Beretta continues to release innovative variants of its .380 ACP Cheetah series, with the newest model sporting a factory-mounted compensator, extended magazine capacity, and other goodies.
Boom:
The company had long marketed the 80-series Cheetah platform, going back to the 1970s, and debuted the modernized 80X in 2023 to bring the model into the 21st century with more contemporary features than were available during the Disco era.
The newest 80X Cheetah Tactical variant is a special-edition model that retains the pistol’s double-action/single-action trigger system, two-slot Picatinny accessory rail, svelte profile via a Vertec-style alloy frame, and fully ambidextrous controls –including a frame-mounted safety with decocker and a reversible magazine release.
Specific upgrades to this model include extended 15+1-round magazines (ships with three), a red dot mount hidden under a removable optic cover, a built-in compensator on an extended threaded (1/2×28 TPI) muzzle, aggressive G10 grip panels, and a bronze-anodized frame.
The new Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Special Edition sports a two-tone blacked-out slide and a compensator that would give the AL/GI/MEC-equipped Model 92s seen in “The Professional” a run for their money. (Photos: Beretta)
Note the extended beavertail, skeletonized hammer, and combat-style trigger guard as well as the black G10 grip panels and slim Vertec frame.
The slide includes a red fiber-optic front sight, a blacked-out rear sight, and an optics cover plate. It runs a lightweight recoil spring, making it easy to rack.
Taurus on Tuesday announced its first entry into the dedicated PDW space, the fully ambidextrous 9mm RPC.
Billed as being built to NATO standards– keep in mind that the company competes for and wins military and police contracts all over the world– the new RPC is lightweight via alloy construction and runs from curved 32-round magazines.
And did we mention that it has a roller delayed operating system, which offers a flatter recoil impulse?
Note the case in the air and the muzzle still on target. (Photos: Taurus)
Controls are fully ambidextrous, with the bolt release/lock and magazine release easily reached from both sides, and a reversible, non-reciprocating charging handle. Note the rear vert Pic rail for braces.
Using a 4.5-inch threaded barrel, the RPC features a single-stage flat-faced trigger, an AR-15 compatible soft rubber over-molded grip, and three integrated quick-detach sling attachment points in addition to fully ambi controls and a Picatinny top rail.
A short M-LOK handguard is standard.
The RPC will be offered in two variants at launch, both with a rear vertical Picatinny rail, either with (MSRP $1098.99) or without ($939.99) a Strike Industries FSA folding brace. That puts it a couple of hundred bucks less than the roller-locked Springfield Armory Kuna and will likely come in under the cost of the Stribog SP9A3 as well.
Expect more on this interesting little guy from NRAAM this week, and know that we are eagerly trying to get one of these in for review.
Springfield Armory and Croatia’s HS Produkt have collaborated on polymer-framed striker-fired handguns for 25 years, producing the XD series, Hellcat, and, since 2023, the modular Echelon. Our reviews of the Echelon 4.5F, 4.0C Compact,4.0C Comp, and 4.0FC hybrid models found minimal issues – they perform reliably.
The guns are billed as “duty-grade,” a claim that has been supported by their adoption by several large U.S. law enforcement agencies, including those in Henderson and St. Louis County. Overseas, the Echelon just earned a Spanish National Police Corps (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía) contract for over 6,000 pistols to replace older HK USP Compacts, beating out several big-name contemporaries submitted for competitive evaluation.
Now, with the exclusive one-year relationship between Aimpoint and Glock over, the former’s excellent small-form COA enclosed red dot is available for use with the Echelon line – factory installed. Springfield this week debuted three new COA-equipped A-Cut footprint Echelon models: the full-sized 4.5F, hybrid 4.0FC, and compact 4.0C pistols.
The MSRP across the line is $1,119, which is a deal considering the published price for the COA direct from Aimpoint is $617, while the standard Echelon models start at $710, pointing to an easy $200 savings. Plus, keep in mind that the counter price we are seeing at launch is closer to $950, so…
Why the COA?
