TFB Review: PSA Soviet Arms “Krink” in 5.56

One of the most anticipated new releases from Palmetto State Armory was the “Krink” AK when it was announced at SHOT Show 2023. The AKS-74U is a grail gun for many shooters, but it is a hard one to find, and expensive if one can be located. A PSA Krink would make that gun both affordable and available. I asked PSA to send me one to review, and it is time to talk about how it performed.

PSA @ TFB:

NEW Palmetto State Armory Sabre-10A1 TFB Review: Palmetto State Armory AK-105 – An Abortive Part 1 [SHOT 2024] PSA Displays Wide Range Of New Guns And Prototypes TFB Review: Palmetto State Armory AR-15A4 Harrington & Richardson Releases New Braced Retro Pistols

Disclosures: Palmetto provided this gun for this review. I have done reviews previously for PSA, some have been good, and some have been bad. I paid for the ammo, TFB paid for the article.

Features

Palmetto State Armory may have started as an AR-15 manufacturer, but their lineup has grown substantially over the years, and it now includes a wide range of AK-pattern firearms. That range of guns has grown to encompass all sorts of different models, including a “Krink” pistol.

The AKS-74U was first seen in use in Afghanistan by the USSR. It was an extremely short AK-74 variant, chambered in 5.45×39 with a barrel length of around eight and a half inches. It also had a side-folding steel stock so it could be stored in tight quarters, such as inside helicopter cockpits. These guns were a status symbol among Afghan Mujahideen because they were associated with pilots, and carrying one signified (truthfully or not) that the bearer had downed a helicopter to come into possession of the gun.

Whether “Krinkov,” “Krink” or some other nickname is actually more correct, Americans have called it a Krink for many years now. PSA’s Krink was first released in 5.56 NATO, as 5.45×39 has become very scarce in the United States. They also have a .300 Blackout version in production now. The barrel is only 8.4 inches long, which is quite a bit less than the optimal length for a 5.56 firearm. Keep reading for velocity info, but don’t expect 20-inch velocity numbers out of a tiny gun like this. On the topic of the barrel it has a 1:7 twist rate so it will stabilize just about any bullet weight.

Some AK purists may complain about this not being an absolutely perfect clone because the arm brace attaches to a picatinny rail section. This does not bother me in the least, and I almost never even notice it. However, if you insist on being as close to the original as possible (leaving aside the caliber), PSA sells an SBR-ready model with no brace that can accept a stock.

This particular model of Krink has a “redwood” handguard and grip. The finish on both is surprisingly nice. A triangle folding arm brace is standard on this model as well. It’s actually wood too, not a wood substitute. I like the wood furniture because it is the optimum vibe but it also is very functional.

PSA fits a triangle folding arm brace on this model. It looks very much like the triangular steel folding stocks found on the real AKS-74U, but is actually a semi-rigid rubber. The folding mechanism locks tight in the open position. And with the brace folded the Krink is a very compact gun. It’s no wonder these were tucked into cramped aircraft cockpits by Soviet pilots in Afghanistan. Even with the compromised ballistics compared to a full length rifle barrel, this would be a more comforting sidearm than anything that fits in a holster.

On The Range

This gun is so much fun. It is a steel and wood smile generator. Every person who tried this gun enjoyed shooting it. The recoil is light, the ammo is (relatively) cheap, and it just looks cool. Holding a classic Krink with those wood handguards evokes reminiscences of James Bond in Goldeneye, or playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

The muzzle blast and flash on the Krink is substantial. That is part of the fun with a gun like this, though. It is even more pronounced with 5.56 NATO ammo instead of .223 Remington, so if you are going for the maximum fireball effect keep that in mind. Both .223 and 5.56 ammo cycles fine and the ejection pattern is very assertive with both.

After two magazines the barrel is very hot, three magazines and you realize immediately when your hand is off of the wood part of the handguard. I shot the .300 Blk Krink model outfitted with a railed handguard and it quickly became too hot to hold onto. The wood furniture on this Krink stays much cooler, and, in my opinion, looks better too.

The trigger is classically AK. It had some trigger slap in the first few rounds, but it smoothed out with use. My Lyman trigger pull gauge reads the trigger pull at about 4.5 pounds on average. The trigger shoe itself has the traditional AK profile with an exaggerated curve but it still runs fast.

My biggest complaint is not the fault of PSA’s rendition of the Krink, but is an inherent issue of the Krink itself. The sights are just not good. AK sights are clearly made for conscripts and use a rear notch mounted above the chamber and a front sight post. One reason I like the Galil family so much more than the other AKs is the improved aperture rear sight. The Krink sights work, but are not great.

One point that is better than the typical AK is the safety. Unlike the clone-correct selector, which has the shelf at the front of the lever, PSA use a lever with the shelf at the rear. I was able to sweep the safety on and off with my trigger finger without much hand movement. That is a much faster movement than having to reach forward to hit a shelf on the front of the safety. The tension is also good, not too tight and not too loose.

Magazine Compatibility

PSA includes one Soviet Arms 30-round slab-sided magazine. It has steel internal reinforcements and looks a lot like an AK74 magazine. Unsurprisingly, that magazine functions flawlessly. I also tried a Bulgarian 5.56 magazine, sold by GunMagWarehouse. It also worked perfectly. PSA also told me they have had good luck with the AC Unity mags, but I don’t have any of those to test.

Though I have a strongly negative opinion of ProMag products, they make a 5.56 AK magazine that seems to be the most commonly-available option. I bought one and tried it. It worked for almost a whole magazine before it began acting like a ProMag, causing malfunction after malfunction. I switched back to my other magazines, also loaded with the same lot of ammo, and the gun started running again. Don’t buy ProMag.

