Review: Ruger LCR .357 Magnum

December 12, 2011 By Tom 1 Comment

Taming the Beast!

Suggested Retail Price: $575.00

www.ruger.com

The Good

This is a shootable gun. The polymer frame soaks up some of the potentially aggressive recoil in this ultra-light pocket cannon.

The Bad

We wish that a little more attention was paid to polish and finish of some of the polymer frame areas – especially inside the trigger guard.

The Ugly

Our 158 grain .357 Magnum handloads were quite, umm, interesting in this gun. To be expected of course.

Our Rating

Four Nuns!
We gave the LCR 4 Nuns for the simple fact that it has been designed to actually shoot what its chambered for. Something that not all lightweight snubbies can claim.

Hello boys and girls, and welcome to Physics Happy Fun Festival with My Gun Culture. Today we’re going to see what it feels like to launch a lead projectile at nearly one and a half times the speed of sound out of a 17 ounce revolver. While physics ‘R physics and pesky little concepts like ‘equal and opposite reactions’ still apply, both gun and ammunition manufacturers can perform some nifty tricks to minimize the subjective measure of felt recoil. Yes, the force headed back towards your face is still the same, but if more of it is dampened by the launchy-thing called a gun, and the power curve of that little firestorm in the bullety-thing is lengthened a bit, then it can feel somewhat better to the one doing the launching. Or at least minimize blunt-force trauma and battle fatigue. Blunt-force trauma is a big deal after all. We saw it on CSI Miami.

First Impressions

The stand out feature of the Ruger LCR .357 is shootability. You can actually shoot .357 magnum loads out of this gun. And live to tell about it. We think it’s some type of voodoo magic related the combination of the polymer frame flexiness and the Hogue Tamer factory installed grip. The other factor we noticed about full power .357 magnum load shootability was choice of ammunition. No, we’re not talking about different bullet weights and velocities. We’re talking about more voodoo magic related to powder selection, burn efficiency, and probably warp drive technology. The LCR did in fact appear to be surrounded by a bubble of normal space-time with minimal traces of anti-matter…

The LCR is fitted with a one-piece Hogue Tamer grip that is firmly affixed to the polymer frame by a single screw in the bottom of the grip – well out of the way unless you use the, ummm, cup and saucer hold. Friends don’t let friends shoot with cup and saucer holds anyway. The Hogue Tamer is firm where it needs to be firm and squishy where it needs to be squishy. The front, sides, and lower half of the backstrap are firm rubber with minimal give. However, there is a section at the top of the backstrap that is quite mushy – and it’s right where the web of your hand between your thumb and index finger falls. We found this to make a BIG difference in comfort and we suspect it is entirely by design. A small detail that makes a big difference. As a side note, the one piece grip has a cutout on the left side which allows unobstructed ejection of empty brass and easy reloading with a speed strip or speed loader.

Just the Specs Ma’am…

.357 Magnum caliber
5 round fluted cylinder
Barrel length: 1.875”
Stainless steel barrel
Finish: Blackened stainless steel and black polymer
Twist: 1:16”
Weight: 17.10 oz
Overall length: 6.50”
Width: 1.28”

Trigger Talk

The LCR .357′s trigger feels surprisingly light. We think that’s a result of smoothness of pull and from the hybrid-rounded trigger face. What’s a hybrid trigger face you ask? Well the LCR’s trigger resembles a flat face trigger in terms of overall width of the face. However the corners are heavily rounded. There you have it.

Here’s how it felt right out of the box before any break-in: It was almost two stage in nature. A long and smooth pull with a point of barely detectable resistance with about 1/16″ remaining until the break. The last 1/16″ of pull had the smallest trace of grittiness, but this went away after about 100 rounds. The unofficial two-stage nature is a big personal preference issue, but we liked it. Lot’s of folks talk about the “surprise break” but with any pistol we shoot with regularity, we know exactly when it’s going to fire. With that frame of reference, we liked the tactile sensation of knowing when the trigger was about to break. For slow, aimed fire, you can easily stage the trigger for release when your sight picture is just like you want. In rapid fire, the second stage point is not perceptible. This is neither a good or bad thing, simply an observation of how our evaluation model worked.

The Ammo Report

Since the big hubbub over ultra-light .357 magnum revolvers seems to be related to recoil and the ability to actually shoot a .357 magnum load, we decided to test a variety of both .357 Magnum and .38 Special ammunition and capture both objective and subjective data from various shooters.

Remington UMC .357 Magnum 125gr JSP
This load was a beast that needed to be tamed. Clocking in at an average of 1,155 feet per second out of the 1.875 inch LCR barrel, we never did tame it though. Rated at 1,450 fps out of a test barrel, this 125 grain load was not only stout, but sharp. Did we mention it was aggressively sharp in the LCR? None of our test shooters wanted to try more than one cylinder full. None of us wanted to be on the other end either for that matter.

Hornady Critical Defense .357 Magnum 125gr Flex Tip
Surprise of the day. This new Critical Defense load from Hornady has more or less the same specs as the above mention Remington load – a 125 grain projectile humming along at a factory rated 1,500 fps. In our LCR, with its uber-short barrel, it clocked in at an average of 1,158 fps. A whopping 3 fps faster than the Remington UMC cartridge. However, the difference in perceived recoil in the LCR was noticeably less. In its literature about the new Critical Defense rounds, Hornady claims to offer reduced recoil through magic machinations like burn efficiency. We noticed it. Bottom line? The Hornady Critical Defense load is perfectly usable in this gun. While aggressive, its controllable. And fierce. See our ammunition test results here.

Cor-Bon .38 Special +P 110gr JHP
This had noticeable, but not unpleasant recoil along with a healthy blast factor. Would not be a bad carry load. It seemed genuinely mild in comparison to the .357 loads, although if we had shot this one first, it might have felt more aggressive.

Winchester Supreme .38 Special +P PDX1 130gr
Very soft shooting round. More of a push than a snap. We’re looking forward to doing a separate evaluation on the performance of this load, but in terms of shootability out of the LCR, it was perfectly manageable.

CCI .38 / .357 ShotShells
What else can you say? it shoots a boatload of tiny shot at man’s worst enemy – the snake.

.38 Special Handload (128gr Lead Round Nose Flat Point over 3.3 grains of Trail Boss)
We cooked this up in the man cave for the LCR’s ‘shoot for kicks and giggles’ load. It was in fact fun. A mild recoiling practice load, made even more so with the LCR’s polymer frame. it clocked in at an average of 665 feet per second. Wimpy? Yes. Totally fun plinking round? Yes. We had to lob it at distant targets though.

