Old School
Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
- Messages
- 307
I recently picked up a Beretta PX4 in .45. The pistol is equipped with a double stack magazine. Oddly, the mag only holds 9 rounds. I could not help but compare the gun to my Ruger P345. The Ruger is nearly identicle in features and is equipped with a single stack magazine that holds 8 rounds.
Because the Ruger has a single stack mag, the Ruger's grip is considerable thinner than the Beretta. In fact the whole Ruger is thinner and more sleek than the Beretta. So I had to wonder, why Beretta chose to use the double stack design on the PX4 .45 magazine.
My first thought was that it allowed them to use a shorter magazine. However, when I measured the magazine, I found the Beretta PX4 mag to be 5 mm taller than the P345 single stack mag not to mention 8 mm wider. Obviously, that was not the motive.
I also observed that the Ruger single stack mag is far easier to load and seems to function much smoother than the Beretta double stack mag. So, the only conclusion that I could come to is that Beretta felt that it was a fair trade to sacrifice grip width, profile and magazine ease of use for that 1 extra round.
Am I in the minority in thinking that is not a fair trade?
Because the Ruger has a single stack mag, the Ruger's grip is considerable thinner than the Beretta. In fact the whole Ruger is thinner and more sleek than the Beretta. So I had to wonder, why Beretta chose to use the double stack design on the PX4 .45 magazine.
My first thought was that it allowed them to use a shorter magazine. However, when I measured the magazine, I found the Beretta PX4 mag to be 5 mm taller than the P345 single stack mag not to mention 8 mm wider. Obviously, that was not the motive.
I also observed that the Ruger single stack mag is far easier to load and seems to function much smoother than the Beretta double stack mag. So, the only conclusion that I could come to is that Beretta felt that it was a fair trade to sacrifice grip width, profile and magazine ease of use for that 1 extra round.
Am I in the minority in thinking that is not a fair trade?