I got two of the extended baseplates from Meg-Gar, that transform their 18 round magazine into a 20-rounder. No spring change is necessary.

They fit easily in the DeSantis pouch. I do not know if the Beretta factory 20s, which are considerably longer, would fit. I shot an email to DeSantis and they said they'd look and see.

But the real advantage to these baseplates is not the extra 2 rounds, but the fact that the mag is no longer flush in the magwell. the stock-length mags actually sit a bit inside the magwell and I had a couple of failures to fully seat the first time I tried them at the range. Operator error, to be sure, but in a high stress (home invasion) situation, error could be fatal. So these let you slam a new mag home without fumble. Same reason I had a base pad on my spare mag when I carried 1911 for EDC.

Even with two twenties loaded with 124 grain, the carbine doesn't seem much heavier, because the weight is all at the buttstock.

Overall if you have a Cx4 carbine, the DeSantis pouch and a couple of Mec-Gar twenties are worth it. You can start with a 30 in the gun, and if for some reason the Gang of Five makes you run through that, you have 40 more on the buttstock. Ought to handle any urban situation.


Note to Merle re: trigger. I guess I got lucky, because mine breaks cleanly at 8 pounds, which is not too high for a defense carbine. Others tell me theirs are heavier.