While the beginning of each year brings the anticipation of what handgun manufacturers are going to debut for the year, this year they just kept coming. Month after month, announcements and press releases touted another new handgun being released, and what a collection 2021 brought us!
I’ve taken a look at the new handguns of 2021. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Auto-Ordinance Stainless 1911: As indicated by the name, the frame, the slide, and the barrel are forged from stainless steel. This new .45 ACP 1911 has an extended beavertail grip safety, skeletonized hammer, and an extended magazine release.
Beretta APX A1 Carry Optics Ready: New to the APX series is the A1 9mm. The slide is red-dot ready and can accommodate a wide variety of manufacturers' optics. The trigger is also new on this one, making it shorter and lighter than before with a quick reset.
Beretta 92X RDO and Performance Defensive: Beretta continued to update the wildly popular 92 series with two new 92X options. Both are chambered in 9mm. The 92X RDO 9mm pistol, and the 92X Performance Defensive model. The RDO model includes an out-of-the-box red-dot-ready slide, combat sights, and 18-round magazines. The 92X Performance Defensive model offers a lightened steel frame and slide, red-dot-ready slide, and thin grips that are aggressively textured.
CZ USA P10-F Competition Ready: This is the competition-ready version of the P10-F full-sized 9mm pistol. This model brings a longer, optics-ready slide with a full 5-inch forged-titanium nitride barrel, mimicking the M1911 series. It also has a longer sight radius.
CZ USA P10-M: The new micro-sized offering from CZ USA is the P10-M. Optimized for concealed carry with a reduced footprint, the new P10-M offers a capacity of seven rounds. An internal slide stop means there are no levers on the sides of the gun other than the magazine release. It also offers an easy takedown, requiring no trigger pull.
CZ 75 SP-01 Competition Red and Blue: Aptly named, because one model is red and one model is blue, the new SP-01 Competition pistols come standard with matching +4 extended magazine base pads. They offer a generous 21-round capacity.