Beretta Px4 storm VS. Walther pk380 as open carry firearm

I am coming upon being 21 years old and completely plan on Open carrying a handgun. The only problem is I want to know exactly what would be the better gun for such an act. My choices are as of now between the beretta px4 storm and the walther pk380. i would love to hear some opinions on which would be the better option.

RemingtonRice said:

I am coming upon being 21 years old and completely plan on Open carrying a handgun. The only problem is I want to know exactly what would be the better gun for such an act. My choices are as of now between the beretta px4 storm and the walther pk380. i would love to hear some opinions on which would be the better option.

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Just wondering. If intending to carry openly, and not being limited in size, etc. to items one can conceal, why not go with something a bit more effective? A .45 or such?
Most who end up carrying smaller arms do so out of necessity of having something they have to conceal. When not limited to those options, why inlfict that upon yourself.

Not saying either of the 2 are bad choices- for Concealed carry- just that they wouldnt be my first choices for OC, when I can pack more punch and firepower.

j4l said:

Just wondering. If intending to carry openly, and not being limited in size, etc. to items one can conceal, why not go with something a bit more effective? A .45 or such?
Most who end up carrying smaller arms do so out of necessity of having something they have to conceal. When not limited to those options, why inlfict that upon yourself.

Not saying either of the 2 are bad choices- for Concealed carry- just that they wouldnt be my first choices for OC, when I can pack more punch and firepower.

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I stand corrected on the PX4, forgetting they had .45 versions of this pistol, having seen only 9mms locally.

j4l said:

Just wondering. If intending to carry openly, and not being limited in size, etc. to items one can conceal, why not go with something a bit more effective? A .45 or such?
Most who end up carrying smaller arms do so out of necessity of having something they have to conceal. When not limited to those options, why inlfict that upon yourself.

Not saying either of the 2 are bad choices- for Concealed carry- just that they wouldnt be my first choices for OC, when I can pack more punch and firepower.

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Well the whole reason i want to carry is to know that I Have protection if needed. i dont really have enemys and am not looking to get into a fire fight i just like being reassured. for example I keep My Remington 870 12 guage propped up by my bed at all times while im sleeping. but i have heard excellent reviews on both guns as well as bad ones, those two are just the ones i have in mind.

Something to think about, besides the power differences between 9mm and .380 (aka 9mm Short as they call it in Europe), is that the PK380, and just about every other .380 for that matter, is designed to be concealed. So finding a good holster that's anything but an IWB concealment type holster is going to be hard to come by.

The PK380 is an awesome handgun that I keep putting on and taking off of my handgun wishlist. I love that it's a compact .380 that's not quite as compact as most of them, so you get better ergonomics and capacity. But I'm really reluctant to buy a .380. Right now I just don't really have a use for .380 that 9mm can't deal with. So right now the Walther PPS 9mm is on my wishlist for deep concealment purposes (unless someone else besides Ruger comes out with a pocket size 9mm), but I'm not in too much of a hurry to get it. And if I get it, I really don't have a reason to get a PK380.

As much of a Walther fanboy as I am, I'm going to steer your towards the Beretta if OC is what you want to do since those are your two options you've given yourself. I will plug my P99 anyway since you like the PK380, but if it's between the PK380 and the Px4, I say go with the Px4.

SovereignAxe said:

Something to think about, besides the power differences between 9mm and .380 (aka 9mm Short as they call it in Europe), is that the PK380, and just about every other .380 for that matter, is designed to be concealed. So finding a good holster that's anything but an IWB concealment type holster is going to be hard to come by.

The PK380 is an awesome handgun that I keep putting on and taking off of my handgun wishlist. I love that it's a compact .380 that's not quite as compact as most of them, so you get better ergonomics and capacity. But I'm really reluctant to buy a .380. Right now I just don't really have a use for .380 that 9mm can't deal with. So right now the Walther PPS 9mm is on my wishlist for deep concealment purposes (unless someone else besides Ruger comes out with a pocket size 9mm), but I'm not in too much of a hurry to get it. And if I get it, I really don't have a reason to get a PK380.

