Thoughts on Beretta PX4 Storm Sub-compact

[fr3nchy524]

my friend asked me the other day if a Beretta px4 storm sub-compact was a good gun. because i have never held or shot a beretta, i told her i'd look into it. anybody got any experience with the Px4? good? bads? and what would be a fair price to buy one for?

thanks for any info.

 

[Guate_shooter]

IMO which I am NOT an expert is a well built weapon but I would NOT go out and buy one

Reasson being is I simply HATE hammer fired weapons with external safety, the gun is to many shooters a step above the 92/96 but still gives them the same feel of what they were trained on (as an example MIL guys), I am also NOT a fan of having a safety/decocker lever mounted on the slide as it requires more "care" when working the slide on your malfunctions. It is a VERY accurate gun out the box since it still uses the rotating barrel design just like the 800 series. The take down lever is now a new design as well unlike the 92/96 which is a PITA to take apart.

Price wise they tend to be a little high for my personal taste, it puts them right next to a Glock/M&P so no reasson for me to go Beretta specially with all the features I do not like on a gun

 

[JR1572]

I had a PX4 sub-compact. I liked it, but that is only because I am issued a PX4 full size and it was an easy transition.

It does not have a rotating barrel like the full size and the compact PX4.

It is a wide gun, and their are not many holster options available.

It worked for me. I sold it, however, I have access to another one and may start carrying one again when I'm off.

JR1572

 

[fr3nchy524]

what would be a good gun to compare the beretta too? i myself am a springfield fan and have a xd9 and a 1911. so if the xd9 is comparable, i'll talk my friend into that.

 

[cheese]

Hello, your post caught my attention! I disagree about hammer fired pistols, but that seems to be a preference issue.

I do agree with you about the slide mounted safety, though. I have a Baretta 96 (my only handgun) that I enjoy shooting, and have shot at the Amite IDPA matches. I have one of those types of malfunctions "caught on tape": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-j0zOV6QUg That's me doing the shooting and before taking this video, I have never, ever racked the slide after a reload. I always use the slide release button to return the weapon to battery. Still don't know why I did it here, but that's why I continue to practice, practice, and practice. Your point about the slide mounted safety is something I need to consider. Thanks for that insight.

I'm curious as to why you say the baretta 92/96 is a pain to field strip? With the take down lever on it, it comes apart quickly and easily for field stripping and cleaning. Am I missing something (maybe because my first pistol was a 1911 - which is a pain to take down quickly)?

Reasson being is I simply HATE hammer fired weapons with external safety, the gun is to many shooters a step above the 92/96 but still gives them the same feel of what they were trained on (as an example MIL guys), I am also NOT a fan of having a safety/decocker lever mounted on the slide as it requires more "care" when working the slide on your malfunctions. It is a VERY accurate gun out the box since it still uses the rotating barrel design just like the 800 series. The take down lever is now a new design as well unlike the 92/96 which is a PITA to take apart.

Price wise they tend to be a little high for my personal taste, it puts them right next to a Glock/M&P so no reasson for me to go Beretta specially with all the features I do not like on a gun

 

[Ryan316]

I have one, I like it & carry it quite a bit. ONLY thing I'm not crazy about is I have to slightly shift my grip to disengage the safety. On a 92FS, I didn't have to do that. Still though, I got used to it & I like it.

 

[Guate_shooter]

Hello, your post caught my attention! I disagree about hammer fired pistols, but that seems to be a preference issue.

I do agree with you about the slide mounted safety, though. I have a Baretta 96 (my only handgun) that I enjoy shooting, and have shot at the Amite IDPA matches. I have one of those types of malfunctions "caught on tape": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-j0zOV6QUg That's me doing the shooting and before taking this video, I have never, ever racked the slide after a reload. I always use the slide release button to return the weapon to battery. Still don't know why I did it here, but that's why I continue to practice, practice, and practice. Your point about the slide mounted safety is something I need to consider. Thanks for that insight.

I'm curious as to why you say the baretta 92/96 is a pain to field strip? With the take down lever on it, it comes apart quickly and easily for field stripping and cleaning. Am I missing something (maybe because my first pistol was a 1911 - which is a pain to take down quickly)?

Brother with all respect that you deserve you are totally mixing "game" shooting with defensive shooting, in defensive shooting "sling shot" method is simply not used as its not a repetition type movement that you will be called to used in a stress type situation to bring your weapon back into a fight (tap,rack, bang) , try to power stroke the slide and you will understand why I HATE slide mounted safety's/decockers as it simply creates one more thing for me to worry under stress. You have to pretty much LOCK the safety lever with your thumb (sling shot method) or with your index finger (power stroke method) to prevent this from happening. Also as it was showed by Mr.Gomez if you re-establish an agressive thumbs forward grip, the thumb of your weapon hand WILL knock the safety OFF for you every single time in case you created a BOBO and now you have to figure out how to fix it. So again a fundamental training issue can get your weapon back into the fight by simply tunning the grip on your weapon system

Also using the "slide release/slide lock" to bring the weapon back into battery is something that I dotn generally endorse as it requires for you to break the positive grip that you have on your weapon system just to be able to reach the lever, unless you have super long thumbs that you can reach it without changing that grip I would simply stay with a hand over type of manipulation since again its a repetitive movement qhen clearing malfunctions.

I personally do not like a hammer fired weapon since its one more thing exposed that can snag into things, they usually also run in a DA/SA mode which creates more training needs, they also tend to be more complicated for cleanup, etc etc etc

As far as the take down, again I much rather something that can be taken apart rather quickly regardless of the situation I am in, granted I seriously doubt I would be "fixing" my weapon in the middle of a fight but I believe the system that Glock uses is the best one so far for take down hands down.

 

[cheese]

Thanks for your reply, I'm still a newbie and trying to absorb all the information out there.

Also using the "slide release/slide lock" to bring the weapon back into battery is something that I dotn generally endorse as it requires for you to break the positive grip that you have on your weapon system just to be able to reach the lever, unless you have super long thumbs that you can reach it without changing that grip I would simply stay with a hand over type of manipulation since again its a repetitive movement qhen clearing malfunctions.

But when racking the slide during a reload, don't you have to let go of the weapon with your left hand, lower the weapon, rack the slide, and then reacquire the target? When I use the slide release, I insert the new magazine, and as I'm bringing the weapon back to eye level, I slide my hand up the grip, push the button, and transition my hand back to the shooting grip. It just seems faster.

I'm planning on going shooting again next Thursday, I'll give both methods a try and see.

 

[Guate_shooter]

But when racking the slide during a reload, don't you have to let go of the weapon with your left hand, lower the weapon, rack the slide, and then reacquire the target? When I use the slide release, I insert the new magazine, and as I'm bringing the weapon back to eye level, I slide my hand up the grip, push the button, and transition my hand back to the shooting grip. It just seems faster.
.

So what happens when the perfect scenario is no longer perfect? an injured hand that forces you to not only work that weapon with one hand but it being your support hand which now became your "weapon hand", things that work only in "perfect" scenarios tend to not go so well in the real world. I rather have a method that works 99.9% of the time instead of something that works 50% depending on what hand I am using.

 

[cheese]

So what happens when the perfect scenario is no longer perfect? an injured hand that forces you to not only work that weapon with one hand but it being your support hand which now became your "weapon hand", things that work only in "perfect" scenarios tend to not go so well in the real world. I rather have a method that works 99.9% of the time instead of something that works 50% depending on what hand I am using.

Good point. Thanks!