Beretta PX4 Storm Subcompact 9MM
In many quarters of law enforcement and the law-abiding armed citizenry the ole' standby snub-nosed .38 revolver is being replaced by 9mm subcompact pistols. We give the PX4 Subcompact a full test.
Page: 1 2
Shooting Impressions
Px4 Sub-Compact didn’t give the author the tight groups he normally gets from a Beretta 92. This was best of test, with 115-grain Federal 9 BP standard pressure hollow point.
The Px4 shares the rotary breech design of the 8000 series Berettas that preceded it. One reason for that design was slowing the recoil impulse. I have to say — it works. Most anyone who shoots a Px4 of any size comments on the soft recoil for the size and caliber, and the Px4 Sub-Compact is no exception.
Nothing on this gun bites the hand on recoil. You’d think with the bore axis as high as it is, would kick back into the hand more and jump more at the muzzle. It simply doesn’t. I have to assume the rotary breech thing is what’s softening the gun’s movement upon discharge.
The short grip-frame only allows two fingers to take a really solid grasp in the bare hand, with the index finger deployed to work the trigger. I found myself tucking the pinkie finger under the butt to help stabilize, which actually worked pretty well.
I ran this one off the bench with 147-, 124, and 115-grain 9mm rounds by the “big three makers” on a day when I was shooting 2 inches or better with service-grade handguns, and the little 9mm just didn’t make the cut in my hands. Every load shot very low and somewhat right. Remington 124-grain +P Golden Saber put five shots in 6.15 inches, strung mostly vertical with the best three in only 4.20 inches; Winchester subsonic 147-grain FMJ did 4.80 inches for all five with the best four in 3.65 inches, and the best three in 2.25 inches; and the “best of test” Federal 9BP 115-grain hollow point went 4.15 inches for all five and 2.10 inches for best three. The distance was 25 yards.
I’ve found over the years that the “best three” hand held from the bench compensates for human error, which is why I include that measurement. Still, I’ve been spoiled by Beretta 92 pistols that out of the box went between 1 and 2 inches for all five shots, and am not happy with these results. In per-spective, though, the five-shot groups would all have been inside the maxi-mum point-scoring zone of any police qualification target at the same distance.
Author found the Px4 9mm soft-kicking and controllable. At end of a burst of rapid fire, the Subcompact Storm locks open empty but still on target, with three spent casings (arrows) still in the air.
Reliability, obviously, comes before accuracy in a defensive handgun. A test team of several competent shooters joined me in running several hundred rounds through the last Px4 I tested. The result? Zero malfunctions. This particular specimen didn’t get as many rounds, but it still never jammed. I’ve seen the Px4 Sub-Compact go through everything from qualification courses to 500-round shooting classes to 120-shot IDPA matches over the last year and a half plus, and have not yet seen one jam. That collective experience leaves me comfortable with the reliability of the 9mm Px4 Beretta Sub-Compact in general. The only malfunctions I’ve seen have been “shooter-induced;” if you fire with a forward thumbs position, the thumb(s) may ride down the slide stop lever and prevent the slide from locking open on the last shot. That’s “on the shooter, not on the gun,” in this reviewer’s opinion. We see the same thing happen with many other makes and models of semi-automatic pistols.
Final Notes
Let’s see…it functions reliably. It is compact. It can be had with a manual safety that buys the owner some time to deal with the horror of being disarmed by his or her attacker. It holds more rounds than most of its competition and comes back on target very quickly, with a very soft felt recoil impulse. At muzzle contact distance, it’s more likely to keep working than most of its competition. It also has interchangeable grip backstraps to adjust size and fits many hand sizes well as it comes from the box. It doesn’t have the accuracy we competitive shooters like. It may take a little extra effort to load its magazines up to full cartridge capacity.
All things considered, the Beretta Px4 Storm Sub-Compact 9mm has way more going for it than against it, and is a very promising pistol for someone who needs a concealable handgun that will deliver the life-saving goods in an up-close-and-personal confrontation. For an “all around use” Beretta, I’ll stay with one of my Model 92s, but for a high-capacity 9mm “belly gun,” the Px4F Storm definitely passes the acceptance test.