First off, let us talk about the Aimpoint COA and why it is a big deal. First introduced at SHOT ’25, the 3.5 MOA COA red dot eschews plate systems and direct mounts into its distinctive A-Cut via a wedge system that helps eliminate movement. With a 15×15 mm aperture, the ultra-compact 7075-T6 aluminum housing is fully sealed and rated as being submersible to 80 feet or so, and offers much the same performance as Aimpoint’s “bomb-proof” ACRO but in a smaller package with a deck low enough to allow most irons to co-witness. The optic is billed as surpassing a 40,000-round endurance standard.
The A-Cut allows the COA optic to be mounted deeper into the slide, increasing stability. Note how the mount provides an iron sight index for the optic. (Photo: Springfield Armory)
Note the tactile dot brightness adjustment with four night vision and eight daylight settings.
Note the side-accessible compartment for a single standard CR2032 3-volt battery, with a 50,000-hour (over five years) advertised lifespan. Weight is 1.4 ounces.
Here we see the Echelon COA stacked against a similar Echelon with a Vortex Defender-ST micro red dot.
Note the difference in how low the deck sits versus the overall height. For reference, our Echelon 4.0C COA, as reviewed, has an overall height of 5.8 inches from the bottom of the flush-fit magazine to the top of the optic housing.
Glock and Aimpoint blazed a path for the COA – which we extensively reviewed– but soon all but pulled them from the market for one reason or another, discontinuing the Gen5s and not (as of 3/17/26) offering the package on the U.S. market for the Gen6.
About the only rocks we can toss at the gun is that the COA and its A-Cut, for now, is a double-edged sword, painting the owner into a corner without any other (as of 3/17/26) optics available for it. Of course, that could change in the coming months and years. Other than that, the only knocks we can give the gun are its $35 magazines and not amazing (but upgradable) trigger.
In closing, we’ve always found the Echelon to be a superior gun that is often overlooked in a crowded market. When paired with the Aimpoint COA, at a reasonable price, those sleeper days could be in the rear view.
Mossberg has teamed up with Christian Craighead to produce a new and visually striking Shockwave variant with both premium design elements and distinctive aesthetics.
Craighead, a former British SAS commando known as “Obi Wan Nairobi” for his one-man response in 2019 when Al-Shebab terrorists attacked the mall in Nairobi, Kenya, had direct input on the design of the new Mossberg 590 Bliksem.
Not technically a shotgun, the NFA-compliant Shockwave-gripped 12-gauge cylinder bore firearm features a 14.375-inch heavy-walled barrel, a 5+1 capacity with 2.75-inch shells, and bead sight with a top Picatinny rail for optics.
The aesthetics are off the charts with this one, as it runs a Rhodesian Brushstoke camo, an AfterShock grip with QD point, and a corn cob forend with a leather strap.
Its compact size (26.37 inches overall) and maneuverability are complemented by a clean-out magazine tube, twin action bars, ambidextrous safety, anti-jam elevator, and positive steel-to-steel lockup, delivering the smooth, dependable operation expected from Mossy’s legendary 590 platform. (Photos: Mossberg)
The bird’s head AfterShock pistol grip is shaped to provide a firm grip and to help minimize felt recoil while the leather-strapped forend keeps the lead hand clear of the muzzle when cycling the action.
The firearm comes with an Esstac removable receiver-mounted 6-shell carrier card and a convenient clean-out magazine tube with screw-off cap for ease of maintenance.
“Mossberg understands function over flash, and that’s why this collaboration worked,” commented Christian Craighead. “We designed the 590 Bliksem to be practical, durable, intuitive, and some might say most importantly, cool – qualities that matter far more than marketing lines. It’s a solid bit of hardware.”
The Special Edition 590 Bliksem has an MSRP of $728. The less cool standard Shockwave 590 runs about $200 less.
