Beretta ARX 160

Tom E Gun

Tom E Gun

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
309   0   0
Location
Okanagan Valley, BC
My new ARX 160 arrived in the mail today, so I thought I would start a thread with some ARX 160 info, as this is a new rifle in Canada. Hopefully others here who have this rifle will add to this thread as well.

I purchased mine from IRunGuns for $399.99 USD plus exchange, import fee, shipping and taxes. There is a thread here on the IRG forum:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1390142-Beretta-ARX160-NON-RESTRICTED-only-399-99USD

Now for some pics:







The rifle came with one 10 round mag. I also purchased 2x10 rnd, 2x20 rnd and 2x30 round "Colt M4-22" mags from Brownells.

My initial impressions:

PRO:
Non-Restricted
Solid & Light weight
Very quick and easy, tool free, field stripping
Mag drops free
Bolt locks open on an empty mag and stays locked after the mag is removed
Unlimited mag capacity (but only if you use "Colt M4-22" mags, "ARX 160" mags are limited to 10 rounds even thought the mags appear identical)
Ambidextrous controls (including bolt handle)

CON:
Foam lined Case that comes with the rifle is too small to accommodate the rifle with an optic installed.
Longest setting on the adjustable stock is only barely long enough (I am average size - so may be an issue for taller shooters)
Trigger is stiff and has a lot of take-up
Not exactly the best looking military style .22 rifle...

Range report to follow by Monday, if all goes well.
 
Last edited:
fenceline said:
How is the weight for feel? Haven't Google the specs to see the difference between the 22 versions and the 223 version. Not that we can get the 223 version but it would be nice to have the proper feel.
Click to expand...

I can't compare it to the ARX 100 (I have never held one) but the ARX 160 weighs 3.34Kg (no mag, no optic) which seems light but not "toy-like". A quick google search turns up 3.1Kg for the ARX 100.

ps: Mine is 4.18 Kg with the PEPR mount and Burris AR22 2-7x scope
 
Last edited:
With friends like you....

Besides - if I'm shooting it I don't have to look at it do I? ...and just for that I am not going to let you shoot it :rolleyes: ok ok stop begging by pm - you can shoot it :)
 
Last edited:
masa said:
How is the build quality? I hate with most tactical 22 the frame is made of so much plastic.
Click to expand...
The build quality seems good, but there is a lot of plastic. I owned 2 different S&W M&P 15-22 rifles and my initial impression is that the ARX is similar but not quite at the same quality level as the S&W.

masa said:
Looks awesome!
Click to expand...
I think you are definitely in the minority when it comes to appreciating the looks :)
 
Update: Range Report

I took an extra day off work today at short notice, so decided it would be an ideal opportunity to try out the new rifle. After a quick inspection I decided to run the rifle just as it came, no cleaning or extra lube (it came lightly lubricated from the factory).

1) Without even bothering to sight in the scope I decided to try some rapid fire down range to test the functioning of the ARX. I carefully loaded 10 rounds of CCI Mini-Mag (10 rd mag) and proceeded to fire all 10 rds with no issues.

2) That went OK, so this time I loaded 20 rounds (20 rd mag) of Mini-Mag and sighted it in at 12yds then at 25 yds. NO longer being careful how I loaded the mag - No issues.

3) Next I set up a target at 25 yds and fired from a rest, 10 rounds each of: American Eagle, Federal Auto Match, SK Rifle Match, Eley team, CCI Blazer & Remington Subsonic. Again no issues and interesting results - some terrible groups and some pretty good:


I am liking the SK RM !

4) Next I set up a target at 50 yds, 10 rounds each of: SK RM, Eley Team, Blazer, Rem SubSon, Fed AM & RWS CE:



5) Another 50 yd target, 10 rounds each of SK RM (x2), RWS CE (x2) & Rem SubSon (x2):


So now I am up to 210 rounds without a single failure of any kind - I am pretty happy

6) Next I tried multiple mags of 20 & 30 rounds each (217 rds in all) of a variety of ammo fired at an orange plastic cube rapid fire. 416 rounds total and still running strong.

7) Next I tried a 20 round mag of Aquila Super Extra (I have never used this ammo before, so I'm not sure what to expect) and I had my first failure. The first round fed in at a low angle and the bullet impacted the front edge of the feed ramp. I cleared the jam and the next 19 rds worked perfectly. I am not sure if this was a mag issue a rifle issue or an ammo issue.

8) For my last 20 rounds I decided to load a mixture of a few loose unidentified rounds I found laying around plus 5 rounds of CCI Stinger and then topped of the mag with about 10 rds of American Eagle. The AE worked fine, but the first Stinger round jammed in the mag. The stingers don't seem to function well in the magazine. Once the jam was cleared the remaining Stinger and misc rounds fed without issue.


So I think 2 failures out of 456 rounds is pretty good for a brand new .22 semi. I will avoid using Stingers in the future, but I am really happy to have a semi auto plinker that will feed almost any other ammo flawlessly. One comment I should add is that the trigger on the rifle sucks. A better trigger will be my first priority.

Cheers
TEG

ps: I just noticed my math is a bit off - I will come back and edit the numbers when I have the time. Also I was using a Busnell AR-22 2-7x scope for this test. With a better trigger and a bit more magnification I think I could improve considerably on some of these groups - not that shooting groups is the main purpose for this rifle.
T
 
Last edited:
My manuel says every 300 rounds but that seems often too me.
I too love the rifle and have had only two ftf with 50 year old ammo. Of those 100 rounds pf junk it ate it all.
On my remington bucket o bullets it has not had a failure.
I love the ability to mount accessories.

Happy shooting and big shout out to irunguns for the hook up.
 
I just gave it its first ever cleaning - it was, suprisingly, not very dirty, just a minor accumulation of crud in the action and along the bolt travel path. It was super easy to strip and clean. I sprayed the dirtiest parts with liberal amounts of Gun Scrubber before I remembered that some plastic does not react well to it. Lucky for me all the plastic parts seem immune to any deterioration from GS.
 
I have been using quite a variety as listed in post #9, more recently I have been using mainly Federal AE and Federal Champion 525 Bulk the Federal tend to be quite clean, I have never tried the Remington Golden Bullets.
 
Hi Tom, thanks for the post. I just purchased one thanks to your review.

2 quick questions, what scope is that and where did you buy the M4-22 mags? Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom