Since I released video of Ernest Langdon showing the upgrades of the PX4 Compact Carry vs the standard PX4 Compact model, I have received many comments about the worth of the pistol, so I wanted to settle some of these issues and claims here and now.

SITUATION/MISSION

As a Marine, Ernest Langdon learned to trust the Beretta 92 series of pistols, and became an advocate for the Double Action trigger system. He has become one of the biggest and well-known names in terms of reputable and experienced instructors teaching how to use the double action.

Ernest Langdon is a close partner with Beretta and often gets asked to check out their new stuff, probably in hopes of promoting it, but also to give professional feedback. He says he was resistant to it at first but ended up being a fan and one of the strongest advocates. It means alot coming from him, even though he is one of the only Beretta exclusive advocates in the professional community.

As Ernest Langdon got more time behind the pistol, he started experimenting with the factory aftermarket parts in order to make the pistol more streamline and better, in his opinion, for carry. Thus, the PX4 Compact Carry came to fruition. This pistol had been marketed as a Glock 19 alternative the entire time, and now has several upgrades that are very popular, but now available factory installed out of the box.

UPGRADES

The list of specific upgrades is not too long, but they definitely add up. Here is a list of the upgrades and what each would cost for you to get the parts yourself.

-Cerakote Slide: ~$50-$100

-Competition Trigger System: $115

-Stealth “G” Style Decocking Levers: $55

-Low Profile Slide Stop: $30

-Right Side Slide Stop Plug: $10

-Night Sights: I believe the sights used on the Carry model were Ameriglo, but all that I could find was the Trijicon sights for $107

-Talon Grips: $20

-10% off coupon for Ernest Langdon class: $50 value

-1 extra magazine:$40

-Shipping(Beretta: up to $20. Brownells: As low as $7)

-Installation: Varies

-Total Cost of Upgrades: $500+/- $10

-MAP of the PX4 Compact Carry: $899(The actual prices range from $699 to $795)

-Total cost to upgrade a stock PX4 Compact to have comparable features: $929+ (If standard model cost you only $429 which is the lowest price I found) $1150+(If you use MSRP as base)

So you can do the math on the difference in price. Considering the asking price is just shy of $900 for the Compact Carry at maximum, and I was using a standard PX4 Compact price $200 lower than MSRP, I would say that is a reasonable deal. Not to mention the fact that the parts you would need for these upgrades and features are almost always out of stock, if not flat out unavailable. You are basically saving around $250+ if you get this pistol, based on the current deals online ($429 Standard Model/$700 Carry Model.)

CLOSING STATEMENT

I understand that some of us do not intend to do upgrades to the extent that this pistol offers. At the same time, alot of the critique seems to come from a crowd that pours more money into other guns than the gun itself is worth. Alot of times, the value of the gun does not climb more than half of what they pay. Beretta did not put this pistol out to replace the standard model, but to offer a stock pistol with all the goodies you would have to install and pay for yourself, but it is all done for you and for considerably less money. Even if you were to take out the items not found elsewhere or ones that are not popular(such as the coupon, sights, grips, Cerakote job) the value would still be better. But if you don’t want it, then that is up to you.

In the end it is based on the consumer to choose what they consider to be a value. But as I explained before, this pistol is not offering the same things for the same cost as doing the upgrades yourself. I am not sure how long these pistols are going to be on the market, but if I did not already have a standard model, which I work well with already, I would be swept one up myself.