# Beretta Cx4 Storm
The **Beretta Cx4 Storm** is a semi-automatic, blowback-operated pistol-caliber carbine made by the Italian firearms manufacturer Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta, introduced to American consumers in 2003 and chambered in 9x19 mm [Parabellum](https://www.edgepedia.org/parabellum), 9x21 mm IMI, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.[1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) • [2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) It was designed to share magazines and calibers with Beretta's service pistols, and its polymer stock was styled by the design firm Giugiaro.[1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) • [3](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol-caliber carbine, blowback operation, fires from the closed bolt[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) |
| Introduced | 2003 (US market)[1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) |
| Calibers | 9x19 mm Parabellum, 9x21 mm IMI, .40 S&W, .45 ACP[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) |
| Dimensions | 29.7 in long without spacers, 31.5 in with up to three; 16.6 in barrel; 90.8 oz (about 5.75 lb) unloaded[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) • [4](https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/9/28/taken-by-storm-beretta-px4-and-cx4/) |
| Magazine compatibility | Beretta 92/96/98 and 8000/8040/8045 Cougar series magazines via an adapter in the magazine seat; Px4-magazine variants also exist[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) • [1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) |
| Design | Exterior styling and ergonomics by Giugiaro Design[3](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf) |
| MSRP (2021) | $899 in 9 mm Luger with 10- or 15-round 92-series magazines[1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) |
| Canadian status | Restricted after the 2006 Dawson College shooting; made a prohibited firearm by PC 2020-298 (SOR/2020-96) in 2020[15](https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Annex-B-Reports.pdf) |
## Operation and construction
The Cx4 Storm is a blowback firearm: the pressure of the combustion gases pushes the heavy steel bolt rearward on firing, extracting and ejecting the spent case, cocking the hammer, and compressing the recoil spring; the bolt then returns forward, feeding the next cartridge from the magazine. The bolt stays open after the last round is fired.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) Beretta states that the blowback locking system and bolt safety are intended to provide reliability, stability, and precision in follow-up shots, and the carbine fires single action only from a closed bolt.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
**Construction.** Virtually all exterior surfaces are polymer, wrapped around a steel chassis that supports the heavy recoiling bolt; the barrel is steel, cold hammer forged, and chrome lined.[4](https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/9/28/taken-by-storm-beretta-px4-and-cx4/) • [2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) The manual notes that the extensive use of Beretta's technopolymer keeps the carbine light and gives it corrosion resistance and color that will not wear or scratch off.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
**Ambidextrous layout.** The extractor, ejector, cocking handle, ejection port cover, magazine release, and manual safety are all reversible for right- or left-handed use.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) The carbine has no magazine safety, so it can fire a chambered round even if the magazine is removed or dislodged; Beretta describes this as a deliberate choice so the carbine remains usable in emergencies.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
## Sights, stock, and accessories
The front post sight is fully adjustable for windage and elevation, and the rear peep sight has long- and short-range apertures; both fold down when optics are mounted and are protected by polymer "ears" on their sides.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) • [1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) The sight radius is 12.9 inches (327 mm), which a Police Magazine review singled out as an advantage for delivering pistol ammunition accurately from a shouldered stock.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) • [6](https://www.policemag.com/articles/beretta-cx4-storm-carbine)
The length of pull can be adjusted from 13 1/4 inches to 15 inches by adding up to three stock spacers, each adding 0.6 inch; one spacer is supplied with the gun.[3](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf) • [2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) A retractable [Picatinny rail](https://www.edgepedia.org/picatinny-rail) under the fore-end extends for mounting a tactical light or laser and retracts out of sight when unused, and hard mounting points accept additional side, top, and bottom Picatinny rails for optics, lights, lasers, and vertical grips.[3](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf) • [1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) Sling swivels are fitted front and rear.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
## Magazine families and variants
The carbine's central design idea is magazine commonality with Beretta pistols. Where permitted by law, the Cx4 Storm uses the same magazines as the [Beretta 92](https://www.edgepedia.org/beretta-92)/96/98 series and the 8000/8040/8045 Cougar pistols through an adapter assembled in the magazine seat.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf) American Rifleman describes three branches of the family named for the magazines they run: the Storm 90 line in 9 mm NATO, 9x21 mm, and .40 S&W; the Storm 8000 line in 9 mm NATO, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP; and the Storm Px4 models in 9 mm NATO and .40 S&W.[1](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/) Magazine capacities are 10, 15, or 20 rounds in 9 mm Parabellum, 10 or 15 in 9x21 mm IMI, 10 or 11 in .40 S&W, and 8 in .45 ACP; commercial carbines sold in the US market are supplied with 10-round magazines in accordance with US federal guidelines.[2](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
