Beretta PX4 Compact: My Best CCW?

There are times that I go for a week without even looking at my guns. This is not a common occurrence at my house, but it has been something that has been happening recently. When this happens, I have to find out how good my skills are and what firearm I can work with while I get back into the grind of focusing on remaining proficient with a variety of firearms and trigger systems.

I took out three pistols in order to see how well I work with these pistols and which one I will have to work with in order to get back into constant practice. All of these firearms were 9mm DA/SA and are about the size of the Glock 19. This size pistol is seen as a fine option for those looking for a good pistol that offers the best size/capacity ratio. The pistols used were the Beretta PX4 Compact, the CZ P-07, and the H&K P2000. 

When I took these pistols out, i was looking at a few things. i was looking to see how natural the point of aim was out of the holster, how well I could keep the gun on target, how fast I could shoot it EFFECTIVELY, and which one had the lowest recoil. Out of all of them, I found the Beretta PX4 Compact to be the best pistol in all these categories. This surprised me, but it was not unexpected that it would be a good contender, which is why I chose it in the lineup.

One of the things that surprised me the most about the pistol was how low the recoil was in comparison with the P2000, which utilizes a system that is supposed to dampen recoil and ease the beating the platform takes from constant, sustained firing. The PX4 Compact basically just utilizes a double spring made of standard round springs. they are pretty tight and the action is unprecedentedly smooth, but there is little in the design to soften the impact that the frame is subjected to when the slide cycles to the rear.
​When I was shooting this pistol, I merely experienced a light "thump" in felt recoil, even though the muzzle wanted to flip up slightly more than the P2000. The difference was that i felt a little more in control when gripping the gun tighter, and the feedback in felt recoil was low. This is much different from the way it was when I first bought the pistol. The recoil was stout at first and not as pleasant as other pistols in it's size class.

After this experience, I feel that it is wise to go with the Beretta PX4 Compact for the time being, though I will still test it against other pistols as my skills are sharpened once again. The ability it gives me to keep the rounds in a tight group and place the first round right on target is invaluable. As with any gun, I feel that the design has a bit of a flaw. With the PX4 Compact, I think it is dumb that the barrel is only 3.3" long, which is the same length as some tiny single stack options out there. This means that I need to be careful with the types of ammo that I am going to use in the pistol and that I need to make sure the rounds I use for carry perform to my standards in terminal ballistics.
​Thanks to my recent testing of certain carry ammo out of the PX4 Compact, I feel that the 115 and 124 grain Sig V-Crown are solid options in this barrel length. I think I will tend to lean towards the former option, since the latter did not always perform to my standards with thicker layers of clothing. Though in the summer time, I think the 124 grain variety will do just fine for this pistol.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this matter. What are your standards when looking for a good carry gun and how to you go about finding what pistol will be good for you? Furthermore, how do you choose your carry loads and what type of performance are you looking for?