Bartolomeo Must Be Rolling In His Grave

The business that he ran was probably already in operation for many years before 1526 but it was that year, which is shown on an invoice, during which Mastro (Master) Bartolomeo Beretta sold close to 200 long gun barrels to a city/state arsenal in Italy. The Beretta family business/company has been in business ever since, in fact probably longer, and is one of the premiere firearms makers in the world. They make or have made everything from matchlock long guns to flintlock handguns, to double barrel shotguns - veritable works of the gunmaker's art - valued at tens of thousands of dollars apiece, to modern revolvers and semi automatic pistols to true assault rifles as in real weapons of war. More on Beretta's history here: https://www.beretta.com/en/company/fabbrica-d-armi-pietro-beretta/history.

 

In all that time, the Beretta name has been the hallmark of excellence in firearms manufacturing. So when it comes to my latest acquisition of a Beretta pistol - the Beretta APX A1 Carry 9mm semiautomatic pistol - if mine is the norm for these particular handguns I must wonder if Bartolomeo is agonizing from the grave. This particular pistol, in my opinion, might well be enough to cause his spirit not only to rattle chains and moan in agony but to take those chains and bind closed forever the doors of Beretta's manufacturing plants.

 

Make no mistake about it, even though I just said that about the APX A1 Carry pistol, I remain and have been an avid Beretta fan for over four decades. I purchased my first Beretta pistol when I was a Border Patrol Agent back in the early 1980s. Since then I can account for 18 other Beretta pistols that I have purchased and am fairly certain there were at least two or three more that have passed through my personal inventory. Right now, as I type, I own 11 of them but chances are before too long, I will own only 10. Those I currently own include: a Beretta 70S in 22 LR, a Beretta 70S in 380 AUTO, a Beretta 84B in 380 AUTO, a Beretta 87 Target in 22 LR, two Beretta 92FS pistols in 9mm, two Beretta 92FS Compact L Type M pistols (these use single stack mags) in 9mm, a Beretta 92SB in 9mm, a Beretta 950 BS in 22 Short, and my latest acquisition the Beretta APX A1 Carry.

 

To say that I have thought Beretta pistols as being to my liking is a gross understatement. They truly have been among the best, if not the very best, handguns I have ever owned. In fact, with that thought in my mind, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase something new for me - a Beretta striker fired (as per the vernacular) pistol. So, I purchased a Beretta APX A1 Carry pistol back in November 2022. All of my other Beretta pistols have been semi-autos and all metal except for the grips and all have external hammers. This new one is quite different as it has a polymer frame, does not have an external hammer and is striker fired. Well now that I have it, my opinion of Beretta pistols is newly revised as well, at least relative to my opinion of this particular one.

 

Striker fired handguns are nothing new. For example, my oldest one is an Ortgies semi-automatic pistol that was manufactured in the 1920s. Over the period of time since my Ortgies was manufactured (and longer) - the striker fired semi-automatic pistol has gone through many advancements. Many handguns today are of that type. Glock introduced their pistols back in the early 1980s (I think 1982 - the lock 17) and they pretty much took the market by storm shortly thereafter. Since then though many other, if not all major manufacturers of semi-auto defensive pistols have created their own versions modern striker fired pistols. 

 

One of the notable things about striker fired pistols, as opposed to double action semiautomatic pistols is that the length of trigger pull is often very short as is the trigger reset. Those made by high quality manufacturers often, but not always, have a smooth crisp actions. This is where the Beretta APC Carry A1 figuratively falls on its face and I think could be making Bartolomeo turn uneasily in his grave, if not actually rise from it, in protest that this gun bears the Beretta family name.

 

I took it to the range a couple of days ago and shot about a hundred rounds or so through it. Normally, when I fire a new gun for the first time, I shoot at least 200 rounds through it to assure it is functioning properly (at least I try to do so with those I am fairly certain I will be keeping and possibly using for self defense). I would prefer to shoot 300 to 500 rounds through new ones like that but the truth is that ammunition became very pricey over the past few years. Even though it has come down markedly in price just lately, it is not as cheap as it once was and my pocket book is a lot skinnier than it used to be what with the inflation apparently caused by President Joe Biden and his administration.  

 

The things I do not like, at all, about the Beretta APX A1 Carry mostly have to do with the trigger's action. First of all, and this is all my opinion: the trigger has an overly long, a seemingly very - very - very long length of travel, before it will cause the gun to go BOOM. That is mostly evident as trigger take-up. Then there is the part of the trigger's overall travel referred to as trigger creep. That is the trigger pull, once it evidently engages other internal parts and causes them to move - such as the sear. It feels outright crunchy like there is sand or other grit in the action. Granted the creep may smooth out over time as the gun breaks in, so to speak. My view on that - it should not be crunchy feeling in the first place and in today's world there should be no break-in period required, a pistol should be ready to go at its best right out of the box except maybe for cleaning. Then there is the trigger reset - the reset that was very hard for me to feel when firing this pistol. 

 

Another thing I dislike very much about this pistol is that, according to the manual, it requires a tool to disassemble it for field stripping. You need to insert a punch or something else like a ballpoint pen tip (they actually recommend this in the manual even though this means the ball point pen's ball possibly could come lose and then I guess may wind up in the works of the pistol or at least have you wind up with ink in the works). The tool needs to depress the Striker Deactivation Button on the right rear side of the frame. It is otherwise easy to disassemble for field stripping without tools beyond that point. Assembly was straightforward and easy, it did not require a tool to assemble from a field stripped condition. I did not disassemble it further. Why on earth Beretta would create a defensive pistol that requires a tool to field strip it is beyond the scope of my imagination.

 

Additionally, I do not like the grip. It just does not feel right in my hands. It is on the small and thin side but then it is a compact single stack pistol; yet, other single stack pistols I own do not have the same inadequate feel for me when I hold them. That of course is a subjective and personal issue but I must point out, this is the first Beretta pistol I have owned or fired for which I have noticed this foible. Because it is a fairly thin pistol, it is easy to conceal or should be for most shooters.

