RFI: Beretta ARX-100

[Doc_Glock]

I have a buddy selling one. Seems like a good deal, but I know nothing about them. Given the Beretta enthusiasm on this forum can anyone tell me the good and bad in regards to this rifle for the enthusiast gun owner who doesn’t use them professionally?

[Sensei]

Pros:
Reasonably priced, relatively light, Ok accuracy, modular for barrel swaps and ejection, reliable

Cons:
Proprietary and hard to source parts, funky ergonomics if you are accustomed to the AR, a bit chunky around the waist although this is mitigated by the folding stock.

My bottom line is that it suffers from SCAR Syndrome - it does not bring enough to the table to be a definitive AR replacement. It is most useful as an SBR where the folding stock can make it very, very short.

[Doc_Glock]

Pros:
Reasonably priced, relatively light, Ok accuracy, modular for barrel swaps and ejection, reliable

Cons:
Proprietary and hard to source parts, funky ergonomics if you are accustomed to the AR, a bit chunky around the waist although this is mitigated by the folding stock.

My bottom line is that it suffers from SCAR Syndrome - it does not bring enough to the table to be a definitive AR replacement. It is most useful as an SBR where the folding stock can make it very, very short.

I have a SCAR 16 that I never use and sort of want to get rid of. It sounds like the ARX, while a quality and less expensive product, would just sit in the safe similarly.

Thank you for the summary.

[Sensei]

I have a SCAR 16 that I never use and sort of want to get rid of. It sounds like the ARX, while a quality and less expensive product, would just sit in the safe similarly.

Thank you for the summary.

All of these AR variants that became popular around a decade ago after the Masada was announced suffer from the same problem - they don’t bring enough to the table as 16” rifles to make the investment worth it to most people. Thus, the aftermarket industry is slow to respond and parts become relatively scarce and expensive; the vicious cycle continues.

The only place where these rifles make sense is as SBR/PDW configurations. Check out my reviews of SCAR CQC and MCX and notice that you can get down to MP5N sizes with the folding stock - pretty cool for camping and traveling.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?22541-We-All-Have-Our-SCARs-Part-1
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?14639-SIG-MCX-review

However, most of these platforms cannot be purchased in their SBR form. You must buy a $1300+ rifle, then a barrel assembly that often costs more than $500. Before you know it, you have $2000+ invested in just the SBR hardware without including the stamp. Now, compare this to a BCM SBR build that is around $1100 after the stamp and you can see why many don’t feel that the juice is worth the squeeze.

So, I say get the ARX only if you have need and financial ability to convert it to an SBR.

[Doc_Glock]

All of these AR variants that became popular around a decade ago after the Masada was announced suffer from the same problem - they don’t bring enough to the table as 16” rifles to make the investment worth it to most people. Thus, the aftermarket industry is slow to respond and parts become relatively scarce and expensive; the vicious cycle continues.

The only place where these rifles make sense is as SBR/PDW configurations.

However, most of these platforms cannot be purchased in their SBR form. You must buy a $1300+ rifle, then a barrel assembly that often costs more than $500. Before you know it, you have $2000+ invested in just the SBR hardware without including the stamp. Now, compare this to a BCM SBR build that is around $1100 after the stamp and you can see why many don’t feel that the juice is worth the squeeze.

So, I say get the ARX only if you have need and financial ability to convert it to an SBR.

That is an amazing summary of the issues involved with these “improved” 5.56 rifle variants.

It begs the question: if you would choose one to SBR, would it be the ARX or SCAR?

I contemplated a stamp for the SCAR but the limited availability and price of the short barrel assembly had me go the BCM 11.5” route instead.

[Sensei]

I still lean toward the SCAR probably because I’m heavily invested in the platform across 5.56 and .308 calibers. I also think the SCAR platform is a bit more robust in terms of reliability, accuracy, and aftermarket support. I’m not saying there is a huge difference or that the ARX is subpar. The SCAR just has a bit of an edge; certainly not a uniform opinion across owners of both platforms.

