When it made its debut at the 2013 SHOT Show, the Beretta ARX 100 seemed like a radical new rifle destined to capture sales from the FNH SCAR, Bushmaster ACR and the various AR-15 models from different manufacturers. It had eye-catching aesthetics, a quick-change barrel with several promised caliber conversions and seemingly every feature one could want in a tactical rifle. This included ambidextrous controls, side-swapping ejection at the touch of a button and gas-piston operation. It even used AR-15 magazines.
Beretta also claimed the rifle’s polymer construction required minimal lubrication which was a big selling point at a time where desert wars were raging and existing rifles reportedly were prone to malfunction with all the airborne sand and grit. The ARX 100 even captured the 2014 Golden Bullseye Award for Rifle of the Year from NRA’s Shooting Illustrated magazine. But despite these winning attributes, this intriguing rifle saw little success in the U.S. market.
Beretta also claimed the rifle’s polymer construction required minimal lubrication which was a big selling point at a time where desert wars were raging and existing rifles reportedly were prone to malfunction with all the airborne sand and grit. The ARX 100 even captured the 2014 Golden Bullseye Award for Rifle of the Year from NRA’s Shooting Illustrated magazine. But despite these winning attributes, this intriguing rifle saw little success in the U.S. market.
