PX4 Opinions

J

Jacket67

New member
Hey TFL,

While I love striker fired pistols, a good da/sa is something I'd like to have as well for an HD/range gun. From what I understand, practicing on that platform can improve overall handgun skills on things like trigger pull. I know there's a lot of good da/sa guns out there (sig, cz, etc), but I seem to keep coming back to Beretta, specifically the full size px4. I learned on the 92, but I want to stick with polymer handguns for now. I feel like a px4 g type with some added improvements would make for a great gun. I just have so experience with them.

So what are your experiences with this platform? I'd be getting a full size 9mm.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I think it'd be cool paired with a cx4 carbine at some point. Another big draw to the platform.
 
The PX4 is a very good pistol.

If you take a look on PistolForum, there is a thread to the effect of Beretta PX4 - Underrated is an Understatement. Ernest Langdon fired around 50,000 rounds through a full size 9mm PX4 over the course of a year. 12 stoppages, and one part failure... at like 44,000 rounds, the locking block broke. You can read his posts on it, but when the block broke, the gun functioned (not one of the stoppages; noticed it when cleaning). I stress you to seek out that thread, being I doubt you’ll have a better source of info on the reliability of the PX4.

I do have the same gun you are looking at, just a F gun converted to G (easy to do). Also have a CX4 in 9mm, which I can pair with it or my 92 Brigadier Inox. The PX4 is a very good pistol, and the CX4 is a very good carbine (if you get one, don’t disassemble it with the hammer fired... or you’ll break something that will take the gun out of action; simple solution is the SierraPapa recoil assembly).

-Figured out how to link a thread in Tapatalk.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?25341-Beretta-PX4-Storm-Underrated-is-an-Understatement
 
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One of the softest shooting polymer guns out there, they're fantastic. I also find them ugly as can be :D

I love DA/SA handguns. Last year I sat in my LGS for about 30 minutes trying to decide between the FNX and the PX4. I went with the FNX because I love the ergonomics but I would never advise against a PX4.
 
1.4" width!
Click to expand...

I think(don't know for sure) this is a measurement at the widest point which happens to be the batwings that Beretta calls a safety. A lot of people replace them for something slimmer.
 
I really like the Langdon Tactical model, which is basically the exact same as the compact carry, but full size. The grey slide, low profile decocking levers, and high-viz sights just make the gun look better in my opinion. And yeah, it's not the greatest looking gun to me, but for some reason it looks a lot better in the hand than just sitting in the counter. The overall width doesn't bother me because it won't be a carry gun, and if that measurement is the width from the end of each lever, then I'm not worried because I'd be replacing those anyway.

What's the cheapest price these are typically found in? I'm mostly seeing them around the $500 mark. (not the Langdon model, just the normal px4 full size)
 
Mine was excellent, 100 percent reliable and soft shooting likely due to the rotating barrel. Could not get used to the heavy DA pull and disliked the F safety. G levers and a lighter hammer spring might do it.
 
The PX4 is an excellent sidearm. It's reliable. It feels good in hand. It's a relatively soft shooter in both 9mm and .40 S&W. The only thing I don't like is those darn bat-wing safety levers that stick way out from the sides of the slide. "Smooth carry" is at stark odds with "sharp little doodads sticking out from the plane of the gun". It's also a big part of why the gun seems so wide.

Luckily, there is a solution. Notice that the new "Compact Carry" version of the PX4 lacks the bat-wings? Yeah, it turns out I'm not the only one that feels this way and Beretta has been listening. Those same low-profile levers are available as a kit from Beretta. Converting the classic full-size PX4 to low-profile really streamlines it, improving both looks and carry potential. It also eliminates the manual safety mechanism in favor of "decocker only", which I prefer on a carry gun anyway.
 
Good gun, very accurate, double stack, soft-recoil; HATE the looks and thickness; it's definitely the gun you leave at home, not the trophy you take to dinner.

I have both the 9mm and the 45ACP; of the two, I prefer the 45; lower capacity, but what a sweet easy accurate shooter!
 
The PX4 Compact "CARRY" is the Langdon model and it is a PX4 compact that is modified and renamed the COMPACT CARRY.
Prices are about $750.00.
The standard Compact Carry can be found on Ebay for about 480. Or that was a price I saw last night.
Full size and the compact are great guns. Looks are subjective, and even if it was the ugliest gun in the world, when I go to dinner I don't have a habit of puling it out and passing it around at the dinner table.:D:D
 
The problem I have with the Compact Carry is I can buy a Compact right now for $400 (Classic Firearms). Absent the cerakote, which I don’t think is necessary, I can then add the other options and still be at less money.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I’ve only shot a few rounds from a px4 a good while back so I can’t add much personal experience. That being said, I’ve read a lot of good things. I also really like that it is an attempt at a truly different and innovative design that’s not just fluff. The rotating barrel is a really cool idea that seems to actually perform the job it was designed for (recoil reduction) rather than just being a gimmick.
Best of luck with your decision.
 
On Langdon Tactical's website, they now have the full-size model set up identically to the compact carry model introduced about a year ago. It is a chunky gun, but I'm looking for a service-sized pistol of about that size. My other consideration right now is the m&p 2.0 full size, which fits the same category. I know it'd be a good gun and pleasant shooter, but as I said before, I keep coming back to the idea of a da/sa handgun. Particularly beretta, and to a lesser extent CZ.

But to stick with my original post, it seems like the px4 would be a great option. I'm waiting to see if anyone had a bad experience with one, but it seems as though it has a solid track record. I would buy a stock model (preferably already in the g configuration), and add the low-profile decockers, sights, and trigger spring I want later down the road. There's a good local company in my town that does great work and I'd probably send it to them to get a lot done to it. But that goes for whatever handgun I end up getting, not just the beretta.

For those of you that own/owned the px4, what is the primary role of the gun for you? Just a range toy, or is it your go to HD handgun? If it isn't your HD handgun, what is?
 
The PX4 is an excellent platform that can easily be made much better. Get the small decocker set up to replace the large wings. At the same time turn it into a decock (G version) while changing the "wings". Get some talon grips for it because the grip is a bit slick. Add the Cougar D spring.
All the things they basically do on the Carry model (except for the cerakote slide) for much less money. You've got the carry version for a lot less money. Accurate, good to great trigger, light recoil, just a really underated gun.
 
My daughter has a compact in 9 mm. It lives with me because of restrictions at her current place of residence, and like a good dad I exercise the little guy periodically. Accuracy is quite good, reliability 100%, ease and comfort of shooting also very high. As a previous poster mentioned, the rotating barrel is credited for softening recoil. Good ergonomics also help, at least with my hand size and shape. I agree with the under-rated statements.
 
As a previous poster mentioned, the rotating barrel is credited for softening recoil.
Click to expand...

I thought that the compact version does not have the rotating barrel? I like that compact version of the PX4, but it's relatively unavailble in CA and when it does come up for sale is in the 1000.00 bracket!:eek:
 
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