Having said that, the ARX would be my first choice if I didn’t have a bunch of SCARs or was on a tighter budget. I would also recommend the ARX to anyone tightly invested in the 300blk SBR idea.

[beenalongtime]

I would also recommend the ARX to anyone tightly invested in the 300blk SBR idea.

Why? My understanding is the other calibers/barrels, are not ready/out for these yet. ARX 160 in 22, and 100 in 5.56.
I wanted one of these, due to the ambidextrous capabilities, but the limited parts and costs being three times the basic AR's to get me into the game, it made no sense.

[Sensei]

Why? My understanding is the other calibers/barrels, are not ready/out for these yet. ARX 160 in 22, and 100 in 5.56.
I wanted one of these, due to the ambidextrous capabilities, but the limited parts and costs being three times the basic AR's to get me into the game, it made no sense.

Read posts 2 and 4. I'm not recommending the ARX100 and I clearly stated that they do not bring enough to the table over a quality AR based on...wait for it...wait for it...waaait foor iitt - cost and parts availability. You see, brilliant minds think alike. ;)

The post that you quoted was my response to a limited question pertaining to choosing between these 2 specific rifles - the SCAR vs. ARX100. I mentioned 300blk because that will someday be a factory option for the ARX for those who like the caliber; the SCAR, not so much.

[beenalongtime]

Read posts 2 and 4. I'm not recommending the ARX100 and I clearly stated that they do not bring enough to the table over a quality AR based on...wait for it...wait for it...waaait foor iitt - cost and parts availability. You see, brilliant minds think alike. ;)

The post that you quoted was my response to a limited question pertaining to choosing between these 2 specific rifles - the SCAR vs. ARX100. I mentioned 300blk because that will someday be a factory option for the ARX for those who like the caliber; the SCAR, not so much.


That is why I wrote WHY. Based on some of Beretta's history, of things that were supposed to be made, and never happened, WHY seems most appropriate. Buying one on the expectation that 300blk will come out for them, is counting your chickens before they hatched.

[Bodhi]

I completely disagree with the comments above.
First this is the cleanest running semi auto rifle I have ever used. MAC took his to 5000 rounds and never cleaned it. Haven’t heard if he kept shooting it or ever cleaned his. Mrgunsgear also got his hands on one and his tune changed dramatically. MAC is also quite enamored with it. Even Yeager respected it when he shot Mrgunsgear’s. Yeah you-tubers, but whatever.

Next is take down it is tool-less and effortless. I can quickly take it completely down in mere seconds.
Very easy to clean and not much to clean.
It was built first and foremost for military application so it has been thoroughly tested.
It is very light.
Recoil is cream puff. The first time I shot I marveled at the light recoil pulse. It’s not a 22 but man is the recoil very light.
Last is the caliber swaps. They are coming. We would have already seen them if Beretta didn’t have to flee to a free state. They are supposed to have production back to full and running 2Q of 2018.

Mine has been converted to a sbr with the 10” factory offered 556 barrel. On my short barreled Beretta Box, 762X39, 545X39, 6.8spc, and 300blk are all listed. 300blk will be the first caliber offered but I have no interest. I’m interested in 6.8 and the AK conversions, with the AK conversions being my main interests. I’m not an AR guy like most. I do not like DI and never have. I’ve always run pistons and will continue to do so. I’ve never even owned a built AR through all these years, preferring the AK. I’ve always had some sort of 556 piston. I sold my Sig 556 to acquire the ARX and not a single regret. The damn thing is light, has extremely low recoil, folds, and disassembles in seconds without tools. I run a heavier optic (Elian Specter DR) so light weight was priority #1. I do own an AR lower but it’s been sitting there for years in the safe, for legislation purposes only. Very pleased with the platform, followed it from day 1 and it has exceeded my lofty expectations. The first time I saw take down, and reassembly I knew I’d buy, especially since it was much cheaper than a Scar16. I’ve got a can for it, and intend to buy a second one early next year that I will use for caliber conversions. It’s my main rifle after I tested it thoroughly and if it was bugout time or shtf it would be in my hands. You can run the hell of it for thousands of rounds before you’d have to think about cleaning it. Beretta has also made a 308 variant, and a dmr version of that. Little interest in that as of today but you never know. Once I shoot 308 I move to the bolt.

