Your Thoughts On The AREX REX01

[Plan2Live]

I recently became aware of the Arex Rex01. I haven't seen one in person yet. Obviously a Sig clone for about half the price. Military Arms Channel has a torture test video that is very impressive. Does anyone have more details or personal experience with this pistol or the company?

Link to the Arex website; http://www.arex.si/weapons/

 

[Plan2Live]

Here is a link to the torture test of the Rex 01 vs a Sig 226 Legion. WARNING: If you are a Sig fan, like me, this is hard to watch!

 

[Jim Watson]

It is a good deal more than half the price of a standard P226.
The guy doing the "torture test" is a Rex dealer and might not be 100% objective.

I still like the idea. Bruce Gray won't put a thumb safety on my P226 and even if he would, the slide stop is still in the wrong place for my 1911 trained thumb. The cocked and locked safety and the dual purpose slide release/decocker lever a la Walther P5 might be a good setup. If I can lay hands on one whilst Christmas shopping, I will consider it. No pig in a poke mailorders, though.

 

[PabloJ]

Besides SIG-Sauer Serbs, Koreans and Chinese also make guns that look like this one.

 

[PabloJ]

I recently became aware of the Arex Rex01. I haven't seen one in person yet. Obviously a Sig clone for about half the price. Military Arms Channel has a torture test video that is very impressive. Does anyone have more details or personal experience with this pistol or the company?

Link to the Arex website; http://www.arex.si/weapons/

They make good wine so perhaps their guns are ok too. It seems that Slovaks make good bread, leather goods and pretty good rotating barrel pistol called Grand Power. Perhaps Slovenians can do the same. Anyhow we would appreciate if you buy one shoot it a lot and make a little U-tube video for us.

 

[sigarms228]

Is it really a SIG clone or a look alike? If it is a clone what parts can it use from a real SIG?
Too knew and unproven to get any of my interest especially when there are a lot of really nice used or CPO SIGs, even German made ones, in the same price range. In that price range one could also buy a brand new Beretta 92FS/M9, CZ75 series, or HKP2000 (though poly frame) which are well proven pistols from manufacturers that offer great warranty support and parts availability.

 

[Plan2Live]

Anyhow we would appreciate if you buy one shoot it a lot and make a little U-tube video for us.

Sure Pablo, no problem, PM me and I'll give you the address where you can send donations to fund the purchase. Postal money orders only please. I'll update the thread with a running total once the donations start coming in.

 

[RX-79G]

It isn't a clone of a Sig. It just looks a little like a Sig. Lots of guns look similar - it doesn't make them clones.

This is the descendant of the excellent and well proven CZ-99 design, which shares more characteristics of the Walther P88 than Sig. If anything, Sig later "cloned" the CZ-99's machined slide.

Given Sig's quality decline and high prices, I would be more inclined to consider the Rex (or a CZ-999, CZ-99, TZ-99, Golan or EZ9) for a pistol of this type. The Rex's addition of a safety and elimination of the right side decock/slide release may be appealing.

 

[bannockburn]

No experience with the Arex Rex01 but would be interested in getting one should the opportunity arise.

 

[sigarms228]

While I don't agree about SIGs, if one does not want to get a new SIG there are plenty of great used ones for less than the Arex. Arex is still new and unproven even if it is a copy of another design especially at the price.

I bought this German P226 a few years back at LGS for $499, Barely fired and came with original case and test target. Seen another at LGS recently but now $579.

 

[RX-79G]

Arex is still new and unproven even if it is a copy of another design especially at the price.

The Arex's relationship to the CZ99, 999, EZ9 are perhaps closer than the relationship between a West German stamped slide P226 and an all US made machined slide P226. The Arex appears to be coming from the same people as the older guns.

Which doesn't mean it is perfect, but it is just a new development of an existing platform - not a copy.

 

[bannockburn]

sigarms228

Like you I picked up a LNIB SIG P229R for $499 a few years back from my local gun store. Had the short reset trigger, working night sights, and came with three magazines. Bought a SIG STL-900L laser/light module to go along with it for nightstand duty. Definitely the perfect set-up for the job that I wanted it for. Would still like to get a Rex01 just to see how capable it really is.

 

[PabloJ]

The Arex's relationship to the CZ99, 999, EZ9 are perhaps closer than the relationship between a West German stamped slide P226 and an all US made machined slide P226. The Arex appears to be coming from the same people as the older guns.

Which doesn't mean it is perfect, but it is just a new development of an existing platform - not a copy.

I do not see this coming from same people as ZCZ guns. One is located in Serbia and this one is in Slovenia. Both were part of Yugoslavia at one time. This gun comes from tool manufacturing company which isn't bad because most popular plastic framed striker fired pistol is made by company that originally made plastic utensils.

 

[kozak6]

I don't find it compelling.

It's another proprietary screwball Yugo Sig knockoff, except this one is surprisingly expensive: $600. Well, maybe it's a Sig knockoff. I don't even know if it's actually a Sig knockoff or more P88 inspired as mentioned above.

A quick google pulls up some used Sig P226's in 9mm for $650. New ones can be had for a couple hundred bucks more.

Police trade Sigs are more in the $400-500 range, although mostly .40 cal. If you are lucky, you might get one at gunbroker for $300-400.

