by Bryce Adam Prescott
The Beretta PX4 Storm is probably the most neglected polymer pistol when it comes to reviews. This is in stark contrast to reviews on Glock pistols which seem to be pouring out endlessly into the Internet and various magazines. This a review on the full size Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm Type F (safety/decocker) . . .
At first look, the PX4 Storm seems to be a combination of a Glock 17 and a Beretta 92FS. In truth, the Beretta PX4 Storm is really more or less a polymer version of the Beretta 8000 (the closest current incarnation is the Stoeger Cougar). The look of the pistol is really striking. It is one of those designs that people either love or hate. For my eyes the Beretta PX4 Storm is the most beautiful polymer pistol ever produced. The finish on the slide is very nice and seems to be resistant to wear.
Ergonomics are almost as subjective as aesthetics. Gripping the pistol feels great even with my smallish hands. The grip comes far back enough to prevent hammer bite (although I wouldn’t exactly call it “beavertail”). The pistol comes with 3 interchangeable backstraps for fitting the gun to various hand sizes. The front and back of the pistol are checkered while the sides of the pistol are smooth. The trigger guard is semi-rounded with enough squareness to accommodate shooters who wish to place a finger on the front of the trigger guard. For a polymer pistol, the Beretta PX4 Storm feels quite heavy. Between the thickness and the heft of the gun, I’d say this pistol is not a concealed carry piece for the average person. The safety location is an ergonomic miss in my book. Deactivating the safety requires a rather awkward movement of the thumb and hand, but this won’t be much of a challenge for any Beretta 92FS users transitioning to the Beretta PX4 Storm. The slide release lever is awesome on this pistol. It is very oversized thus giving the user a lot of leverage. Releasing the slide with the slide release lever is amazingly easy. Using the overhand technique (sometimes called “crab claw”) is painful due to the flared safety and should be avoided on this pistol.
The sights are of a large 3 dot variety. The sights are made of metal and can take abuse. The rear sight is squared off so racking the slide on the edge of a table while injured should be possible. The dots are large and intensely white. As far as stock pistol sights on polymer pistols go, these are excellent.
Two 17 round magazines come with the Beretta PX4 Storm. These magazines are very slick and very hard to load. Luckily, Beretta is nice enough to include a loading tool with the pistol. If 17 rounds isn’t enough, Beretta sells a +3 extension kit to convert these magazines from 17 rounds to 20 rounds. The downside is that these magazines are among the most expensive. They are priced at $45-$50 in local gunshops in my area. I’m disappointed that Beretta didn’t stick with the inexpensive 92/M9 magazines. Considering that Beretta’s target audience includes police (and possibly military) switching from the Beretta 92, for which they probably already have acquired many magazines, this is definitely a miss. It’s worth mentioning that some versions of the Beretta CX4 9mm carbine are compatible with the PX4 magazines.
The biggest problem with the Beretta PX4 Storm is the guide rod assembly. It is a bizarre single spring captive guide rod with a large washer and plastic end cap. My guide rod assembly completely fell apart only a few months after owning the pistol. To be fair, it didn’t fall apart while I was shooting the gun; the guide rod assembly fell apart while I was cleaning the gun. Beretta was kind enough to replace it for free, but my confidence in this gun has been shaken a little. Beretta does not offer a steel version of the guide rod assembly; however, DPM Systems and Steve Bedair make metal replacements. These replacements aren’t cheap and sometimes they are back ordered.
Shooting the Beretta PX4 Storm is very pleasant. The curved trigger provides a nice double action pull when the pistol is decocked. I have been able to get bullseyes with this pistol in double action because of the trigger design and reasonable pull weight. That is how good the double action pull is on this gun. Once the gun transitions to single action, the trigger pull is short and crisp with a very well defined reset.
Recoil is mitigated by the pistol’s unique rotating barrel system. When recoiling, the barrel of the pistol twists backward in a straight line. Beretta claims that this counter motion helps reduce felt recoil. My PX4 Storm is a 9mm so recoil isn’t particularly noticeable in the first place. The recoil does seem less to me but I am not sure if this is the placebo effect or a real decrease in recoil. The 40S&W and 45ACP versions of the pistol would be a better test for this. This pistol probably isn’t the best option for legal suppressor owners since the twisting motion of the barrel can (reportedly) loosen the suppressor from the barrel especially if the suppressor is eccentric.