As much of a Walther fanboy as I am, I'm going to steer your towards the Beretta if OC is what you want to do since those are your two options you've given yourself. I will plug my P99 anyway since you like the PK380, but if it's between the PK380 and the Px4, I say go with the Px4.

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I dont quite care about concealed or open carry as long as I am carrying. I have also been thinking about the springfield xd compact 9mm because im a short guy and have small hands and it would fit my hands better. not to mention how awesome it looks with the magazine x-tensions!

j4l said:

Just wondering. If intending to carry openly, and not being limited in size, etc. to items one can conceal, why not go with something a bit more effective? A .45 or such?
Most who end up carrying smaller arms do so out of necessity of having something they have to conceal. When not limited to those options, why inlfict that upon yourself.

Not saying either of the 2 are bad choices- for Concealed carry- just that they wouldnt be my first choices for OC, when I can pack more punch and firepower.

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It wouldn't hurt for him to have one gun he is comfortable with that he could open or conceal carry depending on his mood.

RemingtonRice said:

I dont quite care about concealed or open carry as long as I am carrying. I have also been thinking about the springfield xd compact 9mm because im a short guy and have small hands and it would fit my hands better. not to mention how awesome it looks with the magazine x-tensions!

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XD's are nice. I had a .45 compact. Also check out the S&W M&Ps. Excellent firearm. I love the compacts. The 9mm is to die for. I love my .40 a ton, but my wifes 9mm compact is just out of this world fantastic. I am going to have to buy 2 more. 1 for me to carry and then one for me to put back in the safe, because I thin she will wear that one out with as much as she has been shooting it.

RemingtonRice said:

I am coming upon being 21 years old and completely plan on Open carrying a handgun. The only problem is I want to know exactly what would be the better gun for such an act. My choices are as of now between the beretta px4 storm and the walther pk380. i would love to hear some opinions on which would be the better option.

Click to expand...

I have no experience with the newer Walthers, but a couple of decades ago I owned a Walther PPK/S .380. The only thing I could rely upon that pistol to do was to "stovepipe" (capture a semi-ejected fired case between the rear of the ejection port and the rear of the barrel when returning to battery) every second or third round. I have not even considered a Walther since then. That being said, Beretta has made excellent pistols for a very long time (and, granted, Walther has a reputation for having made some excellent pistols) and the PX4 Storm seems to be one of them. You didn't mention if your intent was to OC or CC, so based upon your choices, I'm going to assume you want to CC. If I'm correct in that assumption, and that you have shown a preference for auto-loaders, then you may also want to include considering the Beretta "Nano", the Ruger LCP or LC9, and the Taurus 709 "Slim". (My personal preference is not the .380 caliber, but it does have its place at the low end of the self defense pistol category... the .380 is more effective than a vigorously thrown rock.)

I don't rely on anything less than a .38Spcl+P JHP or 9mm +P JHP, for a defensive round. There are those here who feel that even those rounds are underpowered for SD loads, but a well-placed 9mm round will make a BG just as dead as a .45acp round. Sometimes I carry my G23 .40 (31oz loaded) but any one of my three Commander-style .45acp's adds another 8-9oz to my carry weight. If you don't mind the weight, and a bit more recoil, I'd recommend a .45acp. Pax...

I wn a brand new pk380 and it is a sweet gun. Only two issues and the first isn't reakly with the gun, it's the magazine. Sometimes it will catch/jam when loading the first round from a full 8 round magazine. If it's only got 7 when you rack the slide it works perfect everytime. I understand this will go away as the spring tension wears out.

The second is the mag release. It's a very akward mag release if you are used to typical modern american mag release buttons, the pk380 isn't a button it's a pull lever. Google it, it's hard to explain. But if yoi practice, as you should with any carry peice, it will work just fine.

