Beretta CX4 Storm

Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. (aka Beretta), headquartered in Italy, is the world’s oldest firearms manufacturer – in continuous operation since 1526.  Rather than resting on its ancient laurels, Beretta is known today for its frequently quite successful implementation of cutting edge technology while preserving old-world standards of high-quality craftsmanship. The CX4 is a recent example of this corporate commitment. 

"Pistol cartridge" rifles and carbines are not rare but are uncommon enough to miss the attention of many shooters.  9mm, 40 S&W, 357 Mag, and 44 Mag (among others) made by several well-known and some not-so-well known manufacturers have met varying degrees of success over the years.  Beretta chambers the CX4 in both 9mm, 40S&W and 45acp. Due to ballistics constraints, these rifles are not competitive in the long range marksmanship or hunting categories, but hold their own in accuracy very well out to about 150 yards, and some are extremely accurate at about 50 yards or less. When the mission includes “up close and personal” interaction with varmints, zombies, or paper targets, the pistol cartridge rifle or carbine provides significant advantages.

The CX4 looks like it might be more at home on a space ship than in Bubba’s pickup, and it’s on the cutting edge of current technology in both design and fabrication. Most of the parts are polymer of one composition or another. Barrel, bolt, firing pin, and most springs are obvious exceptions but most everything else is some kind of “tupperware.”  This gave us traditionalists in the Bunker Bunch some hesitation as we examined the “pretty little thing” shortly after its introduction.  It’s a Beretta, however, after all, so our trepidation soon gave way to a renewed respect for our Italian friends when we found the little beast to be every bit as tough and functional as it is stylish – much more so than we imagined.

The CX4 utilizes a semi-automatic, blow-back operating mechanism.  Rounds are fed by a detachable magazine positioned within the pistol grip.  In this regard, the design is similar to the operation of many current semi-auto pistols. In fact, the one of the CX4 variants uses the same magazines as the Beretta 92 (military M9) pistol. Charging the weapon is performed by pulling the bolt back via a “charging handle” similarly to most other semi-auto long guns.

Disassembly - as far as the consumer would ever need to go – is both easy and requires no tools. The gun comes apart far enough to allow thorough cleaning without having to strain to get into tight places with common cleaning tools. Left-handers will appreciate the fact that the CX4 can be “re-arranged” to accommodate them fully.  The charging handle, magazine release button, and even the spent cartridge exit gate, can be changed over to “left-hand” operation easily and without tools; with clear instructions included in the owner’s manual.

Compared to a 9mm pistol, the CX4’s 16.6” barrel gives most commonly available ammunition an extra speed boost, greatly increasing the terminal energy of the projectile, and the 12.9” sight radius gives shooters greater precision in lining up the target.  These factors make the carbine more effective than pistols for defense purposes.  Where the compact size of a pistol is not critical, the carbine becomes a better choice in a given caliber.

In any firearm we consider for personal/home defense missions, reliability is critical.  Two of the Bunker Bunch test crew own the CX4 in 9mm and have put lots of lead downrange with it because the little beast is just a lot of fun to shoot and is accurate enough to put smiles on our faces while we’re doing it. Through thousands of rounds of many, many different types, weights, and power levels of 9mm ammo, the CX4 has demonstrated its rugged reliability.  No “jams” or failures of any kind have shown up in normal use.

The built-in “iron sights” work just fine for shooters with normal eyesight, and a decent red-dot or other scope is easily mounted on the top picatinny rail for those older or otherwise “optically challenged” shooters. For work out to 50 or 100 yards, an inexpensive red dot or reflex sight makes the CX4 a perfectly acceptable tool.  Combined with an extended magazine (20, 30, or 32 rounds) the package rivals “evil black rifle” effectiveness at tactical defensive chores – at least for short range duty.

Some specs according to Baretta:

·       Barrel length (in)                    16.6

·       Overall height (in)                    7.5

·       Overall length (in)                  29.7

·       Overall width (in)                     2.5

·       Sight radius (in)                      12.9

·       Weight unloaded (OZ)                       90.8

Overall Impression – We really like the Beretta CX4 Storm carbine.  It is a reliable and accurate firearm with excellent build quality and superb fit ‘n finish.  More-than-acceptable accuracy, trigger feel, and ergonomics make it a “keeper” for range use, with enough reliability (i.e. 100%) to recommend it for personal/home defense duty.  The fact that it’s such a fun gun to shoot also means owners are likely to get enough practice with it to maintain proficiency.

Respectfully submitted

The Bunker Bunch

September, 2014