KelTec came to Enforce Tac in Nuremberg, Germany, this week with a new 5.7 NATO platform that uses twin “jungle clipped” downward ejecting 50-round mags.
The company debuted the P50 pistol in 2021, which uses flat 5.7mm FN P90 pattern magazines in a top-loading format via a hinged receiver. Offered first in a pistol, then in a P50 carbine kit with a 16-inch barrel and a foldable stock, it performed well in our tests.
Updating the concept, KelTec has flipped the loading to a faster and drop-free format and ditched the pistol-style trigger on the P50 for a more AR-ish SU16 trigger group on the new KP50. Other features on the gun include a B5 Systems AR-pattern grip, a rear accessory mount, a top Pic rail, a rear non-reciprocating charging handle, and an optional “jungle mag” setup with dual 50-round magazines, allowing rapid switch-out following a drop and 180-degree rotation.
The KP50, seen in its SBR variant. (Photos: KelTec)
KelTec will be offering the KP50 in four flavors: an $899 MSRP’d pistol, a $1,099 pistol with a side-folding pistol stabilizing brace, a $1,349 Defender braced pistol with a Vortex Crossfire green dot optic and Magpul MBUS backup sights, and a $1,099 factory SBR that transfers on a $0 ATF Form 4.
There is also the price-available MP50, a select-fire variant (come on Hughes Amendment repeal) with a cyclic rate of fire of 850 rounds per minute until the mag holds out.
The $899 pistol variant of the KP50. It is lightweight at 3.2 pounds loaded (4.3 with 50 rounds of 5.7x28mm loaded) while being 18.27 inches long overall with its 9.6-inch barrel.
The $1,099 braced KP50 pistol ups the unloaded weight to 4 pounds, and with the brace unfolded, extends the overall length to 28.3 inches. KelTec will also offer this gun in a Defender package with a Vortex Crossfire green dot optic and Magpul MBUS backup sights for $250 more. Note the 50+50 “jungle mag”
The more tricked-out folding-stocked MP50 SBR machine gun, which is pitched to Mil/LE sales due to its giggle switch. Contact your Congressman, Senator, and President on scrapping the Hughes Amendment if you disagree with that post-86 restriction.
The concept of the KP50/MP50 isn’t entirely new. The autists at Pennsylvania-based Stuff and Things have been marketing its $239 bottom-feeding ST50 FCG kit for the P50 for about a year, which uses AR trigger groups and allows users to swap P-90 pattern 5.7 mags via an AK/EVO 3-style mag release.
The ST50 FCG kit
Still, kudos to KelTec for keeping folks guessing. The MP50, in particular, sounds invigorating.
Beretta has been quietly bringing one of the coolest .22LR semi-auto pistols to the market for the past couple of years, and we can finally talk about it.
But first, a little background.
The Jaguar name goes back to 1958 when Beretta introduced a series of gently larger rimfire semi-automatic pistols to complement its pocket .22s like the Model 418 Panther and tip-up barrel Minx. Like today’s Jaguar, the Beretta that carried the name last century was primarily intended for use as a plinker and target pistol, although it went on to be used by covert kinda folks in covert kinda operations.
The original Beretta Jaguar series 70 pistols were introduced in 1958 and remained in production into the 1980s. They are old school cool, for sure. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Meet the new Jaguar B22
We first saw the pre-production Jaguar B22 at a Beretta range event in 2025, but were sworn to secrecy on it. Like the original, it was cool and sleek. However, where the old 71 was art deco and classic, the new Jag was a rimfire muscle car, dripping with factory standard go-fast accessories from Tandemkross and built to go fast and perform while doing it.
The pre-production Jag, spotted in January 2025. Almost ready to be let out of its cage and shown to the public.
Fast forward to SHOT ’26 last month and the Jag was back at Beretta’s range event– but this time soft-launched and ready to purr.
The new platform, designed for plinking, target shooting, and training the next generation, will be offered in a Tac Metal (MSRP $749) and a Metal Competition (MSRP $969) model, with sub-variants in standard (15-round magazines) and state-compliant (10-round) versions of each, at the same price.
