Beretta APX Popular for Armed Citizens

By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor

The increasing popularity of concealed carry by private citizens has resulted in the development of concealable sidearms by handgun manufacturers.

Among the broadest market sections is the slim line 9mm handgun. Kel Tec, Glock, Springfield, Smith and Wesson and Walther compete in this market, with each pistol vying for sales. Compact 9mm handguns commonly referred to as the slim line 9 are the single most popular concealed carry choice in America. These handguns offer a good balance of power and weight and are controllable and accurate enough to give the concealed carry handgun user real confidence.

Beretta originally introduced the APX line to compete in military trails. While it did not succeed in winning a military contract, the Glock 17-sized APX has been a popular pistol in civilian sales. The APX compact is a Glock 19-sized handgun that offers a smaller platform and the even smaller Beretta APX Carry. While the APX Carry has certain features of the full size APX including excellent sights and cocking serrations covering the slide, the pistol is also very similar to the Beretta NANO 9mm compact.

The Beretta APX Carry is a good personal defense handgun with much to recommend.

The Beretta APX Carry uses the familiar striker fired action, which is considered double-action- only as the trigger both cocks and drops the striker to discharge the chambered round. The double action-only trigger is pressed to the rear moving the striker against spring pressure, and the striker breaks forward and fires the pistol, immediately the slide cycles rearward under recoil, ejecting the empty cartridge, resetting the striker and ultimately chambering a fresh round.

The trigger action is the same for each trigger press without the requirement of running through a long double action first shot. The trigger action of a personal defense pistol should not be light but controllable, smooth in action, and not heavy enough to be fatiguing in practice or to limit accuracy potential if a precise shot is needed. This action breaks at just over 6.0 pounds on the Lyman Electronic trigger gauge, yet doesn’t feel heavier than the typical Glock 5.5-pound action. Reset is fast which allows good shooting. An absence of creep staging and backlash helps a great deal in firing this handgun.

The Beretta’s sights are well suited to personal defense and the cocking grooves offer good utility.

Sights are the standard white dot front and rear notch rear. The rear sight face is serrated. These sights are large enough for rapid acquisition but also offer plenty of accuracy potential to 10 and 15 yards, which is a long distance for personal defense engagement. Beretta supplies this pistol with two magazines, one six round flush fit magazine and one eight round extended magazine. The flush fit magazine is well suited to pocket carry and some forms of concealed carry while the extended magazine is more comfortable when firing and may be concealed readily when the pistol is worn in an inside-the-waistband holster.

The cocking serrations are generous and offer good leverage when your hands are wet or sweaty. They are not sharp but adhesion and abrasion are good. Some call them wedges rather than serrations and this is a fair description. The grip treatment is also well suited to good control. The magazine release and slide lock are positive in operation.

The Beretta handles well in rapid fire.

The majority of the practice loads were Black Hills Ammunition 115-grain FMJ loads. These are clean burning and offer excellent accuracy potential. I often use these loads to break in a new handgun and test the piece for accuracy. I used a GALCO Stow and Go inside the waistband holster for most of the work.

Drawing as quickly as possible I brought the pistol to bear on an Action Target’s B27 silhouette. It wasn’t difficult to get center hits in the X ring. Allowing the trigger to reset during recoil I was able to keep up a good cadence of fire. Follow up shots are not fired as quickly as possible but only as fast as I am able to re-acquire the sights after recoil. I don’t consider the 9mm a hard kicker even in the lightest handguns.

The Beretta APX features a properly designed recoil system that aids in controlling recoil. While you will not fire this handgun as quickly or as accurately as a Glock 19, for example, it is comparable to any 9mm in the APX Carry’s size and weight class. It may be termed a soft kicker compared to some pistols.  Like some polymer frame handguns, the Beretta APX Carry will fire low due to the balance of the steel slide over a polymer frame if the shooter does not maintain a firm grip, or if the shooter fires too quickly without fully recovering from recoil.

The Beretta APX Carry gets on target quickly. Accuracy is good.

After emptying several magazines, I found the Beretta APX as controllable as expected for its size, and more than accurate enough for personal defense. I stretched the range to 15 and even 25 yards and was able to get center hits on the B 27 target, simply taking more time the greater the distance. I also fired the pistol for accuracy from a solid standing barricade stance. I used the Black Hills Ammunition 124 grain JHP and the interesting Black Hills Ammunition Honey Badger 100 grain loading in this effort. At a long 20 yards each grouped five shots into 2 to 3 inches. This is as accurate as many service pistols.

Beretta is a very old firearms maker and they get it right more often than not. The Beretta 92 as an example is among the most proven handguns introduced in the previous century. The APX line is a completely different breed.

APX pistols are modern polymer frame striker fired handguns, representing different and far more modern technology. The Beretta APX carry is a worthy competitor to the Glock 43 and Smith and Wesson Shield. Some will prefer the performance of the Beretta over other polymer frame striker fired pistols. It is an accurate and reliable handgun with much to recommend.

Ammunition selection

While the pistol was accurate with a wide range of ammunition the author concentrated on Black Hills Ammunition for carry loads.

While the Beretta APX Carry is a strong firearm that will function well with +P loads most shooters will prefer to use a standard pressure loading. Recoil is more manageable yet these loads offer good to excellent wound ballistics.

The Black Hills Ammunition 115-grain EXP (Extra Power) loading is ideal for personal defense for most of us. This load is as fast as possible while exhibiting standard operating pressures versus +P pressure.

The Black Hills Ammunition 124-grain JHP offers a balance of expansion and penetration favoring penetration. This is an outstanding service load. I fired two magazines of the Black Hills Ammunition 115 grain +P. Recoil was brisk but function was good. If you are willing to master the pistol, then mastering +P loads is simply another step. My personal Beretta APX Carry will be loaded with the Black Hills Ammunition 115-grain EXP.