2025 Reader's Choice Awards

Annually I take a look back at what was most popular during the calendar year. This of course has to be done in the ongoing year, so I generally cut it off at the end of November and lookback through the previous December.

I do this to recognize guns that drew attention, but also out of fascination that there is not always a correlation with which videos were popular. It's safe to assume that while all who can read can watch videos, not all who watch videos read. Beyond that I also suspect the demographics are different between those who want an outlined analysis after the gun has been shot versus those who want the discovery as I experience it in the videos. Here are the top 5 GBGunsDepot.com gun reviews of 2025. A close sixth place was also included.

I'd also love to hear which were your five favorites of 2025 in the comment section below.

Links to each full review at the end of each synopsis

#6 BRG USA BRG 9 Elite Gen 2

I was pleased to see the BRG USA BRG 9 Elite Gen 2 gain some traction. As one of the first to review the original BRG 9 Elite I was impressed with the enhancements made to what was essentially the classic HS Produkt (sold in the US as Springfield Armory) XD series. The original was a very solid pistol, but needed upgrades to frame and slide traction, optics readiness, and a few other small points to really shine. This second generation delivers all of those updates plus some more. See full review here.

#5 Beretta PX4 Full Size G SD

For years there had been commenters asking me to review the Beretta PX4 series of pistols. Many of those were because of my love for Grand Power pistols and their recoil-reducing rotating barrels. Finally someone at Beretta took notice and a Full Size G SD model, closely resembling the LTT modifications, was made available for a GBGuns review. Finally I got to experience another rotating action type and I was not disapointed. Like the Grand Powers, the PX4 line has been around for a long time and somehow fallen into a cult-like category of folks either loving them or never experienced one. See full review here.

#4 Derya Arms DY9 Island Barrel

2025 proved to be the year everyone wanted, or at least was told they wanted a ported or compensated barrel. Derya Arms was quick to respond in a way that really stood out. They didn't simply lop a chunk off of their barrel and slide, they made a true island barrel option and slide to match. Previously the only option in the Glock-pattern world was a very expensive one from Zev Technologies. Derya Arms offers a complete pistol for less than the cost of the slide from Zev; enabling us working stiffs to experience a Glock-pattern pistol with the extra barrel mass (fights muzzle flip), reduced slide mass (reduced felt recoil and muzzle flip), and compensating forces of a ported barrel (reduces muzzle flip). See full review here.

#3 Canik METE MC9 Prime

The Canik METE MC9 Prime continues the "2025 was the year of ports" theme with essentially a Canik METE MC9LS that looks and feels like it's been through a custom shop. I'm a fan of the size and form factor of the two guns as it's slim enough for carry, but large enough to train with. Other enhancements on the Prime include more aggressive slide serrations, more aggressive grip texture, and more of both. I'm not personally a fan of ported carry pistols, but understand that's a matter of personal choice, and for some this could serve as a "one gun does all" option. See full review here.

#2 BUL Armory Ultralight PRO

BUL Armory has been on a roll, producing hit after hit. In 2024 double stack 1911s became popular and BUL Armory had already been perfecting them for decades. The Ultralight model is a personal favorite of mine for summer carry and with the 2025 port trend came ports (another thing BUL Armory has been doing for decades, se my model from 1999 here).

As with all sub 4" 9mms, I recommend finding a round to compensate for the lost velocity, but the little Ultralight PRO feels like a full size that's been given a Red Bull. It's lively, but more managable than other extra small and lightweight guns. A fun perk to a short barrel with ports is that same extra-spicy ammo you're looking for to ensure good muzzle energy also makes the ports more effective. My personal favorite, Liberty Ammunition, just released a "Bear Country" load with a hardened copper projectile and advertised velocity of 1800fps from a standard barrel. It ought to be plenty powerful enough for a 3.25" barrel aned safe for the ports. See full review here.

#1 Fusion Firearms Ermox XF Pro

I must admit it made me happy to see the Fusion Firearms / Ermox XF PRO do so well. As the first to review the original X-Fire model, and after talks with Ermox at IWA the following year, I felt personally invested in seeing a new generation come to market. Fusion Firearms began a partnership with Ermox which included some input on how these new models would shape up, and the suggestions from Fusion Firearms hit most of the points I had also been talking with Ermox about. A reasonably-priced, all-metal striker gun with all the features shooters were looking for; it's not a surprise this has been so popular. My favorite part is that it's NOT a "Glock clone", but accepts Glock-pattern magazines and barrels to make life easier for those of us with a pile of Glock stuff in the back of the safe. See full review here.

2025 in Review

This website was hit hard by the introduction of Google's AI summaries. A lot of GBGunsDepot traffic came from being the first, most recent, or only written review at time of publishing for many firearms. That meant great search results traffic. With the advent of Google's AI answers many looking for information stop at the AI summary and never visit the original source. This website is not the only one to suffer from this, but it more than halved traffic here. In recent months it seems either that issue has been tweaked, or more and more readers are aware of AI "hallucinations" and tired of being given false or wrong information.

As long as I can afford the time and resources required to keep this website going I will. Traffic is rewarding, but more rewarding are the "thank you" notes I get from readers after a review helped them find the right gun or piece of gear, and it was what they expected when they opened the box.

I expereimented with Google ads on the website as a way to offset cost, but no matter how many restrictions I applied still found them obnoxious and a turn off to reading, so I've since turned them off. In 2026 you can expect the website to continue, with a few experimental pieces mixed in to test reader reaction. I won't contort to something I'm not personally interested in writing, but if a deeper dive like the recent Revolver V Carbine, .38 Special V .357 Magnum, or Holiday Gift Guide proves popular, I may do similar pieces or expand upon those.