After experiencing the original Beretta APX full size, I felt that there may be a place for a pistol like it on my hip, albeit smaller. I liked the way the original APX functioned, and my local gun store had one for about $400 collecting dust. I was tempted to jump on the old APX, but after doing some research, I figured the APX A1 Compact would be a step up if I could get it at a comparable price. I ended up getting my APX A1 Compact on www.palmettostatearmory.com for about $300. After about 500 rounds, I feel that I have a good amount of experience to discuss what the pistol is like. If you did not see my article on the full size APX, read it here to get a more comprehensive review on the original APX design. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Pretty much as soon as my gun store got the pistol, I was off to the range to shoot it alongside my original APX pistol (which I got from the same local gun store that still has the original APX Compact on the shelf. The APX A1 Compact is a Glock 19 sized pistol with a 3.7" barrel and a 15 round magazine, but with a weight of 28 ounces unloaded, and you definitely feel it in the slide. The pistol is a bit top-heavy, making me concerned about what the recoil would be like. Reviewers were reporting that the pistol actually had a light recoil impulse that was similar to shooting a larger full size pistol. I was pleasantly surprised that the pistol did not buck too much with a proper grip applied. This characteristic reminds me of a Sig P229 I had in .40S&W. It was top-heavy as well, and you could definitely feel the gun buck in your hand without a proper grip, but the recoil spring snapped the slide forward and countered any bucking real well. Same for the HK USP45 I owned almost a decade ago. If you are not very strong when holding the pistol, I'm sure you would see/feel some bucking, but the gun seems to take care of itself pretty well.
HUGE DILEMMA You know when you buy a gun, just to find out that it does not have very much support on the market? No, just me huh? Yeah, that was the first thing I realized when I bought the APX A1 Compact. I took it to my land for some shooting and came away really liking how I worked with the design. Crumby part is that once I got home, I soon realized there was nearly zero holster support for the pistol from my favorite holster companies. So until I could find a suitable holster for the pistol, I had to turn the pistol into a safe queen. That was quite a self-induced irritation because I did all this research on the pistol itself and just assumed the holster support would be there. I talked to a variety of holster makers that I like such as Clinger Holsters, Vedder Holsters, Aliengear, and they all just told me that the A1 models did not have enough demand to justify them making holsters for them. They all had holsters for the original APX pistols, but the A1 Compact is a black sheep, apparently. That was a huge kick in the pants since I jumped in with both feet on the "new and improved" APX evolution without even doing my due diligence. This changed quite recently, after more digging and frequent checks, so take any complaining with a grain of salt. I am telling the story of my journey with this pistol. DESIGN DIFFERENCES I know that I am going to be somewhat comparing apples to oranges in the sense that I am not only comparing the old to the new, but a full size to a compact. As you can see, the APX A1 has taken on a more classic serration pattern that actually makes it look like virtually all the other striker-fired pistols on the market. The slide reminds me somewhat of a Walther PDP, but with shallower serrations. The pistol looks like it is designed for performance, but it just does not have that duty-ready look that the original APX line had.