.357 Magnum Handload (127 grain Lead Round Nose Flat Point over 7.7 grains of Unique)
This turned out to be a great .357 magnum practice load. It definitely hit back in terms of recoil, so if you’re interested in practicing with at least a reasonable facsimile of recoil of full-power self-defense loads, this load is a good option. Averaging 1,175 feet per second out of the LCR, it yielded a power factor of just over 150 – just about the same as the Hornady Critical Defense load out of the this gun. While noticeably sharper than the Hornady load, this one was quite controllable in the Ruger. We wouldn’t want to shoot an entire Steel Challenge match with this combination though…

To Mag Or Not To Mag – That Is the Question…

It seems there are two schools of thought with respect to ultra-light .357 Magnum revolvers. Team Globo-Gym loves them and is prepared to carry and shoot full power .357 Magnum loads in spite of the, ummm, mild discomfort. Team Average Joe’s also likes them, but for a different reason. Team Average Joe’s says “hey, why not get the stronger .357 version and you can always carry .38 Special +P loads?” The thinking is that first, you have a more durable gun as it’s designed for magnum pressures, and second, that you always have the option of popping some .357 Magnum loads in there if you want.

With an all metal gun, we would sway towards the Team Average Joe’s train of thought. With the LCR, we’re going Globo-Gym and carrying .357 magnum loads in it. Because we can in this gun.

Our Gripe: It Seems There Are Seams

When we tested the Ruger LCP, one of the standout qualities was the attention to finish detail. It’s also a polymer pistol, but in the LCP, there are not detectable seams where sections are joined. This is especially important inside and outside the trigger guard. With aggressive loads, a sharp seam in the polymer tends to irritate the bejeepers out of your fingers as the gun recoils. Our evaluation LCR had seams. End of the world? No. But if we end up buying this one, we’ll take some sandpaper to the inside of the trigger guard to smooth things out a bit.

The Offhand Pilates Accuracy Test

Following in the ‘gun-riter’ tradition of testing mechanical accuracy by shooting at long range targets offhand, we consulted fitness guru Denise Austin to get some help with the proper Pilates-based offhand stance position. Unfortunately, Denise had a prior commitment filming a “Shootin’ to the Oldies” episode with Richard Simmons so we had to rely on our own accuracy testing protocol. For full details, check out our review of the Ruger LCP. To summarize our findings, let’s just say that the LCR .357 is easily “minute of evil d00d” capable.

Closing Arguments

This is a nice gun. Our test model came with the standard ramped front sight and notch in frame rear sight. The front sight is pinned in place, not machined, so you can replace it with an XS Standard Dot. We’re going to do this next just for kicks. If you’re ordering one new, you can buy a version with the XS Standard Dot pre-installed.

One more totally random observation. There’s something about the finishes on both the cylinder and frame that makes it easier to clean than say a Smith and Wesson 442. The burny-crud just comes off really easily. We have no idea is this was a design goal or not, but we noticed it after a couple of range sessions. It will be interesting to see if this applies over time and lots more crud accumulation.

OK so I was a little nervous to send some full house .357 loads downrange with this one. But I was pleasantly surprised. I lived to tell the tale. While we did not write about them since I did not get an accurate velocity reading, I made some 158 grain .357 loads to test and they were, to say the least, a handful. But physics ‘R physics and all. It’s a light gun. Find a good practice round and carry the big stuff for emergencies.

Love that Hogue Tamer grip! Especially the finger grooves in the front – it makes all the difference in shooting the LCR. A minor detail that I noticed was the natural position for my trigger finger on the frame while in ‘ready’ position. The combination of grip and frame design left a very natural spot to park the trigger finger while not shooting. I shot both .357 and .38 Special loads in the LCR and personally preferred .38 Special +P rounds. Although shootable, the .357 magnums were just a bit too aggressive for my tastes. I bet they were aggressive for him also – he just won’t admit it.

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Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: .357 magnums, Gun Reviews, revolver reviews, revolvers, ruer reviews, Ruger, ruger lcr, ruger lcr .357

Review: Ruger LCP .380 Auto – Le Canon Petit

October 27, 2011 By Tom 3 Comments

The Good

The standout feature of the LCP was its fit and contour. until you shoot it, you don’t appreciate the importance of smooth finish and curves in all the right places. It’s comfortable to shoot for a pocket gun.

The Bad

Our only gripe with the LCP was inclusion of just one magazine. It’s not an issue of money, but one of convenience. Yep, we’re lazy and it’s just a hassle to go out and find an additional magazine or two to have a complete package.

The Ugly

Hmmm. Need to get the Crimson Trace LG-431 laser. Just because it looks awesomely cool. There goes another couple hundred bucks.

Our Rating

Four Nuns!

Ruger LCP .380 Auto

Approximate Street Price: ~ $290.00

www.ruger.com

Ruger refers to it as the LCP.

Light Carry Pistol?

Little Combat Pistol?

Lilliputian Centerfire, Puny?

Le Canon Petit?

Lowering Criminal Productivity?

Yep, we could go on all day with the Lame Comedic Puns, but no matter. The Ruger LCP fits (most of) those descriptions.

We really like this Lovable & Cute Projectile launcher. OK, no more bad jokes. Promise. Maybe.

The Ruger LCP is a well made pistol and we found that makes a noticeable difference on the range. Yes, it’s technically one of those guns to carry a lot and shoot far less frequently, but we were pleasantly surprised by its ergonomic friendliness over long shooting sessions. No, we would not want to crank off a few hundred rounds of high-pressure self defense ammo at a single sitting, but shooting lower recoil practice loads exhibited a low level of self abuse.

Initial Observations

It’s small. Really small. And light.
The fit and finish is surprisingly good for this relatively inexpensive handgun. One of the things that has given us grief about similar models from Kel-Tec is the rough seams inside and outside the trigger guard where the polymer frame material is molded. It’s tough on the fingers after a few shots and manicures are getting more expensive by the day. The Ruger LCP was noticeably more comfortable to shoot than the Kel-Tec P3AT.
A lot of thought has been put into placement of texture on the frame. It’s smooth where it needs to be, like where your strong hand thumb rides, and rough where grip is needed. This goes a long way to making recoil more comfortable without sacrificing surety of grip.
There is a small cutout in the slide which allows you to see if there is a cartridge in the chamber. While it can’t tell you if its a live or spent one, it’s a nice touch to verify that something is in there.
The LCP comes with two different floor plates for the single included magazine. One is flat for maximum concealability and the other has a hook shape which allows your ring finger to get a firm grip. We preferred using it with the hooked floor plate. Even with the longer magazine plate, this pistol is effortless to conceal.

