Personal Defense World — Last year, I reviewed the Arex Rex Zero 1S and was impressed with its quality and accuracy. Imported by the FIME Group out of Las Vegas, the Rex Zero 1S gave shooters in the United States a chance to see what a small European company whose intense focus on quality control is capable of.
When I contacted the FIME Group about getting a test sample of the Rex Zero 1S, I learned Walker English was part of this new company as the director of sales. I’ve known Walker over 20 years, and most of that time the retired Marine was with Arsenal. He informed me that Arsenal’s owner, Vartan Barsoumian, had set up FIME for importing the new Slovenian gun. I had a test sample almost immediately. I shot it, wrote it up and had nearly forgotten the Rex Zero 1S as I moved on with other projects. That is until Walker called me a couple months ago and invited me to tour the Arex factory in Ljubljana, Slovenia. An all-expenses-paid trip to Europe to hang out with some other gun writers and meet the people that made the cool pistol? I was all in!
Arex’s tool shop is a very important part of the facility. It makes all prototype parts and fixtures for production. Ivan started a program to bring in interested high-school-aged kids to teach them the fundamentals of machining on the manual machines. He has a high retention rate of these highly motivated and enthusiastic youngsters. We met several former students who now hold key positions in production or quality control.
The facility is in an old building, but it’s been modernized with several expansions. For instance, the cold-hammer-forging machine, about the length of a small plane, is housed in a separate area that required its own 10-foot-deep concrete foundation to prevent the machine from collapsing the building with its heavy vibration. Arex’s two indoor ranges, and the hallways leading to them, were trenched from above and had their concrete walls poured very thick.
Arex personnel test-fire each gun, starting with two overloaded rounds that possess 35-percent more pressure than standard ammunition. After a visual inspection, the gun is then fired with one magazine of ammunition in single-action (SA) mode. Another magazine is fired in double action (DA). The technician then fires another 10 rounds to zero the gun’s sights. A total of 32 rounds must be fired without failure for the gun to ship.
With our facility tour completed, we adjourned to a conference room to see what’s next for Arex. Since I first wrote about the Rex Zero 1S, Arex has introduced a compact model, the Arex Rex 1CP, with a shorter barrel, slide and frame. Both of these guns will be offered in an electroless nickel finish with the same wear and corrosion resistance of Tenifer. Pricing shouldn’t be more than 10 percent of the standard gun’s cost.
Arex displayed some sample guns in the conference room outfitted with walnut grip panels, and we were told that these should be available in late fall of 2017. FIME will also offer Hogue G10 grips in green, Flat Dark Earth and black. Additionally, TruGlo night sights will be available for all offerings.
Arex Rex Zero 1S Specs
| Caliber: 9mm |
| Barrel: 4.25 inches |
| OA Length: 7.7 inches |
| Weight: 29 ounces (empty) |
| Grip: Polymer |
| Sights: Three-dot |
| Action: DA/SA |
| Finish: Matte black |
| Capacity: 17+1 |
| MSRP: N/A |
Arex Rex Zero 1S Performance
| Load | Velocity | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Aguila 124 FMJ | 1,109 | 1.13 |
| Black Hills 115 JHP | 1,264 | 1.87 |
| CorBon 115 JHP +P | 1,384 | 1.54 |
| DoubleTap 77 JHP | 1,560 | 1.46 |
| Hornady 147 JHP | 994 | 0.87 |
*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot group from 25 yards.
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