Zastava's Sig-alike CZ-999's are surprisingly affordable at a little under $300. Surplus CZ-99's in rough shape can sneak in just under $200.

Why not get the real deal for a little more (or a little less)? If you are going to get some proprietary screwball Yugo pistol, why not cheap out with a Zastava? If you can't get parts or service a few years down the road, then you can have a spare (or two) for the same price.

 

[Plan2Live]

Why not get the real deal for a little more (or a little less)?

Did you watch the torture test? If the discount used Sig performs the same way the brand new out-of-the box Legion did why would I want the inferior product? I'm a huge Sig fan and found the torture test compelling. I started this thread to see if anyone had more detail on the Rex 01 than I was able to turn up on my own. I'm still waiting for that detail.

 

[jhb]

from what i read the parts dont interchange, except maybe recpil springs. so while it looks like a p226, it isnt. wont even take sig mags from what i read.

i just ordered one couple days ago. want to see if the hype is the real deal, but the mac channels videos of 1000 rounds and gauntlet deal are impressive with it to say the least. not sure how accurate it is though? I've only seen good things so far. its still early though lets see how they fair after many thousands of rounds on parts breaakage and support from kvar or whoever is handling parts and such.

 

[sigarms228]

Did you watch the torture test? If the discount used Sig performs the same way the brand new out-of-the box Legion did why would I want the inferior product? I'm a huge Sig fan and found the torture test compelling. I started this thread to see if anyone had more detail on the Rex 01 than I was able to turn up on my own. I'm still waiting for that detail.

Well that the the problem isn't it? Very very few have this AREX and it has no track record. A You Tube video may be entertaining but to me that the P226 has been used for years by the SEALS is very compelling evidence about the performance, reliability, and durability of the P226. Again, the AREX is NOT a SIG clone.

 

[Plan2Live]

the AREX is NOT a SIG clone.

Turning to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary I find the following definition of the word "clone"; "a person or thing that appears to be an exact copy of another person or thing." I think the inclusion of the word "appears" covers my use of the term clone in this thread.

Aside from JHB's post above no one has confidently commented on parts compatability, etc. so at this point we don't really know if it is or isn't a clone (caps withheld).

 

[RX-79G]

Turning to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary I find the following definition of the word "clone"; "a person or thing that appears to be an exact copy of another person or thing." I think the inclusion of the word "appears" covers my use of the term clone in this thread.

Aside from JHB's post above no one has confidently commented on parts compatability, etc. so at this point we don't really know if it is or isn't a clone (caps withheld).

It is quite obviously not an "exact copy" at all. What appeared "exact" to you?

 

[Old Dog]

Did you watch the torture test? If the discount used Sig performs the same way the brand new out-of-the box Legion did why would I want the inferior product? I'm a huge Sig fan and found the torture test compelling.

"Torture test?" It was a joke. It should be fairly obvious to anyone who's got any experience whatsoever carrying semi-auto pistols out-of-doors that the "testing" that the MAC guy did could easily be gamed to come up with any results the "tester" desired. Pans of water and home-brewed mud? Really? The "torture test" was about as compelling as a Pauly Shore movie.

I've got a whole lot of experience with SIG pistols over the past thirty years, two brand-new, out-of-the-box Legion pistols and it will be a cold day in hell when I don't laugh my butt off if someone says they're inferior to some new-kid-on-the-block T-Rex pistol with a track record of zero ...

 

[Monac]

To me, a major trend in automatic pistol design since the late 1970's has been getting away from manual safeties. I'm not expressing an opinion about whether that is good or bad, just that a lot of pistol designs since then have gone to great lengths to avoid them: the H&K P7, the huge Glock family, the Sig-Sauers, lots of other DAO or decocker only designs, the Colt 2000, and the Remington M51.

That makes it seem odd to me that the Arex people would take a manual-safety-free design and add one. I guess it's nice they are giving people who like manual safeties AND Sig-Sauer type pistols an option, but they are bucking a trend.

At least these look like better guns than those Slovenian quasi-P-38 type guns that were surplussed out some years ago. Or were they Croatian? Dang, now I think they were.

 

[RX-79G]

To me, a major trend in automatic pistol design since the late 1970's has been getting away from manual safeties. I'm not expressing an opinion about whether that is good or bad, just that a lot of pistol designs since then have gone to great lengths to avoid them: the H&K P7, the huge Glock family, the Sig-Sauers, lots of other DAO or decocker only designs, the Colt 2000, and the Remington M51.

That makes it seem odd to me that the Arex people would take a manual-safety-free design and add one. I guess it's nice they are giving people who like manual safeties AND Sig-Sauer type pistols an option, but they are bucking a trend.

At least these look like better guns than those Slovenian quasi-P-38 type guns that were surplussed out some years ago. Or were they Croatian? Dang, now I think they were.

Sig has produced some versions of the Classic line with manual safeties, and one of the most frequent complaints about the Beretta 92 is that it can't be cocked and locked like the Taurus version. You also have the HKs with the up for safe down for decock levers.

I think the trend for many guns is away from manual safeties for police and military because most agencies don't want anyone carrying condition 1. But for consumers a pistol that offers two carry might be well received. Especially with such a nice safety design.