What Happened to the Avidity Arms PD10?

Concealed carry pistols are an interesting category. Most people envision something very small, like the Glock 26 or Sig P365. Others envision their optic and light-equipped Glock 17.

It’s all about perspective. 

Rob Pincus envisioned something different in 2014 when he wrote an article detailing the year’s crop of new pistols.

In the article, Pincus talked about what he envisioned as the perfect concealed carry pistol… 

Although the article is gone, the Wayback machine found it for me. Pincus made three points about concealed carry guns. They needed to be: 

• Carryable,
• Shootable, and
• Reliable 

He then listed out a bunch of other features he felt would make a good carry gun that other models were missing…and thus began the idea of the PD10.

What’s the PD10? 

It was a single stack, striker-fired gun roughly the same size as a Glock 19. It’s a “compact” that was truly compact. 

The gun took 9mm 1911 magazines — so not a proprietary mess — and it also used Glock rear sights with Smith & Wesson front sights. Its Sights were the I.C.E. Ameriglos with an all-black rear and tritium front sight. 

Pincus designed the grip size to conform to the majority of shooters with contours to reduce grip width at critical points. A full-length grip provided more control over the gun and allowed for much faster reloads. 

While it was far from the first modern single-stack 9mm, it was a larger weapon. Most single-stack 9mms fell into the subcompact category, whereas the PD10 nestled into the compact category.

The longer grip made a big difference, and while it was tougher to conceal, it was easier to handle. 

(Although Pincus promised a trimmed grip model for a more subcompact size.) 

The Beginning 

Avidity Arms was formed in 2016 with Pincus as the founder and owner. He teamed up with Eagle Imports, and the PD10 saw its big premiere in 2016 at SHOT Show. 

This particular model was a prototype and featured a metal frame and apparently worked well at the range.

Bringing it to SHOT Show allowed tons of people to handle it and likely gave the company some great feedback. 

Avidity looked to release the gun in late 2016, but delays occurred, which would be a reoccurring theme with the PD10.

The polymer model premiered again at SHOT Show 2018, and the prototype performed admirably. 

That was my first hands-on time with the PD10, and I was impressed. The PD10 was an easy shooting pistol that worked incredibly well.

First, the gun’s design worked well for smaller shooters. However, I found my big hands welcome on the gun. The trigger guard was large, and I was able to slide my fingers into the trigger guard easily enough. 

Second, a ramp that led up to the slide release prevented my thumb from pinning down the slide lock. I pin down the slide on everything but CZs and the PD10. 

Avidity Arms produced a smooth shooter, and it got my interest. Sadly, the Glock 48 premiered the same year, and the designs were in direct competition. 

Since 2018 things have been pretty quiet. Not much came out regarding the gun other than occasional social media posts.

What Happened? 

The PD10 never came out. Avidity Arms set release dates or release estimates and then missed those dates. An update by Pincus declared the PD10 was dead. 

Pincus tied his name to the gun from day one, and he didn’t want to release a product that could taint his name or potentially get someone killed. 

It’s better to be the guy who doesn’t bring a pistol to the market than to be the guy that brings an unreliable piece of junk to the market that could potentially get someone killed.

So the PD10 died. 

Kind of. 

In that same video declaring the PD10 dead, Pincus unveiled a new slide and essentially a new model of the gun. The new slide fits the already developed frame, and the gun became known as the PD11. 

What are the big changes? Well, minor slide changes mostly, well except, for one big change. The PD11 has an optics cut. 

It’s designed specifically for the Holosun 507K, so that means it’s the Shield RMSc format. So when will the PD11 be released? 

Well, hopefully before the PD12 becomes a thing. 

What do you think of the PD10 or 11? Tell us all about it in the comments below. This is a new series for PPT, so be sure to also let us know if you’d like us to keep this going and check back next week for another What Happened. In the meantime, take a look at some underrated handguns worthy of your attention.