Langdon Tactical Technologies PX4 carry review, 3000 rounds later
The PX4 is an ugly pistol, we can get that out of the way immediately. Despite it's ugliness, it still has a neat early 2000's era-crappy-CGI-sci-fi-movie aesthetic I kinda dig.
Before we go into the review proper, a bit about what it took to get this gun. Depending on the options you choose, there may be a wait. The website said that the options I chose would mean a 6-10 week wait. 1 day before the 6 week wait mark, I received a call from LTT stating my order was put in wrong, as a PX4 Compact Carry. They gave me a few options, but i just decided to wait what ended up being an extra 4 weeks to get what I had initially ordered. That sucked, but they were nice and apologetic over the phone. After the 10 week mark, I checked in with them again, and they said they were waiting for the barrel to get back from refinishing, and it'd be another 2-3 weeks. I finally got the pistol on October 4th, nearly 16 weeks after the initial order was placed. Not happy about that, but they were eventually able to get my gun to me.
I will add that this isn't the first time I've had an issue with LTT, the previous 2 issues involved a trigger bar that was not NP3 coated, and a magazine that had the same issue. I'm glad they caught this mistake before they shipped it out. Anyways...
Compared to the 92 series, the PX4 has some nice advantages, it is less complex, lighter, has a shorter trigger reach, a better standard trigger, standard accessory rail, and dovetailed front and rear sight. However, there are some downsides. The controls are rather obnoxious, the trigger is ok but could be better, and while the grip has some nice texturing, it is not even close to being enough.
This is where LTT comes in. Some of the changes LTT makes to the PX4 include a VERY nice trigger job, low(er) profile slide stop and decocker wings, Ameriglo night sights, NP3 coating on some of the metal bits (including mags), slide is Ceracoated, and the barrel is cut and re-crowned.
The NP3, barrel cut/recrown are optional. You can also have them cut the slide for RMR footprint optics. I had them do the NP3 coating, but passed on the optic cut.
Out of the box
Note, i did not pay $0.01 for the gun.
The trigger is absolutely phenomenal. The DA pull is smooth and not too heavy, pull weight is about 5lbs, no overtravel. SA reset is very short, tactile, and when I say tactile, I mean tactile. That sucker is loud, and I love it. SA pull is light, about 3.5lbs, crisp, no overtravel, very small amount of take up when not pulling from reset.
I will note, the lyman scale is a giant PITA. I can reliably get it to read a sub-2lb pull on DA. Trigger pull weights are merely estimates
The DA pull is enough to still serve well for social purposes, and once you get into SA, you have a excellent trigger for rapid problem solving. This trigger is imho what DA/SA should be. The trigger is what you are paying for, and it is worth it. Between the competition trigger group, lighter hammer spring, improved trigger bar, NP3 coating, and whatever other work LTT does, you have a trigger that has hardly any equal. CGW CZ's are not this nice, nor are Grey Guns HK/SIG guns. And while I've given my opinions on those brands before, they do all have very good triggers when CGW or GG goes over them. And FWIW, a CGW P07/9 costs about the same if you get the PX4 without NP3, optic cut, or cut/recrown barrel.
Going back to my M9A3 that I've put some LTT parts in, it just doesn't compare. It's kinda like this...https://youtu.be/o8ym0HBvpFA
In addition to being coated, the magazines are beveled to make mag changes easier. You get 3 mags with the gun, 2 17 round mags, and a 19 round mag. This is nice. A primary, extended reload, and a spare. Spare mags are always nice though. Unfortunately standard Beretta PX4 mags aren't as cheap as regular 92 mags, with a 17 round mag costing about $30. I do wish Mec-gar would work their magic like they did with their 92 mag speaking of which, y'all should go ask them to do that. Please.
I will say that despite Beretta being unable/unwilling to re-use magazines, they never seem to cost more than $40. Here's to you, Sig.
Upon getting the gun, I cleaned and lubed it with Cherrybalmz black rifle balm, and set off to work. The gun had not been cleaned for the first 2000 rounds, barring the occasional exterior wipe-down.
