Beretta

Earlier this year, Beretta announced additions to the APX family: The Centurion and the Compact. Both are built for the worst-case scenario.

Law Enforcement was one of the obvious target audiences for this gun, and it shows. The 1301 Tactical features a slightly shorter receiver than the 1301 Competition, part of an overall size reduction. The stock is also slightly shorter, offering a 37.8 inch length of pull out of the box.

The APX was born out of the Army’s Modular Handgun trials. Manufacturers came out with new pistols and revisions of existing models in their efforts to win the lucrative contract to equip the United States Military with 74 boatloads of new handguns to replace the Beretta M9 series now in service.

The notice specifically states that the new Sub Compact Weapon, or SCW, needs to be a “highly concealable sub compact weapon system capable of engaging threat personnel with a high volume of lethal and accurate fires at close range with minimal collateral damage.”

So, what’s the right height for an autoloading pocket pistol? Based on my top five picks, anywhere from 3.7 to 4.25 inches.

The Beretta APX Compact and APX Centurion are Beretta’s Glock 26 and Glock 19, respectively.  That’s what they were designed to do.  Compete with the king of the polymer pistol’s mid-size and concealed carry offerings.

In one particular area, the Italians really outdid themselves during World War II. Their Model 38 submachinegun was the finest pistol-caliber automatic weapon of the war.

A brand most of our US readers probably haven’t heard of is set to make a splash in the near future, if our initial look at the new Virtrix Rifle line up is any indication. Virtrix is an Italian rifle company, known for precision armaments.

With 2017 now in our rearview, I’d like to briefly look back on the “best of times” from 2017. What I consider to be some of the best new handguns brought to market last year.