The pistol has been very reliable (even with steel case ammo). The only problem I had with the pistol is when I accidentally loaded a 17 round magazine to 18 rounds. This caused the magazine to bind up which resulted in a few FTLs (failure to load). This is what can happen when impatiently using a loading tool on a stiff magazine. The magazine seems to have recovered after being left empty for a while. The magazine spring seems much more robust than the guide rod assembly.
Takedown is toolless and very simple. To remove the slide, press down the two tabs on both sides of the pistol and pull the slide forward and off of the pistol. The pistol breaks down into the following main components: pistol frame, slide, barrel, guide rod assembly, and central block. The biggest difference between this pistol and most other pistols is the central block. The central block is what interfaces the guide rod assembly to the barrel. The quality of the pistol is evident when looking at the inside parts (with the exception of the guide rod assembly).
There are so many great things about this pistol, but, alas, there are many bad things about it too. The guide rod assembly is a disastrous piece of engineering and is almost unforgivable in and of itself. To all pistol designers, please use steel in your (preferably non-captive) guide rods; we will gladly pay the extra $5 this costs. A further insult is how expensive the magazines for the pistol. For those who can overlook those shortcomings, get a Type G (decocker only) and replace the plastic guide rod assembly with a steel aftermarket guide rod. Most people would be better off sticking with a Beretta 92FS for which a factory steel guide rod and inexpensive magazines can be purchased.
Summary
Aesthetics: Simply put, there is no polymer pistol that looks better than this.
Durability: The pistol is very durable excluding the guide rod assembly. The guide rod assembly is garbage. I don’t have the funds to put 10,000 rounds through the pistol or risk breaking it by running it over with a truck. Therefore, I can’t say how this pistol would stand up to torture tests. My guess is the first thing to break would be the factory guide rod assembly assuming it hadn’t been replaced.
Reliability: Assuming the guide rod assembly isn’t broken, the pistol is very reliable. Anyone wishing to seriously involve themselves with this pistol should invest in an aftermarket guide rod assembly.
Accuracy: All shots were done standing without a rest. In those conditions, it is possible to put one ragged hole at about 25 feet.
Value: The cost of the pistol is on par with many other polymer pistols, but the magazines are costly and only two are included. Considering this, along with the likelihood of needing/wanting to replace the factory guide rod assembly, the value is actually lower than average.
Miscellaneous: The unique rotating barrel helps mitigate recoil. The magazine compatibility with the Beretta CX4 Storm carbine is a neat feature. The factory +3 magazine kit can turn 17 round magazines into 20 round magazines of reasonable length.
Conclusion: There are many great things about this pistol, but there are too many drawbacks to recommend this to the average pistol shooter. I would love to see a striker fired version of this pistol that uses 92/M9 magazines.
Good write-up. The PX4 Storm will forever hold a fond place in heart as my first firearm purchase. It is still has one of the best feeling grips that I have ever laid hands on.
I agree with you about that safety lever. That’s one of the reasons I ended up selling it to finance a different carry gun – but I still wouldn’t mind getting one again. Seems like it would make a good truck gun.
That rotating barrel is a beautiful piece of engineering! I never thought about its effects on a suppressor – that’s a good point. That didn’t seem to bother Cobb in the movie “Inception,” though!
nothing like posting the entire review on the aggregator page.
Mea culpa. Fixed.
Good Review. I got to shoot a compact .40 F-type version about a year ago. The ergonomics are fantastic. It was by far the most comfortable polymer .40 that I have ever fired, and I have fired almost all of them. The compact version wouldn’t be that bad of a concealed carry option in .40 or 9mm, though you will probably have to go the custom holster route as last time I checked, there weren’t many mass produced holster options available. Still, Crossbreed is pretty good about making holsters for all the new guns that hit the market. I think the subcompact version is just awkward looking. Its shape looks for like a hand-held carronade. I will stick with my Glock 26 for now.
I stumbled on a compact .40 for a song a year ago, and it’s a nice carry piece. The holster options are somewhat limited, but there are custom holsters available & that would be the way to go.
