rotating barrel design
In the personal defense and law enforcement sector, the Beretta PX4 Storm is well-liked by many customers for its compactness and lightweight design.
However, in order to make the gun even better for concealed carry, Beretta decided to refine the design further and optimize its construction.
The results are the Beretta PX4 Storm Compact and Beretta PX4 Storm SubCompact.
Since tastes and preferences vary a lot from one person to the other, there is a wide range of contrasting opinions.
In this article, I’ll highlight the PX4 Storm Compact vs SubCompact and compare their characteristics side by side.
As trustworthy as I am as a source, I’m here to help you make your own decision.
Contents
PX4 Storm Compact vs SubCompact: Overview
Beretta PX4 Storm Compact
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- Action: Single/Double
- Barrel Length: 3.27 Inches
- Caliber: 9×19 (PARA). 9×21 IMI and 40 S&W
- Magazine: 12, 15, 17, and 20
- Overall Height: 5 Inches
- Overall Length: 8 Inches
- Overall Width: 1.42 Inches
- Sight Radius: 5.2 Inches
- Weight Unloaded: 27.2 Ounces
Beretta PX4 Storm SubCompact
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- Action: Single/Double
- Barrel Length: 3 Inches
- Caliber: 9×19 (PARA). 9×21 IMI and 40 S&W
- Magazine: 10, 13, 17, and 20.
- Overall Height: 4.8 Inches
- Overall Length: 6.22 Inches
- Overall Width: 1.42 Inches
- Sight Radius: 4.8 Inches
- Weight Unloaded: 26.1 Ounces
You can tell right away from its name and specifications that the SubCompact is both smaller and lighter than the Compact.
The Compact’s dimensions are sized between the Full Size and SubCompact models.
Another notable difference lies in the barrel system of the gun.
The Compact and Full-Size PX4 Storm utilizes the rotary barrel design, while the Subcompact employs a tilt barrel one.
Because of the barrel style, I’ve found the SubCompact to be somewhat jumpy compared to its cousins and other products on the market.
Other than the ones I just stated as well as a number of other components, there are many similar features that the Compact and SubCompact share.
Accuracy
Regarding accuracy, I didn’t see any significant difference between the two.
The Compact and SubCompact are designed for concealed carry so their effective range is not as good as standard-sized pistols.
But in terms of short-distance accuracy, I was able to score fairly well at roughly 10-25 yards with these guns.
Of course, your shooting skill would still be an influential factor, so remember to take that into account.
The average shooter can usually achieve the desired precision with the Compact and SubCompact at self-defense range.
As the engagement distance increases, the grouping widens accordingly.
Not to mention, the rotating barrel design of PX4 guns help reduce recoil, which is nice!
Sight
Both the Compact and SubCompact use a classic 3 dot sight which I find adequate in most cases.
The guns’ sights are prominent but not overbearing, so it’s catchy to my eyes without distracting them.
Nonetheless, you can freely swap the original factory sights for new ones if you’d like.
The front and rear sights are dovetailed on the gun’s slide so it’s generally simple to replace them.
There is a convenient built-in accessory rail for light and laser sights on the guns, which I also find quite helpful in certain, more tactical situations.
Trigger
The trigger pull of the Compact is 10 pounds on double action and around 4 pounds on single action.
For the SubCompact, the values are 12 pounds and 5 pounds respectively.
The trigger pull of the guns is usually manageable to most people, though some might have difficulty getting used to the SubCompact at first, like I did.
Some people say that the double-action trigger pull of the SubCompact could decrease the precision of the shots by a bit.
However, you are still able to fire the SubCompact accurately in quick succession in single-action mode, based on my experience.