The Specs

Caliber:	.380 Auto
Weight, unloaded:	9.4 oz
Capacity:	6+1
Length:	5.16″
Width:	0.82″
Height:	3.60″
Barrel Material:	Alloy Steel
Barrel Finish	Blued
Slide Material	Alloy Steel
Slide Finish	Blued
Grip Frame	Black, High Performance, Glass-Filled Nylon

Features Overview

Weighing in at just 9.4 oz, the Ruger LCP is a reinforced nylon frame gun with a steel slide. The slide features an open-top ejection port design to enhance reliability and ease clearing of malfunctions. The slide also contains integral sight nublets. That’s our word, not Ruger’s. For readers not familiar with sight nublets, that’s a very low profile front sight matched with an equally low profile rear notch cut into the frame. No room for dots, paint, or tritium toys here. The LCP is primarily aimed by pointing in the general direction of evil d00dz. In daylight and lit conditions, the sights are in fact useful for more precise aiming.

The capacity of the Ruger LCP is 6+1 with either magazine plate installed. The hooked profile plate simply adds a little more finger room, not additional magazine capacity. We found the magazine easy to load without loading assist tools – even the last round.

The slide operates surprisingly easily for such a small gun. A great gripping surface and relatively light spring tension make it easy to rack the slide. None of our shooters had any trouble with this. The LCP features a manual slide lock button. This means that it is designed to keep the slide locked in an open position only when the user engages the slide lock lever. By design, the slide will not lock back when the magazine runs empty.

The Ruger LCP is a single-strike hammer fired design. The hammer is cut and designed to be completely shrouded by the slide. At no point in the hammer travel cycle is it exposed, nor is it able to be cocked by hand. Nor should it.

The trigger is surprisingly smooth. As its a double action only gun, it’s heavy as expected, but the pull is mostly even with a bit of stacking right before the sear releases. There was no perceptible over-travel.

Shooting the Dang Thing

We were pleasantly surprised by how soft-shooting the LCP was. That’s a relative description of course. We were expecting handgun brutality at minimum, but it was comfortable to shoot even with defense loads. We shot the following loads through the LCP:

Doubletap 80gr TAC-XP (910 fps – This is supposed to be a 1,050 fps load in the LCP. We’re in contact with Doubletap Ammo to sort out this issue.)

Cor-Bon 90gr Self Defense JFP (1,024 fps)

Federal 90gr Hydra-Shok JHP (850 fps)

Georgia Arms Gold Dot (857 fps)

Hand Loads, 95 grain lead round nose over 3.6 grains of Alliant Unique (925 fps)

The LCP did not seem to have a preference in terms of ammo selection. It shot what we loaded and did not malfunction.

Our Price Point Theory

We had one minor complaint about the LCP and that was related to packaging. It only includes one magazine. In our view, this means its not yet ready to go. Even a pocket pistol carrier should have at least one spare magazine for either reloads or malfunctions. It’s just a good idea. We’re not sure why Ruger only includes one magazine, but we suspect it might have something to do with meeting a target street price point. With a little shopping, the base model can be purchased for just less than $300. Including a second or third magazine would probably push the street price of the LCP over the $300 barrier. Rather than get in a psycho-analysis of buyer behavior and perceived price ceilings, let’s just say we understand if the price point is the real issue. More importantly in our view however is the convenience factor. We’d rather not have to do a separate shopping and purchasing event to get an extra magazine.

No +P Ammunition

The owners manual warns “Do not use +P ammunition” but offers no additional clarity on the +P issue. The manual does clearly state the following:

“No .380 Auto ammunition manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols.”

Our Accuracy Testing Protocol

To test the inherent mechanical accuracy of the Ruger LCP, we shot from a standing position at 25 yards, using a weak hand side hold and balancing on one foot while eating Deep Fried Snickers Bars. We’ve found this to be a great test of a guns inherent mechanical accuracy. Our best groups measured 4 and a half feet, more or less. OK, tongue out of the cheek time. We’ve got a pet peeve about gun reviews by aging gun writers that claim to test mechanical accuracy by sighting in at 25 yards with aging eyes, holding in a weaver or similar stance with aging hands, and firing with an aging trigger finger. Right, that method pretty much removes all potential variables that might impact group size and tells us much about what a gun is capable of. By the way, being off a perfect sight picture by just the width of an average human hair creates over a one inch change in point of impact at 25 yards. If a gun isn’t in a Ransom Rest, don’t tell us about its mechanical accuracy. OK, rant over. Did we mention that we’re sick and tired of reading gun reviews that tell more about the reviewers braggadocio than a guns capability?

Since it would be a bit silly to put the Ruger LCP in a Ransom Rest, we thought a more realistic and helpful commentary might involve documenting our subjective findings on the LCP’s ease of shooting accurately at realistic distances for this gun. We did most of our shooting at 5 to 10 yards at range trash targets such as cans, plastic bottles, and other un-tiny objects that we deemed fun to shoot.

Once we found the right hold (see He Said comments below) it was surprisingly easy to hit with the LCP – even out to 25 yards or so. The sights are small as this gun is designed for up close self-defense use, but they are workable.

Bottom line? We’re confident that the Ruger LCP is “Minute of Evil d00d” capable. That’s why someone would buy it, right?

Bottom line?

We liked it. So we bought one.

I found that I had to experiment with grip and trigger a bit to find a hold that allowed me to shoot accurately on a consistent basis. I wear a mens large glove so while my hands aren’t huge, they are larger than average. As the Ruger LCP is so small, simply grasping the frame and letting my trigger finger fall naturally caused me to pull the trigger with the fleshy fat between my first and second joints. I found I could shoot this gun much more consistently using the first pad of my finger by deliberately withdrawing my finger further from the trigger. Just a practice issue like with any new gun. Once I figured that out, I was able to hit small targets at reasonable distances with ease.

It’s not a ‘shoot for fun’ gun. It’s a ‘gets the job done’ gun. However, it feels substantial for its size. The contours were smooth and comfortable, and while it’s a two-finger gun, I found it easy to control and aim. There are a lot of options for us ‘she’s’ to conceal this gun – Looper Flash Bang, thigh holster, purse, ankle, and waist. It’s thin and light. Lot’s of possibilities to match nearly any wardrobe selection.As a side note, look for a review by me (not Him!) on the Looper Flash Bang paired with the Ruger LCP soon!

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Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: Gun Reviews, handguns, pistols, pocket guns, Pocket Pistols, reviews, Ruger

Review: Glock 17 Generation IV

September 29, 2011 By Tom 4 Comments

The Good

The new grip texture is exceptionally effective. We really like it!

The Bad

We found the ejection pattern to be a little wonky and erratic with most types of ammunition.

The Ugly

The VPC, CSGV and Brady folks still can’t claim that Glocks can pass through metal detectors. Truthfully anyway.

Our Rating

Four Nuns!

Glock 17 Generation IV

Approximate Street Price: $549.00

www.teamglock.com

The Glock 17 Gen IV

When the folks at Glock sent us a shiny new Glock 17 Generation IV to evaluate, we were obviously excited. After years of refinement, the Glock would now be able to pass through metal detectors and make true all those hysterical, pantie-wetting exaggerations we’ve been hearing for years. Right? Well, unfortunately no, but a lot of other enhancements have been made in the new models. Let’s take a closer look.

