Arex Zero 1 Sig clone

[Brian Ahearn]

I just got this in on Wed. and so far I am very impressed. Fit and finish are excellent. Shooting this morning with mixed ball and hollow points was perfect , zero issues got to be boring at 7 yards. With the dot white sights which my old eyes don't like I had no trouble in single action dropping all my shots in the center of the target. Double action pull is too heavy ,really the only thing that I did not like. The ambi mag release made it easy for me to use my trigger finger to drop the mag with ease. It also has an ambi safety similar to a 1911 style safety except that it disconnects the trigger, so you could carry it in Sa mode cocked and locked. You can also decock like your Sig and shoot it Da on the first shot. Rear sight looks to be Glock size front dovetail is either Sig or M&P size, i will have to measure it. Its as good as any of my Sigs, I really like the ambi mag release that is a step up over the Sig design for me. Since I like it's only appropriate that I immediately void the factory warranty , tear it down and add some springs from Gray Guns and see how far I can drop the double action pull. I will also add some sights that suit my eyes and report back in a few weeks on this pistol.  These are just my initial impressions after three days so after I spend some quality time with it on the bench and I range I will offer some more opinions on it. So far I am very pleased overall.

[Rutherford2]

Thanks for the write up. Been wondering about the Arex.

[Brian Ahearn]

For just under $600 with shipping I am very happy, I forgot to mention the grip,if you have smaller hands like me you should not have a problem. The grip is thinner than a standard Sig.

[Brian Ahearn]

I pulled out all my sight sets that I have on hand,I have all the major pistol{semi autos} brands in stock except Sig and Springfiled XDs series . it looks like It will be Sig on the dovetail size, I have ruled the rest out. So I will take my chances and order a night sight set for a Sig P226 and fit those when they arrive .

[jwc007]

Congratulations on your new Sig Clone and may it serve you well! 

For those of us who have never seen one, much less heard of one.

[Brian Ahearn]

Thanks for putting up the photo. Also extra mags are just $25.00 and there are holsters and mags available on the Kvar website. Last thing with one in the cahmber it holds 18 rounds.

[jwc007]

MAC did a review of one here:

[muggia59]

I like it. If its a good shooter, congatulations. Would not mind trying one out some day.

[Brian Ahearn]

So far very satisfied ,will put more rounds though it tomorrow morning.

[Brian Ahearn]

I was going to go to the range and shoot it some more today ,but it's raining and I am just getting over being sick so I stayed indoors this morning and took the Arez Rex Zero one completely apart. Internally there are a lot of differences between this pistol and a Sig Sauer P226 series style pistol. If you are not one who can deal with tiny springs ,pins and ,detents then this is not a handgun that you should disassemble. It was not hard to get it apart,it's just got a lot of small parts that if lost your not going to be able to replace them easily. If I want lighten the DA pull I am going to need springs from another pistol outside of the Sig lineup. The mainspring is longer than a Sig mainspring. Another option if i want to use the Sig 17 lbs Bruce Gray spring would be a custom spacer to make up the difference. I really don't want to spend time making a spacer,so I came up with another option , a CZ 75 16 lb Wolff mainspring. Its a little to long so I will cut it to size reassemble and take some trigger pull readings. The SA pull from the factory is quite nice already, so it really does not need to be lowered. The DA pull is too heavy over 12 lbs and that is what I want to lower it. So if all goes well with the swap and shop testing I will go back to the range and do some test firing for function.

[bang bang]

my dealer got one in for a customer and i had a chance to go over it.

really nice.   


i got one of the CZ99 and imo, i like the controls better than the OEM Sigs.  They did the ambi controls too but did them one better with doing away with the separate slide release and incorporating it into the decocker lever.

anyone can copy - the Chinese do that all the time - but can it be improved ?

[AR]

TTaG's take on the AREX.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/03/jeremy-s/gun-review-arex-rex-zero-1-s/

[Brian Ahearn]

That's a spot on review, this pistol is a real performer right out of the box. I paid $539.95 and it's right there with my Sig 226 as far as performance goes, Sa trigger is excellent. The only two things that I don't like are the factory sights and the heavy Da trigger pull . I tore down the frame five or six times yesterday experimenting with different mainsprings and weights from a variety of different pistols yesterday. I have not yet found what I am looking for,but I am getting there. I put i back together last night so we can shoot it some more this weekend. What I can tell is that while it copies the Sig there are many difference between the two pistols. The Mag release I really like it, I can tap it with my trigger finger drop the mag and be inserting the next one and my finge is already returning to the ready position. The mag release borrows design elements from the CZ 99 and XD pistols . The one thing that I can do easily now is completely tear the pistol down and re-assemble it. If you can't afford a new Sig you should take a serious look at this one. The out of the box 4.5 pound SA is great and I would have no issue carrying cocked and locked with this safety ,it's easy to use and with the nice SA pull my shots would be right on target. I am sure if I trained regularly with the heavy Da pull that I would be okay with taking a double action shot, but a lighter Da pull would increase first shot accuracy.

[Wahoo1 again]

Does it use a hammer spring arrangement similar to the Sig P226/229? Would a Wolff or Wilson hammer spring be a drop in or cut to fit? I have Sig P229s and M11A1s with the newer plastic base hammer spring and an older P226 and P228 with the longer springs. I'd be interested in one if I can use some of my stash of spare springs.

[Brian Ahearn]

Sig springs won't work The Arex spring is a longer heavier design.