60,200
Reached 60,200 rounds today. All systems are a Go.
Did a 100% disassembly and detail cleaning. Only the o-ring needed replacement this time. The slide rebound spring was changed @58,400 rounds and is not due yet.
30,500 rounds on this D spring. Trigger pull weights are 6.187 lbs DA & 3.5 lbs SA. Everything working as smoothly as ever & 100% reliable service.
My PX4 Storm .45 G is now @62,600 rounds without any problems. Accuracy remains pin-point sharp and reliability 100%. It is as smooth as silk and a pleasure to shoot.
@Storm SD will reach 15,000 rounds on his Storm .40 G full size this week and will do an interior slide cleaning and reassign it to EDC. This is because he has concluded that the Storm SD .45 G is so much more enjoyable to shoot that he will take it out of retirement and put it back to being his range pistol. The adventure continues...
Last edited by PX4 Storm Tracker; 03-25-2019 at 12:13 PM.
Thanks for the updates. Your inputs are really well done.
A couple of questions.
1) Forum member Storm SD finds the .45 Auto version more pleasant or more fun to shoot than the .40 S&W version?
2) Your PX4 .45 has had no breakages?
I didn't review all the posts, and have kind of lost track, but I recall one of the .45's in this thread did have a couple of breaks, barrel and frame crack. Was that on the Storm SD's, SD, and your's hasn't had an breakages? If so, any speculation on why the problems with one and not the other? Pure chance?
Yes, I do enjoy shooting the PX4 Storm SD in .45 more than the full size PX4 Storm .40. Most of this has been a matter of personal preference. I like the feel of the recoil better than that of the .40 and I am also faster and more accurate with the .45. That could be due to the fact that I have used it much more, but I also feel that the recoil is less "sharp" with the .45 in comparison to the .40. The barrel did crack on the .45 at 27,282 rounds. I had the barrel replaced and I currently have 5,628 rounds on the new barrel. Both pistols provide some enjoyable range time, but I still prefer the PX4 Storm SD.Originally Posted by JTQ
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks for the positive feedback!
@Storm SD is answering the first question about his preference.
As to the second question about parts breakages, there were some. I don't think of them as pure chance, but the .45 hits harder and that can take its toll. The difference between breakages in my .45 and the SD might be a matter of round count. My first barrel cracked @31,174, which taught him what to look for. His cracked @27,282 (page 24, post 239)
On page 11 of this thread, posts 103-109, I reported a barrel crack that took me by surprise. It was @31,174 rounds.
Since the barrel cracking took me by surprise I was not watching for it until it was severe enough to cause malfunctions. The crack was not visible until under pressure while firing.
Because of this the escaping pressure blew out a little polymer on the frame around the cam well (page 12, post 119).
On page 21 & 22 in posts 210 and 211 I reported that the head broke off of the lever pin @38,900 rounds. The pistol kept working without indication. It just fell off when disassembled.
A few range trips before 50,000 rounds I was feeling the trigger reset to seem different, but everything shot well. On page 26, post 254 I reported that the hammer unit body (frame) was broken. I had a spare and did not miss a beat.
On page 28, post 276 I was watching and checking the barrel cam track, not to be taken by surprise again. We found a minute start of a crack and sent it to Beretta for a new barrel under warranty. That barrel went 23,926 rounds. Beretta installed a new one for free.
If the SD has less breakages or less severe, it is because I have told him what to watch for to catch it early. Otherwise, they experience usage identically.
I really appreciate your questions and interest in this thread! You were the first one to comment on it when it started.
We were running measurement and comparison tests to find out why a PX4 .45 can’t use the hammer unit body (frame) of the full size .40 or 9mm. Brownells says you can. Midwest says you can. Beretta says you cannot. However, Beretta no longer sells the frame as a separate part.
Fortunately, we have Storms on hand. We ran comparisons. However, in finding this information we noticed that @Storm SD ‘s .45 did not have the extended vertical protrusion on the ejector like the .40s. (pictures included).
I checked my EDC .45 which did have it, as did my .40, as does my range pistol (now).
I keep extensive and thorough picture and video records of all Storms. When I checked my pictures of the SD and my .45 range pistol we found the answer.
This is my range pistol ejector @17,050 rounds
This is that same ejector @25,200 rounds
These pictures match up well, but the tip was there after 20k and missing at 25k. When I looked at the picture history of the SD it had the same result. Somewhere between 20k & 25k the tip broke off. I evidently put 25,000 rounds on that ejector with a broken tip... without any problems.
Now, all Storms with new, old or broken ejectors continue firing perfectly without ever experiencing any ejection problems.
Beretta states that if you use a .40 hammer unit body (frame) in a .45 you might have ejection problems. I have a replacement frame in mine for over 15,000 rounds without ejection problems.
Pistol round count 65,250
Last edited by PX4 Storm Tracker; 04-17-2019 at 12:43 PM.
The first picture is of the PX4 Storm SD at 8,528 rounds. The second is during a frame cleaning of the SD in which the hammer assembly has been taken out of the pistol for cleaning. This was done at 10,726 rounds. The extended portion of the ejector that was mentioned by PX4 Storm Tracker is present in both of those pictures.
This next picture is of the same ejector at 25,052 rounds. That extended portion is missing. I am still using this same hammer assembly and I've had no ejection problems and the current round count on the SD is 34,615 rounds.
My PX4 .45 G reached 65,500 rounds today. Everything is working smoothly and reliably. No issues, no problems. Accuracy remains pinpoint with POA & POI in agreement.
I changed the slide rebound spring @63,200 rounds.
I disassembled the slide for its 5,000ish round detailed cleaning. I replaced the decocker lever pin, as it had been serving for more than a few removal/insertion cycles.
DA remains @6.2 lbs and SA @3.5 lbs, no light strikes.
Last edited by PX4 Storm Tracker; 04-20-2019 at 04:50 PM.
Have you noticed an accuracy difference with different bullet weights?
In his "Out of the box to match" review of the PX4 .45, forum member P. E. Kelley had good accuracy with 185gr ammo, but not so good accuracy with 230gr rounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqTu1cOINh0
Reply With Quote