared to the FAST, against as measured against the rail.
They’re putting these optics at, or mostly above, where optics were sometimes mounted on a carry handle above/in front of the rear iron sight (think Blackhawk Down). Height Over Rail (HOR) for A2 irons is 1.4″, Unity FAST is 2.26″ HOR, the Lerna is 2.91″ HOR.
There’s sometimes confusion here because some people mix up HOR and HOB (bore).
HOB on A2’s is 2.6″. 2.6-1.4 = 1.2″ which is the rail’s HOB. So, for HOB, on these sort of mounts, take whatever they give you as “optical centerline” and add 1.2″. FAST = 3.46″ HOB and the Lerna = 4.11″ HOB for 5.56mm ARs. HOB will vary if you go to other platforms, but HOR will not.
This is for NODs, yes as shiggs points out, but also use with a gas mask/earpro etc.
It also provides a far more heads-up (literally) position for the shooter which increases their vision off to their non-dominant eye side because their head is up and both eyes are open, which is an advantage in CQB. The difference is actually rather shocking when you experience it as compared to cowitnessed dots.
If you run a rifle with a dot and try out a Unity, you won’t go back to lower mounts unless you’re specifically trying to be a hater. It’s such a better position for your head and it actually kinda realigns your entire body around the rifle in a much more natural way. I haven’t tried the Lerna, which is actually a GBRS product but I’d guess it’s much the same in this regard. Why they made it more than half an inch higher, I’m not sure.
The drawback to these things is that once you try them you’ll want them for all your dotted rifles, which is gonna get pricey really fast and that you now have to remember your HOB to a greater degree if shooting around obstacles, particularly hard objects like brick or cinderblock walls.
Never had any option but cowitness dot or acog in the service for rifles but a higher dot would absolutely help with the gas mask. Had to cant the rifle 45° and aim a tad right or left beyond 100 yards depending on what side we had to shoot from.
That’s what I spent my life on as well and it seems like it works pretty darn well until you try something better. I was, frankly, quite skeptical until I tried a friend’s rifle with a Unity on it.
Things progress as we learn what works, what doesn’t and solve problems.
This is an example of that.
The headgear issues probably don’t matter for most people in a civilian context but the change in posture is a game changer for normal speed people as well as the pros. Better vison, better posture, faster target acquisition, less fatigue etc.
I can’t speak to the Lerna pictured here but the Unity has a built in adjustable rear iron sight, so if you want BUIS, you can simply add a front sight and have that at the standard HOR/HOB as a backup.
The only downside is that you have to do the reps to train for a new HOR or you’ll end up looking at that iron site instead of your dot.
Having used them, I don’t know how TF we didn’t have this 20 years ago.
I absolutely love how a budget oriented company is putting out more reliable rifles than Colt/Bushmaster of 20 years ago.
Totally awesome, double like the aimpointy sight mounted way up there where the crows can build a nest.
WTF
He’s shooting it canted over to the left, so I’m guessing left eye dominant aim.
I’d let the guys at GBRS beat the crap out of that thing for a year before I really thought it had their “seal of approval”.
Those dudes take “torture test” to the next level when they really, seriously consider something for work.
General question to the forum:
Is it a good Idea to go through warranty registration with a gun manufacturer?
After all you need to give then SN, your address and contact info. Can we be sure that this info will stay only with them?
“Can we be sure that this info will stay only with them?”
It depends on what you care about.
General privacy issues, there’s an outside chance that they keep this in a database that gets breached by common interwebz criminals, that’s the same as many other things you might do. I wouldn’t be highly concerned here but it’s up to you how much risk you attach here.
There’s also the Liberty Safe fiasco situation that might be in the back of your mind where they’re actively cooperating with .gov in some respect. I’d think other companies would have figured out this is a bad idea but you never know.
If your actual concern is directly related to .gov… I’d lean towards not really worrying about that.
Truth be told, if .gov wants to go hard in the paint in terms of confiscation you’re probably screwed anyway unless you’ve specifically and significantly “colored outside the lines” already. At that point, assuming you’re not already into committing felonies on the regular, you surrender what you have or shoot the enforcement agents, they’re not going to give you a third option.
If they go full USSA, they’re gonna know you have it or they’re going to find out. They’re not quite at the point of Enemy of the State but then your OPSEC probably isn’t close to being at Brill’s level either. Once they start leaning on the population you have other issues to boot. History shows that your own family will, in fact, turn you in.
IRL, if such a thing were to come to pass, it would be preceded by a *digital revolution* and come with a social credit score. At that point, you’re totally boned no matter what you do so you might as well start blasting because compliance won’t earn you anything other than a one way trip to a gulag or someplace worse.
It was amusing to me, several years ago, to have people here tell me that their VPN was foolproof and kept them safe from .gov knowing about their gun related browsing habits. They were saying this at the same time as .mil was running recruitment ads that they’d teach you how to break a VPN. Again, once combined with other methods of data collection in a China/USSR-esque manner, you’re almost certainly not going to avoid detection over time.
So… six of one, half a dozen of the other. Basically a wash, so look at what’s convenient for you based on the manufacturer and your perception of them in terms of quality and customer service.
Anything you say can and will be used against you.