 

As for the specs, I'd give them to you from the Beretta website but for some unknown reason, I cannot find the APX A1 Carry shown therein. (I wonder, has it already been discontinued?) There are a few to several APX pistols pictured on their site but the Beretta APX A1 Carry no longer seems to be one of them. The specs, of course, are shown in the manual. Sadly though, if you are considering purchasing one of these pistols and want to check the specs, you are unlikely to have a manual for it at hand because they come packaged in the box with each new APX A1 Carry pistol. I though will give you some of those specs for my APX A1 Carry, as they appear in the manual (for educational purposes):

Model: APX A1 Carry

Caliber: 9x19 (9mm Luger, aka 9mm Parabellum)

Magazine: 6 rounds (8 round extended optional) - Note mine came with an extended mag base on one of its two magazines, one mag base, attached to one of the mags, that was not an extension but has a small finger lip and another spare magazine base with no finger lip.

Sights: Removable front and rear

Frame Chasis: Stainless steel

Grip Frame: Fiberglass reinforced technopolymer

Slide: Steel with Nitride finish

Barrel: Steel with Nitride finish

Safety: Automatic striker block & trigger drop safeties

Length: 5.8"

Barrel Length: 3.1"

Grip Width: 1"

Width: 1"

Height" 4.4"

Sight Radius: 4.7" ( I did not measure this but it seems a bit longer.)

Weight: About 20 ounces with empty magazine

 

If you do consider getting one, I suppose I should also mention other parts such as the sights and slide. The rear sight is a notched sight without any sighting assist dots. It is plain black in color and the rear side of it (side nearest the shooter's eye) is grooved, that probably to cut down on possible glare. The front sight is a post with a single white dot. It is easy to get on target fast with a good sight picture and alignment. The sights are removable and if I understand correctly the rear sight base area of the slide accommodates a red dot sight on the APX's optics plate. That plate seems to be in place with the rear notched sight sitting atop it. There are directions in the manual on how to install a red dot sight. The manual is okay but the photographs in it are very small and some of the photos' details are very difficult to see due to small size and darkness/contrast of some of the shots.

The slide has wide grooves front and rear. The slide is easy to operate but the wide grooves do not seem to me to add to its function and appear to me to be that wide more for the tacticool effect than anything else.

The internal workings, at least many of them, are evidently located in a chassis that sits inside the frame.

As for how it shot, it was satisfactory as far as I shot it. I only fired it out to ten yards. I did not shoot further out because I had to stop shooting because to the stiffness of trigger pull seemingly caused by the crunchy feeling trigger creep was so bad as to make shooting it not only uncomfortable for me but actually painful to my trigger finger. I shot a fist sized group a bit low and to the left of dead center.

The need to use a tool of some sort to field strip this pistol, in my estimation, sets it back around 40 years from currently made defensive pistols that I have used and owned. More importantly, I think in a defensive pistol, is the trigger and its operation. In fact, the the trigger and the operation of the trigger are some of the most important aspects of any firearm and of the users ability to shoot it well. The Beretta APX A1 Carry trigger, has (in my mind) one of the worst trigger actions I have ever encountered in all my 57 or 58 years of shooting. That trigger was supposedly reworked and improved  by Beretta; yet, I think it has no place on a high quality handgun. In my opinion, any gun with a trigger like that does not deserve to wear the proud Beretta name or trademarks. 

 

Now, I'll leave it to Beretta as to decide onto what they want to put their name and on what they want their reputation to depend. I am truly shocked though that they have decided their name and reputation are, even in part, suitable to be associated with the APX A1 Carry. If I had to rate this one on a alphabetic scale, I'd give it a C minus or C at best. Despite its name of APX A1 Carry, it is not a gun I'd choose to carry for self-defense unless in an absolute emergency where I thought a better made pistol was unavailable.

In closing let me tell you what a guy on a gun forum wrote after I posted about the price I paid and the rebate offer with which it came: "So, you got a Beretta for $199.99 after rebate? Damn, that’s Hi-Point money". Truth be told, I think it may be the low point of Beretta quality (or lack thereof) to which Beretta has ever fallen. That's my opinion, yours may vary.

All the  best,

Glenn B

I Don't Usually Go Christmas Shopping On Black Friday...

 ...but when I do I buy myself something nice. Really, I was not intent on making any purchases yesterday and definitely was not about to go out to stores to do any Christmas shopping nor any other shopping. Black Friday is just too crazy for me; the lines I have seen outside of some stores over the years have been long and sometimes there for days with people camped out in tents while waiting before the sale event. The last time I waited on really long lines for many long hours was for tickets to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden and for one of their shows at the Nassau Coliseum in Nassau County NY (I was on the line for well over 24 hours in freezing cold for the one at the Coliseum). That was back in the 1970s. I got great tickets for both shows but had to settle for listening to one of those shows broadcast live on the radio because I wound up in the hospital after an emergency appendectomy; I did not eat Quarter Pounders with cheese for years after that because it was after eating one that I had the appendicitis attack but I digress so...

 

As I said, I usually do not shop on Black Friday but I unintentionally wound up doing just that yesterday and I got myself a nice Christmas present. For a good many years of my adult life,  I have figured if I am going to essentially be Santa Claus for others then I may as well be Santa for myself too. Now mind you, I did not get off the couch to shop at any stores; instead I was scouring the Internet at first looking at some things on the Beretta site (not guns) and then merely looking at Black Friday deals related to firearms. I was not seeking to get myself something but was just killing time and wondering if I should get my son anything else firearms related for his birthday when I came across an advertisement for this at $359.99: 

 

 

 

 

That is a Beretta APX A1 Carry (click on the link for specs and such) 9mm pistol. I was not looking to buy it but it did seem like a great deal. After seeing ad, I checked out the pistol on Gun-Tests Magazine's website. The APX Carry got a best buy review from them and an A rating so I figured its A1 version would be just as good. I was beginning to get intrigued and then went to check on prices for it at AmmoSeek.com. That is where I saw that the Sportsmans Outdoor Superstore was offering it for $60 less. That hooked me.