First Impressions

Our G17 test gun came with three (17) round magazines. And a Glock magazine loader tool. We appreciate that as three magazines represents the minimum configuration for a self-defense gun. As a side note, we also really appreciate the street price of additional magazines for Glocks. $20-25 if you shop a bit. Compared to $40-50 magazines from other manufacturers who-will-not-be-named, that’s pretty darn reasonable.
Shooting it sideways did not make us look any more fearsome on the range. Nor did any Hollywood producers call offering us bad guy roles in new action films. We did get puzzled looks from other shooters at the range however – and one tried to sell us some crack.
The new G17 is a really comfortable gun to hold, and more importantly, shoot. It feels solid in the hand and has no tendency to slide around. No skateboard tape or rubber grip sleeves required, even if you’re a nervous sweaty-hand type.

Differences From Generation III

The Glock 17 magazine release is a subtle, yet effective change

Magazine Release Button: It’s been embiggened, but in a really useful way. It’s got about twice the surface area of the previous design. We love the feel and ease of one-handed operation of the newly designed mag release. By the way, it’s also reversible so righties and lefties have an out-of-the-box solution. Very nice – a minor, but very noticeable enhancement.
Glock Gen III vs. Gen IV Grip Texture

Grip Texture: This is perhaps the most noticeable change from the Generation III models. The new pattern is the same on the sides, front, and back of the grip unlike the Gen III models which had a different pattern on the sides. The molded “skateboard tape” pattern on the sides of the Gen III grip never did much for us. Not enough grip. The Gen IV models use an entirely different pattern – raised dots that are completely separated from one another. We found this new pattern to be exceptionally effective for maintaining a solid grip – even here in the humid (and sweaty) lowcountry of South Carolina. The pattern almost feels rough and we had concerns that extended shooting would be tough on the hands, but it wasn’t. For that one person out there who still shoots with the support hand index finger on the front of the trigger guard, the new texture pattern there is comprised of a series of horizontal ridges. Just saying.
Recoil Spring Assembly: Like the Generation III models, the Gen IV features a captive recoil spring assembly that makes field stripping a little less embarrassing in the event you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing and let the spring fly. Unlike the Gen III models, the new Glock 17 utilizes a dual spring design. An inner full-length spring is partially surrounded by a metal sleeve, and both of those are surrounded by a partial length outer spring. According to Glock, the dual spring design not only reduces felt recoil, but increases the lifespan of the spring assembly. One item to note if you own or buy a Gen IV Glock 17: Glock has released several versions of the spring assembly and will supply customers with the most recent one if you call customer service at 877-745-8523. Have your model and serial number handy. Our test gun was fitted with an earlier model spring assembly version and the replacement set did not arrive in time for this review. However, we did not note any reliability or other problems, excepting the erratic ejection pattern discussed in this article. When the new assembly arrives, we’ll see if the ejection pattern issue changes and post and update if appropriate.
The new Glock Gen IV recoil spring assembly

Modular Back Strap System: This is a fancy marketing term for ‘different grip sizes.’ We know this because we’re marketing people by trade and words like ‘modular’ are very much in vogue on Madison Avenue. Lot’s of current generation pistols offer this feature, but the Gen IV Glocks take a different, and we think better approach. The default grip is a solid, one-piece, molded assembly that’s ready to go out of the box. This default size is a tad (a tad is about .08 inches by the way) smaller than the Gen III Glock 17 in terms of distance to trigger. Adding on the included medium grip panel makes the Gen IV exactly equal to the standard Gen III in terms of trigger reach. The large grip panel makes it a tad bigger. The difference with the Glock approach is that the smallest setting is permanent – you simply add to additional panels to that to make the grip larger. Compare to a Beretta PX4 for example. On that pistol, the back of the grip is ‘empty’ and you insert one of three different size panels to size the grip. Not a huge deal, but I kind of like the idea of having a very solid and complete grip as a starting point from which to build. An interesting and efficient approach to the problem of multiple grip sizes.

The Light Issue

We’ve had personal experience with older style Glock 22′s with mounted weapon lights. Utterly reliable without a mounted light, we’ve seen the same gun deteriorate to below average performance once a light was attached. According to X-Box geniuses with additional Mall Ninja certification, this had something to do with polymer frame flex characteristics on recoil. Whatever. In any case, we decided to give the Gen IV G17 a thorough workout with a Streamlight TLR-1 – the same light that has given us fits on older Glocks. Results? Awesome. We couldn’t make it fail. And we know a lot about failure. We shot an array of 115 grain and 124 grain high velocity self-defense ammo using a variety of grips (limp-sissy, medium, and strong) and function was flawless. Just for fun, we tried some ultra-light hand loads with the light mounted – 124 grain plated bullets loaded to about 1,050 feet per second. Again, function was flawless with weak and strong grips – even with ammo than can barely cycle the action.

Ejectile Dysfunction

Before our test model arrived, we had seen plenty of internet Couch Commando discussion about Gen IV Glocks having a tendency to eject brass straight back at the shooter. Other, apparently more knowledgeable, Recliner Rangers dismissed these observations as shooter error and ‘limp wristing.’ While we’re as limp wristed as the next guy, we decided to put this claim to the test. For starters, our model did have a bit of erratic ejection. With same bat grip and same bat ammo, ours would eject 80-90% of the brass out and back at about a 45 degree angle. No problem. The remainder did have a tendency to eject straight up. While they did not eject towards the face, they did on occasion land on top of our head. Good thing we’re not bald. We did a little experimentation on the Recliner Ranger limp wrist theory – shooting a series of rounds with a grip so solid that aim was impossible and another series with the most fairy-like hold we could muster – without getting beat up by other nearby shooters. Interestingly, there was no difference in the ejection pattern of significance. The solid grip did have a tendency to shift the pattern a little more to the side, but did not stop the occasional up and on-the-head brass fling. Our test gun came with an earlier version of the recoil spring assembly and when the newer recoil spring assembly arrives, we’ll run the test again – just for fun. In any case, this turned out to be a practical non-issue as no steaming hot brass hit us in the face. Internet myth in our opinion.

