Beretta CX4 Storm Review

Beretta CX 4 Storm 9MM Review
I just purchased my Beretta CX 4 Storm in 9MM new/used ( $890Cdn+ taxes for a total of $1069Cdn). I chose the 9MM over the .40Cal and .45acp as the gun will be used for IDPA Multi-Gun. 9MM brass is available everywhere and the cartridge is easy to reload, with a good variety of bullets available.

For those not familiar with the gun it is made of black polymer throughout with a thumb hole grip and comes in Canada with top, bottom, front and side picatinny rails along with a sling.

Caution order a decent sling mount. While the gun comes with a front knob where you can attach the sling it is fragile and there have been reports of it coming out resulting in the sling releasing with damage to the gun as it hits the pavement.

The Storm operates on a simple blow back operating system.

The gun is equipped with Ghost ring sights. The front sight is adjustable using a supplied tool. The rear sight consists of a flip up design featuring a short and long range aperture. From the factory mine required the front sight to be adjusted for elevation only.

I installed a Vortec Sparc red dot sight (http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/...-red-dot-scope) the gun after reading some very positive reviews on this sight. I bought mine from Grouse River Outfitters. I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. The sight co-witnesses with the Beretta Fixed sights perfectly. I quickly sighted in the carbine for 50 yards using Lyman’s 356402 bullet cast from WW. This bullet is very accurate in my pistols and proved equally at home in the carbine.

As you would expect shooting the 9MM round out of a 16” barrel should and did result in a velocity gain on my loadings for pistol. Eg.:

4.1 gr Win 231 under 124 gr Lyman 356402 sized .357 Rifle 1283 fps Pistol 1088fps
5 gr. 800X under 124 gr Lyman 356402 sized .357 Rifle 1241 fps Pistol 1093

Local PF rules for Multi-gun rifle requires PF of 150. Out of the Carbine both loads make this level with ease. Both loadings are very accurate.

I have not worked up satisfactory loads using plated bullets but will. Sighted in at 50 yards I can place all shots, using a rest, into the down zero area at 100 yards by holding at the neckline of the IDPA target. I don’t believe the gun/cartridge combo is capable of decent accuracy beyond 100 yards without a significant holdover. I rather hope the rule book is amended to limit target ranges to 100 yards for Defensive Multi-Gun. Shooting at 200 yard targets with a pistol cartridge is optimistic at best (Sighted in at 50 yards a 124 gr 9MM bullet drops approx.52”!) I now have over 500 rounds through the gun without incident. Gun is very inexpensive to shoot with cast bullets, approx. $4.15 per hundred.


Pros:
Gun is good to go, accurate using either the supplied Ghost Ring sights or with optics. Picatinny sling attachment purchase is recommended.
Disassembly is easy and quick for cleaning. Total disassembly instructions are on the net and frankly the gun can be stripped down to its frame fairly easy with little skill required.
Gun is completed ambidextrous.
Ergonomics – for me are excellent. Controls are where they should be.
Gun performs extremely well with cast bullets and my 4.2 gr of 231 under my Lyman 356402 boolit sized .357 meets PF of 150
Cons: The trigger is heavier than I would like and likely won’t get much better. It takes some time to get used to, and I am slowly. You can buy all metal trigger kits for the gun which are said to improve the trigger pull.

This gun would appear to be the perfect fit for IDPA Multi-Gun in the Stock Pistol Carbine without the Red Dot Sight and excellent for the Enhanced Pistol Carbine Division with the optic sight. I’ll know better come Halloween when our next Multi-Gun shoot is scheduled. Until then I will be on the range testing loads and practicing.

For other 3 Gun events I plan on adding a compensator to reduce what little muzzle flip there is.

Take Care

Bob