 

Since the price of this one was only $299.99 and that there is a currently running $100 rebate offer from Beretta on them, I ordered one almost without hesitation. Yeah, I admit, I hesitated a bit because finances are not all that great right now but what pushed me over the edge was that I'd be getting a Beretta at a Hi-Point price. Imagine that a Beretta for $199.99 plus tax after the rebate and I got free shipping too. How could anyone who is a Beretta fan turn down that Black Friday deal! I can only hope (and I guess expect) that the quality of this little gun will be as good as what went into the making of all of my other Berettas. It will be my first striker fired, polymer frame, Beretta pistol but definitely not my first Beretta. I kind of, sort of almost definitely a fan of Beretta pistols - being I already own ten of them, I suppose that probably qualifies me at least as a bit of of a fan.

Merry Christmas, ahead of time, to me from me. My thanks to  Bartolomeo who started it all in 1526, to Pietro who modernized the company and to all the others in the Beretta family who have made & continue to make some of the highest quality firearms the world has ever seen. Thanks also need be given to the big guy upstairs who gave us his only begotten son as the gift that started it all. 

 

For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. (John 3:16 )

 

Christmas, as I see it, has always been about giving; albeit, maybe not to ones-self but can you blame me? After all it was 'such a deal' (Murry the vendor, personal communication); so, how could I resist. I hope your Christmas shopping works out as well as mine has so far.

All the best,

Glenn B

About To Have Me Another Beretta...

 ...as in another Beretta 92FS Compact L, Type M. Type M indicates the frame with a mag well for single stack 8 round magazine. Some may ask: Why have two of these? I would answer: Why not as long as you like em and I do like em! My other has OEM wood grips. In fact, I like all of my soon to be 10 Beretta pistols including what will be the five 92 series pistols among them. Those 92 series pistols make me look like a good shot ;>).

 

I am guessing it will be shipped to a local dealer sometime this week. So, I may have it by week's end or early next week.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Range Day Today With It's Ups & Downs

By Tuesday or Wednesday of this week it was turning out to be just another week pretty much full of drudgery & boredom for me here in the Texarkana area. Had it not been for me going to Sam's Club (once my membership expires they probably can kiss my arse goodbye), running a few other errands and going in to see a doc, I would have been pretty much apartment bound all week watching Star Trek Enterprise on Netflix.

Then, when Brendan got in touch with me to tell me he was going to buy a Remington Model 700, in 308 WIN, for hunting this year, I told him if he wanted it he cold have my still new in the box Savage 111 Long Range Hunter. He hemmed and hawed only a little and said that might not be too shabby.

So, I started to get things in order for a trip to see him over in Benton, AR and to bring along the Savage 111 LRH. I also started a thread on Texas Gun Talk, a local to TX gun forum, to see what others thought about the Savage 111 LRH in 300 Winchester Magnum. Some thought it a good idea, others thought it too much gun. With the thought of it maybe being too much gun, I decided to bring along a few others in 3 additional calibers: 30-30 WIN, 308 WIN, and 35 REM. I spent a good deal of Thursday night and Friday morning into the afternoon cleaning guns, mounting a scope, getting ammo ready and so on and that was much better than being bored to tears in Texarkana (not that it is necessarily a boring town, just I have not gotten to really know anyone or the town itself yet).

On Friday afternoon I headed over to his place in Benton, got there late around 645PM or so. I had planned to leave earlier to make it to him by 4 or 5 at the latest but had to make a run to the post office before it closed. On my way there I remembered that I had some Jarlsberg and Cheddar cheeses in my fridge for him and of course, in my frenzied rush to get to the post office before closing, and then to finally shove off to his place, with getting all my guns and ammo together (well almost all of my ammo as you will see), I had left them behind. Back to my apartment to get the cheeses and out the door by 445 or a bit later. Once I got to Benton, we went out to get some burgers at red Robin. They have surprisingly greasy and very tasty burgers - both things to my liking. They also have some very strong mixed drinks of which I only had one. They also have a very cute and oerky waitress that Brendan seems to like - who knows. After the eats, back to his place and more drinking was to be done of Laird's Applejack, Some Knappogue Castle 16 year old single malt Irish whiskey, some 12 year old  Redbreast Irish whiskey, a shot of some liquor that was somewhat like Yeagermeister, and a few Bitburger Pilsners. We woke up late on Saturday morning, had some strong coffee, ate a bit of breakfast, I went to Home Depot to get some packing boxes out of which to make targets and we finally got off to a pretty late start. What the heck though - we went to the range to have some shooty goodness kind of fun.

We drove about 63 miles of so from his place to Pigeon Roost Range i he in his car and me in mine. I sat in his parking lot for 10 minutes waiting for him to come down to his car only to find out he had been right behind me as I went to my car and he had already left. Damn. I wound up turning off the highway, onto the dirt road to the range, maybe a couple of hundred feet behind him. Either he drove pretty slowly or I drove too fast but I am not telling. 

It was nice and sunny ad not too hot when we got there. not humid either. The best thing was that we had the range to ourselves. We got to business setting up targets, sorting ammo and getting otherwise ready to shoot.  I handed him the Savage 111 LRH and he liked the heft of it. Then I showed him the ammo next to a 308 WIN round and a 30-06 round. Both he and I were impressed - the 300 WIN MAG is huge compared even to a 30-06 round. I think maybe he was a little hesitant to take the first shot but he did and he then loaded up another and fired again, he liked it. In fact, he liked the Savage LRH in 300 WIN MAG very much. He only took a few shots with it, because there are no sights and no glass on it, just to check out the recoil. I did not bother mounting a scope to it because Savage said they are sending a replacement stock due to a problem of the bolt hitting the cheek-piece when trying to remove the bolt and necessitating removal of the adjustable cheek piece to get the bolt out. When I get that, I will probably pick up a Vortex crossfire scope for it or maybe something a little better from the same company.

He also tried out the Savage Axis XP. We fired several rounds through it and planned to fire a lot more since I had an abundance of 308 BUT then the glass went kerflooey. One of the internal pieces of glass near the eyepiece turned around sideways. So much for cheap scopes that come packaged on a rifle. Of course, bouncing around in a van moving from NY to AR and then in another moving it from AR to TX could have had something to do with it. A new scope needed, probably also Vortex something or other this next time around. Anyway, he liked the recoil of the 308 as well as that of the 300 WIN MAG. I think he was impressed that the much larger round had about the same kick as did the 308.