Relative Velocity

We thought it would be fun, and a great excuse to turn more money into noise, to see if the hexagonal rifling of the Glock 17 yielded any velocity difference one way or the other compared to something with similar barrel length and standard rifling – in this case a Beretta 92FS. While the Beretta has a potential velocity advantage with a 4.9″ barrel compared to the Glock’s 4.49″ barrel, we proceeded to try a few 9mm loads to see what happened. OK, we admit it, this test had no real practical or scientific value, but it did give us a great excuse to break out our Shooting Chrony Beta Master. Might as well share the results though:

Georgia Arms 124 grain Gold Dot
Glock 17: 1,235 fps
Beretta 92: 1,235 fps

124 Grain Berry’s Plated Handloads
Glock 17: 1,082 fps
Beretta 92: 1,082 fps

Interesting that the (non-scientific) results came in almost identical with the Glock having a half inch shorter barrel. Again, no real conclusions can be drawn, but this exercise did impress a number of novice shooters at the range today – and that’s gotta count for something.

Glock 17 Gen IV Basic Stats:

Weight: 22.05 oz unloaded, 31.92 oz loaded
Length: 7.95″
Sight radius: 6.5″
Barrel length: 4.49″
Height: 5.43″
Width: 1.18″
Trigger pull weight: 5.5 lbs
Capacity: 17+1 rounds


I really like this gun and don’t tell her, but I bought the evaluation sample. I hope to use it as my new Steel Challenge gun. One of the things I like about it is the crazy reliability. I like a gun that shoots equally well from any shooting position. As discussed in our review of the Glock 32, I tend to favor a gun that will still function and cycle no matter what type of grip I have. Just for fun, I tried this one with the most pathetic and lame grips imaginable and was unable to make it fail. That’s a good thing.	I really like this one as well. Too big for most of my concealed carry needs though. Don’t tell him, but it’s going to become my new Steel Challenge gun! I really like the default (smallest) grip size. Gives me a perfect reach to the trigger with a natural grip. I also really like the default Glock sights. The “U” shaped rear sight with the white dot in front is really fast to pick up and great for Steel Challenge shooting. We’re reloaders and it would be nice to be able to shoot lead bullets as they are cheaper, but not a huge deal. I’ll just make him order plated bullets instead!

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Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: 9mm, concealed carry, glock, handguns, new products, new shooter, pistols, reviews, shooting 101

Crosman’s Rogue ePCP .357 Airgun: Best Zombie Gun Ever?

August 14, 2011 By Tom 5 Comments

The Beautiful Beast: Crosman's Rogue .357 Air Rifle

We’re on our way back from the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) Conference. Yeah, we know, it’s amazing that someone apparently considers us professional. Our perceived professionalism, or lack thereof, is hardly news. The real news is that POMA has been exposed as a secret Zombie Apocalypse Preparation Organization. We realize the POMA acronym is not easily identifiable as a secret Zombie society, but the proof is in the brain pudding.

You see, a high point of the conference agenda was the Range and POMA Camps day. Firearms, hunting, optics, accessory, archery, camping, and fishing manufacturers set up their wares at the Bountiful Lions Club shooting range and a nearby park for writers, outdoor television producers, on-air personalities and others to try out the latest and greatest in gear.

Perfect Rogue .357 Targets

Sounds innocent enough. What about the Zombies? Being astute and observant reporters, we quickly noticed an underlying theme that identified nearly all the new products as “Zombie optimized.” The cornucopia of fun gear included new red dot optics from Aimpoint, Mossberg’s new Modern Sporting Rifles in .223/5.56, Hawke Optics crossbow and rifle scopes, GoalZero solar collection and storage gear, and the new Browning 1911-22. That alone says “Zombie Apocalypse preparation.”

The dead giveaway however was the Crosman / Benjamin Rogue ePCP .357 caliber air gun. Yes, you heard that right. .357 air gun. We first saw this specimen of anti-zombie technology and the product expo where Crosman guru Laura briefed us on the Rogue .357′s capabilities:

.357 caliber
Compressed air powered
Velocity up to 1,000 fps
Current projectile options in 95 grain, 140 grain, and 170 grain!?!
Electronically controlled eVALVE™ technology with LCD display to regulate precise air pressure and maximize reserve chamber efficiency
Optics mounting rings
Optional bipod
Bolt action with 6 round clip

The EPiC Console

Impressive features fur sure, but what really got our attention was how this beautiful beast shot. Silent and deadly. We took on 50 yard targets with ease using the 95 grain projectiles. The real surprise was not it’s deadliness, but it’s silence. Wow. Stealth capability included. We all know from movies and AMC’s The Walking Dead that Zombies are attracted by noise, so if you have to take out some of the more aggressive undead, the Rogue .357 is the perfect way to do it. As insurance, the Rogue .357 is one large and scary looking rifle, so it will serve well as a club for last ditch scenarios.

The compressed air reservoir is charged with a standard scuba tank but we’re confident that we could concoct a manually operated air pump when, not if, civilization ends and scuba tanks are in short supply.

We never could get Laura to admit that this gun was specifically designed for Zombie Apocalypse Survival but we all know the real truth, don’t we?

Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: air guns, air rifles, outdoors, personal protection, poma, products, reviews, rifles, zombies

Review: Beretta Tomcat 3032 .32ACP

July 31, 2011 By Tom Leave a Comment

The Good

The generous grip width on the Tomcat makes this mouse gun easy and comfortable to hold.

The Bad

The sights are all black and not easy to pick up – not great for a defense gun.

The Ugly

The double action trigger on this gun can be likened to pulling a brick with a string tied to your finger. Really heavy and and just a tad gritty, but with less brick dust.

Our Rating

Two Nuns!

Beretta Tomcat 3032 .32ACP

Beretta Tomcat 3032 .32 ACP

M.S.R.P.: $435.00

Street Price: ~$360.00

www.berettausa.com

While the Tomcat shares some of the classic design principles with others in the Beretta family, like double / single action, open top slide, and extra wide grip, it departs in a few ways. The tip-up barrel, positive frame mounted safety, and location of the magazine release button all differ from classic Beretta 92/96 design. The Beretta Tomcat includes (2) 7 round magazines and can be loaded to 7+1 capacity.

We actually really enjoy the Tomcat overall, but there are a few areas to note before purchasing. Let’s take a closer look at some of the pros and cons.

Grip size and comfort

The most unique thing about the Beretta Tomcat is its proportion. For a small pocket gun, it has a really wide and comfortable grip. We like that. While the height of the grip only allows two fingers like most mouse guns, the circumference allows you to get a firm and tight grip without your shooting hand fingertips touching your palm. While the thickness of the grip hurts concealability a bit, the trade off in controllability is well worth it in our opinion.

Tip-up barrel

Tomcat with Altamont Rosewood Grip Panels

The Tomcat features a tip-up barrel design to overcome some of the major complaints on very small guns – namely difficulty of operating the slide. In mouse guns, there’s just not much surface area to grab onto. Couple that with a tough spring and slide operation to chamber a round, clear malfunctions, or verify loaded status, and it can be a pain – literally. The tip-up barrel design allows the shooter to load a full magazine, then simply hit the barrel release lever on the left side of the frame and the barrel flips up to expose the chamber. Drop a cartridge in, snap the barrel shut, and you’re ready to go – no slide operation necessary to have the gun ready to shoot in double action mode.