The compact .40 might not have been my first choice, but it’s something of a Goldilocks gun. It’s not as heavy as the full size frames, has great ergos and decent capacity (12 + 1), and the rotating barrel does a nice job of taming the .40. The sub-compact lacks the rotating barrel. The compact model in 9 or .40 really is the sweet spot for carry.
I had a Compact PX4 40 cal, but had to sell it because it gave me hammer bite every now and then. I must be an odd ball, because I’ve never heard anyone else having this problem, but I also have very large, meaty hands. During recoil the webbing of my hand would actually get shoved over the top of the beaver tail and the hammer would pinch the crap out of me. I really liked that gun, but it was too painful to shoot. I’d like to try the full size model; perhaps it would be a better fit for me.
I love my EAA Witness (full-sized) .45 ACP. It’s a CZ-based design, as you probably know. Pretty accurate, never has given me a moment’s problem.
My EAA and I are a good team, and we’re sticking together.
Just FYI there is nothing wrong with polymer guide Rods. We even have some M9’s that have them. Most new 92FS and M9 have been coming with polymer guide Rods.
Polymer guide Rods have not been shown to have any weakness, so to say it’s an engineering disaster is just uninformed.
+1
I have 2 full size and zero problems with the guide rods. My first one has 6000 rounds thru it in 3.5 years. Not one issue.
I’d say simply falling apart (or being prone to accidental breakage during cleaning) qualifies as a disaster. That should be a durable part. Are all the guide rods for this pistol inherently disastrous? Maybe not…but that kind of failure makes a guy wonder.
I think the point would be that it can be replaced by a steel alloy version of itself. Problem solved. I certainly wouldn’t see it as a deal-killer. It’s a nice-lookin’ gat, for sure. Something like that says, “C’mon! Let’s go shootin’!”
Agree. My 92A1 has a Polymer guide rod. Have had it for over a year and shot nearly 3000 rounds through it, no problem whatsoever! Even better, Polymer guide rods can handle getting bent and finding their original form immediately. Steel guide rods have to be changed if that happens!
A very solid review — and like the author, I hate plastic guide rods, aka swizzle sticks.
Well done. Street price or price ranges would be a plus. As for me a CZ P07 is more aesthetically pleasing.
I just did a quick check (Gunbroker), and it’s in the $495- $510 range. You could definitely find it cheaper if you were patient.
The biggest problem with the PX4 is that the 92FS already exists.
Why buy a polymer frame Beretta when they make a metal model with a superior aftermarket, better trigger, and better design?
Because I already had a 92FS. 🙂
And because there are a variety of models in the Storm line; 92s are exclusively 9mm.
It’s actually because of my 92FS that I looked at PX4s in the first place. At first I was eyeballing the full frame .45, if for no better reason than to find a .45 I liked that wasn’t also a 1911. 🙂 I found the compact .40 by chance, and decided to give it a go as a carry piece. Not only is it a well built, great shooter, but I was able to find defensive rounds in .40 throughout the Great Ammo Shortage of ’13. It has been a great gun; no regrets.
True, the 92 line is strictly 9 mm, but the 96 line is .40 S&W. They are more or less identical in dimensions.
I love my compact storm in .9mm. It’s my EDC and I’ve had no issues with it. It only has about 500 rounds throught it but last 3 trips with wwb not a single issue. And there are holsters mine is a hidden hybrid. Love the holster too!!!
That’s one tiny holster,given the .9mm caliber .Should be real easy to conceal at least. 🙂
I put a red dot scope on my .9mm, and it looked ridiculous. It looked like a scope with a little raisin or something stuck on the bottom.
I’ve had a Px4 Storm Type F Full Size for 5 years and love the gun. 20 rds of 9mm with a flashlight/laser mounted on the rail is my go-to bed side protection. Never had a FTF/FTE nor any other problem EVER over 5 years and at least 5K rounds of misc. 9mm.
Solid pistol and I would reccomend it for sure to anyone looking for a quality 9mm.
I don’t understand why you would knock the PX4 when you broke the guide rod yourself. The gun did not malfunction but you claim that there are reliability issues. Otherwise a pretty good review. I personally think the Storm is an excellent firearm for the average shooter.