On Thursday evening, while getting ready for the trip, I had mounted a cheap BSA scope on my Remington 141, slide action rifle in 35 REM. It was set to be parallax free at 100 yards - not something I usually go for in a scope, I prefer one parralax free at 25 yards or less with an adjustable adjustable objective lens. I picked up that scope somewhere I cannot recall - maybe in a combined lot of items at one of the Hessney auctions I attended and had it on hand so made use of it. Luckily, I had the 141 sighted in at the range, at 25 yards, after only 6 shots after merely having slapped on the scope and having tightened the screws. He liked that rifle too; although, the scope was pure junk. I told him if he wanted it, he could get a better piece of glass for it and he could have the 141 since he needs a hunting rifle for this season. He was undecided. We wound up only firing only 12 rounds total through the Remington 141 and I had wanted both him and me to shoot more rounds out of it but we only had one box of 35 REM being I had mistakenly grabbed an extra box of 308 in my hurry to get going to head his way Friday afternoon and I left the second box of 35 REM on a table in my living room (remember I said I had taken almost all of my ammo). We used the other eight rounds in my Marlin 336.

When we shot the remaining 8 rounds of 35 REM ammo through my Marlin 336 we found it was off maybe 4 inches to the left; both for him and for me. I need to sight that one in again when I bring the right ammo. Seems it must have lost lost zero sometime during my move from NY to AR to TX. Oh well - next time I hit the range with it, I will make sure to have enough ammo to sight it in. Things were getting a bit frustrating what with a scope going bust and without enough 35 REM so I decided to steer things elsewhere because it was getting obvious Brendan wanted to head home.

It was a lot nicer of a day than the last time we got together there maybe a few weeks ago. Back then the temp was in the high 90s to maybe over 100 and it was humid as all hell and had us soaked from sweat - one of those days where if you are not wearing a cap, the sweat just keeps running into your eyes while firing. No we did not have caps. Today though, I am guessing it was around 87 at most and nowhere nearly as humid as the day of our last range trip. So, since we were not sweating buckets, he readily took me up on my offer of a box of 100 rounds of 9mm FMJ and got in some practice with his Glock 43. I too the time to shoot several rounds through my Beretta 950BS in 22 short. Disappointingly, I discovered that the Triple-K magazine I bought for it, at a gun show last week, was assembled incorrectly and that prevented it from being loaded with more than one round. There is an obvious manufacture flaw on one side that I had not noticed when taking it out of the package. I am hopeful Triple-K or the dealer will make good on it despite me having thrown out the clam-shell packaging and not getting a receipt. Time and an email or phone call will tell. Anyway, we also both fired several mags worth of ammo out of my Glock 30.

After we were done shooting the pistols, out of ammo for either of the rifles in 35 REM and unable to aim the Savage Axis in 308 because the scope went belly up, I brightened up Brendan when I told him I had the pièce de résistance yet to come - my Marlin 36 in 30-30 Winchester (and that I had three boxes of ammo for it). No glass on this old timer - just the original iron sights. We both shot it at 25 yards first. Each of us shot a bit to the left of center with group sizes I am conservatively estimating to have been at about 1.5 to 2 inches. Then I moved the target to 50 yards and we tried again. I am guesstimating the group sizes to have been about 3.5 to 4.5 inches across at most, which I am thinking equals minute of pie plate at 100 yards. It also shot a bit more to the left. I think drifting the front sight a bit to the left will help there, that is if it can be drifted. He was very impressed with that Marlin 36 not only because it was a nice shooter but because it still has a good deal of its original case color. I should mention that two rounds did not go bang, I was firing 150 grain Winchester Power Point ammo out of the second box of it and both rounds that did not fire came from that box. It looked like light hits or hard primers. None of the rounds in the other box of 150 grain ammo failed to fire nor did any from a box of 170 grain Winchester power point fail to fire. My guess is the primers but again, time (and other brands of ammo) will tell.

I would have tried the Marlin 36 at 100 yards but as we were firing it at 50 yards, two other guys showed up to shoot. There had been no one else there while we were shooting and the new arrivals helped us make the decision it was time to leave. We have been to that range before and all I can say is each time we shot there - me by myself once and me with him at least two other times - while others were using that range at the same time - we wound up seeing people loading standing well behind the firing line and wound up with guns pointing at us and on at least two of those occasions they were loaded. Going to a public range where there are no range officers can be a scary experience. Sometimes I point out safety violations to others, at other times we just pack our gear and leave the range because sometimes you can just feel that whatever you say will be taken with an attitude of who the heck are you to be telling me anything by the offending party. Today, even though the two guys who showed up looked nice and competent enough, we just did not want to take a chance and we called it a day. For all we knew, they (my guess is a father and son) could have been the safest shooters around besides us but we had shot enough and decided to head to Bubba Brews on route 70 near Bonnerdale for some eats.

We had a couple of appetizers and  a a couple of drinks and called it a day. I truly sucks eggs having to go our separate ways and to have to wait as Roy Rogers used to say "Until we meet again" but that's the way it is, at least for now. I am hoping we can get together in a couple oif weeks either for shooting or maybe for some fishing. Next weekend is out, Brendan already has something planned with his buddies - so maybe I'll get a TX hunting & fishing license and head out to wet a line by myself.

By the way, after a nice day shooting, when I asked him if he wanted one of the rifles for hunting season this year, he told me he might use his shotgun but really liked the Savage 111 LRH. If he wants it, he can have it but he will have to buy the glass for it. Same as for any of them that need a scope, I figure giving him a rifle is generous enough. If he does not want any of them, all the better for me.  
All the best,
Glenn B

PS: I will proof read this later. Sorry no pics today.

Biweekly Guns Shots 13 - A Lucky Gun Beretta 92SB

Well the pistol model it self may not be lucky, but the particular pistol that is pictured in this blog sure was lucky for me. This is the one that got me the moniker of Ballseye. I won't go into that story much except to say that the name describes where a shot I fired went in a self defense shooting in which I came out the winner many years ago. The long version of that story can be found here.