The tip-up barrel offers a secondary benefit. Leaving it open is a great visual indicator of both unloaded status and safe state. We like to store the Tomcat in our gun safe with the barrel opened as an easy visual safety indicator.

Positive Safety

The Tomcat features a frame mounted safety. Not a decocker lever like other Berettas, but a true safety which blocks operation of the trigger. It also prevents the hammer from being cocked if its engaged. The tip-up barrel does operate while the safety is engaged, thereby allowing loading and unloading with the safety on. We like that.

Sights

Our Tomcat is the base version with a flat black finish and standard sights. The front site is machined into the top of the barrel and is a relatively thin blade. No dots or other aids to catch one’s eye. The rear sight is a standard notch type, driftable for windage adjustment. It’s also small and does not feature dots or other sight aids. These sights are tough to see and even tougher to pick up quickly. Beretta offers variants of the basic Tomcat that feature a Big Dot Tritium site. We would absolutely go with this option.

Trigger

Ouch. It’s heavy. Really heavy. The trigger itself is mostly flat and does not have much of a rounded face like larger Berettas. It’s also small. This makes for an adventurous double action pull. One can look at that either way for a pocket gun. Maybe it’s a virtue as you really have to mean it to pull this trigger. The single action pull is fairly crisp, although in single action mode the trigger is positioned almost at the very back of the trigger guard area, requiring completely different trigger finger placement than the double action pull. Much of this perception is accentuated by the small dimensions of the gun.

Reliability

Like its bigger brothers, the Tomcat features an open-top slide which appears to have a positive effect on reliability. Particularly unusual is that the Tomcat has no extractor. Gas pressure alone clears the empty shell casing from the chamber. No matter, we’ve found this gun to be exceptionally reliable like its portlier cousins. Standard power practice loads and high-powered self defense loads operate consistently to the point of boring in the Tomcat.

One thing to note with our test gun. After several hundred rounds, the grip panels cracked on both sides. Not a huge deal and we’re confident that Beretta would have helped correct the problem. We elected to try out some aftermarket grip panels instead. As seen in the accompanying photo, we installed Altamont Super Rosewood grip panels. Nice. Fit is perfect and the countours of the grip panels are super comfortable. And of course, our Tomcat looks extra sporty now. Highly recommended.

Baseless and un-scientific impressions

The Tomcat just does not have the smoothness of fit and function that most Beretta’s claim. The slide to frame fit just feels a little on the rough side, even after quality lubing and hundreds of rounds. The other thing that bugs us is the general feel of the slide. It has no support over the top of the barrel given the design on the tip-up barrel. Slide motion is controlled entirely by the slide rails. Yes, technically this is normal, but there is just something flimsy feeling about the slide to frame fit. When the barrel is tipped up, the front of the slide has a tendency to lift completely off the frame. This is in fact how you field strip the Beretta Tomcat – we would just prefer for the gun not to start field stripping itself during loading or unloading. Completely subjective, but we have to mention it.

On the positive slide, this gun is comfortable to shoot, with exception of the double action trigger pull. It fills your hand and even high powered (can you say that with .32 ACP loads?) cartridges are a pleasure to shoot in volume.

All in all, we really like it, subjectively speaking, but given some of the issues, we have to limit this one to a Two Nun rating.

Learn more about the Beretta Tomcat at GunUp.com


Even though we can only give it two nuns, I just love this little gun. I think it’s because the size and shape make it a comfortable gun to hold and shoot. The grip fills your hand, which is unusual for a mouse gun. For a pocket or ankle holster gun I also like the positive safety – give me a little extra piece of mind.	It’s so cute! I don’t mind the trigger at all. He’s a wimp. It’s very easily concealable in pocket or purse. It’s got some substance to it, unlike other pocket guns. I also like that I can easily operate the safety with my shooting hand. While the safety is firm, it’s very easy to manipulate.

Check out other My Gun Culture product reviews here!

Need a deal on some .32ACP?

Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: guns, reviews

Review: Glock 32 .357 Sig

May 10, 2011 By Tom 3 Comments

The Good

The mid-size (19, 32, 23) form factor makes for the ideal carry gun. Large enough to get all fingers on there, but small enough to easily conceal.

The Bad

Retail .357 Sig ammo is expensive. We reload so we really don’t care.

The Ugly

Volume shooting with even moderate loads will tear up the middle finger of your shooting hand. For us anyway. Yeah, we know, shut up and rub some dirt on it…

Our Rating

Four Nuns! The form factor / power combination of this gun just rocks. SImple as that.

Glock 32 .357 Sig

Glock 32

Approximate Street Price: $525.00

www.glock.com

The .357 Sig line of Glock pistols including the 31, 32, and 33, besides being the only Glock models with a coherent naming strategy, are earning a unique following due to chambering in the smokin’ hot .357 Sig round. Intended to be comparable (give or take) with the long-proven .357 Magnum 125 grain loads for revolvers, the .357 Sig allows pistol makers to create auto-loaders with capacities equal to .40 S&W designs. Numerous law enforcement organizations including the Delaware State Police, United States Secret Service, Montana Highway Patrol, and Tennessee Highway Patrol, to name a few, have switched to .357 Sig configurations. One of the common elements of these groups is the desire for a round that will penetrate obstacles like car doors. While you may not encounter car door obstacles with most self defense scenarios, the extra velocity offered by the .357 Sig helps assure reliable expansion performance. And of course, it provides impressive statistics to share with your buddies at the range.

General Impressions

The Glock 32 is the midframe form factor, just like the Glock 19 and Glock 23. In our view, it’s the perfect size carry gun. Large enough to comfortably handle full power loads, but small enough to make concealment a realistic possibility and not pure fantasy. If you carry on a belt holster, the grip is just short enough where it won’t print too obviously out the back end – and it has room for all fingers, unless of course you have more than five per hand. The size allows it to work equally well in a belly band or shirt holster like the 5.11 Tactical Holster Shirt or a Concealment Shirt from A Better Holster.

The ‘oomph, bang, and blast factor of the Glock 32 doesn’t require too much explanation. The .357 Sig cartridge out of the Glock 32′s 4″ barrel, intended to approximate the sheer awesomeness of the .357 Magnum, is formidable. And like it’s ancestor, the .357 Sig cartridge has the ability to end non-civil disagreements quickly.

The flip side of the .357 Sig cartridge is ammunition cost and availability. While quality defensive load prices are more or less on par with those in 9mm and .40S&W, practice ammo is not. At our local Wal-Mart, while Winchester white box 9mm is somewhere around $.24 a round, .357 Sig white box goes for just about $.50 a round. Quite a difference. If you reload, there is no cost difference of significance. Once-fired brass online works out to about $.04 each – which is similar to prices for once-fired 9mm and .40S&W. Projectiles are also on par price-wise. For us, the cost per cartridge to reload is not measurably different than 9mm or .40S&W.