I’d recommend spending some time with it, shoot it, break it down. Solid platform. Various military units have it in service in 556 and 762X39 already. Price has come down too since new to market. When I saw it go under 1k I knew I would buy a dupe at some point.
I’ve never understood the hate for the platform. It’s another choice on the marketplace. But people have been whining since the get go. First saying it would never come to market, it did. Then crying about MOA when it’s not a dmr or sniper rifle. It’s a 2 MOA rifle and I never understood the crying over that as it was never intended for sniper duty, MOA is on par with your Colt. Then saying the barrels would never come, then they released the 556 sb for it. Then politics and legislation occurred forcing a whole scale production move for the company. I like it enough to buy a second one even if the ak variants do not come. Shooting sight has an excellent trigger for it and other than that it doesn’t need anything. My only complaint is lack of QD mounts but that’s a minor thing to me. Outside of my Blaser, my favorite long gun I have ever purchased. It too, does caliber conversions. Finally the ability to change charging and ejection on the fly is excellent. Quite unique on the extractors as the bolt has two. Due to the above mentioned factors, I consider it one of the most reliable and resilient platforms available right now. The AR crowd will continue to hate on it, due to price, looks, whatever. I’m not bothered by it as I typically decide things for myself instead of following the herd. The gen 3 rifle platforms or whatever they are called, Scar, ARX, etc, have some evolutionary things built into them that make them superior. The ARX will never have the aftermarket support of the AR but all it needed was a trigger, a light, and glass. But honestly that’s like saying other pistol platforms don’t have the aftermarket support that Glock does. True, but I’m not going to limit myself to a Glock only due to that reason. The AR can’t change ejection, or charging, can’t be broken down as quickly as the ARX, nor can it switch from 16” to 10” barrels on the fly which can be done in about the time it takes you to disassemble the Glock. AR’s also don’t recoil as light nor run as clean. And you would have to spend ARX money to get one as light. When I took mine to the engravers after I got my stamp the entire room about crapped their pants as it took me about 10 seconds to remove the 16” barrel and insert the 10” barrel. They asked I do it again and each time “DAYUM!” is all I heard. I then broke the entire rifle down and put it back together. They had not seen one before. It’ll never take down the AR. nothing will, but I sure love mine. Beretta did an excellent job with it and fully delivered. Love everything about it.

Edit: A good write up. Take notice of MOA with different loadings.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/berettas-arx100-closer-look/

[Bodhi]

Why? My understanding is the other calibers/barrels, are not ready/out for these yet. ARX 160 in 22, and 100 in 5.56.
I wanted one of these, due to the ambidextrous capabilities, but the limited parts and costs being three times the basic AR's to get me into the game, it made no sense.

Academy is selling them for $879.99.

[arcfide]

At the current $879 Academy Sports price they are an absolute steal.

I picked one up as my first tactical rifle after handling and trying out a few other options. At the time the Tavor was taking everyone by storm and ARs were very mature by then, but I don't at all regret my ARX decision. I agree with Bodhi on a lot of points.

If you want an AR, get an AR. The ARX brings something different to the table in terms of user experience.

IMO, the ARX brings a lightweight, 3rd gen. piston-driven fighting rifle at an amazingly good price to the table in a package that emphasizes ease of use, simplicity, and good out of the box experience. It's very ergonomic, but different than the AR.