As for the pistol, the Beretta Model 92SB was the predecessor to the Beretta 92F (or the military version called the M1). This was the pistol tested back in the 1980s by the US military that blew away the competition. Out of many guns tested only two passed the test, the first place Beretta 92SB having more than twice the points of the 2nd place finisher. I read about the testing in Soldier of Fortune magazine. Man they had great articles on guns, and great articles about conflict going on in the world about which the media told you virtually to absolutely nothing. (One conflict in a northern African nation had been ongoing for about 20 years with nary a peep from the media. SOF has a couple of articles about it, then suddenly a couple of months later the media was all over it. There were lots of other instances like that too.)

Well I read that article about the 92SB and I was convinced I had to have one. A local store in El Centro (I lived in California then) had one in stock and I paid the asking price that was probably overpriced. I never regretted that purchase. Right from the beginning I knew I had a winner. The pistol is described as a double/single action 9mm pistol. It has a double stack magazine that holds 15 rounds of 9mm parabellum ammunition. One can also safely be carried in the chamber for a total of 16. The slide mounted safety lever is really a hammer drop lever and is ambidextrous there being one on either side of the slide. The hammer is exposed. The grips were either plastic or wood, mine came with plastic grips. The sights were a two dot system. The rear sight driftable for windage, the front sight fixed. There is an external takedown lever on the left side of the frame. It came in a blued finish that looked black. I got mine with two extra magazines.

Firing this thing was different. I had only owned a few other pistols before, and I had most of my handgun shooting experience with revolvers such as the Colt Border patrol and the S&W Models 19 and Model 66. The grips on the 92SB seemed huge, and I suppose they were very wide. That was to fit the double stack mags I suppose and because this was a full sized service pistol. Regardless of not having shot semi-auto pistols all that much before I got this one, I shot it just fine right out of the box. It hit where I aimed with a reliability I had not expected. There was little kick being that the 9mm is barley a satisfactorily powered round at best, but that was okay by me with 16 rounds to fire before reloading.

Over the years my Beretta 92SB took lots of abuse. Sure I cleaned and oiled it right after shooting it each time it got shot; but there were still a lot of knocks and hard times in store for this firearm. Despite taking a beating, and being used in all types of conditions, this pistol never let me down. In all the years I have had it - I imagine there have been less than a dozen malfunctions with it, those usually stovepipes (a failure to eject properly that was easily cleared and probably due to operator error or the ammo). It certainly did not let me down when I relied on it to thwart a robbery in progress - I was the one being robbed.

Because of its stellar performance over the years, I decided to buy a couple of Beretta 92Fs some years later. I am also quite satisfied with them. The only drawback I can see with them is there finish. Once it starts coming off, it seems to flake off in small patches, sort of like chrome coming off. Mine is not missing much of the finish, but is missing some. This has happened to one of mine and that one has fired several thousand rounds through it and also taken quite a beating otherwise over the years. The other one is still in great condition because I have used it much less. I have also owned about 5 Beretta Jetfires (I sold one only to miss it and buy another, did it again, then again, had another rust badly because it got dunked in and out of sea water over several hours in my pocket, and so on...), 2 Beretta 70S pistols (one was stolen) and I plan to someday buy a Beretta shotgun. The one thing that seems to be standard for the Berettas I have owned has been high quality. The 92SB was, and is, a stellar example of that.

All the best,

Glenn B

Biweekly Gun Shots - The Beretta SO10 EELL

Today I pretty much have to let beauty speak for itself. I do so not only because there was scant information on the Beretta website about this shotgun, but more so because the two pictures I am about to show you say it all. In what ways can two pictures say it all, here let me give it a try: Fine craftsmanship, hard work, attention to detail, form, fit, function, beauty, appeal, beauty, utility, luxury - I need not go on, just take a look for yourself (click to enlarge). Wow! Here another shot, this one of the whole gun.

These are some of the finest examples of the gunsmith and engravers work that you will ever find. I cannot even begin to guess at the actual price, but should I venture a guess I would say that one of these easily must be well above $50,000, and I would not doubt they are well above $100,000. Probably worth every penny of it too. Note the designation EL stands for extra luxury and the EELL stands for that level brought up to the highest level attainable. I can believe it looking at this gun! More info on this one can be found at:

https://www.berettausa.com/e2wShoppingCatalog.aspx?parentID=3100001375&parentLink=2100000084:3100001362:3100001375

Yeah I know, you and I will never be able to afford one; but you can bet that in a minute or two I am going to check my Megamillions tickets. One can dream, yes indeed one can dream.

All the best,
Glenn B

Biweekly Gunshots 2 - The Beretta Jetfire

Okay, the first guns that appeared in this feature were rifles, pretty rugged ones at that and suitable for all sorts of jobs from hunting, to home defense, to possible military or law enforcement use. For the second my Biweekly Gun Shots feature I thought I’d stick with a defensive firearm, but a diminutive one at that. So small in fact that many consider it a waste of metal and plastic as far as self defense goes. I beg to differ, and I can tell you I would depend upon one of them as a last ditch backup piece any day of the week. In fact, I have owned at least 4 (and if I recall right actually 5) of these small pistols.

The pistol to which I am referring is a fine piece of craftsmanship whether you are lucky enough to find one of the Italian made ones, or buy a more current production American made edition of it. It is the Beretta Jetfire (model 950) in .25 caliber. Please do not mistake this small pistol with the Beretta Model 21, it is a significantly different pistol. I am not taking anything away from the model 21, it is a good little pistol. I am, however, saying that I wish Beretta could have manufactured the Jetfire in .22LR (as they did with the model 21) instead of just manufacturing it for .25 and .22 short calibers. The Jetfire in my opinion is a much better made and much better functioning pistol than is the model 21 (and as I said the 21 is a good pistol); but for whatever reason Beretta declined to chamber them in .22LR.