My Gun Culture’s Limp Wrist Sissy Test

One thing we really like to see in a personal defense handgun is a very forgiving attitude when it comes to operating with less than ideal shooting form. In other words, will it work properly when youshoot like a sissy?

In all seriousness, the times that you would need to use the gun are perhaps the least likely times that you’ll have to opportunity to set up in proper shooting form, with a classroom approved grip and stance.

Scene: Middle of the night. Sound asleep. I’m dreaming about getting one of each randomly assigned model number in the Glock lineup… Oh, and a Glock Survival Knife.

Spouse: Honey, I think I hear something. It sounds like someone just broke a window!

Me: Can’t you just call the neighbors and tell them to have their cats neutered?

Spouse: (with more irritability and emotion this time) Someone is breaking in! Do something!

Me: (finally getting my gun and finding myself face to face with a boogey man) Hey would you mind taking a few steps backwards? I need to get into a proper shooting stance so my gun will work properly.

Boogey Man: Sure, let me turn the light on first though. I don’t want to trip over your shoes. I could hurt myself you know.

Our point is that we like to give extra special brownie points to guns that operate without requiring a a full Muhammad Ali boxer stance and Chuck Norris grip. We want them to work weak handed, upside-down, held with two fingers, and so on. In this department, the Glock 32 really shines. Even more than a Glock 22 recently tested. We suspect it’s due in part to the bottle-necked .357 Sig cartridge shape. It just wants to feed easily. Kind of like Rosie O’Donnell. While we can make a Glock 22 fail with poor shooting form, this is really hard to do with the Glock 32.

Exhaustive Ballistic Testing

Figure 1: Speer Gold Dot 357 Sig (Post Water)

Well, we don’t have a lab, or facilities for producing large quantities of ballistic gel for performance simulation. And ‘she’ won’t let me do that in her kitchen. We’re a low budget operation after all. However, we do have lot’s of empty milk jugs as there are a couple of teenage kids around this household. So while blowing up plastic jugs full of water may not provide a gnat’s spit worth of scientific evidence, we sure can amuse ourselves doing it. Note the beautiful expansion from the recovered 125 grain Speer Gold Dot in Figure 1. Pretty isn’t it? We’re going to have to give our friends at Hot Caliber some of these to mold into fine jewelry pieces.

The Details:

Caliber: .357 Sig

Capacity: 13+1 (or 10+1 where required by law of the local republik)

Barrel Length: 4.02″

Overall Length: 6.85″

Weight: 21.52oz

Accessories Included: 2 magazines, magazine loader, plastic cleaning rod, nylon cleaning brush, hard plastic case

Final Thoughts:

The Glock 32 is one of those designs that really hits the nail on the head with respect to balance. The size is just small enough for easy carry and concealment. The size is also just big enough for good grip and control. And the caliber loading is aggressive but not too much so for the form factor. We really like it. The neat thing about the Glock family is that if you like a particular form factor, you can then select your caliber. The Glock 19 and Glock 23 are identical in size and offer 9mm and .40 S&W respectively.

The other standout points are reliability and ease of maintenance. Try as we might, we can’t make this one malfunction. And the finish is rock solid. Between the tough polymer frame and Tenifer finished slide, it requires no special care. Rain, mud, sweat – no problem.

Especially considering the price, you can’t go wrong. We highly recommend it.

The blast of this gun in .357 Sig is just awesome! Love the noise, recoil, and feel of raw power. Manly stuff. Grrrrr!!!Although the recoil is noticeably snappier than a .40 S&W gun, it’s perfectly manageable given the size of the frame – although compact, you can get a solid two-handed grip.

I’ve never been a Glock person because they look too industrial and manly for my taste. I have to admit though, that once I shot it, I really liked it. Great size, not too heavy. The shape and grip size make it easy to control.I’m a Steel Challenge shooter and I’m going to compete with this one for the next few matches – just for fun. He’s going to load me up some reduced power .357 Sig rounds so I am not at too much of a disadvantage against all those wimpy 9mm shooters.

Check out other My Gun Culture product reviews here!

Update: In this review, we mentioned Wal-Mart Winchester white box at about $.50 per round. The good folks at LuckyGunner.com have a great, and cheaper alternative, with Military Ballistics Industries bulk ammo at about $.355 per round. Nice!

Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: concealed carry, guns, handguns, personal protection, pistols, reviews, self defense

Review: Ruger New Model Single-Six Convertible Revolver

March 18, 2011 By Tom 2 Comments

The Good

This is too much fun to be legal. Great for first time shooters!

The Bad

Upsets the neighbors when I shoot hundreds of Super Colibri’s in my garage. Upsets rats also.

The Ugly

I have spontaneous and uncontrollable urges to sing Roy Rogers songs like Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo

Our Rating

Four Nuns!

Ruger New Model Single Six Revolver Convertible

Ruger New Model Single-Six Convertible Single Action Revolver

MSRP: $619.00

www.ruger.com

Yippee ki yay! Get ready for some cowboy fun! While not an authentic cowboy six shooter in the truest sense (Clint Eastwood didn’t use one in ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’), the Ruger Single-Six brings back memories of dime store hats, cap guns, and backyard bad guys. Of all the guns in our modest sized collection, the Ruger Single-Six takes the top prize for most fun. And that’s saying something as it edges out the M1 Carbine, Winchester 9410 .410 lever action shotgun, and Series 1 Colt Woodsman in the “more fun than shooting 12oz cans of Tab” contest.

A single action revolver, with interchangeable cylinders for .22 long rifle and .22 Magnum, the Single-Six is a versatile handgun. The two included cylinders are easy to tell apart as the .22LR one is fluted while the .22 Magnum cylinder is not. While probably not necessary structurally, think “light” for long rifle and “big and heavy” for magnums. Swapping them out is a snap – just press the base pin latch and remove the base pin. The cylinder drops our for replacement or cleaning. One of the things we immediately noticed was that .22 LRs and .22 Magnum’s shot to the same point of aim at reasonable distances, ie 50 yards and less. Or, you might say, the gun shoots in the same “minute of My Gun Culture” cone regardless of which cylinder you’re using.

The Ruger Single Six makes us want to belt out some Roy Rogers tunes

The Single Six stainless model is beautiful to look at – fantastic finish, hardwood grips, and plenty of attention to detail. In our home, the purchase was justified as “man jewelry.” And it’s just as solid mechanically. The action is smooth, the hammer clicks are as good as the soundtrack on any high-quality spaghetti western, and the trigger is crisp and light. This is one solid gun. We’re going to be scouring the gun shows to find one of the older Single Sixes in .32 H&R as a result.