It's without a doubt the cleanest, easiest to maintain rifle I've seen to date. Ignoring the aftermarket, in terms of simplicity and ease of operation, it's basically the Glock of combat rifles. Lots of polymer and very few parts that all work reliably. It's a very cool running rifle as well, and I notice that heat dissipation is very good on it compared to some other, lightweight AR builds. And it probably uses/requires the least amount of lubrication of any rifle I've seen. Literally three drops (1 to each extractor, and 1 to the cam channel) and you're good to go. Just wipe the rest down and have at it.

Nowadays the aftermarket for it covers just about all of the complaints anyone has had about the rifle. You can get extended bottom rails, extended charging handle, and a two-stage ShootingSight trigger that is really good (disclaimer, I was one of the beta testers).

As far as accuracy goes, that's completely overblown. I have a Steiner T5Xi 1-5x24mm on top of it and I regularly shoot at the 600m lane in my local range on steel silhouettes with 77gr TMK Black Hills ammo without issue at all. Hits all day long if I'm doing my job. It will never be a sub-MOA gun, but it's a great 2 - 4 MOA shooter.

As an enthusiast I have made use of the swappable ejection features and the easily swapped charging handle. Besides just working with lefties, It has been useful when setting up shooting drills with others who don't need brass flying into their face or bouncing around to their side. And if I'm going to be doing a lot of shooting from prone, swapping the charging handle to the other side makes it easier to stay relaxed and in position while laying down and shooting.

Things like the folding stock, ejection and charging swaps, quick change barrel, and the clean running operating system all seem like very minor elements, and in the grand scheme of things they are very minor. But what they all add up to is an out of the box quality of life experience that, IMO, far exceeds the ARs that I've seen, even at similar price ranges.

I run mine with a Steiner T5Xi 1-5x24mm on top and a Steiner Mk4 light on it.

Now, what about its quirks? Well, for one thing, you are going to be working with a different cheek weld (I call it the Euro cheek weld) if you don't get the aftermarket cheek riser that can be had. Some people hate that, but I think that's a facet of not wanting to learn the gun, and wanting the gun to be just like an AR. The trigger is a fairly crisp but heavy single stage combat trigger, so you'll want the ShootingSight trigger if you prefer two stage AR style triggers more. The controls can be stiff at the beginning as you work the gun in. The length of pull on the folding stock is fairly short. You will *not* be running C-clamp on this rifle. You'll want to make sure any mags you use with it don't have the over-insertion tabs that some manufacturers are using now, since they generally prevent the magazine from fully inserting into the gun. The charging handle is too small for some people. If you using the very conveniently located bolt drop, then this won't be an issue at all for you, but the extended charging handle is a nice, inexpensive upgrade if you want to be able to rack the bolt hard and fast. Some people don't like that it doesn't come with QD mounts.

Finally, as for reliability, it has a great reputation. It just seems to run and go no matter what you do to it. However, the few issues that have come up all seem to be related to the firing pin and spring. This consistently seems to be the "failure point" on the rifle if you are going to encounter an issue. I have never encountered this myself, but I wanted to mention it. So if you were going to take this out to a class or the like, I would generally recommend taking a spare firing pin and spring if you aren't going to bring a second rifle, just in case disaster strikes. I do the same thing with my pistols in keeping some spare springs and the like, since experience has shown me that certain parts will fail when you least want them to. In my case this appears to be trigger springs.

Other than that, I've not heard of any other major failures of the rifle, though I haven't seen anyone subject it to a meltdown video yet. :)

[beenalongtime]

Academy is selling them for $879.99.

They are now, not when I was originally looking (and have since bought/built two AR's).
I am still leary based on published stuff that has been presented over at the Beretta Forum. Everyone has to decide for themselves, and unless I find a killer deal or try one and it feels like something I can't pass up, my approach is more wait and see.
According to what EL told me, it is common in the gun industry to advertise stuff not available or that may not become available ever. (Ameriglo Spartan sights advertised in their catalog for instance)

[ReverendMeat]

I was impressed with my samples, minus a couple annoyances (terrible trigger, charging handle too small, not friendly with my slings). When it comes to rifles I lean more snowflake so guns like this are interesting to me, and I appreciate the folks here who've shared their experiences

