Tuesday, June 29, 2010

MORE BERETTA PX4 STORM SUBCOMPACT TALKIN'





The more I think about it, the more I believe that this may be the ideal pistol for what I want in a high capacity 9mm concealment gun. I wrote about the gun last week, and have been doing lots of thinkin' about this gun since then. BERETTA PX4 STORM SUBCOMPACT 9mm

First, I want and crave an equilibrium of safety and reliability in any gun. I like having a thumb safety that I can switch on, even with a double action/single action pistol. Even better when that thumb safety doubles as a decocker. It holds 13+1 rounds and larger magazines are available (which extend somewhat from the bottom). My friend Max, my kindred handgun enthusiast whose sister just bought one of these, says that a 20 round mag is available.

I'd often though it be cool, were I to have a much larger gun buying budget, to have for a car gun a Glock 9mm subcompact that accepts the longer mags of the 19, 17 and the 33 round 9mm mag.

The FN pistol that shoots the rifle ammo is cool and it holds 20 rounds, but I'm afraid it's high velocity and small bullet size don't do much fer me. It is said those types of bullets tumble upon impact, and I know it's a devastating gun, but I fear over-penetration of targets as well as misses that would endanger others. But that's just me.

I didn't get to handle the subcompact variety of this pistol this weekend. Academy was out of them and the local range/gun shop didn't have any in stock either. I did get to handle several varieties of the full size and (I think) compact versions of the PX4, and was told by several sellers that the basic grip width was the same on all of them. If so, it wasn't bad.

Max says you can use the larger mags from the full size PX4's with grip adapters to fill in the space. I like having my little finger on, not under, the grip of a handgun. Call me old fashioned, but also call me a better shot when I have a little finger purchase on the grip.

I like the fact it has a hammer I can see and touch and feel and cock if I want to and that it's not striker fired. I just can't totally trust something I can't see, even if I know how it works (as with Glocks).

I like the fact it has interchangeability with other magazines and grip adapters. Apparently, one of the 13 rd mags it comes with new has some sort of flip down ledge for the little finger to grab onto at the base of the mag. Max thought it was cool and it worked well.

I like the fact it has an actual thumb activated safety. I did get to sample the safety and the decocker on the other models, and I liked it's positive and sturdy feel. With a DA/SA gun, you might not always want to use it but it's nice to have for those situations where you want it. Besides, so many of the guns I've had have safeties that I really prefer it that way.

I have seen the results of an accidental discharge of both revolvers and 1911's, and it wasn't pretty. I think one of the safest guns ever made is the H&K P7, and I wonder why more haven't emulated it. I lament the fact that H&K doesn't make it anymore. A PSP/P-7 combo would be a great pistol.

Beretta makes fine guns. I've owned a .380 Cheetah, and it was a fine gun. Shot very well, and I'd love to have one in .22 caliber. I've shot very serious Beretta shotguns and handguns and have never had any issues with their weapons.

I look forward to shooting, or at least holding, a PX4 Subcompact in the near future, ideally with some different magazines and grip adapters. The shooting reports I've heard about them have been very positive, for what the PX4 is: a close range combat pistol.


Looking at other similar guns, of course, I have ruled out the FAIL: SIG SAUER P250 COMPACT 9mm AND LPS. and MORE FAIL: THE SIG SAUER P250 AND LIGHT PRIMER STR... , which before shooting it and having multiple misfires FTF/LPS, I was sold on it's shape, it's balance, it's grip size, it's capacity and it's carry-ability. It sorta had a hammer/striker fire combo but I was willing to deal with a partial hammer.

And then it misfired so many times. That's bad. Real bad. Unreliable bad, and few things are worse than an unreliable gun. "It shot 90% of the time" are words I don't want on my tombstone. It's that 10% that's gonna happen when heavy duty stuff is coming down.

So I looked at the XD subcompact, which has no thumb safety or hammer. IMHO, the grip safety precludes good use of a rubber grip (although at least one is made for the XD) and besides, I don't like the fit of the grip in my hand.

Likewise with the Glock. The grip is a bit large on all but the Model 36. I shot many rounds through a Model 21, but found it a bit large. The next Model 21 I buy will be the 21 SF. But I prefer something thinner than Glock has on their 9mm models. I've yet to try the Gen 4 Glock with the smaller backstrap, but these guns offer neither a thumb safety and are striker fired.

The Walther P99 is a nice gun, but again, striker fired and no safety. Does have a dandy decocker, though, and a very nice grip.

I need to shoot the PX4 soon.





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