All of the ones I have owned were chambered in .25 caliber as I remember; but I owned my last one many years ago and memory may fail me on that. So, I could have owned one in .22 short but I think not. Yes, I know, the .25 caliber round is considered virtually ineffectual at best and totally useless at worst. Again, I beg to differ. The Beretta Jetfire pistol came with blued steel slide and barrel, a black anodized alloy receiver, and black plastic grips. It was able to hold 9 rounds fully loaded, 1 in the chamber and 8 rounds in the box magazine. They can be loaded via the magazine, or individually by operating the barrel pop up feature and feeding single rounds into the chamber (same as the barrel pop up feature on the 21 series). The sights consist of a small hump front sight, and a groove cut into the top and rear of slide. It was single action only pistol and could be carried cocked and locked, though I usually carried mine in a pocket with hammer down on a live chamber. Mind you not the safest way to carry this little pistol as it had an inertia firing pin, but safe enough for me at the time, and safer than with it cocked and locked. With its small size it fit very nicely into a pants pocket, or into a boot holster. In fact it was easy to conceal almost anywhere on the body. I knew one supervisory Border Patrol Agent who had one and carried it exclusively in his boot as a backup weapon. To that end he removed the plastic grips and replaced them with sheet metal grips of his own making. He just cut out two pieces of sheet metal with the same perimeter as the grips and drilled in some screw holes slightly counter sunk. They made it all the more concealable because the grip are was now thinner and flatter. NOTE: Never try this with a model 21 series pistol from Beretta. The Model 21 I owned had its recoil spring set under the grips, and that spring was dependent upon the grips on each side for holding the springs in place. In fact, I do not even recommend this modification with a Jetfire even though the design back then did not make the recoil spring dependent upon the grips.

As for being easy on the draw, it was quite easy to draw from a pocket, or a holster, or a boot, or a handbag, or wherever due to its small size. Once it hand all the controls such as the thumb safety, the barrel release, or the hammer were easy to find and operate. The trigger was smooth and crisp on all of the ones I owned. As for accuracy it was pretty accurate and I could easily place shots, using the sights, into center mass on a man sized silhouette at up to 15 yards. I was able to do the same at 25 yards to, but it was not as easy as at 15 yards. At 7 yards or less it was a point and shoot type of pistol, and for me it always hit that at which I had pointed it.

If the Jetfire been chambered in .22LR, it would have been a much more fun gun to shoot. The .25 caliber rounds are centerfire ammunition and therefore are quite expensive. As for the Jetfire in .22 short, while the ammo was not as expensive as .25, it was at least two to three times as expensive as was .22LR. Despite the ammunition, this is a well made little pistol that is good for a last ditch effort pocket gun. It is made well, and stands up to a lot of abuse but what else would expect from Beretta! As for me having owned 4 or 5 of them, I wound up selling at least two maybe three because I wanted to buy something bigger. Then I wanted something smaller and got another each time. Two other ones – well they succumbed to corrosion, but that was to be expected considering the conditions. One was a constant companion pocket gun in the sweltering heat of Calexico, CA and it got both soaked with perspiration and covered with salt from salt cedars. After a while (about 2 years of that), no matter how often I cleaned it and oiled it, it gave way to some surface rust. I liked the pistol more than enough to promptly buy another. My last Jetfire was in my pocket when on a detail to Key Largo, FL when we loaded bale after bale of seized marijuana onto a boat. First we had to carry it through the water to get it back to the boat from the mangrove swamp in which it had been dropped off. Did I neglect to mention it was saltwater. I forgot it was in my pocket and many hours later (about 10 or 12) finally remembered it. Oh well! Even had that one been stainless steel, it probably would have corroded quite a bit. As I said though great little pistols, I would have another anytime and hopefully not put them through as much abuse as I did some of my previous ones.

All the best,
Glenn B

Beretta 92FS - New U.S. Military Contract

As you may or may not be aware, I am a big fan of the Beretta 92 series of pistols. I own one 92SB (the pistol of my Ballseye 15 minutes of fame) and two 92FS Berettas. I like em, they work well, they take a beating and keep on shooting, and they are easy to maintain. It seems that the U.S. Army agrees with me since they have just awarded Beretta a new contract to supply up to 450,000 92FS pistols to U.S. military customers worldwide. This includes an order for 20,000 pistols for the Iraqi military. I am impressed, I wish I owned stock in Beretta.

Here is a link to the Beretta 92FS site: http://beretta92.com/berettahome.htm.

I have to admit, all in all, my Berettas have been my favorite pistols over the years. From the .25 caliber Jetfire, to the .22LR model 70S, and the .22LR model 21, to the 92SB to the 92FS, I have loved em all

All the best,

Glenn B

Industrious Insomnia...

...must surely be better than sleepless sloth. So tonight, or should I say this morning, when I found myself unable to sleep, I figured I could put my time to good use and I cleaned my Berettas, all four of them. There is something about the aroma of Hoppe's No. 9 gun cleaning solvent, in the wee hours of the morn that leads to a certain satisfaction. I guess that satisfaction lies in a job well done, and Hoppe's surely gets the job done well enough for me to think of these words of wisdon taught to me by a fellow federal agent/firearms instructor Pete G.: A Clean Gun is a Happy Gun. If that is true, then I can say without a doubt: My Berettas are quite happy.

Starting at 12 o’clock and working clockwise is my 9mm Beretta 92SB, yes the gun that made me Ballseye! The next is my model 70S in .22LR. Both of these fine pieces of the gunmakers skill were crafted in Italy. The next is a model 92FS in 9mm, and the last another 92FS, These two basically a brace of pistols in as much as they have consecutive serial numbers. Go figure on how I ever convinced she who must be obeyed to allow me to buy two of them at once, but somehow I weasled my way into getting her to believe conveyed to her the importance of having one for work some years ago, and one for retirement in (back then) some years to come. One is in almost pristine condition having only a few hundred rounds at most fired through it. The other is in excellent but used condition. The Beretta 70S is also in excellent condition. As for the Beretta 92SB, well it has seen better days. While it is mechanically excellent, the finish leaves quite a bit to be desired, but is still in NRA very good to fine condition. Of course now that they are clean, I'll have to follow the words of wisdom of someone else who taught me a lot about shooting. He said every time you shoot your guns you should clean them, and then test fire them to make sure you put em back together right. I guess that means I'll soon be off to the range to test fire them, maybe a couple of hundred rounds each (except for the 92FS that I am saving for retirement). Yes, that means I'll have to clean em again, and of course that means I'll have to test fire em again. Its a vicious circle it is, but as long as the ammo and Hoppe's No. 9 hold out, it will be a blast. As for the Berettas holding up, well Beretta makes some fine firearms and these have not failed me yet after many years of good service, excellent firearms indeed!

