Beretta APX 9mm Handgun, by Pat Cascio

by Pat Cascio, Survival Blog:

The new Beretta APX 9mm handgun is a hot seller, and it’s the subject of our review in this article. No other handgun has fit my hand better than the grand old Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol, and I’m not alone in this feeling, either. I’ve heard the same thing over and over again from folks who own a Hi-Power. Well, all of that changed the moment I picked-up the new Beretta APX 9mm handgun. I have never, and I mean never, had a handgun feel so good in my hand, no exceptions! I just had to get that out of the way at the onset of this review.

SurvivalBlog First to Review U.S. Military Adopted SIG Sauer P320 9mm

As many readers know, the U.S. Army, and now all the other military services, have adopted the SIG Sauer P320 9mm handgun. SurvivalBlog was the first to review this outstanding handgun. We often get the jump on others with new product reviews. I own the SIG P320 Compact model and love it. The competition for a new U.S. military service handgun had many competitors. However, in the end, the SIG was the winner. Needless to say, there were sour grapes from some other competitors, and the usual lawsuits were filed, though they have been dismissed. Beretta modified their outstanding current military issue handgun and called it the Model 93A3. I don’t understand Beretta’s thinking. It really wasn’t a “modular” handgun, and that is what the U.S. Army was looking for. Though there’s nothing wrong with the new Model 93A3.

Beretta’s APX Might Have Beat SIG Sauer P320

Now, if Beretta had entered the APX in the competition, it may have well beat out the SIG Sauer P320. I kid you not. It is “that” good of a 9mm handgun. However, the APX wasn’t manufactured in time to enter the testing, which is too bad. It would have been an outstanding contender against all comers. I’m sure of it. BTW, the APX is also available in .40 S&W. However, since the FBI switched from the .40 caliber and back to 9mm because of improved bullet designs and stopping power, numerous law enforcement agencies are doing the same and dumping the .40 S&W. Now everyone is looking at the APX in 9mm over the .40 S&W.

Beretta APX Barrel and Frame

The APX has a 4.25-inch barrel, which is a nice length for duty carry. There is the polymer black frame, and the slide is also black with slide grasping grooves from the front to the back of the frame on both sides. This is another outstanding feature that I love. The magazines (and you get two) hold 17 rounds, and this is my only source of contention. The magazines are extremely difficult to fully load with 17 rounds, even with the outstanding Butler Creek ASAP magazine loader. That last round is a bear to get into the magazine. The slide has the three dot system, and the front white dot is a little bit larger than the two white dots on the rear sight. The system is very fast to pick up under stress. Of course, as is the trend, the APX is striker-fired. The unloaded gun weighs in a 28.24 ounces, which is about par compared to other polymer framed handguns.

APX Disassembly

There is a button you can press with a pointed object or tool on the right side of the frame that deactivates the striker, so you can safely disassemble the APX without pulling the trigger. However, it is a little bit of pain to do this. So, I simply racked the slide to make sure the chamber is empty and then pull the trigger to deactivate the striker. Then, I press the slide release button, which is stout, on the right side of the frame and turn the take-down lever on the opposite of the frame. The slide then comes off. It’s easier done than said but very Beretta Model 92 in design.

APX Grip and Backstraps

The grip frame can be replaced. You can do that by removing the serialized chassis from inside the frame, very much like that of the SIG Sauer P320. So, the chassis is actually the “firearm”, because it carries the serial number. There is an ambidextrous slide release/stop on either side of the frame. Also, there is a trigger stop lever built into the trigger itself, so there is no trigger over-travel when the gun is fired, in theory, making the gun a bit more accurate. You can also change out the backstraps. Several backstraps come with the gun, however it is tedious to change them out, and I don’t see people swapping out the backstraps on a regular basis.

The backstrap on my sample, which I purchased out of my own funds, fit my hand perfectly. The magazine release is switchable from side to side, so it’s not ambidextrous, but it’s easy to change from one side to the other. The frame has the Picatinny-style rail for installing lights and/or lasers, too. The texturing on the frame is also perfect. It grips you but isn’t overly aggressive, which is another outstanding feature I like on the APX. The front of the trigger guard is squared off without serrations on it; they’re not needed. No one wraps the finger of their off-hand around the trigger guard these days. (It was very popular at one time, for some reason.)

Seventeen-Round Mags

The above is quite a lot of features on the new Beretta APX 9mm handgun, and there isn’t anything I would do away with. However, I would sure love it if the 17-rd mags were a little easier to load. I rarely have to use a magazine loader, as I have been loading hi-cap mags for many years with just my hands. But the last round is difficult to get into the APX mags. Even after I loaded them and let them sit for several weeks and emptied the mags. Then, during target practice when I went to reload them, nope, I still found it hard to get that last round into the mag. Yet, the mags easily seat when loading them into the APX.

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