"This is THE Most Underrated Pistol in 2023" ( The PX4)

[Mark D]

I think, back in the early days of P-F, TLG said something along the lines of “Beretta couldn’t market free sex.”

My dislike of the PX4 not withstanding, I think Beretta has gotten a lot better with their US marketing in the past few years. Some folks have suggested Beretta started working harder for civilian sales once the M9 wasn't the official US military sidearm. They've done some smart stuff:

1) They picked up JJ Racaza as a sponsored shooter. JJ is an excellent brand ambassador.
2) They partnered with Ernest/LTT and support his semi-custom guns.
3) They have embraced online sales of pistol parts.

[Greg Bell]

Well, I finally broke fown and bought one for my birthday. Should be here next week. Damn this forum!

[LangdonTactical]

My memory is fuzzy: what ended up being the root cause for this? @LangdonTactical ?

I remember Todd talking about this. I asked him about it and he had no other details.

So, I will give you three things to think about.

1) The only thing that makes any since to me is ammo. That is the only thing I have seen that makes you have to beat the gun open, and it keep working after that. Long cases is normally what causes this issue.

2) If a police department wants to get away from a gun, they will have issues with the gun! It does not matter what gun it is or how good the gun is. If the staff at the range wants to move to a different gun, they are going to have issues with the guns they have.

3) Todd hated the PX4 because at the time, he hated Beretta. The leadership had pissed him off personally, and he was still very angry at them. The PX4 was also the new gun that Beretta was trying to force everyone to like. They did it by not building the guns we all loved. The Vertex went away, the Elite and Elite II went away. The G-SD went away. All because Beretta wanted the sales force to sell the PX4. There are a lot more details, but for those that loved the 92 (and Todd did love the 92) forcing the PX4 on us at the expense of the 92s we love did not go over well.

I have never had to beat a PX4 apart, but I have had to beat other guns apart. Almost always because of Ammo.

[Sensei]

Thank you @LangdonTactical. While I’m too invested in other DA/SA platforms to make the switch to the PX4, I really appreciate your contributions to this thread and the various platforms that you’ve improved. Specifically, your trigger job in a bag for the 92 series has dramatically improved my understanding and enjoyment of the platform. I bet that other forum members have also enjoyed the same renaissance of the platform that many of us carried into combat for decades. Here is my son’s pistol; he is 12. He helped me install your parts…

[MrInox]

My singular and dealbreaking issue with the px4 is where the double action trigger sits…..waaaaay out there……it’s a chore to shoot for my short fingers………the classic sig p series (226/229) seem to be the only DA/SA guns that feel just right for me as far as trigger reach in DA goes…..i wouldn’t mind trying a 3rd gen smith……

[TheNewbie]

I remember Todd talking about this. I asked him about it and he had no other details.

So, I will give you three things to think about.

1) The only thing that makes any since to me is ammo. That is the only thing I have seen that makes you have to beat the gun open, and it keep working after that. Long cases is normally what causes this issue.

2) If a police department wants to get away from a gun, they will have issues with the gun! It does not matter what gun it is or how good the gun is. If the staff at the range wants to move to a different gun, they are going to have issues with the guns they have.

3) Todd hated the PX4 because at the time, he hated Beretta. The leadership had pissed him off personally, and he was still very angry at them. The PX4 was also the new gun that Beretta was trying to force everyone to like. They did it by not building the guns we all loved. The Vertex went away, the Elite and Elite II went away. The G-SD went away. All because Beretta wanted the sales force to sell the PX4. There are a lot more details, but for those that loved the 92 (and Todd did love the 92) forcing the PX4 on us at the expense of the 92s we love did not go over well.

I have never had to beat a PX4 apart, but I have had to beat other guns apart. Almost always because of Ammo.

Thank you for this response.


Do you think there is a common issue of grip causing “slide drag”? I use a pretty aggressive thumbs forward grip, and I wonder if the PX4 is more sensitive to a thumb contacting the slide causing issues vs other guns.


Hopefully that makes sense.

[MattyD380]

How do you like a da/sa trigger. Single action can be very smooth. But I can do better with a transition point.