My Compact in 9mm was a jam-o-matic right out of the box. Beretta was very professional in taking care of the issue- paid shipping and repaired the problem, no charge. They only had it for a week or so, too. Great service all around.
Now it happily eats anything I put down it’s throat- fired 200 flawless mixed rounds of JHP, FMJ, and SWC last weekend. The mags break in after a while, and are easier to load. All-in-all I’m (now!) very happy with the Storm.
The rotating barrel is certainly an interesting system, I had a Stoeger Cougar for some time until I gave it to a friend of mine. Great gun overall, it was reliable and accurate, my only complaint (and the reason I eventually got rid of it) was the slide mounted decocker/safety. Of course I was raised on Sigs… So I know the proper place to put a decocker 🙂
I’m a Military guy and for me the Beretta is an extension of my arm. I know the M9 like the back of my hand and feel that the decocker is perfect. I also love the safety, being used to it on my M9. It feels great, shoots great and a natural progression for me and any other M9 users. Best looking 9mm out there, just as durable, (has a contract and being used by our Special Forces units here at Bragg.) So with that it has past some very good testing. Beretta makes the M9, the weapon that is carried by our troops so we know they make quality pistols. With this pistol you either love it or hate it, I love it, it is the best looking pistol and a smooth shooter and very reliable. Also if you look around many weapons have plastic guide rods now a days, and for it to just break while you were cleaning it sounds fishy to me, sounds like user error when removing it from the spring to me.
The bad reviews you read are not because of the actual weapon itself but because of personal preference. Ie, “my hands are fat”, “I don’t like the decocker”. Nothing to actually do with the function of the pistol itself. So buy one with no worries, if you are a fan and prefer the use of the M9/92 then this is a natural for you you.
Damn fine-looking piece, if I do say so. Style-wise, it beats a Glock 17 hands down, and it looks like it would be comfortable to shoot.
But $45-$50 per magazine? What a hoot. Nothing says, “we don’t need your business” like a $50 pistol magazine.
What’s the MSRP? If it was in the article, I missed it.
Piece of 2×4 painted black beats Glock hands down style-wise. Virtually anything does.
I totally agree, not a fan at all of Glocks. Ugly, and made for simpletons. I have to say that Golcks are the ugliest and most plan and basic pistol out there.
Purchased 2 15 round mags for my full size PX-4 Storm online. One was from Beretta for 40 bucks even. The other was from Grabagun.com for 38 dollars. No tax and free shipping. $78 for two high quality magazines does not seem that bad to me.
It is completely unforgivable that the PX4 Storm doesn’t use the same magazines as the 92FS. The magazine is physically identical except for where the hole is for the release catch.
I love my 92FS, and want to find either a CX4 or a Sub-2000 that use the same magazines. I would purchase a PX4 sub-compact for concealed carry, if it would use the same magazines. Since they aren’t, I might as well own a smaller gun of a different brand.
I am with you 1000%
Beretta fudged that up big time. I love the PX4 and would own at least one in 9mm if it weren’t for the magazines. I have two 92 variants and a CX4 that takes 92 mags. I flatly refuse to buy a 9mm Beretta that uses different (but look exactly the same) mags. First, I already have a lot of 92 mags and don’t want to spend money on a bunch of PX4 mags. More importantly however, in a crisis, I don’t want to grab one Beretta and be packing reloads that are not interchangeable.
“The safety location is an ergonomic miss in my book. Deactivating the safety requires a rather awkward movement of the thumb and hand, but this won’t be much of a challenge for any Beretta 92FS users transitioning to the Beretta PX4 Storm.”
As a 92FS guy I kind of cringe when people gripe about the safety. It’s not awkward at all once you’ve used it a little. On the other hand if someone else gets a hold of your weapon it might be awkward enough to buy you a crucial second or two. I also hear a lot of people claim that it’s OK because they just use it as a decocker and flip it up right away after decocking. I’d caution against that because I have on occasion accidentally flipped the safety off, which isn’t a big deal because there’s still a heavy double action trigger pull, but if a safety can be accidentally flipped off it can also be accidentally flipped on. Which would be awkward if you never practice drawing and disengaging the safety. It’s no big deal if it flips off but it is a big deal if it flips on. Personally I’m a little leery of cocked and locked carry because of this.