Just to satisfy my curiosity I tried using 5.45×39 AK74 magazines loaded with .223 ammo, but it did not work. There are conversion followers out there, so it is possible to adapt a 5.45 mag to feed 5.56, but don’t expect it to work as-is.

Suppressed Operation

The short barrel on the Krink provides a great opportunity to use a suppressor. But the muzzle threads are different on the Krink use an uncommon thread pitch, M24x1.5. I found an adapter to 5/8×24, and after I checked concentricity several ways I felt confident that everything would work fine. Still, there was a worry in the back of my mind, so I fired a few rounds with a .30 caliber Harvester Evo that was handy just to make sure nothing was massively out of whack. The gun cycled fine, but it reminded me why AKs are not known as good suppressor hosts. There was significant backpressure and added gas back toward me.

I switched to the Velos LBP, which was set up with a Charlie direct thread adapter instead of the usual ASR mount. What a difference! The gun cycled the same as it did unsuppressed, only quieter. The ejection pattern looked the same, but it was the expectedly-erratic AK ejection pattern we all love and hate so that is not a particularly scientific way of judging it. With a standard baffle silencer, five rounds built up enough gas in the receiver that it vented behind the bolt for 30 seconds or so after firing stopped. With the Velos I could dump 10 to 15 before I saw similar gas buildup.

I would recommend the SilencerCo Velos LBP for the PSA Krink. Reduced backpressure makes a major difference on an AK like the Krink. The short little barrel of the Krink means that even with a suppressor mounted, this is a very small package that stays maneuverable. And even though being loud and throwing fireballs is part of the fun, shooting quietly is fun in a different kind of way. SilencerShop carry to the SilencerCo Velos LBP they make shopping for suppressors simple.

Optics Mounting

There are a few ways to mount optics on a Krink. It includes the classic side rail mount, but that prevents the arm brace from folding flat against the left side of the receiver when optics are attached. The sights on the Krink are closer to the rail than on a standard AK, so it would also need a smaller rail sitting toward the rear rather than a full-length rail.

Another option is the Ultimak rail that replaces the gas tube. They sell a model specifically for the Krink-pattern guns, and I came very close to buying one. If I were going to only run a red dot on this gun, and I was ok with the cosmetic choice of losing the top handguard, the Ultimak would be a great option. But I needed the ability to put some magnification on the gun for ammo testing, so that option was out.

This brings me to the KPYK mount sold by Atlantic Firearms. It is about $80 and attaches to the rear sight assembly. This positioning puts the rail on top of the dust cover but is mounted more securely as part of the hinged cover and rear sight found on the Krink. I bought one to try it out, and it seems like a pretty good option. The installation process was pretty straightforward, but I needed to do a fair amount of fitting on the clamping piece to get it to sit in position. It took me a couple of episodes of Miami Vice to get that fit right, but once it was in place it was very solid.

Ammunition Testing

I was very curious to know what kind of accuracy and velocity the little 8.4-inch barrel of the Krink could produce. This data was all collected on the same day at about 4,600 feet of elevation with a temperature of around 40 degrees. All velocity information was recorded with a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph.

ManufacturerCaliberLoadAvg. Velocity (FPS)ES (FPS)SD (FPS)Group Size (5 Rounds @ 100 Yards)IMI5.56 NATOM193 55-grain240455203.3”IMI5.56 NATORazorcore 77-grain222925155.2”PMC.223 RemBronze 55-grain217097357.5”PMC5.56 NATOM855 62-grain23892097.9”Winchester.223 RemRanger 64-grain2254218797.2”Winchester5.56 NATOM193 55-grain239848187.2”Hornady5.56 NATOBlack 75-grain20872585.2”

These groups are not going to win a highpower rifle match. Some portion of the group size may be due to the scope mount, which does feel solid, but at the end of the day is still attached to the dust cover. I chose to use the Primary Arms 3x Micro Prism because I was worried that too much weight on the scope mount might cause extra wiggle. Maybe that would cause more movement on the mount, maybe it would not, but in either case 3x is low magnification.

It is far more precise than the sight picture with these irons, but is not as precise as a higher magnification scope. All of this is to say that there are a few factors at play that could have impacted these accuracy numbers, but do not expect sub-MOA performance out of the Krink. But that is not what this gun is about, and if that is what you are looking for you should really be looking at an AR.

Conclusion

This review is not looking at the Krink as a potential duty gun. Choosing an AK for serious use in the United States is always a questionable decision given how common, affordable, and accurate the AR family is. And choosing a 8.4-inch barrel chambered in 5.56 NATO means giving up a large portion of the velocity that makes that round work.

Now, I am not trying to talk you out of buying the Krink. Quite the opposite. If you have always wanted a Krink but did not want to spend several thousand dollars on an authentic kit build (and all of your free time tracking down 5.45×39 ammo), this is the ticket. It nails the vibes that make the AKS-74U such an iconic gun, and does it at a price point that is pretty reasonable for domestic AKs, and firing ammunition that is sold in just about every store that sells ammunition.

The PSA Krink is not a practical gun, it is a cool gun. If you are on a tight budget and shopping for your primary go-to 5.56, this is not the best choice. Something like a PSA Sabre-15, Daniel Defense DDM4, or BCM would make more sense. But if you have that sort of serious stuff squared away and you are looking for some out-of-the-box fun with a unique gun that has common ammo, the Krink is very compelling. It’s tiny, light, loud, and fun. This is a gun that, when you pass it to a friend to let them try it, it won’t be coming back with any ammo left in the magazine.

I have genuinely enjoyed spending time with the PSA Soviet Arms Krink in 5.56 NATO. And if you are in the market for a 5.56 firearm that converts ammo into smiles, you would be hard pressed to find anything semiautomatic that does it better.