Beretta ARX 100 design details/wear at 500 rounds

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I’ve had this rifle for about 6 weeks and have about 500 rounds through it without any real stoppages, except during a rifle match, when a round popped out of the top of a magazine on a bolt open reload.

Some things that might not be apparent from the pictures:
There is very little aluminum in the design. The picatinny rails and selector/safety are the only aluminum parts on the rifle. Everything else is either steel or plastic, aside from the ceramic barrel support. .
It’s bulky but light. The rifle is very deep from top to bottom but pretty narrow. Most of the space forward of the mag well is hollow plastic around the barrel, gas cylinder, and forward nose of the bolt carrier.

Rifle with stock folded with sling attached. Finding a way to mount the sling is kinda a pain. The built in sling mounting points are too narrow to work easily with 1” slings. My solution was to use paracord loops to attach to HK hooks. That also helps with noise, is flexible, and is easy to remove.
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Rifle field stripped into 3 basic groups: upper receiver, lower receiver, and bolt carrier group.
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Upper receiver strips down to the barrel and receiver body.
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Receiver details: Internal rail cuts on receiver. The steel BCG runs on plastic.
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Receiver from below. I have no clue how they molded all those details at one go.
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Front of receiver/barrel support. The ceramic barrel support has 3 legs that locate it in the plastic upper and a steel insert with sprung fingers that actually contact the barrel at the gas block.
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Barrel details:
Barrel extension.
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Bottom of barrel extension with wear from the barrel latch is apparent.
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Top of barrel extension. The dished out area is clearance for the bolt carrier control pin spring.
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Detail of the moving gas cylinder and stationary piston. The two spring tabs retain the two caps.
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View into the lower receiver from the top. Visible is the center tab that activates the bolt hold open, the to side pieces that actually hold the bolt open, the green plastic hammer body, the steel hammer, black plastic trigger/sear, disconnector, drop safety, and the take down plate/ejector selector.
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Bolt carrier assembly in take down position.
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Bolt carrier assembly detail stripped to three main components: Recoil spring with guide rod, CH slot dust cover, and buffer. Bolt carrier with CH. Bolt.
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Bolt carrier underside details showing CH in ready position, note control pin in down position.
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Wear on nose of bolt carrier possibly due to heat.
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Assembled bolt detail of top showing Cam/FP retaining pin and slots that control bolt rotation during travel.
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Side view of assembled bolt.
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Detail of bolt face showing dual extractors/ejectors.
Bolt stripped showing bolt body, firing pin with spring, Cam/FP retaining pin, and extractors/ejectors.
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Bolt face stripped.
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Stripped bolt side view.
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Slots for extractor/ejector tabs.
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Cam/FP retaining pin. The pin is symmetrical and can be inserted either way.
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Extractor/ejector details.
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Weight of assembled bolt carrier (335g) and bolt (158g) giving a bolt to bolt carrier weight ratio of 2.1:1. This compares with a AR 15* ratio of 7.1:1* and AK ratio of 4.9:1.
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*FA bolt carrier with standard carbine buffer.

Detail of control pin/bolt interaction.During stripping of the new cartridge from the magazine, the cam path in the bolt tries to turn the bolt as it encounters resistance. This premature turning action is prevented by the control pin, which sits in a slot on top of the bolt.
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As the bolt approaches the barrel extension the control pin spring hits the barrel extension as the bolt contacts the end of the barrel. The lifting control pin allows the bolt to turn and lock in the barrel extension.
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The bolt carrier comes to a stop against the barrel extension and the control pin spring allows it to return to the lower resting position.
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BSW
 
Very nice! Wear looks very minimal. I might have missed it but what lube did you use? What ammo was used? I'd post this over on AR15.com too. Lots of folks would be interested in this. Many thanks!

PS. What kind of accuracy are you seeing?
 
Wear is minimal. The rough spots appeared quickly and haven't got any worse.

I've been using my normal gun oil, Aeroshell Fluid 18.

Ammo has been a mix of PMC and IMI M193 spec. Accuracy is about 2.5MOA with the 55gr ammo. I'm expecting better with SS109 spec ammo since the barrel had a 1:7 twist.