[Bodhi]

They are now, not when I was originally looking (and have since bought/built two AR's).
I am still leary based on published stuff that has been presented over at the Beretta Forum. Everyone has to decide for themselves, and unless I find a killer deal or try one and it feels like something I can't pass up, my approach is more wait and see.
According to what EL told me, it is common in the gun industry to advertise stuff not available or that may not become available ever. (Ameriglo Spartan sights advertised in their catalog for instance)

They weren’t this inexpensive when I bought my first one either. Think I paid $13XX and it was close to $1400. At that price it was worth every penny to me. Happy to pay a little extra to get a third gen that will run for thousands of rounds uncleaned with minimal recoil and extremely light. It’s extremely reliable. Anything under 1k is an absolute steal.

[arcfide]

I should note that I also paid around $1300 - $1500 a few years ago for the rifle. I don't regret it at that price either. At the $879 price you could buy the rifle and then add a ShootingSight trigger ($215) and extended charging handle ($17) for a total of only $1,111.00 .

[Jeep]

I didn't like the looks of the ARX when I saw it--it looks chunky and clunky. When I fired it, though, I was impressed. Yes, the trigger is a typical Euro trigger that is heavy and gritty (but then again so, in my opinion, is the typical AR trigger--why can't manufacturers install decent triggers from the start?). However, as mentioned above, it has minimal recoil and it doesn't bounce around like the AR series tends to do. It is more accurate than it gets credit for, and as mentioned above, it is clean.

It is a much better carbine than it usually gets credit for, and my guess is that it will prove more reliable with heavy use than the average AR.

It is an option very much worth considering.

[Suvorov]

$880 for Beretta's new euro-wonder rife?

Reason 345,565,987 of why I have to get the hell out of Kalifornia :(

[Guerrero]

Academy is selling them for $879.99."Not available online"

[emoji53]

[Thy.Will.Be.Done]

"Not available online"

[emoji53]

None available in my state either, good thing I can't afford it right now... my AR is scurred.

[Bodhi]

"Not available online"

[emoji53]

$849 at Bud’s. They don’t have a lot. Move fast.

[MSparks909]

Good thread if you have time to read:
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?179068-Current-Opinions-on-the-Beretta-ARX-100

[arcfide]

I recently picked up a trigger pull gauge and I've been testing out all of my pistols and rifles. I wanted to share what I found on the ARX here, since it might help potential buyers get a better understanding of how the trigger breaks in over time. Initial reviews seem to indicate that, out of the box, the trigger appears to be very heavy (10+ lbs. for a lot of folks).

On my model that I've shot a fair bit, if I pull around the middle of the trigger I'm coming it at around 8.875 lbs. average pull, and if I pull at the bottom of the trigger I come in under 8.5 lbs. For reference, my Px4 Full Size in double action with the SD trigger unit (and springs) comes in at 8.5 lbs. (or thereabouts), but feels heavier than the no-travel, single stage stock trigger of the ARX which breaks around the same weight or a touch heavier.

[HeavyDuty]

Old thread, but I saw something online that reminded me about these. The rifles I would grab for anything serious are AR or MCX pattern, but I have a thing for oddballs. Seeing pics of these in use always remind me of shouldering a bluefin tuna, but that might be part of the appeal - the unusual appearance.

Who still has one, and what do you think about them these days for a somewhat pricey range toy?

101550

101551

[fatdog]

Owned one for several years, sent it down the road when I sold my .223 version of the same.

Awful trigger, ran fine with Federal Automatch, takes the same mags as the hammerli versions of the AR's, pic rail held zero fine on the optics. If you get one and need some mags PM me, I think there are still some around here. The ergos of it and the 160 are the same, odd but not uncomforable. If it had a great trigger I would have kept it.

[HeavyDuty]

There was mention upthread of an improved trigger. I haven’t looked at that, though.

Sadly I think the days of cheap ones at Academy are long gone.