Of course you could avoid the whole situation and buy a decock only pistol, but the biggest advantage of the safety/decock is that you can rack the slide on safe and the hammer will follow the slide down safely.
I’ve always felt that the “safety” on a DA/SA handgun is the long/heavy trigger pull. If you want me to remember to disengage a safety, I might as well go cocked and locked and get a better trigger pull in the bargain.
Plus slide mounted decocker/safeties are just in the way when manipulating the slide, they can be accidentally engaged, and they aren’t nearly as instinctive and easy to use as something like a 1911 safety.
Well, to each his own. I’d say the more important thing is to practice with what you carry and if you carry more than one gun then you should pick out 2 that function alike. My personal philosophy is that a safety should NOT be so intuitive as to require no thought or practice to master. I once read a series (half dozen or so) of anecdotal stories of cops who had their firearms wrestled away by bad guys and survived because the perps couldn’t get the safeties flipped off. There are a million scenarios and in some of them a safety will save your life and in others a safety will get you killed. Most of them it won’t make any difference. I live in a low crime area and the threat of an accidental (negligent) discharge are much higher than the chances of a defensive gun use. The biggest advantage to the Beretta system (IMO) is that you can chamber or unchamber the firearm on safe. I had a Taurus PT709 with a frame mounted down to fire safety which locked the slide (ala 1911) and it made no sense to me to have a safety and have to disengage it to chamber a round. Nice gun otherwise, but I also didn’t like the Glock style take down where you have to dry fire it before you take it down. I have nothing against 1911s and I kind of secretly want one, but if I bought one and carried it, I think I’d be overly self conscious about making sure I hadn’t disengaged the safety – for a while anyway.
As far as engaging the safety (unintentionally) while racking the slide, it is easy to do on the 92s but a) you will know that you engaged the safety and b) I’ve always found the 92s to be easier to rack by placing the thumb and forefinger on the front of the slide than on the back of the slide, unless your hands are sweaty in which case it’s easiest just to use the safety levers instead of the serrations. Anyway, this will never be an issue with a carry gun unless you’re doing the Israeli thing, which is pretty well frowned upon in these circles anyway.
I guess my point is that it’s only a bad system if you’re not used to it.
“but I also didn’t like the Glock style take down where you have to dry fire it before you take it down”
Hmm. Not sure what you mean there.
I believe that was the Glock thing (never owned one). The Taurus has the same style take down (I guess you’d call them) levers as the Glocks. Anyway you can’t take the Taurus down until you pull the trigger. I thought that was a Glock thing, but if there’s any Glock guys that want to correct me I’m all ears.
My first semi-auto pistol was a Ruger P89, so I’m quite comfortable with the decocker. So much so that I have three PX4s, a 9 that I use for target only, a .40 by the bed, and a .45 by the couch and as my travel gun. I’ve put DPM systems in all of them, though not because I distrusted the polymer spring set. It makes no noticeable difference on the 9, a barely perceptible difference on the .40, and a world of difference on the .45. I’ve shot M&P, Glock, and many others, and the PX4 is just easier and more fun to shoot. It helps that I prefer a pistol with a hammer. I did buy a .40 PX4 subcompact, and it was such a dog to shoot (with no advantage regarding concealed carry due to its bulk) that I got rid of it quickly.
One or two more things. For personal protection, I set the safety off and put it on half cock (that probably isn’t necessary, as these have multiple firing pin blocks and safeties). You still have the long trigger pull of a DAO as a pseudo safety, but the ability to manually cock the hammer if time permits. There wasn’t anything wrong (to me) with the stock sights, but I put Trijicon sights on the .40 and a Beretta adjustable rear sight on the .45. I probably should’ve put a Trijicon set on the .45 as well, since I’m not going to be doing any long range or competition shooting with it. Either way, both at least as accurate as any other handgun I’ve shot, with the definite exceptions of a .32 SW Long Colt Police Positive Special and a .22 Colt Woodsman. I wouldn’t want to protect my family with either of those, though.
When I compare my old Ruger P89 to the PX4, it’s like a U-Haul versus a sports car. I still love the Ruger, but now it’s a souvenir gun. Cocking the Ruger requires two hands and a strong thumb, but I can cock the PX4 with a flick of the thumb.
