It has the current-fashion exchangeable backstraps. The grip, for being a medium-capacity .45 ACP, is quite trim. I can just about get the tip of my right thumb to the first joint of my second finger when holding the PX4 Storm in a firing grip. I don't feel like I'm trying to grasp a 2x4-shaped bullet hose, sacrificing grip stability for extra shots.

There are nine rounds of .45 ACP in a double-stack magazine in there, and the author's thumb still makes the reach to the knuckle of the second finger.

It comes with two types of magazines: a flush-base nine-shot and an extended-base 10-shot. The 10-shot adds half an inch, and neither is oversized. I would not be at all uncomfortable packing even longer magazines in web gear in order to get a dozen or 14 shots in a longer magazine. I'd much rather do that than have shorter, fatter magazines for added capacity.

One aspect of the Beretta I find I like better than other high-caps or medium-capacity pistols is the shape of the tang area. Many of the others are blocky there, and in recoil I can feel the corners of the tang of those pistols hammering the web of my hand.

I first noticed such a design phenomenon when firing a Nazi-proofed Mauser HSc 30 years ago. As sexy as it looks and as puny as the recoil of the .32 ACP is, a few magazines of shooting that pistol and I had tears in my eyes.

The Storm is nicely rounded in the tang, and I don't feel that the recoil forces are being focused into any particular part of my hand. How comfortable? As is my wont, I shot so much I think our hosts were keeping a stash of ammo under the counter just so others would get a chance to shoot the .45 Storm.

However, there is a price to be paid for everything. The Storm's bore axis is a bit higher than the 1911. That and the lighter weight mean the muzzle jumps around more than you'd expect. Not that the recoil is anything to complain about--just that the muzzle is going to move. Fear not; it isn't going anywhere and will be right back where you want it in short order.

The pistol's rotating-barrel design means it has a higher bore axis than a 1911, which means more muzzle jump. Not too much, but more than some shooters might expect.

Brian Enos, the stellar competition shooter of the 1980s and 1990s, remarks in his book Practical Shooting: "I don't care if the front sight rises up into the sky and signs my name with a flourish. As long as it comes back down into the rear sight, recoil is not a problem."

The Storm front sight comes back down into the rear sight for me. I do not have to squirm behind the grip to keep the front sight under control. The recoil isn't harsh or oppressive--the muzzle just comes up some is all, and I can live with that. The size of the grip and the nonslip grip texture keep it solidly in my hand under recoil.

As for velocity and accuracy, it is what you'd expect--at least in velocity. With a barrel length of four inches, it delivers about what you'd figure a lightweight Commander would deliver: 50 fps less than a full-size gun. With the .45 ACP, which does its work with mass and cross-sectional area and not velocity, giving up 50 fps is no big deal.