Both are built atop an innovative new modular chassis system and an M_LOK barrel shroud with a detachable accessory rail, making the B22 easy to disassemble, clean, and customize. Featuring dual-side ejection with a fixed barrel, it is designed to be reliable and accurate. They are internal hammer-fired (SAO) and blowback action.
The Jaguar B22 Tac Metal runs a 5.25-inch barrel and is 8.85 inches overall. Weight is 33.6 ounces. Equipped with adjustable fiber-optic sights, an extended barrel, and a 1913 Picatinny rail, it is suppressor and optics-ready, as you can tell.
The Jaguar B22 Metal Competition has a 5.5-inch barrel, giving it an overall length of 9.8 inches and a weight of 36.4 ounces. It comes standard with all the features of the Tac Metal but also adds A Tandemkross fiber front fiber optic, Tandemkross Steam Demon single port compensator, Tandemkross Accelorator thumb ledge gas pedal, and an adjustable Tandemkross semi-flat faced trigger with pre- and post-travel adjustments. It looks fast just sitting on the table.
Beretta says the Jaguar B22 Metal Competition is the first .22LR pistol explicitly developed in partnership with the largest educational shooting program in the world for youth, the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP), in a process that has taken four years.
More direct from Tandemkross and SASP on the background of the new generation of Jaguar:
We hope to have a review of these in the coming weeks.
With a backstory that sounds more avant-garde art show than iron and steel, the Eagle model of the Elysien pistol has flown across the Atlantic.
At the 2024 IWA Outdoor Classics show in Germany, the Guns.com crew sat down with inventor and gunmaker Jan Lysak, who spent almost a decade of blood, sweat, and tears crafting something a bit different. Lysak’s company, Brno-based Creapeiron, introduced its first product at IWA: the Elysien pistol.
While sitting down and drinking plum brandy with Lysak, he spoke about his gun in a way that seemed a cross between Werner Herzog and the Riddler (Gorshin, not Dano).
Lysak only had seven €10,000 ($10,850) chrome DLC Elysien Genesis “Ment for Gods” (not a misprint) models – all named after gods from Ancient Greek mythology – and 99 €5,000 plainer black DLC Elysien Soul models on the schedule, with only vague notions about sending guns to America– one day.
What made it across to the States, brought in by the Arizona-based CZ Custom Shop, is the new Eagle model of the Elysien, which looks more like the chrome DLC Ment for Gods model but with a serial number 1 to 50, as in one for each state.
Engineered for balance and control, the Elysien features a sleek, sculpted profile that reflects both elegance and authority. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
How about that bore axis? The Elysien uses a hammer-forged heavy barrel with a triangular profile inside a ported slide that allows a faster lockup.
Every contour is purpose-driven, delivering a natural grip, smooth handling, and confident ergonomics.
The Creapeiron Elysien Eagle Pistol is serial numbered 1 of 50.
Price? $11,999– and that is only until they sell out, which is likely as, first announced on Monday during SHOT Show, something like half were spoken for by Thursday.
Alabama-based Kimber has made a big move to dominate the double-stack 1911 pistol space by offering the new DS Warrior series.
Debuting at SHOT Show in Las Vegas last week, the Kimber DS 1911 Warrior–borrowing from the company’s classic old Warrior line– is offered in not just 9mm but also .45 ACP, 10mm, and .38 Super chamberings.
Further, besides the standard 5-inch Government barrel format, they are also producing a 6-inch longslide hunter style Warrior in 10mm.
The standard format Warrior is optics-ready, uses an RMR optics footprint, and runs a 5-inch barrel. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com.)
The slides are tastefully blank, sans any huge rollmarks. (Thank you, Kimber)
The longslide is a beast, and will surely be a hit with backcountry folks and handgun hunters.
A conceptual design using custom Cerakote and a TLR-9, which looks small on the massive accessory rail of the 10mm longslide 1911 DS Warrior.
