Range Report: PX4 sub-compact
Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:01 pm
I finally got the chance to head to Texas City Municipal Range (yes, they're open for business) and try out the little fellow. Overall, I'll say that it lived up to its hype. It truly was a pleasure to shoot, and even though it's a sub-compact, I was able to put 500 rounds through it with barely any fatigue. I would have kept going, if I had not run out of ammunition. With my old Glock 27, I was only ever able to put about 150 rounds through it before I was forced to call it a day.
Notes: Using WWB 115-gr 9mm
-Recoil is very light, and I was able to produce very good double-taps from 7 yards. I really think this gun functions just fine without the rotating barrel. Even with +P loads, it was very controllable.
-The pinky extension magazine fit my hand perfectly, and the non extending mag was still not too bad. The pinky extension does take a lot of playing with to loosen up. It will be my primary magazine (see problems encountered below).
-The DA trigger was very smooth, and the SA trigger is more sensitive than I would have thought.
-There was no noticeable decrease in accuracy as more rounds were fired.
-Beretta used dark magic when designing the extraction system. Spent shells go reeeeaaaallly far, and can probably be counted as a secondary attack system of the gun.
With defense loads: These shots were from 7 yards, one second apart, first shot was DA and the following shots were SA.
Remington Golden Saber, 124-gr +P
I bought these specifically for this gun, primarily because they were the only defense rounds in stock at the store. It's hard to tell from the shrunk down picture, but there is a double hole.
Winchester Ranger Bonded, 124-gr +P
Had these lying around from the Walther, and figured I would give them a try. These did not perform as well. It took 7 shots to get 5 on target.
Speer Gold Dot, 124-gr +P
These did about as well as I would have hoped, considering I use them for the full size PX4 and the Walther.
Control, using Walther P99AS, Speer Gold Dot 124-gr +P
Overall, it's a draw for the Speers and the Remingtons. I've put more Gold Dot through paper though, so I'll continue to use them for now as long as prices are about equal. I won't say no to Remingtons if I find a good deal though.
Problems encountered:
There's really only one thing to mention, and that's the "normal" magazine. Three times today it failed to engage the slide lock when empty. Technically, this doesn't count as a FTF or FTE, but it still makes your heart jump when you pull the trigger and hear "click."
I have not heard of anyone else having this issue, and I'm hoping it'll be fixed with a bit of breaking in. I'll probably send a note Beretta's way to see if they've heard anything similar.
Not really a problem, per se, but worth mentioning, is how hard it is to clean. Being smaller than the full size, some of the nooks and crannies are also smaller, and really like to collect grime. The business end of the barrel has a groove that is very difficult to clean, and is also visible, making it something of an eyesore if you're really picky about your gun being spotless (being stainless doesn't help hide anything either).
So in conclusion, I'd definitely recommend this gun to anyone, period. It's small enough to be concealed, but also is enjoyable for a day at the range.
Notes: Using WWB 115-gr 9mm
-Recoil is very light, and I was able to produce very good double-taps from 7 yards. I really think this gun functions just fine without the rotating barrel. Even with +P loads, it was very controllable.
-The pinky extension magazine fit my hand perfectly, and the non extending mag was still not too bad. The pinky extension does take a lot of playing with to loosen up. It will be my primary magazine (see problems encountered below).
-The DA trigger was very smooth, and the SA trigger is more sensitive than I would have thought.
-There was no noticeable decrease in accuracy as more rounds were fired.
-Beretta used dark magic when designing the extraction system. Spent shells go reeeeaaaallly far, and can probably be counted as a secondary attack system of the gun.
With defense loads: These shots were from 7 yards, one second apart, first shot was DA and the following shots were SA.
Remington Golden Saber, 124-gr +P
I bought these specifically for this gun, primarily because they were the only defense rounds in stock at the store. It's hard to tell from the shrunk down picture, but there is a double hole.
Winchester Ranger Bonded, 124-gr +P
Had these lying around from the Walther, and figured I would give them a try. These did not perform as well. It took 7 shots to get 5 on target.
Speer Gold Dot, 124-gr +P
These did about as well as I would have hoped, considering I use them for the full size PX4 and the Walther.
Control, using Walther P99AS, Speer Gold Dot 124-gr +P
Overall, it's a draw for the Speers and the Remingtons. I've put more Gold Dot through paper though, so I'll continue to use them for now as long as prices are about equal. I won't say no to Remingtons if I find a good deal though.
Problems encountered:
There's really only one thing to mention, and that's the "normal" magazine. Three times today it failed to engage the slide lock when empty. Technically, this doesn't count as a FTF or FTE, but it still makes your heart jump when you pull the trigger and hear "click."
I have not heard of anyone else having this issue, and I'm hoping it'll be fixed with a bit of breaking in. I'll probably send a note Beretta's way to see if they've heard anything similar.
Not really a problem, per se, but worth mentioning, is how hard it is to clean. Being smaller than the full size, some of the nooks and crannies are also smaller, and really like to collect grime. The business end of the barrel has a groove that is very difficult to clean, and is also visible, making it something of an eyesore if you're really picky about your gun being spotless (being stainless doesn't help hide anything either).
So in conclusion, I'd definitely recommend this gun to anyone, period. It's small enough to be concealed, but also is enjoyable for a day at the range.