Nice straight forward review.
My wife and I are big Beretta fans. I looked at the Px4 for a 9mm dog walking carry but what turned me off was the “wrong way” safety. It’s the reason I spent the extra money to buy an XDm compact instead of saving the money and borrowing my wife’s pistol when I took the dogs out. Had I grown up with the M-9 It would have been fine but as a long time 1911 user I felt that in crisis I would instinctively push down on the safety. That is actually the biggest beef I have with Beretta. I can’t think of any other pistols that have safeties that engage in the down position.
I will continue to dispute the “too heavy” for EDC. I regularly carry a full sized 1911 and the weight doesn’t bother me. People over estimate the difficulties of carrying a full sized pistol. Inspired by a previous TTAG review I went out and finally bought a Hi Power today to replace the polymer XDm. I am just more accurate with JMB designs than with the modern squared off polymers. The broader frame causes my eyes to drift off center.
The Ruger P series also had a slide mounted up to fire safety like the Beretta. I say had because they recently ceased production, which I found odd because they were selling about 50,000 P95s a year. Excellent budget pistol. Maybe they’re just retooling and coming out with a better model?
I owned a P-90 some time back. I liked it, but it didn’t shoot nearly as accurately as my full-size EAA Witness w/compensator. So I sold it to a friend.
I had a P89 back in the day and now have a P95 that I think my wife is taking over. Both are/were straight shooters. As I recall the P90s were Ruger’s first attempt at making a .45acp. Maybe that had something to do with it, but the 9mms I’ve shot were spot on.
Now if you want “do you want it in the left nostril or the right nostril?” accuracy you need to start talking Blackhawks.
Don’t forget the other big handgun series to use slide mounted decocker/safeties, S&Ws 1st-3rd gen metal framed semi-automatics.
Of course, both Beretta and S&W were inspired by the Walther P38 (especially Beretta).
Yes, the P38s were definitely the inspiration for the Beretta 92s. Open slide, wedge locking block and slide mounted up to fire safeties. About the only thing Beretta added was the double stack magazine.
I hear that Beretta held a contest to design a handgun that was uglier than the Storm but there were no entries
That’s because Glock had already won that contest
All this talk about decockers makes me want to cross my legs and cringe…
Decockers went over defense before debate.
I respectfully take issue with some of the more critical points of this review.
1. The magazines can be had from multiple online vendors for $30. Directly from beretta you can buy them for $32. Gun stores always seriously inflate the price. This is true of Sig and Glock mags as well.
2. I have multiple acquaintances with PX4 with well over 5k rounds down the pipe and the guide rod is perfectly fine. Mine has 10k and I have had no issues.
3. The safety is easily manipulated with a little practice. Of course you can simply never use the safety. I carry my PX4 everyday and the safety has never accidentally been engaged. So for me it is simply a decocking lever that is more out of the way than my Sig, which is nice.
4. I do not know if the reviewer has sensitive hands but I perform malfunction drills on my PX4 using the “crab claw” and I experience no pain. It should be noted that after 10k rounds I’ve never actually had a malfunction.
5. This is anecdotal but I carry my fullsize everywhere. I am 6 foot, 210 pounds. I use a crossbreed holster with the crossbreed gun belt and it is quite comfortable and no one has ever noticed I have a weapon. I usually just wear a t-shirt and jeans.
To my way of thinking, no pistol magazine should ever cost over $20.
I completely agree, sir. Unfortunately that is just not reality. Sig and Glock Factory mags each go for $25-$40 new.
I had one in 9mm. I was given the gun when someone in my family bought one, never used it even once and then just gave it to me.
I pretty much hated everything about it. The DA trigger pull was beyond stupid. The safety on the slide…..WTF?????
Admittedly I think the Glock 17 is the greatest all around (performance, price, after market support, dependability) semi-auto pistol every made. I would rather use a rock than the PX4.
I sold it and bought another Glock with the money.
I suppose it is just personal preference then. I have been forced to use Glocks for years as an LEO. I find it to be an all together mediocre and uninspired handgun.