The trigger is creepy and heavy, which doesn't help in the accuracy department.

BSW
 
Neat looking gun with some cool features. However, it sure does look like a bulky gun to haul around. Even if it is light, the proportions do make it look a bit awkward.

I have heard some feedback about how some wish the charging handle had a bit more length on it, as it is really easy to rake your finger across the gun while charging it in a hurry.
 
How are the ergonomics on that rifle and how do they compare to an AR15?
 
I was wrong about the the barrel support, it's anodized aluminum, not ceramic.

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Neat looking gun with some cool features. However, it sure does look like a bulky gun to haul around. Even if it is light, the proportions do make it look a bit awkward.

I have heard some feedback about how some wish the charging handle had a bit more length on it, as it is really easy to rake your finger across the gun while charging it in a hurry.


It looks bulkier than it feels and the balance is great. I'm coming off a year of shooting a 20" AUG at our local rifle match and the ARX is one of the few rifles that doesn't feel annoyingly nose heavy after the AUG.

If the CH was any longer it wouldn't be possible to move it to the take down center position, and yes, it's easy to rack your hand against the shell deflector if you're in a hurry. This I'd one of my 'wear gloves' guns, like an AK.

Originally Posted By: Leo99
How are the ergonomics on that rifle and how do they compare to an AR15?


Ergonomics are actually pretty similar to an AR. The one control you have to get used to that different is the CH, it's in a different spot and reciprocates*. Everything else can be run like an AR.

If you're more used to an AK, just run the CH on the right side and you'll feel right at home. There's even a centerline mag release for you.

Beretta didn't really compromise the rifle if you're right handed. And if you're left handed, the rifle is pretty much built for you. Other rifles can be switched for LH use, but I'm not aware of any that are so easy to swap.

BSW

*I think the location and reciprocation is better than the AR's CH.
 
What's that barrel length? 16"?


Love my Beretta CX4, even if it's a bit finicky with low-velocity ammo and/or lube selection.


Seems like this is a perfect rifle for my southpawed'ness. We need a minimum 18.5" barrel however if us Canucks don't want to be treated like terrorists by our Chief Firearms Officer.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
What's that barrel length? 16"?


Love my Beretta CX4, even if it's a bit finicky with low-velocity ammo and/or lube selection.


Seems like this is a perfect rifle for my southpawed'ness. We need a minimum 18.5" barrel however if us Canucks don't want to be treated like terrorists by our Chief Firearms Officer.
wink.gif

Ya, gotta love the 18.5 inch rule. Anything under is too "dangerous" to fire on your own property but over it is perfectly fine. The whole "restricted" classification needs to be removed.
 
Looks like Tavors. The magazine is still in the usual place though. Beefy look, lighter weight must be he new style in rifles. The magazines of some manufacturers are translucent plastic. I say wow.

How much is the going price for this piece?
 
Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Looks like Tavors. The magazine is still in the usual place though. Beefy look, lighter weight must be he new style in rifles. The magazines of some manufacturers are translucent plastic. I say wow.

How much is the going price for this piece?


The Steyr AUG has had translucent mags since the '70s and the work great too.

On gunbroker.com in stock rifles are selling for around $1400. Botach can do $1200 but they might or might not have stock on hand. Either way they will charge your card now and send you a rifle sometime. Maybe sooner maybe later.

BSW
 
Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Looks like Tavors. The magazine is still in the usual place though. Beefy look, lighter weight must be he new style in rifles. The magazines of some manufacturers are translucent plastic. I say wow.

How much is the going price for this piece?


Not sure how it looks like a TAVOR since the TAVOR is a bullpup and the ARX is a traditional layout design. Both do have a very tall look about them.

Translucent mags are indeed nothing new, but they are somewhat newer in the AR/STANAG magazine world. That being said, some AR mags do not work with the ARX. I have seen that some of the current generation og Magpul Pmags do not work well with them. However compared to the FN2000 bullpup, there certainly are more mags avaliable.
 
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