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Thread: Beretta PX4 Storm - Underrated is an Understatement!

  1. #1

    Beretta PX4 Storm - Underrated is an Understatement!

    It’s no secret that I am a Beretta guy and have been a Beretta 92 fan since I can remember. I started working on the PX4 Compact project because I wanted something smaller and just as capable. I realized then that I hadn’t given the PX4 Storm a chance – it has to be one of the most underrated pistols of all time.

    Many of you may have read or follow the thread I started about the PX4 Compact. After about 18 months of hard use, I have put over 70,000 rounds through three different PX4 Compacts. The main test gun had just over 52,000 rounds through it when I shipped it back to Beretta for their inspection. Hmmm… that’s a lot of rounds without any issues. “This is a capable and reliable gun,” I thought to myself, “How can I make it better for what I need in a gun package.”

    The PX4 Compact Carry is what I think addresses many of the areas of improvement that I found on the standard compact gun and turned it into one great little carry gun. By all accounts, this gun has been very well received and we are seeing more and more fans of this little gun pop up all over the country. With over 322,000 views, the PX4 Compact thread on the Pistol Forum is showing that popularity.

    Given the success of the PX4 Compact Carry, I decided to show the Full Size some love. At SHOT Show this year Beretta and I got serious and started making plans to work on the PX4 Storm Full Size. These discussions about the full-size PX4 lead us down the path of doing a test and making it public. Beretta was on board and the plan was put in motion.

    And so it begins; I picked up the gun the week after SHOT Show. With the experience that I already had with the compact, I knew I wanted to do a few things to the gun right off the bat. I thought I might as well get started as far as I got with the Compact modifications. I replaced the standard levers with the Beretta Stealth levers, which also converted the gun to a G model. I modified a set of Ameriglo sights and installed them (same dovetail but the front sight on the compact has a much wider base that needed to be narrowed). I did a trigger job including a Wilson Combat #12 hammer spring (I have full confidence in this hammer spring in the PX4 after nearly 60,000 flawless rounds in three different guns). The same trigger job as the compact I shot for the last 18 months. I also stippled the grip the same way I ended up doing on my compact PX4s. I also replaced the recoil spring assembly with one of the solid units from the Beretta Pro-Shop as well as adding the large magazine release button. I was ready to hit the range and make some once fired brass.
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    At this point, I have already shot just over 10,000 rounds (10,341 to be exact) through the PX4 full-size. I have had three ‘stoppages’ in that time frame. Two of the stoppages were failures to go into battery during a slide lock reload for time. Both happened in about the same 400 rounds of shooting and I am convinced that it is a shooter-induced malfunction. On the second one, I took a close look at my hand and the gun after the stoppage. I was pushing my thumb onto the side of the slide, just above the slide stop, and slowing it down on the return. (see photo below) I did another 15 slide lock reloads after I discovered that, being careful not to make that mistake, and have not had another issue since then. The third stoppage was a slide lock early while shooting on the move during a demo in a class. My guess is this was also a shooter-induced issue as it has not happened again after over 3000 more rounds through the gun.
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    Thumb pushing on the side of the slide
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    Corrected thumb location, just pushing on the latch

    I have set several personal shooting records for myself on several of my standard drills and I have to say that I am very impressed with this gun and a little annoyed with myself for not giving it a shot sooner.

    I am actually surprised this gun isn’t more popular – why have I just ‘discovered’ it?. I would guess that it may be the fact that it arrived about the same time DA/SA guns started to lose favor and striker fired pistols became the go-to-gun.

    At this point, I believe that DA/SA guns are making a major comeback in the tactical shooting world and the PX4 platform brings a lot to the table. It has the same fire controls as the beloved Beretta 92/M9, but in a polymer framed gun that saves quite a bit of weight in your holster and three different versions of safety levers that are all convertible to a de-cock only “G” configuration. Factory built extended magazine buttons, solid guide rods, improved trigger groups, D hammer springs, flush and lanyard loop hammer spring caps, 17 and 20 round magazines, three different size back straps, and dovetail front and rear sights are all available for this gun – it has all the features of a new modern service pistol. Not to mention, it’s available at a reasonable price backed by a 500-year-old manufacturer that is an icon in the industry.