Ammo used was ZQI 124gr NATO, S&B 124gr, Remington 115gr, Browning 124gr, Monarch 115gr steel case, Winchester M1152 115gr FMJ, Winchester White Box 124gr FMJ, Winchester ranger 147gr JHP Winchester USA Ready 124gr+P JHP, Federal Premium 124gr hydra-shok, Federal 147gr syntech, Federal 70gr IRT lead free, Federal 124gr+P HST, Federal 147hr HST JHP, Hornady 115gr+P Handgun Hunter JHP lead free, American Munitions 115gr Sierra sports master JHP, Speer Lawman 115gr, and Speer gold dot 147gr JHP.
I wanted to give a good cross-section of ammo. from underpowered steel case to premium nickel plated +P, to 70gr to 147gr... 2000 rounds, and not a single issue. LTT uses an 11lb hammer spring, so I was very curious about the PX4's ability to handle harder NATO primers, and it eats them without fail. Russian steel case is similarly of no issue.
Accuracy. Very good. The PX4's lockup is entirely in the slide, all the frame does is hold the ammo, fcg, and give the cam block something to push against. The barrel has no lateral movement, like a 92. This should help accuracy as well as reliability. It shoots as well as my M9A3, a better shooter could shrink groups easy.
Sights are made by Ameriglo, and feature a tritium front sight, surrounded by an orange square (not unlike a Trijicon HD front sight) ring. Rear sight is just a square notch. No dots or tritium.
Accuracy at 7 yards,
As far as sight regulation, at 7 yards the POI is roughly an inch high. I would have preferred a 3 dot set up, but these are fine. So far I am liking the square VS a circle, but I don't have any split times recorded to tell if there is any increase in performance.
I see no appreciable difference in accuracy between different bullet weights, brands, or bullet types, though I haven't been able to test 147 gr or heavier FMJ.
Recoil impulse. Quite nice. It has less recoil than a Glock or similar polymer gun. It ALMOST shoots like a comped pistol. I've let more than a few people shoot it, and everyone has had good things to say.
One quirk of the rotating barrel is that suppressing or comping the pistol isn't that easy. I've read about suppressor options and threaded barrels, but have not looked into them. I do think the PX4 shoots soft enough to not justify a compensator.
Grip texture. This is the only complaint I have. There is some ok texturing on the gun, but it's not enough. The majority of the grip is completely smooth. LTT gives you a set of Talon grips, and this works fine. You can always stipple it, which I am not brave enough to do. Yet. But for now, talon grips are more than fine. Since I brought it up earlier, the CZP07/9 is an improvement in this area.
The oversized decocker wings and slide stop have been sized down a bit. The standard PX4 is typically an F version, as it comes from LTT, it's already been turned to the G (decocker only) version, and has the "carry levers". These are a happy medium between the stock levers which are rather sharp and don't give the best possible shape for one hand manipulation, and the stealth levers, which are too thin and are near impossible to use with one hand. The carry levers are nice and rounded, and have a nice ledge to get your thumb on.
The slide stop on the standard PX4 is big. I have never had an issue with it, but it doesn't need to be *that* big. The stealth slide stop is simply thinner. Again, no issues with premature locking open, or overriding the slide stop.
The finish is very good. The slide is Ceracoated in "Sniper Grey", sounds stupid, looks good. Since there are no pictures of it online, here's what the PX4 fullsize cut and crowned muzzle looks like...
The finish is functional as well as easy on the eyes. I have no issue with Beretta's bruntion finish, but Ceracoat is much better.
The gun carries well. I always found the 92 series, thanks to its lines, very easy to conceal. The PX4 is no exception, and thanks to the lighter polymer frame, it's that much nicer. Holster selection is OK, not glock level, but you got plenty of options.
For me, the LTT PX4 carry checks all the boxes, great DA/SA trigger, similar ergonomics to a 92 series, simpler and lighter, and accurate. This gun would have been a lifesaver during this summer (had it arrived as originally expected). I do love my M9A3, but the LTT PX4 has completely replaced it.
It's true the PX4 has a reputation, but for the most part, the ones who hate it have never shot one, most who own one aren't exactly high volume shooters, and the ones who own one, and shoot it a lot like it. Having messed around with a number of factory guns and this LTT gun, the PX4 has a *lot* to offer, especially if you are willing to have some work done to it. If you aren't willing to send off your PX4 or buy one from LTT, you can get a trigger job in a bag, which gets you pretty darned close in the trigger department.
I think the LTT Px4 is probably the best option for a DA/SA polymer gun out there, and the low recoil, accuracy and trigger puts it ahead of almost every metal framed DA/SA gun out there. The only fly on the ointment is the lack of grip texture.
