(A conglomeration of several of my posts on the Beretta Forum)
I visited a local gun shop awhile back with my wife. I noted that they had two PX4 pistols. A 40 and a 9mm. There were a few other folks in the shop and we looked around while they were being helped.
When it got to be our turn, Lisa wanted to look at the 9mm PX4. Evidently it caught her eye too. We looked it over and I noted by the function of the decock levers that it was a G model! This wasn't due to having the slimline levers installed, the levers are the standard models. The box also says that it is a G Model (Decock only Operation).
The shop clerk was quite personable and while we discussed it, she mentioned that this pistol came with 3 magazines. (Some of the PX4 pistols intended for the Law Enforcement market come with three magazines.) That and the G Model designation got me started looking at it a bit more closely. My initial glance had netted the MSRP on the tag--the actual price marked was only $423!
Lisa handled the gun a bit and decided that we had to have it... What a woman! She also wanted to shoot the pistol right away. So... Off to the range!
Here's a picture. There's a 20 round MDS (Beretta OEM supplier) magazine in the gun and a standard factory 17 round mag next to it.
First Range Trip:Put 50 rounds of Blazer aluminim case 115gr FMJ and about 70 rounds of Federal 9BP (115gr JHP) downrange.
Lisa is very sensitive to recoil, but she was able to shoot several mags without complaining--even though she has been having some problems with her elbow lately. Up 'til now, the only 9mm she's been happy shooting is an H&K USP that used to be mine. Evidently the PX4 design results in lower recoil than one might expect from a 9mm--let alone a polymer frame 9mm. She was also happy that the slide was easy to operate. Her hand strength is not very good but she had zero problems with the PX4.
Her best group was 10 shots at 15 yards into 2.75 inches using the Federal JHP. "Not bad--for a girl!" sez I, which gets me an elbow in the ribs.
I figured I had to do something so I loaded a few mags, ran the target out to 25 yards (that'll show her
) and shot some groups.
Two 5 shot groups @ 25 yards with the Blazer:
(3.125" and 3.5")
One 8 shot group (had some ammo left) @ 25 yards with the Blazer:
(3.25")
Then I loaded up 5 rounds of the Federal 9BP 115gr JHP, which has always shot well for me, and managed a 3 inch five shot group at the same distance.
During the shooting, we both shot some rapid fire stuff at 7 yards and were impressed by the controllability. Just a very nice handling little pistol.
This is a pretty accurate pistol. I think I can outshoot it with a good Beretta 92, but not by much.
Good stuff:Accuracy more than adequate.
Ergonomics superb. (Replaceable backstraps allow a custom fit to the user's hands.)
Surprisingly low recoil.
Good sights.
Lisa liked the styling.
Very easy to rack the slide.
3 Mags is better than two!
It's a "G"! (Decock only model).
Not so good stuff:Trigger wasn't heavy but had some creep. (After 250 rounds the single-action pull was 4lbs 12oz and the DA pull was 9lbs 7oz on a Lyman Digital Trigger Gauge)
Had two stovepipes with the Blazer FMJ.
Getting past 10 rounds requires some thumb-power (I wished for a mag loader even though I never loaded them past 15 rounds--they hold 17)
After I cleaned it this evening, I put a dab of moly paste on the sear which improved the trigger some. I may polish the sear if the creep doesn't work its way out reasonably quickly.
I think that the stovepiping is due to one of two issues. First, I noticed some goofy stuff (yeah, that's the technical description) while loading the second round into one or two of the magazines. That idiosyncrasy disappeared after the second or third loading. The stovepipes both occurred on the next to last round out of the mag (which is the second round when you're loading), so I think that this could be a break-in related thing. Both issues cleared up after the first few mags through the gun. Second, both of the jams were while Lisa was shooting and I suspect that she was holding the gun very loosely (since she said she was when I asked her
). At any rate, the last 100 rounds or so were incident free.
This was hardly a torture test, so I'll just have to wait and see if the stovepiping continues to be a problem. I suppose it might also be an issue with extracting the aluminum cases of the Blazer ammunition although I've never had a problem with it in other pistols. <<<Correction, I've since run into a CZ-75B that is picky about Blazer ammunition.>>>
All in all, a very nice little pistol. Very shootable, quite accurate and (apparently) good-looking.
One other thing. The PX4 has a metal insert in the feedramp area (which is integral to the polymer frame). It doesn't extend all the way up to the barrel, but it only leaves a bit of polymer for the bullet to contact. I noticed it in the shop and checked it out closely while cleaning. No use asking me for a pic--I've never taken a decent close-up in my life. Anyway, that alleviated my concerns about feedramp wear. The metal insert is only going to allow it to progress so far before stopping it.
More information on the accuracy:The PX4 shot to point of aim with a standard combat sight picture out to 25 yards (maximum distance available at the range I used.) What I call a combat sight picture is when the bullet impacts more or less on top of the center of the front sight post when the sights are aligned.
I had no problem with the sights. In fact, I find the low profile, streamlined rear sight to be an improvement over the standard 92 sight.
The best group I shot at 25 yards was using the Federal JHP. It was pretty close to being centered on a 3" bull. I perched the bull on top of the center of the front sight to get those results. You can see from the scan that the group is a tiny bit off to the left, but since I wasn't using a rest, I can't really be dogmatic about that. It could have easily been my trigger control since I was fighting some trigger creep. As nearly as I can tell the group is about half an inch off center at 8:30 on the bull.
2nd Range trip results:The PX4 went to the range again upon the owner's request. (Lisa wanted to shoot it again.)
No jams of any kind this time in about another 100-150 rounds. Ammunition used was Blazer, American Eagle, Norinco, and Federal 9BP (115gr JHP).
The mags are still tough to load, but not as bad as the first trip--things are loosening up a bit. Also, no more of the odd loading issues with the second round into the magazine as on the first range trip.
The trigger appears to be smoothing out some. I didn't shoot it at the range since Lisa has decided it's hers. But during the function check after the cleaning I noticed that the creep seems to have gone away.
After having cleaned this pistol twice now, I'm impressed with how fast the chromed barrel cleans up. Most of my pistols have stainless barrels--I believe that the chrome bore cleans more easily and fouls less than stainless.
And one other thing. After something like 300 rounds including some hollowpoint rounds, I'm not seeing any wear on the plastic frame in the vicinity of the feedramp. The metal insert seems to be taking the impact as intended.