    So what gives, why is it not more popular? Maybe it is because it is not a striker-fired gun. Maybe it has been under-marketed, but everyone seems to know it. Maybe it is because it has a reputation for reliability issues, some of which was talked about here on Pistol-Forum. I am not really sure. My 70,000 rounds through the compact versions tells me that reliability is not an issue. And my first 10,000 rounds through this gun tell me that this is a pretty reliable gun - stay tuned, I have 39,659 more rounds to go.
    www.langdontactical.com
    Bellator,Doctus,Armatus

  2. #2
    Member TCFD273's Avatar
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    Looking forward too it.

    I'm definitely planning on going by the Beretta booth at the NRA show and handling the compact carry.


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  3. #3
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    deleted.....double post
    Last edited by rauchman; 04-20-2017 at 07:30 AM.

  4. #4
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    Excellent thread. Thank you!!!!

    Your PX4 Compact and Full Size threads have inspired me to make the PX4 my next pistol purchase. I've come back to the 92 platform after some years with Glocks, and to a smaller degree Sigs. I've pretty much moved away from Sigs entirely as the 92 series works better for me, although I still have my Glocks. Living in NJ makes a pistol purchase more complicated than purchasing on a whim, so I rely on threads like yours to help guide future purchases. As mentioned, I've been following your PX4 threads with great interest and after all the success you, Clobbersaurus and others have had, it's solidified my decision to make the PX4 FS the next "one". Not to mention, Beretta makes 15rnd mags for the fullsize (NJ = 15rnd mag restriction), and they can be gotten relatively cheaply.

    Just to make sure I'm reading your thread correctly, you're anticipating a Langdon / Beretta collaboration on the fullsize like you did for the Compact? I'd hate to go through the jumping of the hoops of a purchase only to find out the Ernst approved PX4 Fullsize would come out after.

    Again, thanks for the excellent threads!!!

  5. #5
    Member Zincwarrior's Avatar
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    What are the DA / SA trigger pull weights on this model? The wife has a standard CC version. Other than the more cumbersome takedown it is an excellent pistol and very soft shooting in the hand in comparison to comparable M&Ps we have.

  6. #6
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    If I were starting out from scratch right now, I'd probably look really really hard at these. They seem like really solid pistols with easily tuned and shootable triggers and easy conversion to G kind of seals the deal. Needs more sight options. 10 round magazines need to be vetted. Pistol is definitely NOT marketed enough. SFA is still the current hotness right now.

    Get more trainers to teach TDA properly and you'll start to see more of a shift back to that. Logistically it doesn't make sense for me to switch from Glock right now. Get Dawson Precision to make more sights for 92s and get them to make something for PX4s.


    Sent from mah smertfone using tapathingy

  7. #7
    Member Zincwarrior's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by spinmove_ View Post
    If I were starting out from scratch right now, I'd probably look really really hard at these. They seem like really solid pistols with easily tuned and shootable triggers and easy conversion to G kind of seals the deal. Needs more sight options. 10 round magazines need to be vetted. Pistol is definitely NOT marketed enough. SFA is still the current hotness right now.

    Get more trainers to teach TDA properly and you'll start to see more of a shift back to that. Logistically it doesn't make sense for me to switch from Glock right now. Get Dawson Precision to make more sights for 92s and get them to make something for PX4s.


    Sent from mah smertfone using tapathingy
    Just a note: Beretta makes adjustable sights for them. A quick check on Brownells shows adjustable sights and multiple types of night sights. A fiber optic sight option would be good.

  8. #8
    Hammertime
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    Why is the PX4 not more popular? I don't know. I do know that when I looked at one last week a female gun enthusiast at the store said:

    "I am sure it's a great gun, but that thing is really ugly."

    Can't comment myself because I am more of a form follows function person.

  9. #9
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    My full size 9mm with G levers, stealth slide release, and large mag release is my daily carry.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    For those of us who like the ubiquity and ease of service that Glock provides but want a hammer-fired pistol, the PX4 family might be a great alternative. One of the pluses about the Glock is how one can use G17 magazines in G19 and G26 pistols. It allows one to carry a larger reload for a small, concealed pistol. Do the PX4 full-size magazines work in the Compact?

    The other issue is making the PX4 family as ubiquitous as Glock in local stores. I am not sure how Beretta does that, but I can find Glock magazines, sights, and holsters at any gun store; Beretta guns, of any flavor, not so much.

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