The PX4 is an ugly pistol, we can get that out of the way immediately. Despite it's ugliness, it still has a neat early 2000's era-crappy-CGI-sci-fi-movie aesthetic I kinda dig.
Before we go into the review proper, a bit about what it took to get this gun. Depending on the options you choose, there may be a wait. The website said that the options I chose would mean a 6-10 week wait. 1 day before the 6 week wait mark, I received a call from LTT stating my order was put in wrong, as a PX4 Compact Carry. They gave me a few options, but i just decided to wait what ended up being an extra 4 weeks to get what I had initially ordered. That sucked, but they were nice and apologetic over the phone. After the 10 week mark, I checked in with them again, and they said they were waiting for the barrel to get back from refinishing, and it'd be another 2-3 weeks. I finally got the pistol on October 4th, nearly 16 weeks after the initial order was placed. Not happy about that, but they were eventually able to get my gun to me.
I will add that this isn't the first time I've had an issue with LTT, the previous 2 issues involved a trigger bar that was not NP3 coated, and a magazine that had the same issue. I'm glad they caught this mistake before they shipped it out. Anyways...
Compared to the 92 series, the PX4 has some nice advantages, it is less complex, lighter, has a shorter trigger reach, a better standard trigger, standard accessory rail, and dovetailed front and rear sight. However, there are some downsides. The controls are rather obnoxious, the trigger is ok but could be better, and while the grip has some nice texturing, it is not even close to being enough.
This is where LTT comes in. Some of the changes LTT makes to the PX4 include a VERY nice trigger job, low(er) profile slide stop and decocker wings, Ameriglo night sights, NP3 coating on some of the metal bits (including mags), slide is Ceracoated, and the barrel is cut and re-crowned.
The NP3, barrel cut/recrown are optional. You can also have them cut the slide for RMR footprint optics. I had them do the NP3 coating, but passed on the optic cut.
Out of the box
Note, i did not pay $0.01 for the gun.
The trigger is absolutely phenomenal. The DA pull is smooth and not too heavy, pull weight is about 5lbs, no overtravel. SA reset is very short, tactile, and when I say tactile, I mean tactile. That sucker is loud, and I love it. SA pull is light, about 3.5lbs, crisp, no overtravel, very small amount of take up when not pulling from reset.
I will note, the lyman scale is a giant PITA. I can reliably get it to read a sub-2lb pull on DA. Trigger pull weights are merely estimates
The DA pull is enough to still serve well for social purposes, and once you get into SA, you have a excellent trigger for rapid problem solving. This trigger is imho what DA/SA should be. The trigger is what you are paying for, and it is worth it. Between the competition trigger group, lighter hammer spring, improved trigger bar, NP3 coating, and whatever other work LTT does, you have a trigger that has hardly any equal. CGW CZ's are not this nice, nor are Grey Guns HK/SIG guns. And while I've given my opinions on those brands before, they do all have very good triggers when CGW or GG goes over them. And FWIW, a CGW P07/9 costs about the same if you get the PX4 without NP3, optic cut, or cut/recrown barrel.
Going back to my M9A3 that I've put some LTT parts in, it just doesn't compare. It's kinda like this...https://youtu.be/o8ym0HBvpFA
In addition to being coated, the magazines are beveled to make mag changes easier. You get 3 mags with the gun, 2 17 round mags, and a 19 round mag. This is nice. A primary, extended reload, and a spare. Spare mags are always nice though. Unfortunately standard Beretta PX4 mags aren't as cheap as regular 92 mags, with a 17 round mag costing about $30. I do wish Mec-gar would work their magic like they did with their 92 mag speaking of which, y'all should go ask them to do that. Please.
I will say that despite Beretta being unable/unwilling to re-use magazines, they never seem to cost more than $40. Here's to you, Sig.
Upon getting the gun, I cleaned and lubed it with Cherrybalmz black rifle balm, and set off to work. The gun had not been cleaned for the first 2000 rounds, barring the occasional exterior wipe-down.
Ammo used was ZQI 124gr NATO, S&B 124gr, Remington 115gr, Browning 124gr, Monarch 115gr steel case, Winchester M1152 115gr FMJ, Winchester White Box 124gr FMJ, Winchester ranger 147gr JHP Winchester USA Ready 124gr+P JHP, Federal Premium 124gr hydra-shok, Federal 147gr syntech, Federal 70gr IRT lead free, Federal 124gr+P HST, Federal 147hr HST JHP, Hornady 115gr+P Handgun Hunter JHP lead free, American Munitions 115gr Sierra sports master JHP, Speer Lawman 115gr, and Speer gold dot 147gr JHP.
