I finally got a hold of an arex alpha.
First shot notes and general overview.
The screw to hold on the mag release extension was loose.
Which is weird, Because they absolutely love Loctite on these things. The grip screws on their products are notorious for pretty much being stuck on and the heads easily stripped due to it if you don't have heavy downward pressure applied.
The DA trigger was no where near as heavy as people claim, Claims that I'm assuming are really coming from the standard Arex models and people not knowing the difference. It is more similar to a stock Beretta 92fs in double action, there's no stacking or hanging up and probably just under a berretta's pull length. This was with the standard weight hammer spring installed.
Now the other reason for varied reports could be because when it took it apart it was modified by the factory similarly to what I did to my CT model. Except mine was definitely more uniform in appearance in the major area that matters. So maybe hit and miss on due to the who got it at the factory.
The single action is great and as soon as I find my trigger pull gauge I'll test it. But I'm betting it's around 3lbs with a pretty short reset for a production gun.
The standard factory grips are less than desirable. They definitely have a lot of slip on the back strap area, This is easily solved with either grip tape on the cheap, or there is approved IPSC and IDPA aluminum grips for this model but they carry a $130 price tag.
The front sight is narrow. *Personal preference*, I like some movement but it's a smidge on the small size (It's .112 wide with a .120 rear.)
The barrel is thicker than the standard model. .575 vs .524. Along with a slightly heavier walled chamber when compared to the zero models, which already were touted as being strong. It seems the Manufacturer may have not skipt over the fact some competition shooters will load well over sami spec and +p loads. The lock up is extremely tight, impressively so. No movement as of now.
I've shot probably 80 rounds through it. Two mags of different stock, except for my 165gr reloads.
30 rounds of 124gr 9mm
30 rounds of 115gr steel case
With those two it ran it like a champ and was relatively flat shooting.
The biggest let down is my 165gr 9mm reloads were not cycling enough for the slide to lock back. Even when I took them into the high +P area. These reloads are extremely soft shooting similar in feel to the Match white box 45 from the 70s. I do however have a feeling that they will work with I change out the hammer spring to the 17lb one included with the pistol. But it that doesn't work I will reluctantly put in a lower power recoil spring.
Either that or change the powder of my reloads to N320 and see if it makes a difference though it will make a decent price jump compared to the Titegroup powder I use.