Yeah, I just fail to understand the popularity of Glocks. I think the “reliability” thing is overblown. But you’ve shot them a lot, while I have shot them only a little. Could you elaborate a bit on your experience with them, because I’m really interested in what you have to say. There is a possibility, however slight, that I may find myself forced to use one. Theoretically, in an apocalyptic sense, I mean.
I have always thought that I would rather not find myself in such a position. I’d be very interested in what you have to say.
William, I would describe Glocks as functional. They shoot, are easy to maintain (but so are most all modern handguns), and have loads of accessories out there. I do not find them to be particularly accurate nor especially reliable. The most common issue I have with them are stovepipes which is funny because I have never had one single malfunction with my PX4 or CZ. Other than that there is not much to say about them. They are just blah. I find the grip to be an odd angle, the trigger to be just so-so, and the factory sites subpar.
I think the real allure of them is all the aftermarket accessories and parts availability and I suppose a lot of people take comfort in knowing they carry the same pistol as a lot of LE. They are a fine pistol but so is pretty much every modern pistol out there. It just depends on preference. The whole reliability thing is way over hyped. I have had better reliability with an M9, Sig 226, XD9, PX4, and CZ75 all of which I have shot just as much if not more than my duty Glock 17.
Glocks are great if you like shooting them but they aren’t anything special.
I have both the full size and compact PX4 in 9mm. It works beautifully for my preferences.
I have no problem at all with the safety, but then again I have longish fingers.
The Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm was the first handgun I ever bought less then a year ago and now has a few hundred flawless rounds through it. The most Important thing to me was the fit and feel of the gun in my hand and I held quite a few, the PX4 was all that plus a great shooter for me.
Every firearm has it’s pro and cons, it all depends on the pros you like and cons you can live with. I’m very happy with my purchase so far.
Hey, I like the way the gun looks, a lot. I just don’t like shooting nines, is all.
Too good of a round for you? Im guessing your a combat .22 guy.
It is too bad about the 92 mags, but it for a reason; The rounds sit up higher in the pistol putting them on the same plane as the barrel…literally a straight shot from the feed lips to the chamber with really no feed ramp to speak of. No excuse for this gun to ever fail to feed.
can’t believe people are still bitching about the slide mounted safety. there is no need to adjust your grip or move the gun in your hand, just flick it off with the knuckle of your thumb and you’re done. it’s really that simple.
frame mounted safeties such as the FNX9 and USP tend to get in the way for me and rub my thumbs during recoil. with the slide mounted safety it never gets sets off accidentally or prevents me getting a higher grip on the gun
as far as magazine prices go I’ve never paid more than $30 since the panic ended. Only place I’ve seen them that high is big chain sports stores. Midwest Gunworks has them for $29 atm if you’re looking for some online. During the panic, yes, they were around $40-50 each but so were the other manufacturer’s mags.
I picked up my PX4 early January ’13 when pretty much everything was sold out and if it wasn’t then it was marked up a substantial amount. Because the PX4 was such a sleeper nobody paid much attention, the price was still reasonable at $520 whereas most everything else was over $650ish. I had actually planned on the FNX9 till I came across the PX4 for $150 less and extra mags, while $45 a pop locally, were at least in stock at the time. accurate, decent trigger, decent price, great erogs and capacity (17 or 20). glad I picked this one up instead
This is to hopefully help (not steer) the novice, causal or new shooter using my experience in choosing my first real pistol.
I recently purchased a PX4 Storm full frame .45 cal for around $565 on sale and with a coupon all in from Cabelas. Now I am NOT an avid hobbyist or sport shooter, but I do hunt some with rifle and shotgun and like guns. I wanted a pistol to add into my collection, other than my dad’s old High Standard .22, to have some fun with now and then and have an interest in CCW.
I researched pistols over a period of about 4 months by reading up on, watched video’s on YouTube and touched just about every pistol I could get my hand on. There are a lot of great pistols out there and it seems everyone has an opinion for or against just about every pistol depending on need, knowledge or just personal likes. How I decided to narrowing down my choices, due to my personal lack of knowledge on hand guns was.