I wanted to give a good cross-section of ammo. from underpowered steel case to premium nickel plated +P, to 70gr to 147gr... 2000 rounds, and not a single issue. LTT uses an 11lb hammer spring, so I was very curious about the PX4's ability to handle harder NATO primers, and it eats them without fail. Russian steel case is similarly of no issue.
Accuracy. Very good. The PX4's lockup is entirely in the slide, all the frame does is hold the ammo, fcg, and give the cam block something to push against. The barrel has no lateral movement, like a 92. This should help accuracy as well as reliability. It shoots as well as my M9A3, a better shooter could shrink groups easy.
Sights are made by Ameriglo, and feature a tritium front sight, surrounded by an orange square (not unlike a Trijicon HD front sight) ring. Rear sight is just a square notch. No dots or tritium.
Accuracy at 7 yards,
As far as sight regulation, at 7 yards the POI is roughly an inch high. I would have preferred a 3 dot set up, but these are fine. So far I am liking the square VS a circle, but I don't have any split times recorded to tell if there is any increase in performance.
I see no appreciable difference in accuracy between different bullet weights, brands, or bullet types, though I haven't been able to test 147 gr or heavier FMJ.
Recoil impulse. Quite nice. It has less recoil than a Glock or similar polymer gun. It ALMOST shoots like a comped pistol. I've let more than a few people shoot it, and everyone has had good things to say.
One quirk of the rotating barrel is that suppressing or comping the pistol isn't that easy. I've read about suppressor options and threaded barrels, but have not looked into them. I do think the PX4 shoots soft enough to not justify a compensator.
Grip texture. This is the only complaint I have. There is some ok texturing on the gun, but it's not enough. The majority of the grip is completely smooth. LTT gives you a set of Talon grips, and this works fine. You can always stipple it, which I am not brave enough to do. Yet. But for now, talon grips are more than fine. Since I brought it up earlier, the CZP07/9 is an improvement in this area.
The oversized decocker wings and slide stop have been sized down a bit. The standard PX4 is typically an F version, as it comes from LTT, it's already been turned to the G (decocker only) version, and has the "carry levers". These are a happy medium between the stock levers which are rather sharp and don't give the best possible shape for one hand manipulation, and the stealth levers, which are too thin and are near impossible to use with one hand. The carry levers are nice and rounded, and have a nice ledge to get your thumb on.
The slide stop on the standard PX4 is big. I have never had an issue with it, but it doesn't need to be *that* big. The stealth slide stop is simply thinner. Again, no issues with premature locking open, or overriding the slide stop.
The finish is very good. The slide is Ceracoated in "Sniper Grey", sounds stupid, looks good. Since there are no pictures of it online, here's what the PX4 fullsize cut and crowned muzzle looks like...
The finish is functional as well as easy on the eyes. I have no issue with Beretta's bruntion finish, but Ceracoat is much better.
The gun carries well. I always found the 92 series, thanks to its lines, very easy to conceal. The PX4 is no exception, and thanks to the lighter polymer frame, it's that much nicer. Holster selection is OK, not glock level, but you got plenty of options.
For me, the LTT PX4 carry checks all the boxes, great DA/SA trigger, similar ergonomics to a 92 series, simpler and lighter, and accurate. This gun would have been a lifesaver during this summer (had it arrived as originally expected). I do love my M9A3, but the LTT PX4 has completely replaced it.
It's true the PX4 has a reputation, but for the most part, the ones who hate it have never shot one, most who own one aren't exactly high volume shooters, and the ones who own one, and shoot it a lot like it. Having messed around with a number of factory guns and this LTT gun, the PX4 has a *lot* to offer, especially if you are willing to have some work done to it. If you aren't willing to send off your PX4 or buy one from LTT, you can get a trigger job in a bag, which gets you pretty darned close in the trigger department.
I think the LTT Px4 is probably the best option for a DA/SA polymer gun out there, and the low recoil, accuracy and trigger puts it ahead of almost every metal framed DA/SA gun out there. The only fly on the ointment is the lack of grip texture.
