Beretta’s ARX100 may look like a space gun, but its primary feature is easy configurability.
There’s ambidextrous, and there’s ambidextrous.
Some rifles have safety levers on one side, or at least a safety lever that can be relocated to the opposite side of the frame. Others might have a way to move the magazine release button or even bolt release to the opposite side.
The Beretta ARX100 takes configuration flexibility to a whole new level.
The left side looks… almost exactly like the right side.
I just got my hands on a sample unit of this rifle and have been shooting it, taking it apart, and shooting it some more. Rather than waste words here with the specs like weight and length – you can find those here – I’ll focus on how this rifle operates and handles.
For starters, let’s take a look at the many components of what I think is the ARX100’s standout feature: flexibility.
Barrel
Once the bolt is in the maintenance position, pull down these tabs and the barrel pops right off.
You can swap barrels on a standard AR-type rifle, it just takes some doing.
On the Beretta ARX100 with its default 16-inch barrel, it takes no doing and no tools. Just move the bolt to the maintenance position – I’ll describe that in a minute. Then you can pull two spring-loaded levers downward, and the barrel and extension will release and pull right out the front of the stock. The gas piston assembly comes out attached to the barrel.
The process could not be easier. Unlike an AR-type rifle, you have complete and unobstructed access to the barrel and extension with all those nooks and crannies for easy cleaning. Wow. Impressive simplicity and functional too.
Seeing how this works, I was concerned about the ARX’s ability to hold zero through a barrel change. Hold that thought until we get to the shooting report.
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as a Lefty I find that the M-1 style platform to be far more ambi-friendly, as long as the charging handle is on the right side I can do mag changes et al holding the rifle to my left shoulder and using my right hand, most SA’s eject forward and right, no problermo. The AR platform is inherently non-friendly with it’s charging handle and ejection to the right rear