The recoil spring used in the Compact model is similar to the full size model, but it is different at the same time. It is similar because the spring is designed to allow a long service life, but it is different because it is using what looks like 3 different springs in a tiered assembly that is meant to cushion the impact the slide has on the polymer frame and then complete the cycle thousands of times without fail. The big change that was made on the Beretta APX A1 is the addition of the optics mount on the slide. I personally do not see the point of mounting a red dot on a pistol I am carrying if the point is to conceal the pistol. The red dot does not make enough of a difference to justify printing and forgetting about the principle of concealing the firearm. The older APX series had a version that was outfitted with a optics mounting area, but it was a very specific model. Now the APX A1 series all comes ready for you to mount an optics plate, which you have to purchase directly from Beretta. Technically this means the pistols are optics-capable, rather than optics-ready. The last thing I will discuss is a change to the chassis. The chassis system is completely stainless now, opposed to being black like in the original APX series. I found this to be a bit of a telling feature. I trust my own judgement that the original APX line was purpose built for military and LEO contracts and to have a long service life. It feels like the switch in the chassis design is a sign that Beretta is relenting to the fact that their A1 line is not going to see the service contracts they had originally expected. The stainless finish may just be a sign that Beretta found a better metal composition that has more corrosion resistance, but I am skeptical. SHOOTING IMPRESSIONS Overall I feel like the APX A1 Compact is a very easy pistol to shoot well and shoot well at speed. The red fiber optic captures your attention and keeps you tuned into the movement of the gun during the firing cycle. The trigger is almost perfectly tensioned for shooting fast, but controlled. The trigger is heavy enough to not have a negligent/premature discharge during a fast presentation or draw stroke, but it is also light enough and crisp enough to allow you to break .30 second splits with ease. The grip is tacky and it seems to fit my hand perfectly. I am able to hold the gun very stable during the firing cycle, which has given me great performance on the range. Add to that the trigger characteristics of having no slop, a prominent wall, and a smooth and crisp break with next to no overtravel. Overall, it is a very easy pistol for me to shoot well.
There are a number of companies who are making holsters for the A1. Here is a short list of the holster companies I know of at the moment: - clingerholsters.com - beretta.com - dmeholsters.com - tier1concealed.com - wethepeopleholsters.com - jmcustomkydex.com - amazon.com CONSUMER HESITATION I am betting that the prospective customers of the APX may feel that if there is not much support, they do not want to risk a purchase. This is a compounding problem that is actually compounding the issue a bit. If people bought pistols because they actually liked them and worked well with them, then I bet the APX would be doing fine in sales and the support would no-doubt be there. However, we are in this negative feedback loop that fears going into a purchase because there aren't a million of options available yet. It comes down to simple supply and demand. If there is no demand for a specific market, there will be no supply for said market. Wow, this reads like a pity-purchase plea, but my only intention is to illustrate why I was so reluctant to get into the APX, along with many other possible customers. This mindset was the reason there is no market, even after 3 years, unfortunately. CLOSING THOUGHTS
The Beretta APX is a great design, and the APX A1 series seems to be a similarly tough and robust design. However, I am a bit concerned for the future of this pistol. The support is relatively weak, and I do not see the APX A1 getting any more interest in the market without some major Department or government contract in the future. Recently the LAPD adopted a version of the FN509 just because they liked the way their optics were mounted on the pistol and how user-friendly they are. I feel, after having shot a few FN 509s, that the APX A1 would have been a better pick for the LAPD. Perhaps they did test the pistols out, but I am willing to bet that FN made them an offer they couldn't refuse (NEXT TO NO PROFIT). Police and military contracts are free marketing that the civilian sector eats up. I will admist, the pictures of the APX in Police holsters just looks so right. Perhaps the A1 series will find its way into police holsters soon as well. Only time will tell. With the price of the APX A1 being so incredibly low right now, I am surprised that it is not getting more attention in the 'budget gun" videos. Perhaps people still just feel that it is just another generic striker fired pistol that came too late to the market. I have heard it being accused of just being another Glock-style pistol, which is quite an ignorant statement. It is not going to win the "Trigger-of-the-year" award (It is not light enough for trigger snobs), but it feels darn near perfect for my needs. I feel that if enough people got to run an APX A1 compact, they would want one for themselves. Leave your comments and let me know where you stand on this pistol. Also send me an email with any questions or requests in the CONTACT section.
1 Comment
Frankie
1/30/2025 14:46:17
That's a great write up on the Beretta. I always steer people away from Glock toward other brands, because at least here in the states you can get a lot more gun for less money than glock. Glock is kind of like apple iphones in my mind. Glock triggers are definitely nothing to emulate, so if the APX is better than their stock one it's another win for team Beretta. The lack of aftermarket support is a concern, but it was good of you to point out that's it is a solid and complete gun as is. Glock and 1911's have huge aftermarket but that being said in that huge market what is actually useful or needed to the armed prepared citizen? Only a faction of what is offered. I a long time reader but first time commenter. I love the content keep on doing what your doing.
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