As seen in
Page: 1 2
May 12th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Does anyone know where I can see a picture of the px4 sub with the adapter and the 20 round clip?I’ve seen how the compact looks with the 20 round clip but I can’t find a single pic of the sub with the adapter and 20 round clip.
February 7th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
6″ grouping at 25 yards with a 3 inch barrel and the accuracy isn’t good enough…give me a break.
The Sub Compact model does not have the rotary barrel system. The Sub has the locked breech and tilt barrel system.
September 10th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
full size = rotary barrel
Compact = rotary barrel
SubCompact= Tilt barrel
Was the compact, or the Sub compact the gun reviewed?
March 9th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Great review from a legendary firearms expert. It’s interesting that other reviews including myself find the PX4 SC extremely accurate for a subcompact.
February 6th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
PX4 sub-compact has a safety/decocker (Model F) on both sides. The magazine release button is on the left side, but like the full size Storm can be removed and replaced on the right side.
One thing not mentioned is the PX4 sub-compact comes with two 13 round magazines, but the PX4 full size 17 and 20 round magazines also fit and work with the sub-compact gun. Carry 13 in the gun and one 20-round reload!
August 24th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
From Beretta:
… the Px4 Storm Sub-Compact uses a very reliable locked breech and tilt barrel system…
May 11th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Booya is the man. I wish he could give his class to poor people as well. It costs $800 to attend. I would like to see a combat course set up and Booya in action.
May 3rd, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Based in part on this review I just purchased a PX4 F model subcompact last week. I have fired 250 rounds of mixed standard pressure (GECO FMJ 124gr; Speer Gold Dot 124gr) and +P (NATO M882 FMJ; Cor Bon 90 gr JHP) loads with no problems of any kind. Manual of arms for the F model is essentially identical to the 92FS; in a package that is just a bit thicker but also shorter than a “standard” Bersa Thunder 380. I liked the low felt recoil. I am not a “highly skilled” pistol shooter - I found standard pressure loads easier to control for maximum accuracy, but even the hottest loads yielded adequate accuracy for a subcompact. And yes, the PX4 subcompact is a tilt barrel. So far I am extremely happy with this pistol.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
As someone who owns both the full and the subcompact - the subcompact does NOT have the rotating barrel, however, the soft recoil is still there as is the similar design everywhere else on the weapon.
Also, for Chris who asked about the safety - it is located on both sides of the weapon and you can adjust everything else to either the left or right side depending on which is your strong hand.
April 21st, 2010 at 2:33 pm
The px4 rivels my 92f. Great carry gun.All Texans should have one.
April 7th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Okay, I retract….
It may be that the sub-compact does NOT have it. As that may be the full size.
Odd, I think such a difference would by definition require a new designation.
If the PX4 full size and compact have differing mechanisms. Are they really the same gun?
April 7th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
If you look at the photos here, it seems to show that Massad Ayoob is in fact correct and you all are wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beretta_PX4_Storm_field-stripped.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beretta_PX4_Storm_rotating_barrel_lock.JPG
Not saying I am an expert, heck, I confess to being a newbie. But that sure looks like a rotary system to me.
BOOYA (Yes, it’s Ayoob backwards).
April 3rd, 2010 at 9:11 am
The subcompact px4 does NOT have a rotary breech. Did you not notice this when you field stripped it? If you review a gun at least read its specs on the web site.
April 3rd, 2010 at 1:39 am
The mag release remains on the left in the pictures, so it seems that the lever is ambidextrous as it is in the model 92. (px4storm dot com website confirms this).
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 pm
“The Px4 shares the rotary breech design of the 8000 series Berettas that preceded it. One reason for that design was slowing the recoil impulse. I have to say — it works. Most anyone who shoots a Px4 of any size comments on the soft recoil for the size and caliber, and the Px4 Sub-Compact is no exception.”
As far as I get it (and it is clear on the photo of the disassembled pistol), the sub-compact STORM uses the Browning-type automatics, not the rotating barrel.
April 1st, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Are the first 3 pictures inverted or do they offer a model with the safety on the right side of the slide?
April 1st, 2010 at 7:45 am
[...] Ayoob has a look. [...]