All the best,

Glenn B

Dear Santa...

I know I have not been the best boy all year long, but I have tried to be pretty good; and I think you know I have gotten better than I have been in recent years. I have not written you a letter in at least about 45 years or so, I guess mostly because I always figured others who needed or wanted things more than me should write to you. This year though, I am writing to ask you for something I would like, and I would like it just for me. I know I likely am not going to get it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt just to ask you for it anyhow.

What I would like is a brand new Beretta Over/Under 12 gauge shotgun. I am particularly fond of the Ultra Light Deluxe, but if there is any chance you could swing something like this for me any of their models would be fine by me.

Of course I'll be leaving you some goodies, as I always do each and every year, I just hope you like Irish Whiskey, German Bier, and a good wurst sandwich.


All the best,
Glenn B

PS: Here are the specs, just in case your elf's need to whip one up in a hurry; or just in case any of the firearms enthusiasts out there are interested:

Model: Ultralight Deluxe, Cat Code: J687575, Gauge: 12, Barrel Length(in): 28, Choke: Modified Choke, Chamber(in): 2 3/4", Rib: 6X6, Weight(lbs): 6.3, Carry Case: Yes, MSRP: $2,350 (yikes). I can only wish Santa could do his magic for me and I find one under the tree (and I do mean only wish) because I surely would have to save my pennies for a long time to be able to buy one.

GB

My Career Firearms

Yes the thought just hit me (after being up for over an hour and a half already and trying to think of something about which to write) that it might be interesting (at least for myself) if I was to list the firearms that I have carried so far throughout my career in federal law enforcement.

I started my career as a Border Patrol Agent, in that garden spot of the world: Calexico, California. That was back in 1979. The first thing I was offered as an issue revolver was a Smith and Wesson model 19 with 4" barrel, blued steel. I did not like it. I wanted one of those wonderfully heavy revolvers I had shot at the academy, a Colt Border Patrol. The guy handing out the guns gave me the hairy eyeball, and probably thought I was crazy, but I got just what I had wanted. (Sorry I don't know which one that is in the pic. My goodness was I ever really that thin, and that young - I guess I was, a long time ago.) The piece was a lot heavier than the Smith, and its trigger pull a lot stiffer, but I liked it. Why? Well because the cylinder rotated along the natural pull of the thumb so as to make reloading more efficient. More efficient because as you loaded, if only part way through and you had to slam the cylinder shut and fire, the next click would likely go bang. Smith cylinders move in the opposite direction. If you look at a Smith & Wesson revolver from the rear, as you would when holding it to fire it, and then operate it so the cylinder turns, you will note the cylinder moving in a counter-clockwise direction. The natural movement of your thumb, when reloading, is to pull the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction. This means that if you close the cylinder before being fully reloaded, as you might in a combat situation, the rounds are likely not going to come up immediately under the firing pin. Instead empty chambers will first pass the firing pin. Not good tactically speaking when a split second could be of the essence to your winning a gunfight. Now when you load a colt, this does not happen. You see the action of the Colt revolver is such that the cylinder moves in a clockwise direction. So when your thumb pulls it counterclockwise as you reload, and you then have to quickly close a partially loaded gun, the first chamber to fall under the hammer would likely be one that you have just loaded. That is good.

Another reason I liked the Colt was that if I ever ran out of bullets, I could use it as a more effective club than I could the Smith & Wesson. Man it sure felt a lot heavier. It was built to last for sure; and at the time, or within a year or two of that time, I discovered that Smiths were not being built that well. One thing not so great abut the Colt, beside the heavy trigger, was the fact that it was unforgiving if you decided that you were going to do something like take it apart and give it a really good cleaning in paces no one had looked at since it was manufactured. I soon found out that putting it back together was nowhere as easy as was reassembling a Smith Wesson. In fact, my first and only attempt to do this resulted in my sheepishly going to see our armorer (or the agent who passed for such) and begging him to make it new again. After he replaced one of the springs I had mangled it was just that good. That was quite embarrassking, as Popeye would have said.

Somewhere along the way, my Colt Border patrol was replaced by a S&W model 19. If I recall correctly, they collected all the Colts to get rid of them, too old or so I remember. The thing was, those Colts would have lasted another 50 years. The S&W 19 turned out okay for me. I actually got to shoot better with it than I did with the Colt, and I could actually take it apart to clean out its innards, and then get it back together and it still worked. I wound up buying a couple S&W model 66's when they came out with a Border Patrol commemorative. I got one with a 4' barrel and one with a 2 1/2" barrel. This was when I discovered that S&W quality control was not all it was made up to be. These revolvers actually clinked when you dry fired them. I took mine and shook them, and pieces of metal shavings fell out of them. What a sorry state for a brand new gun. I sold them quickly.

As for long guns, I was not issued one while in the BP except on a requested daily basis. In other words, I had to ask for one if I wanted it, and had to ask each day then return it at the end of my shift. We had Remington 870 shotguns in 12 gauge. I liked them a lot. I had quite some fun with them at the academy, and when we shot trap (or was it skeet) I hit every clay, even when they did doubles, and I sure don't shoot that well today (ah the adeptness of youth). We also had Remington model 760 rifles in .308 caliber, they were a pump action. They were fun rifles. I took one out now and then, but I preferred the shotgun for the type of work we mostly did, though I will say while out of town in the desert those rifles were my choice. It was sort of a nice thing to see they had the same basic action type as did our issue shotguns. No chance to forget, while under stress, which one you had, and therefore operate it incorrectly.

Now while I was in the Border Patrol, I was not allowed to carry a back-up handgun. I would never intentionally break the rules, so I was sometimes quite upset with myself when I reached into my pocket only to find a Beretta Jetfire in .25 Auto. I guess that happened now and then because I was a gun sort of a guy, but as I said, never intentionally! The slingshot I carried, a wrist-rocket or something with a similar name, now that I carried intentionally, but only for use on animals like sunks or stray dogs that would have otherwise interfered with my duties while out on patrol.