FIRST, how does it feel when hitting my hand. I figured if the pistol felt nice when I held it that was at least half the battle and would be key in shooting it too. There was just something I could find with most every fit that didn’t make me feel real excited about holding them. As soon as I put a PX4 in my hand I knew that was the one I wanted to investigate more. The fit seemed perfect for me even with the back strap size on it at the time and they come with 3 sizes you can change and use.
SECOND, I have to like the look of most everything I buy regardless of brand, price or what the application is. I personally love the look of the PX4 Storm, it’s unique look drew me in even closer. Everything about this gun seemed to be in the right spot and was easy for me to reach and operate.
It took me a month, once I held the PX4 Storm, along with a few times back to hold it and other pistols again and again to finally “pull the trigger” in buying one. I have not shot a pistol too many times other than my dad’s old .22, but as soon as I finally had the chance to shoot the Storm I was instantly convinced I had made the right choice. I didn’t do great the first time at the range, but have been there a few more times since and have gotten more confident and comfortable with shooting it.
Kudos and thanks to Beretta for the design and technology put into this pistol. Maybe this is not the perfect pistol for some, but I love mine! I will definitely look at Beretta first for any personal future purchases should I want to add another pistol, they just fit me.
Pfffffft. This guy who wrote this review sounds like an amateur. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the PX4’s guide rod assembaly, or anything else for that matter. How the hell do you break the guide rod?? That’s never even been a thought in my head that someone could do that from cleaning. Obviously you’re doing something very wrong, or you’re flat out negligent…or both. And you admitted it when you shoved 18 rounds in a 17 round magazine. I’ve known lots of guys just like you that don’t know how to properly maintain firearms.
I completely agree with you. How the hell do you break a guide rod cleaning it? User error
Assuming, Assumptions, Opinions … we all know what they are like, right? You (Author) realize that 8:10 of modern handguns produced today of the polymer variety, and many steel/alloy varieties have polymer guide rods, right? Hint: no, it’s not because they think everybody is going to run out and throw in a SS or Titanium replacement. It’s because polymer guide rods are forgiving. They absorb and dissipate heat better than most metal/alloy offerings. They flex and resume operating position. They work. Short of a catastrophic failure, they survive many thousands of rounds. I used to be the first guy to order a SS, titanium or the latest and greatest unobtanium grade guide rod with the X19abcpdq polymer coated spring with nuclear event shock absorption system for every handgun; not anymore. For the everyday Joe Weekend shooter and enthusiast, the factory guide rod and spring will suffice. Forever. For others though, that cook their own or consistently run hot ammo by choice, then yes, I see changing the spring definitely, and maybe the guide rod, too, but under normal circumstances, which includes TEOTWAKI, WROL, SHTF or whatever you wanna call it. How much shooting do you think you’ll be doing then anyway? Not as much as you think, guaranteed.
The polymer guide rod has been R&D and QC’d for decades now. They didn’t go to polymer to just save money. Most polymers today have properties superior to steel and many alloys, at a significant weight savings. The cost savings is an added benefit.
Unless you’re a competitive shooter or cook your own loads to the hot side, leave the polymer guide rod alone. Leave the spring alone. Do get a stone or three, a file or two and some Mother’s and polish your internals, feed ramp, and metal to metal contact surfaces but other than that, leave it alone.
You realize that any change to factory configured firearm will work against you in the court of law, yes? If you are ever involved in a shooting, for whatever purpose, a competent Defense Attorney will eat you alive for having any component changed from stock, and for any trigger work, and especially for any ammo that is not FMJ. Short of being a competitor and your race gun doubles as your SD weapon, they will paint you as a war-monging evil doer that was just looking to shoot someone.
If you hate polymer that bad, pick up a S&W 5906. Singularly the best 9mm ever made, in my professional opinion. Otherwise, for the money, the PX4 Storm full size in 9mm is a solid purchase for EDC, SD, and/or nightstand duty.
Just bought a new PX4 Compact Storm for $250.00 from a LGS, they sold me the pistol that cheap because nobody wants one, I’m a good customer so they gave me “such a deal”. I’ve been a Glock fanboy since 1996, with that said I really like the Storm, only put 200+ rnds down-range so far. I hate to admit this but I do like the DA/SA and safety that comes with the “F Model”, even though I have tons of experience with a loaded Glock, I never thought they are as safe as they claim. Sometime “old-school” can be a good thing.
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