I think this is too little too late with so many manufacturers offering 10+ round pocket carry sized 9mm's like the p365, and at various price points. This would've been a very compelling pistol if they upped the capacity instead of just using the same frame and mags.
I bet they still do okay with it.
Lots of people are still coming to guns for the first time, some gun people are coming around to carrying, and some people who carry are dipping their toes into the tiny-gun pool. There are a lot of people who will just buy a new gun, because.
Beretta has a lot of fans. (And conversely, there is a pool of people who won't consider buying a SIG or Springfield, because.)
Not all of the micros give a newbie the easy option to step up to a dot down the road.
The first number will probably start with a three. Beretta is trying to hold $399 for a minimum price but they'll almost certainly be available below that number, unless they're wildly popular and stay closer to MSRP for a while.
It seems that Gen 1 mags will work in these, which makes it a cheap and painless update for current Carry owners.
I could be wrong.
So what was the complaint about the original APX Carry slide serrations? Why are these an improvement?
Also, what does this do to the original APX Carry... discontinued? Discount's would be a good thing and I may just go for the OG given the right price.
So, I've been playing around with one a little bit. Here are a few disconnected thoughts.
First, some pics. Everyone likes pics. Here it is with the next-larger APX, the Compact:
"Yeah, but how 'bout a gun someone recognizes?" Here it is with the Shield Plus:
I got the impression from the marketing materials that the A1 now has something closer to a "regular" APX trigger. It does not. The trigger pulls all the way to the grip, and fires pretty much on the stop. Reset is approximately 80-90% of the way back out to its resting position.
Compare that with the APX Compact, where you take up the safety blade/dongle/whathaveyou and it fires in about 1/8" of trigger travel, with a similar (maybe even shorter?) reset. (These are estimates, of course.)
If someone who actually measured both of them told me that the A1 Carry has a trigger pull that is 5 times longer than the APX Compact, I'd believe it. Other than a hitch early on as you take up the trigger safety, the pull on my A1 is not heavy or gritty, just loooong. For pocket carry, that might be fine.
Front strap texturing is just about the same as the APX Compact. Grippy/"pointy". I'm sure some people are knocking that down a bit with a few swipes of an abrasive.
I like the slide. (I like APX slides, too.) The serrations are just short of being sharp. I'll go with crisp. It's easy to get a good purchase on them.
The A1 requires a very solid press to fit into Beretta's old Nano holster, and I'm sure it is the squared off trigger guard that is interfering, compared to the Nano's rounded trigger guard. I might break out a heat gun and see if any movement is possible. As is, I think you'd have to say it doesn't fit.
8-round magazines from the original Carry lock right in, lock the slide open, and look identical. Beretta wasn't recommending Nano mags in the original Carry, and I assume that advice carries over to the A1. As I understand it, Nano mags will seem like they're functioning, but something was apparently changed and you shouldn't rely on them.
You'll note from the location of the rear sight dovetail that the rear sight goes away when you mount a dot.
If the weather holds, I may try to get some rounds through it in the morning.
Nice write up.
Your comments about the trigger make this gun potentially interesting to me, but not enough that I see it as worth the expense over sticking with my Kahr P9 which fulfills a similar role... maybe if they release a staggered magazine version.
As someone who doesn't know anything about Berettas striker offerings, can someone explain why this is called an APX? Could you place this chassis into an APX slide/grip? If not, Is there at least a large degree of parts commonality?
The chassis does not interchange into the other current APX models. You can swap A1 Carry grips, which, at the moment, gets you a change of frame color.
I think the Nano needed a reboot and Beretta needed a baby APX and the Nano got an APX-styled slide a few years back. I don't think there was much more to it than that? This new refresh also seems evolutionary. That said, this one looks good, feels good, and is inexpensive.
It will be interesting to see if A1 slides spread up the APX line.
I suspect Beretta may be testing the waters to the idea of revising the serrations on the standard APX lineup. I noticed they did a big "rebate" promotion for a while before they dropped the price on the APX to what is almost ludicrous compared to competitors. They don't seem to have gained much of a following sadly, I'm still interested though. Wish the standard APX triggers were much longer travel though, the A1 sounds nice for carry.