Beretta's defense catalog places the Cx4 Storm carbine alongside the Mx4 Storm submachine gun as products combining high-tech materials and ergonomics for hostile environments and close-protection units.[7](https://www.berettadefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/catalogo_bdt.pdf)
## Design and reception
Beretta commissioned the industrial designer [Giorgetto Giugiaro](https://www.edgepedia.org/giorgetto-giugiaro), known for his car designs, to shape the carbine's ergonomics and style; the 2003 Beretta catalog credits "Giugiaro Design" explicitly and describes the rounded forms as snag-free, modern, and innovative.[3](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf) • [8](https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/rifles/umarex-beretta-cx4-storm-in-airgun-version/) The futuristic look carried into popular culture: the Italian shooting magazine Armi e Tiro notes that the carbine appeared in the science-fiction series [Battlestar Galactica](https://www.edgepedia.org/battlestar-galactica).[9](https://www.armietiro.it/beretta-cx4-storm-il-ritorno-della-tempesta-11056)
Reviewers have generally described it as a reliable, light, compact carbine whose main selling point is pairing with a Beretta pistol chambered for the same cartridge. A Police Magazine evaluation of the 9 mm version with a red-dot sight reported all 16 rounds in the head zone of a target at 50 yards, most clustered under three inches, and noted that the design allows comfortable all-day carry on a one- or three-point sling.[10](https://www.policemag.com/articles/patrol-rifles-2007) Commentators have also noted that it was overshadowed in its first decade by AR- and AK-type rifles in the American market.[11](https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/beretta-cx4-review/)
## Use in the Dawson College shooting and Canadian law
On September 13, 2006, Kimveer Gill opened fire at Dawson College in Montreal with a Beretta Cx4 Storm, a handgun, and a shotgun, killing one person, Anastasia De Sousa, and injuring nineteen others before killing himself.[15](https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Annex-B-Reports.pdf) • [12](https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/dawson-community-survived-its-worst-day-through-resilience-compassion-and-well-being-for-all/?issue=2026-09-17) The Mass Casualty Commission's expert report on Canadian gun control records that the carbine was legally owned and could use a ten-round magazine, exploiting a regulatory loophole under which magazines not purposely designed for a specific gun were exempt from the five-round limit that normally applied to restricted long guns; the coroner in the case concluded that without ten-round magazines the shooter might have wounded only half as many people on the sidewalk.[5](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/bcp-pco/CP32-166-2-2023-2-eng.pdf) • [13](https://www.noscommunes.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/SECU/meeting-44/evidence)
The Cx4 Storm was classified as a restricted firearm in Canada after the shooting.[14](https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/SEN/Committee/411/lcjc/16eva-49446-e) In 2020, Order in Council PC 2020-298 (SOR/2020-96) made the Beretta Cx4 Storm a prohibited firearm in Canada.[15](https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Annex-B-Reports.pdf)
## References
1. [Beretta Cx4 Storm: A Space-Age Pistol Caliber Carbine, American Rifleman (December 11, 2021)](https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/beretta-cx4-storm-a-space-age-pistol-caliber-carbine/)
2. [Beretta Cx4 Storm user manual (CX4_ENG_A4), Beretta](https://dam.beretta.com/content/dam/beretta/manuals/carabines/cx4-storm/CX4_ENG_A4.pdf)
3. [2003 Beretta catalog, Berettaweb](https://www.berettaweb.com/Beretta%20Catalogs/Catalogs/2003_Beretta_Catalog.pdf)
4. [Taken By Storm: Beretta Px4 and Cx4, American Rifleman (2010)](https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/9/28/taken-by-storm-beretta-px4-and-cx4/)
5. [Turning the Tide Together: Final Report of the Mass Casualty Commission, Annex B (2023)](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/bcp-pco/CP32-166-2-2023-2-eng.pdf)
6. [Beretta Cx4 Storm Carbine, Police Magazine (2003)](https://www.policemag.com/articles/beretta-cx4-storm-carbine)
7. [Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta defense catalog](https://www.berettadefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/catalogo_bdt.pdf)
8. [Beretta CX4 Storm in airgun version: the powerful CO2 rifle from Umarex, all4shooters](https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/rifles/umarex-beretta-cx4-storm-in-airgun-version/)
9. [Il ritorno della tempesta, Armi e Tiro](https://www.armietiro.it/beretta-cx4-storm-il-ritorno-della-tempesta-11056)
10. [Patrol Rifles 2007, Police Magazine](https://www.policemag.com/articles/patrol-rifles-2007)
11. [Mini-Review: Beretta CX4 Storm 9mm Carbine, Lucky Gunner (2014)](https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/beretta-cx4-review/)
12. [Dawson community survived its worst day through resilience, compassion and well-being for all, Dawson College Newsroom](https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/dawson-community-survived-its-worst-day-through-resilience-compassion-and-well-being-for-all/?issue=2026-09-17)
13. [Evidence, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (44-1), No. 44, House of Commons of Canada](https://www.noscommunes.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/SECU/meeting-44/evidence)
14. [Transcripts, Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (41st Parliament, 1st Session)](https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/SEN/Committee/411/lcjc/16eva-49446-e)
15. [Turning the Tide Together, Annex B: Brown, The History of Gun Control in Canada (Mass Casualty Commission)](https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Annex-B-Reports.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineering and manufacturing › Firearms and ammunition › Rifles and carbines › Lever-action and civilian rifles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license