Cowboys like the simple life right? If that’s the case, then this cowboy gun follows the simple philosophy to a T.

Simple to operate: This is our go-to gun for teaching someone how to shoot. It’s familiar, even if they’ve only seen this style of gun on T.V., it’s non-threatening, doesn’t make a lot of noise, and is safe to operate. For a first time shooter, it’s great to have them shoot, stop, cock the hammer, and shoot again. This built in delay is not only safe, it provides a great opportunity for positive reinforcement and teaching moments between shots.
Simple to maintain: The stainless steel finish means you can actually spend more time shooting than cleaning. The cylinder drops out with the push of push of a button, making inspection and cleaning easy.
Simple to hit: Our review model had a 6.5″ barrel. That combined with fantastic balance, some actual weight (for a .22 anyway) and a black ramped front sight with an adjustable rear sight (windage and elevation – that’s up, down, and sideways in non-gun speak) made it an easy-to-aim, and easy-to-hit gun. Many golf balls bravely sacrificed their lives for the purpose of this review.

What’s not to love? In addition to keeping the local Wal-Mart sold out of Winchester 555 bulk packages, it makes us feel like singing Roy Rogers songs. Where is Dale Evans when you need her anyway?

Learn more about the Ruger Single-Six at GunUp.com

As it gleefully digests virtually any sort of .22 ammunition, I can shoot Aguila Super Colibri low velocity (and low noise) loads in my garage. She loves this. Really she does.

I totally agree with everything he says. This is a really fun gun to shoot, but… let me explain something here… I keep my Diet Cokes in the refrigerator in the garage. I have to have one first thing in the morning. I go in there barefoot since I’ve normally just gotten out of bed. Stepping on bullet casings barefoot is not fun. If he leaves spent brass casings in the garage one more time, I’m going to sell his gun!Also I had no idea it had interchangeable cylinders. He never tells me anything!

Filed Under: Guns, Reviews Tagged With: handguns, reviews, revolver, Ruger

Review: Beretta PX4 Storm .40S&W

January 30, 2011 By Tom 3 Comments

The Good

This is one of the softest shooting guns we’ve tried

The Bad

Slide tension is very heavy which is compounded by the de-cocker switch design

The Ugly

Our monthly cost spend on .40 S&W ammo is now totally out of control

Our Rating

Three Nuns

Beretta PX4 Pistol

Beretta PX4 Storm Pistol

Approximate Retail Price: $550

www.berettausa.com

The Beretta PX4 is an exceptionally soft shooting gun in terms of feel. The model tested was a .40S&W double / single action model. Even with fairly stout self defense loads the perceived recoil impulse was gentle. I think the combination of well rounded design, rotating barrel recoil mechanism, and weight make for a great feel. The trigger and trigger guard are also smooth and well polished, so high volume shooting does not tend to irritate your hand and fingers like other polymer framed pistols. An additional nice touch is the shaping of the rear of the trigger guard area. There is a cutout area where the trigger guard and grip meet that allows a little extra breathing room for your trigger finger – reducing the likelihood of interference during trigger pull.

To really test the comfort factor of the Beretta pX4, I shot a Steel Challenge match with it. Steel Challenge has a fairly high round count due to multiple stages with each stage being repeated 5 times – and you shoot until you hit. A perfect competitor shoots a minimum of 125+ rounds in short order. That’s assuming no missed targets. In my case, I go through a 10 or 20 thousand by the time all the steel is hit. The comfortable design of the PX4 Storm, combined with low felt recoil, made for a pleasant match. No blisters, blood, or broken digits.

The Laserlyte Pistol Bayonet Can Attach Easily

Like most polymer pistols on the market, the Beretta PX4 features a Picatinny Milstd-1913 rail for attachment of lights, lasers, and even a Laserlyte Pistol Bayonet if you’re so inclined. Other now common features include three different backstraps to accommodate different hand sizes, 14 round magazine capacity (17 round extended magazines are available) and a reversible magazine release button to serve righties and lefties.

Field stripping for cleaning is a snap. Just pull down on the release lever and the slide glides right off the front of the frame. The recoil spring is captive so nothing goes flying.

One thing to be aware of in the PX4 is the heavy tension on the slide. It takes some serious muscle to rack the slide. With proper technique – using your strong hand to push the frame forward, rather than using the weak hand to pull it back – it’s manageable though. I think the heavily beveled and smooth slide makes it feel more difficult than it actually is. The design and shape of the safety/decocker switch adds a little grief to the process as the lever is just big enough to tear up your hand and just small enough to be a bit of a challenge to engage and disengage with a thumb-flick. Like the Beretta 92FS, the safety/de-cocker lever de-cocks the gun back to double action and disables the trigger connector so the trigger swings freely.

The “night sights” cause me a little grief as they require pre-charging with a light source prior to use. For certain law enforcement tactical applications I suppose this *might* be a workable solution…

“Hey, hang a sec, before we break down this dirtbags door, I need to charge up my sights!”

For home use, I think it’s even more of a stretch. Consider this scene:

Setting: 3am, master bedroom. There’s a bump in the night…

My wife: Hey, wake up, someone has been beating on the front door for the past 20 minutes!

Me: Can’t you deal with it? Oh, OK, hang on a sec.

(fumbles in nightstand for gun)

Me: Hey, you at the front door, can you wait a sec? I can’t see the sights on my gun so I need to shine a flashlight on them for a bit. Be right with you.

Dude breaking into the house: Sure, no sweat, I’ve got about 20 minutes before my next home invasion.

Me: Awesome. Thanks, I really appreciate it. Honey, have you seen the flashlight?

My wife: Hey will you shut up? Can’t a girl get any sleep around here?

In summary, I love the Beretta PX4 – it’s one of my favorites. Yes, there are a couple of minor annoyances like the safety lever. I can’t really fault Beretta for those Super-LumiNova ‘chargeable’ night-sights though. Adding tritium sights would bump the retail price up another hundred bucks easily. I just don’t really see the point in them. The PX4 is a gun that’s really enjoyable to shoot – comfortable, nice perceived recoil, and it’s not bad on the eyes!

More detailed information on the PX4 Storm is available at GunUp.com.


I don’t see a lot of these at the range. That’s OK though, I am secure in my manhood. It’s a big gun, although I have no problem carrying it. Weight is more than some of the other pure plastic guns out there, but I like that. Same reason I still like the Beretta 92FS I suppose – it just feels good. Holster availability isn’t bad – you can generally find what you need.	It’s not bad – for one of ‘his’ guns. The grip is still a little large for me. I also found the slide to be very heavy to operate. Personally, I liked the operation of the safety / de-cocker. I found it easy to reach and operate.

Get great deals on .40 ammo at Luckygunner.com…