I personally consider it a pop gun. Switching between a 9mm and this makes the pk380 feel like a cap gun with how easy it ia to ahoot.

Sine you mentioned the XD, I personally carry a Springfield XDm (yes the m matters) it about $100 more expensive than it's XD counterpart but it is definitely worth it. I have put nearly 5000 rounds (all sorts of different brands and bullet types) through it and not a single failure, it takes everything and laughs at it. The 19 round magazine is AWESOME when you consider carrying two spare mags (total 58 rounds.) I will NOT lose a fight because I ran out of ammo. The replaceable back strap makes it fit that much better to my grip. Try it for 100 rounds with one size, change it up and see how much more or less accurate you are with that one. Plus there are many holster options available for it both cc and oc. The PK380 took me forever to find a decent holster for. And forever to find a spare mag that wasn't a cheap knock off (many issues with knock off mags with Walther guns).

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RemingtonRice said:

I am coming upon being 21 years old and completely plan on Open carrying a handgun. The only problem is I want to know exactly what would be the better gun for such an act. My choices are as of now between the beretta px4 storm and the walther pk380. i would love to hear some opinions on which would be the better option.

Click to expand...

Gil223 said:

You didn't mention if your intent was to OC or CC, so based upon your choices, I'm going to assume you want to CC.

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The thread is even titled "Beretta Px4 storm VS. Walther pk380 as open carry firearm

Gil223 said:

I have no experience with the newer Walthers, but a couple of decades ago I owned a Walther PPK/S .380. The only thing I could rely upon that pistol to do was to "stovepipe" (capture a semi-ejected fired case between the rear of the ejection port and the rear of the barrel when returning to battery) every second or third round. I have not even considered a Walther since then. That being said, Beretta has made excellent pistols for a very long time (and, granted, Walther has a reputation for having made some excellent pistols) and the PX4 Storm seems to be one of them. You didn't mention if your intent was to OC or CC, so based upon your choices, I'm going to assume you want to CC. If I'm correct in that assumption, and that you have shown a preference for auto-loaders, then you may also want to include considering the Beretta "Nano", the Ruger LCP or LC9, and the Taurus 709 "Slim". (My personal preference is not the .380 caliber, but it does have its place at the low end of the self defense pistol category... the .380 is more effective than a vigorously thrown rock.)

I don't rely on anything less than a .38Spcl+P JHP or 9mm +P JHP, for a defensive round. There are those here who feel that even those rounds are underpowered for SD loads, but a well-placed 9mm round will make a BG just as dead as a .45acp round. Sometimes I carry my G23 .40 (31oz loaded) but any one of my three Commander-style .45acp's adds another 8-9oz to my carry weight. If you don't mind the weight, and a bit more recoil, I'd recommend a .45acp. Pax...

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FYI, Walther probably didn't make that gun. Walther foolishly licensed the manufacture of PPK/Ss in the late 70s, and pretty much every PPK and PPK/S since then has been made in America-not by Walther. Nowadays it's Smith & Wesson, and they aren't doing much better.

Any gun made by Walther in Germany is a quality weapon (except the P22, but it seems like nobody can make a reliable .22 pistol except Ruger and Browning). I wish we could just get a German made PPK over here, but we have the GCA of '68 to thank for them not being able to import them.

I Must Have Been Wearing My Stevie Wonder Glasses...

Seems like I missed the two OC statements that Remington so plainly posted. Oh well... go for the .45acp then, in any of the aforementioned brands (keep in mind that the 1911-style is the most recognized and most intimidating-looking when holstered)!

