Beretta px4 storm handgun

Is there really any truth to the claims about it soaking up recoil like some kind of magical kinetic sponge? Or is it all just hype?
I'm referring to both pocket and full sized.

 

IMO it's exaggeration and hype, but they are fairly soft shooting guns. They aren't magic, but they are a good design. Expect recoil and muzzle flip as with any gun.

 

I love my full size .40 S&W PX4 storm, but I think it is mostly marketing hype. The rotating barrel may soften the recoil some but I don't notice enough to quantify. A recoil sensitive person is still going to know they pulled the trigger. My wife won't shoot my PX4 due to recoil but she is recoil sensitive, her limit is a .38 special out of a full size revolver.

 

I have a full size PX4 Storm in 45acp. It is a soft shooter, but there is recoil

The barrel rotation absorbs some of the energy, but you absorb the rest.

 

My brother had one in 45 and it recoiled a bit less than you would expect

I bought one in 9mm and it recoiled a bit more than my glocks

Go figure

 

Thanks everyone for the replies, I'm usually when it comes to actually carry a Glock guy but I've been interested in the added safety of a DA/SA.

 

I think the Beretta/Stoeger 8000/Cougar line with the alloy frame (as opposed to plastic frame) did absorb quite a bit of recoil. Granted, I have one in 9mm so it's hard to tell but that gun does not recoil at all.

On a plastic PX4, I dunno. It won't recoil more as far as I can tell.

I still think the softest recoiling modern fullsize 9mm is the Ruger SR9, if you're looking for a soft gun. If you're just asking about Beretta's marketing, then the answer is "plausible".

 

I have a full size PX4 9mm and since the first shot I was very impressed at how little recoil it has. I shot a bunch of service sized 9mms back to back and for me the PX4 and Beretta 92 brig had the softest recoil impulse. YMMV

 

I've owned a PX4 in .40, and currently own one in 9mm. I've also owned a Glock 17 and 22, USP 9mm and .40, and other pistols with polymer frames. I like the PX4 for its features, not the dubious claims of less recoil. I would say the 9mm is average for a full size polymer pistol.

 

I have not shot a Beretta PX4. I do own a Beretta Cougar in 9 mm, a Beretta Cougar in .40 S&W, and a Stoeger Cougar in .45 ACP, all of which have the same type of rotary barrel lock-up as the full-size and compact Beretta PX4. The subcompact PX4 does not have a rotary barrel design.

The Cougars are all alloy frame pistols so the perceived recoil may differ from that of the polymer-frame PX4. Do the Cougars magically absorb all perceived recoil? Of course not. But all of my Cougars do seem to be relatively soft-shooting when compared to pistols of similar size and weight in the same respective calibers. Whether that is due to the rotary barrel lock-up or other factors I can't say. I have heard many claim that the PX4 is relatively soft-shooting as well.

 

Taylor Jarrell

I have found that the rotating barrel design does alleviate some of the felt recoil though I wouldn't consider it a "magical kinetic sponge". And I don't believe that the subcompact or pocket model uses the rotating barrel design; instead it has a regular delayed locking system.

 

This is correct. The full size and compact use the rotating barrel, the subcompact doesn't.

http://www.beretta.com/en-us/px4-storm-subcompact/

 

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Anyone know why?

 

Just a WAG but I think the pressure in the shorter barrel doesn't get high enough to rotate the barrel enough to unlock it.

 

The locking lug is probably too long and needs to travel too far for that short of a barrel. It's like an inch long and has to cam rearward to unlock.

Well I guess technically the barrel cams rearward relative to the locking block thing. Anyway that system takes up a lot of space. Which is why even in the full sized guns the barrels are like 3.8 inches long.

 

In 40 caliber I have a Glock 22, a Beretta 96, and a full-sized PX4. The PX4 has noticably less recoil, but not by a whole lot.

 

I have PX4s in 9mm, .40 and .45. In my experiance they do have a milder recoil impulse than similar guns in the same caliber. This is especially true shooting the .45 PX4.

 

My PX4 9mm is softer shooting than my Glock, M&P and other polymer 9mm pistols. The difference is noticeable.