All models are optics-ready for RMR-pattern mounts under a TAG cover plate with a fixed rear sight. The pistols use Kimber’s internal 1911-style extractor, a bushing system barrel, mil-spec guide rod, and a match-grade trigger.
They use stainless Checkmate 2011-pattern mags with the 9mm and .38 Super variant shipping with a 17+1 flush and 20+1 extended, while the 10mm goes 11+1/13+1 and the .45 ACP 15+1/18+1
Best yet, they are made in Alabama– not imported– and have an MSRP that starts at $1,099 and tops out at $1,350 for the 6-inch 10mm model. That’s a good bit less than even the Springfield Prodigy and on par with Turkish-made guns without the baggage and QC issues.
Kimber also had the new compensated Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation DS 1911 Warrior on display, with a tasteful alpine motif. “Coming soon.”
As we have covered before, the current firearms works known and loved by collectors, hipsters, and savvy users alike dates to 1936 when its new factory was established to produce machine guns for the Czech Air Force. However, it became iconic in the West for its CZ 75 double-stack 9mm pistol.
We were fortunate enough to hold CZ 75 Serial Number 00001 when we visited the CZ factory in 2024, the gun that made the company a household name on this side of the pond.
Now, the new Legend repeats the same slab-sided Iron Curtain aesthetic while keeping the pistol’s internals and features modern, including a 16+1 round magazine, making it essentially a “post-B” gun in a “pre-B” body.
The new CZ Legend. Note the slab-sided frame and slide as well as the pebble-style grips. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The new Legend compared to SN 00001, which we saw in 2024 in the Czech Republic.
MSRP on the new CZ 75 Legend will be $1,399.
Bundeswehr Pistole 13
One of the big stories from late last year was that the German military (Bundeswehr) had selected the CZ P-10 pistol after it beat out a number of contenders to become the country’s new P13 sidearm.
Among the finalists bested were the Arex Delta and Glock G17 Gen5 for what could be an order of as many as 180,000 units. It will replace the HK-made P8A1, a version of the USP
CZ had the new P13 on hand at their booth last week.
In another shift from previous German service handguns, the new striker-fired P13 will arrive wearing an FDE finish instead of the traditional black.
CZ will work directly with its authorized German partner, POL-TEC GmbH & Co., to fulfill the order and provide the Bundeswehr with support for the new platform.
CZ 457 Target
CZ 457 rifles are known for their superb accuracy, but the new 457 Target, a fully adjustable, ISSF 3-Position competition-ready aluminum chassis co-developed with four-time American Olympic shooter Matt Emmons, raises that bar.
It includes a three-axis-adjustable pistol grip available in three different sizes, a side-tiltable buttstock with a five-axis-adjustable buttpad, along with a three-axis-adjustable, two-sided cheekpiece; and a forehand riser can be adjusted in three different axes. A 26-inch 12-groove .22 cold hammer-forged match barrel equipped with a diffuser is standard as is an adjustable 2-stage Flyweight trigger.
The MSRP for the CZ 457 Target rifle is expected to be around $3,600, which is still less than many European-made alternatives in the same class from folks like Anschutz and Walther.
I’ll fight to the death that the pinnacle of Browning Hi-Power production was the C-series guns made for the post-war commercial market between 1969 to 75.
Ditching the “thumbprint” slide and tangent sights while using an external extractor, ring hammer, and finely checkered wood (not plastic grips) on a finely fit pistol with a polished blue finish, the C-series is BHP royalty.
In my opinion, everything that came after was money saving move that cheapened the end product.
Oh, baby.
When the Springfield Armory SA-35 came out four years ago, we were among the first to break the story and loved the gun, despite its hiccups. However, I just wish it came with a better finish.
Now that is a pretty gun, and Springfield says it is made in America. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Well, I came across the new SA-35 at SHOT this week and am in love. Best yet, the price is in the $700s.