And to be more specific about the PPK/S I owned, I bought it in 1968 when I was in Anchorage AK. (FYI, Walther has produced the "Final 500" of the PP series. Not a bad move IMO) Pax...

are you looking at the fullsize, compact or sub-compact PX4??? my wife has the sub-compact PX4, and while it might not be as "big and noticable" as the fullsize or other guns, i wouldn't want to conceal carry it. it's a pretty decent little thing. we went with the 9mm, because i'm not one of these "bigger is better" believers, but rather accuracy over caliber, plus i can't afford to buy the other ammo. so i figured that at least for me, smaller ammo that i can afford to practice with would make me more efficient than a elephant gun that i can't even afford a box of ammo to practice with. because even a rocket propelled gun is only effective if i can hit the target. LOL

I would suggest you go look at the information provided in this link before you choose to carry a .380


http://concealedcarryforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4121


I carry the PX4 in .40 S&W. Not telling you what to carry, just making sure you have the info you need. Personaly I would only carry a .380 as a backup weapon.


Mike

I don't own a PK-380, but I have been researching them recently because my wife is interested in one. It has some unique aspects that you should be aware of:
- The slide-mounted manual safety moves in the "wrong" direction compared to others (like the Px4). I haven't tried it yet, but I think this will make it more difficult/slower to disengage the safety under stress.
- The safety does not double as a decocker. This allows "cocked & locked" carry (unlike the Px4), but also means the only way to decock is to pull the trigger and ride the hammer down with your thumb.
- There is no slide lock/release lever. The only way to lock the slide back is to have an empty magazine.
- Disassembly requires a special tool. This is the only gun I know of that does this.
- It only comes with one magazine.

Despite these weird characteristics, the PK-380 is still "in the running" because the ergonomics are good, it's ambidextrous (she's a lefty), it's relatively inexpensive, and she is exactly their target demographic: a female, first-time gun owner. (It does come in pink, after all.) If none of the above bothers you, you'll probably like the PK-380 fine.

The Px4 is a fine firearm, although I was disappointed by it. It looks good, but I think the ergonomics aren't nearly nearly as good as they could/should be.

If you want to OC some times and conceal others, I would recommend a compact (as opposed to a subcompact or full-size/tactical) pistol. They're usually small enough to conceal if you choose, but also suited to open carry. Since both your current contenders are DA/SA, I'll assume you prefer that trigger style. That would rule out Glocks, XDs, M&Ps, Steyr, other Walthers, etc.

If you really want both a DA/SA trigger and the rotary-action lockup that the Px4 has, try to find an STI GP5 for comparison (although finding a holster for it might be even harder than finding the gun itself). Other mid-sized pistols in that size & price range you might want to consider are: Sig P2022, Baby Desert Eagle, EAA Witness compact, EAA EZ (near-clone of a Sig P226), and Bersa Thunder9. There are other offerings by H&K and Sig, but they'd cost twice as much.

Good hunting!

My wife liked her PK380, but only as an introductory piece. Within a few months she graduated to a Walther PPS 9mm. That has become her mainstay.

Excellent post scorpio vette...,

scorpio_vette said:

are you looking at the fullsize, compact or sub-compact PX4??? my wife has the sub-compact PX4, and while it might not be as "big and noticable" as the fullsize or other guns, i wouldn't want to conceal carry it. it's a pretty decent little thing. we went with the 9mm, because i'm not one of these "bigger is better" believers, but rather accuracy over caliber, plus i can't afford to buy the other ammo. so i figured that at least for me, smaller ammo that i can afford to practice with would make me more efficient than a elephant gun that i can't even afford a box of ammo to practice with. because even a rocket propelled gun is only effective if i can hit the target. LOL

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I agree with your post 100%. I just recently traded my Taurus PT111 Millinium Pro 9mm (and a few extra bucks) for a Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm sub compact. I've found it good for OC and CC. There were several things I liked about the PX4 over the PT111, like the flip down grip extender on the magazines (very nice, especially for CC, little pricey though, but discounted from Beretta if you buy two or more, don't go cheap on aftermarket mags if you value your life), external hammer that's not so large that it gets in the way, but is still very easy to cock, and the decocker/safety feature that I think you will like also.

