Beretta APX Carry JAXN920 9mm Luger

Beretta APX Carry JAXN920 9mm Luger

The Beretta APX Carry builds upon the proven Nano and borrows from the full-size and compact APX pistols. The result is a desirable combination of features, including good reliability and practical accuracy.

Concealed-carry permits are on the rise; something we at Gun Tests and freedom-loving Americans applaud and support. Another fact that is good to know is that the majority of new permit holders are choosing capable handguns. Few are 32 ACPs and 380 ACPs. The most popular choices are 9mm Luger chamberings (aka 9x19mm, 9mm Para). The slim 9mm has rewritten the rules of concealed carry. A smaller handgun may be carried with confidence due to new ammunition developments, without resorting to a heavy-recoiling 45 ACP or 357 Magnum. The 9mm isn’t a 45 ACP in terms of terminal performance, but the 9mm is a baseline for personal defense. The original Beretta APX is a Glock 17-size handgun designed for military competition. The APX Compact is a Glock 19-size handgun. The new Beretta APX Carry competes with the Smith & Wesson Shield and Glock 43 as well as the rest of the handguns tested. So, Beretta had a design to work with when perfecting the Beretta APX Carry.

The Beretta APX is obviously based on the Beretta Nano, although the APX is slightly larger. The sights are better than the Nano’s, and the APX features a slide lock, while the Nano does not. The APX features a conventional striker-fired action. The double-action-only trigger pulls the striker to the rear against spring pressure after the striker has been prepped by the slide’s action. The trigger action is deceptively light in feel. It feels like 5.5 pounds, a Glock standard, but breaks against the Lyman trigger-pull gauge at 6.2 pounds. Reset is crisp. A rapid trigger reset is sometimes a greater aid in combat shooting than a lighter trigger action. A lever set into the trigger prevents lateral discharge. Coupled with good sights, the trigger action provided good performance in the combat run.

Elsewhere, we had no problem executing speed loads. The Beretta is supplied with two magazines, reasonable for the price. The pistol is supplied with a flush-fit 6-round magazine and an extended 8-round magazine. We expected a difference in handling. The difference was not as profound as we thought. The 6-round flush-fit magazine is ideal for pocket carry, given a larger pocket such as crews and carried in a Swaprig crews-type pocket holster. With the 8-round magazine, the footprint remains small when the handgun was carried in a Galco Stow-and-Go inside-the-waistband holster. These two magazines offer versatility. The pistol’s grip treatment offers a good balance of adhesion and abrasion. The pistol also features a slide filled with cocking serrations. These serrations work well, but they are not sharp and don’t hang on clothing or holsters. While we did not usually use the forward serrations, they worked well when we tried them out. They may be better referred to as cocking grooves.

During the combat-firing stages, the pistol fired low. We corrected that by maintaining a heavy grip. Polymer-frame pistols with a steel slide sometimes fire low if the shooter fires too quickly or does not keep a firm grip. Each handgun must be learned. By the end of the firing stage, we were doing better with center hits on each run.

There are no malfunctions of any type in our notes. We split the firing time between the two magazines, turning in generally equal results with either. The pistol never failed to feed, chamber, fire, or eject. During the combat course, the pistol was comparable or superior to the other handguns. Each gave a good showing in fast combat shooting.

On the benchrest, the Beretta APX Carry posted less absolute accuracy than the Bond Arms Bullpup 9 or the Ruger LC9s Engraved. This is despite the pistol’s slight advantage over the other two in combat shooting drills. Striker-fired pistols are often easier to manage.

Our Team Said: The Beretta APX Carry pistol earns high marks. We feel it is the Best Buy of the test. We based this on faultless reliability, excellent sights, good tactical cocking grooves, superior combat shooting, and acceptable, if middle of the road, paper accuracy.