After 4 years in hell Calexico, the garden spot of the world, I was able to land a job with the U.S. Customs Service as a Customs Patrol Officer in new York City. Yes I am a New Yorker, and I wanted to get home, so badly in fact, that I took a job for which by then I was over qualified. In fact I never even looked into becoming a Customs Special Agent at the time, thinking instead the patrol officer job would be my foot in the door so to speak. Well the door slammed on my foot, and it took me many years to become an agent, but that is another story. As for my sidearms when I was a Customs patrol officer, I was issued a Smith & Wesson model 19 for uniform carry. I also got issued a S&W model 36, a 2" snub nose revolver in blue steel. Only a 5 shot, but that was okay by me, a back up piece that was issued was a big change from the Border Patrol. At sometime in my career with Customs I was issued a Colt detective Special, in .38 special, with a 6 shot cylinder. I liked having that extra shot, but that piece was not long lived, it was too old and worn to be shot as much as I liked to practice, so it was back to a S&W, this time a model 60 in stainless steel.

Within a few years, my job with Customs had changed to that of a Customs Investigator, basically the same job as a Customs Special Agent, but at lower pay that the high grade for an agent (later this job as found to be an illegal position by the OPM and all of the CI's had a position change to special agent). I was issued a S&W model 459. It was, in my opinion, apiece of junk, they all were. Later on (maybe when I became an agent) we were issued S&W model 6906's. (My backup with those was a S&W model 60, and the primary was the S&W, that is until they allowed us to carry personally owned firearms.) The 6906's were an improvement, but not by much as far as I am concerned. We had catastrophic failures with those that likely would have gotten you killed in a shootout.

Somewhere in there, I think when I was a Customs Investigator, they allowed us to carry our personally owned firearms at work. I decided it was time to take out the Beretta 92SB in 9mm. This was the precursor to the 92F series later used by our military. It was and is one heck of a great firearm. In fact, I owe my life to it. It is the only pistol with which I ever shot someone, and that guy was someone trying to mug me when I was off duty (again that is another story, and if you want to read it, go to the links on the right side of my page, for the article about Ballseye - What is in a Name (or just click on this link). Later on, while still authorized to carry personally owned firearms, I bought a brace of Beretta 92F's. I carried both of them for awhile, then decided to carry only one, and preserve the other for my retirement gun.

Of course my love for the Remington 870 was not abated by the fact I now worked for the Customs Service. I shot one at every qualification, and I shot one whenever I had a chance as range officer. Yes Customs sent me to an NRA Firearms Instructor school and gave me those duties as collateral duties. I was a firearms instructor for about 14 years, and enjoyed the heck out of it, until they punished me for something and told me not to report back to the range. Nothing to do with the range as far as I am aware, but they will not tell me what it was for which I was being punished, so I think it was my big mouth with a boss. Oh well, I again digress, so let's get back to the long guns I used while in Customs. As to the 870s, I often carried one from work, but I also was able to carry my personally owned one for quite a few years before they changed the firearms policy. (The pic is of my son shooting the personally owned one I used to carry at work, yes we still have it and shoot it frequently.) It was nice to be able to carry my own since I knew my own gun was in excellent repair, and shooting it as much as I did kept me in good shape for the hunting season.

The other long guns I shot while in Customs were the Colt Ar15, the Ruger Mini14, and H&K MP5. As to the rifles, I much preferred the Ruger. It was a simpler rifle, much more reliable than the AR15, easier to disassemble and reassemble, and therefore easier to clean and maintain. Don't get me wrong though, I liked both of them very much. Now I cannot recall if it was while I was a customs investigator or as a special agent, that I was invited to attend H&K MP5 training; and after which I was immediately issued an MP5 sub-machine gun. I also became certified as an MP5 instructor. What a fun gun, and it is one heck of a weapon.

Sooner or later, Customs decided that personally owned firearms were not a good thing. I was then issued an 870 shotgun, and I was issued a Glock model 19, and later a backup of a Glock model 26. Of course I had to give up my issued S&W model 60 for the Glock 26, but it was well worth the change. The Glocks were much easier to shoot with more accuracy that any issue revolver I ever shot. Those extra rounds were also a plus. I wound up turning in the Glock 26. To this day I do not know why I turned it in and just held onto the model 19, but at least I do have the MP5 or shotgun if I am going out on an operation.

When I was transferred to ICE (Customs Agents and Immigration agents were all brought under DHS when that department was created, and they were combined into one agency under Immigration and Customs Enforcement - egad what a mess), I brought my assigned weapons from Customs with me. As for the MP5, I still carry that - well sort of anyway. I had the original issue they gave me for several years, turned it in after I was in ICE, then missed it so much that I had another issued to me. The shotgun I had under Customs was traded in a few years ago for a newer model 870. The newest Remington 870 I was issued has ghost ring sights. Man they are sweet. I do love the 870, but I think I said that already. I would have a rifle too, except you cannot be issued 2 long guns at the same time under current ICE firearms policy. For some reason, the MP5 is not within that restriction, and that is good for me. I would hate to have to decide between having only an 870 or an MP5 for a long gun. I still carry the Glock 19, I guess I've had that over 10 years now, maybe 12 or more. I do not carry a back-up handgun nowadays, but as I said, when I go out on an op, I can take either the MP5 or 870 in addition to my sidearm. That is a comfort to me.

Where does that leave me right now; well the pic at the left shows what I carry on a daily basis right now. The shot includes my issued Glock 19. I am also left at the point where the issued firearms I have now are probably the last firearms that I will be issued as a government agent. We are due to start being issued Sigs sometime in the future, but that could be as far as two years away. I doubt very much I will still be in government service in 2 years as I plan to retire in January 2009. I think I have covered all the firearms they have issued me in my 28 years and one day (so far) in government service, and all the firearms that were personally owned which they allowed me to carry. Of course, I have owned and shot many other types in all that time, but I'll save those for another rant.

All the best,
Glenn B