All that I know about Walthers is very good!!! So, I can't really steer you from one or the other, I'm no gun snob (I even like High Points!) so I tend to have my own personal reasons for choosing one over the other, except I may not be a fan of certain makes or models (Glocks) based solely on my own experiences.

Best of luck to you on making your choice RemingtonRice, you seem to be reasoning this out very carefully and intelligently, so enjoy, respect, appreciate, and exercise your freedom to choose as well as carry, much has been sacrificed in order to make it so. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you decided on, and personally, I think the only bad decision would be not to get one at all.

sidestreet

Jeremiah 29 vs. 11-13

we are not equal, we will never be equal, but we must be relentless

If you're looking at OCing primarily, and you're looking at the PX4, I would STRONGLY suggest looking into a Stoeger (Beretta) Cougar. They're about $350, a nice low price point for a very high quality full size firearm. It has all the same features as the PX4, the rotating barrel, safety/decock. I've had mine for about a month now and not a single malfunction, it's seen about 1000 rounds so far.

If you want a good waist/ankle gun too, look into the Kel-Tec PF9. That will be my next purchase. I've only heard good things about them, and the few rounds I've put through one I was pretty impressed haha.

MPWarrior653 said:

If you're looking at OCing primarily, and you're looking at the PX4, I would STRONGLY suggest looking into a Stoeger (Beretta) Cougar. They're about $350, a nice low price point for a very high quality full size firearm. It has all the same features as the PX4, the rotating barrel, safety/decock. I've had mine for about a month now and not a single malfunction, it's seen about 1000 rounds so far.

If you want a good waist/ankle gun too, look into the Kel-Tec PF9. That will be my next purchase. I've only heard good things about them, and the few rounds I've put through one I was pretty impressed haha.

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yeah that stoeger cougar does seem like a nice alternative. it is a beretta after all. i've actually been eyeing it up for me. don't see that happening though. damn guns are all to expensive for me.

i also have a kel-tec pf9, and wanted to put some info out there. it's a praise and caution at the same time.
I personally like the pf9. it's small, but still comfortable to handle. it's got kick for how light it is (probably because it's so light), but nothing i'm uncomfortable with or can't handle. on a bad note though, it seems like every day there are 10 new threads over on the kel-tec forum abot failure to extract. i had the same problem. when i first got it, it was fine. then it started to deteriorate until my gun was so crappy that it would have a FTE roughly every 3 rounds. no way was i comfortable relying on that gun. after going over my gun with a fine tooth comb i learned that the extractor is held in place by a small screw that also holds the firing pin in the gun. that screw was loosening up, causing the extractor not to have a tight grip on the shells, but at the end also allowing the firing pin to be ejected.

i contacted kel-tec, and they send me all the new parts that i requested, and i VERY VERY VERY thoroughly cleaned every part of the slide after fully disassembling it. then i made sure that every was as dry as possibly, and set the new firing pin and extractor in. then i added a small dab of blue loctite on the screw holding those pieces in and let it cure for a while. then finished lubing and reassembling the gun. took it out for a test fire and put almost 2 boxes of ammo through it without a single FTE.

the pf9 is a very nice gun, but does need some "cleaning up" once you get it. the body has a very aggressive seam on it that can be quite uncomfortable and needs to be sanded down. i also sanded down some rough contact spots on the slide, and buffed and polished everything real nice.

after spending some time cleaning it up, i really like it, and because of it's size, will definitely be holding onto it for a long time. However, I would HIGHLY recommend you fire one before buying it, as most people who have shot my gun said they don't like how it feels, and that it kicks to hard for them. one girl that fired it (for what it's worth, that finger had been already broken previously, so that may have contributed) actually broke her middle finger somehow while shooting my gun, and said she will never touch my gun again.

Back when I maintained my eX's KelTec I recall that all KelTecs require fluff and buff to function properly. The maker even used to say that to keep costs down their product was not as polished as more expensive products.