The SA trigger on mine is absolutely fantastic. Ernest actually did a little work on it (thanks!). I have the 12lb Wilson hammer spring in mine and the DA is nice and light (for a DA). I'd say 8ish pounds? But, like I said, I experience a bit more of a "jostle" with the PX4 (and the 92) when the hammer falls in DA. More than I do with Sigs and 3rd gen Smiths (and old-school DA/SA Walthers). It seems like no matter how hard I squeeze, I can't keep the gun completely immobilized when the hammer falls in DA. Maybe that's a training issue. Maybe it's because I have small hands and it's hard to keep the gun pinned down. But... I don't experience that phenomenon on a P239, for instance. Or a 5906.

[No.6]

It's very fat. It looks weird. And, as with every Beretta I've owned (with the exception of my Cheetah), I often find it challenging to keep my sight picture stable when the hammer falls in DA. I'm guessing it's mainly overtravel. And/or me sucking.

For my part I find the relatively inexpensive laser 'bullets' great for this purpose. Easy to see a poor pull (not only off but 'streaking') and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Got a stack of cheapo batteries for it, and then bought the .45 version for the Cougar. Perfect for DA or DAO practice; less so with my Glocks (stop, rack, do again. Stop, rack, ...)

As far as marketing Beretta could really stand to woo some manufacturers of gear. I can easily find any sort of holster I want for a 365, and of course for Glock, or a Bersa, or a Taurus, or a Ruger ... but select PX4 from those makers and options go to slim or none. I ended up buying from Beretta direct and am happy, but if one wanted to purchase today and carry tomorrow? Similarly sight selection (thanks LTT for working with Ameriglo ... but you can't even find the reference outside Beretta, even on Ameriglo's site) and so forth. As a result purchases are really limited to the people who already know what they want and how to get it IMO.

[PX4 Storm Tracker]

... I was planning on a LGS trip to re-examine the Hk45 again; even though I wasn’t too inspired by shooting the Px4 .45 in the past, maybe I’ll see if there’s one to handle.

I thought it might be useful for me to share some experience and comparison between the PX4 45 and the HK45. As you know, I have a few PX4 45s. I also have a nice new HK45 v1. I got it to fire lots of +Ps and maybe 45 Supers at some point.

I like the ergonomics of the HK for the purpose I use it for. When I try to go fast, move fast, rapid fire, etc., it is tall, lanky, and less agile than the Storm. It is true that I am so used to the PX4 that anything else would seem awkward, but I do like the HK45 for my purposes and am used to it.

The HK45 DA trigger pull was way over 10# and the single action was over 5# and creepy, reset was very long. I installed a GrayGuns short reset kit, nickel competition sear spring and 11# hammer spring, cleaned and lubricated internals, added an ambidextrous decocker/safety lever and that helped a lot. DA is now 9# and the SA is 4#. Reset is still longer than a stock PX4 and the SA is still a little creepy and long, but it is much improved. It improved more with the modifications than my HKP30sk v3, which received a GrayGuns kit and Dawson Precision sights.

On the other hand the PX4 45s offer a 6# 4oz DA and 3# 12oz crisp single action with a reduced power hammer spring.

The HK45 absorbs recoil better and the slide rebound spring is strong... so much so that I use hotter ammo and the brass still doesn't go far.

If I remember correctly, you like to clean your pistols only once per year (after a case of ammo, I think). Both the PX4 and the HK45 will tolerate that well.

[camel]

The SA trigger on mine is absolutely fantastic. Ernest actually did a little work on it (thanks!). I have the 12lb Wilson hammer spring in mine and the DA is nice and light (for a DA). I'd say 8ish pounds? But, like I said, I experience a bit more of a "jostle" with the PX4 (and the 92) when the hammer falls in DA. More than I do with Sigs and 3rd gen Smiths (and old-school DA/SA Walthers). It seems like no matter how hard I squeeze, I can't keep the gun completely immobilized when the hammer falls in DA. Maybe that's a training issue. Maybe it's because I have small hands and it's hard to keep the gun pinned down. But... I don't experience that phenomenon on a P239, for instance. Or a 5906.

I would try some skateboard tape on the back strap and go from there. That little jostle might be your hands trying to control what your eyes see. At least in my opinion. And just left up on the grip. That might be counterintuitive but with the slickness of polymer and I’m sorry the px4 while nice ergonomically for myself and I haven’t tried Langdon. I had a bad experience with one it really did just suck. They are fine pistols. But the grip is a lot different from a 3rd gen smith a beretta or a sig.