Newest Beretta Pico - are all the bugs gone?

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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
Bill Theshivs,

Only the american consumer isn't used to other things he allways was used to, so People consider this style of Magazine release as "awkward" (even if in reality the latch works flawless, uses and customs are a persistant animal hard to overcome).
Click to expand...

Seems to american are not used to european style so all what is european is "mah" and "bah".
Kind of english depreciate all Continental european so vote in favour of Brexit.

It is different from People used to; so it can't be other than bad!
 
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Kwik2010

New member
Alright, first trip to the range.

I set up a few boxes ranging from 3 to 30 yards. Ya I know that's way beyond what this handgun is meant for but I was curious. I focused mainly on the 7 yard target because that's what the standard seems to be from all I've seen.

4 boxes of Blazer Brass ammo to ensure it was broke in and then a few different boxes of defensive hp ammo. I couldn't get a chronograph so I don't have that kind of data.

The trigger pull was long and heavy but after the first few magazines, I had it dialed in. All of the fmj ammo ran flawlessly which isn't uncommon in my experience.

I noticed all my shots were to the right of center and when I looked at the rear sight more closely I realized it was pressed all the way to the far right. After some digging around and a divine intervention once again, I produced a 1.3 mm hex and adjusted it to as close to center as my eyeball could tell.

For such a small pistol it is more accurate than I am. At the 30 yard mark I was able to put my shots on paper (18" target) when I did my part off a rest and free hand. The large sights helped. At the 7 yard accuracy was far better than I expected. When I took my time groups were between 2 and 4 inches. I'm working on my point shooting so those numbers aren't near as impressive but were still acceptable in my opinion.

The recoil was not terrible. My hand (medium/largeish) was able to get a solid grip on the Pico but wasn't entirely happy by the end of it. It might have been because I just put 350 +/- rounds through a very small handgun. I wouldn't have lasted half that with my girlfriend's LCP (I'm not dogging the LCP. I think it's a fine handgun and swear by Ruger but this Pico just suits me better.)

The mag release was difficult to manipulate in the beginning but once I practiced some it was no longer an issue.

Surprisingly all defensive ammo I ran through it also functioned flawlessly. My personal favorite for now is the Sig 90 gr V Crown. I also put Speer Gold Dot 90 gr GDHP, Hornady Critical Defense 90 gr FTX, and Hornady American Gunner 90 gr XTP with no reliability issues. (The firearm was stripped and cleaned per manufacturer's recommendation prior to going to the range.)
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
kwik2010,

You do not Sound to me that happy about the gun.

How does it shoot?
Soft, hard?

did you hit anything at 30 Yards?

30 Yards is not an unrealistic range. Considered you run and shoot to an persecuter. The more distance there is between victim an offender the better.

30 meters is a good distance to fend off any threath.

My self defense distance is 25 meters. Any closer I would not want any threath.
 
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Kwik2010

New member
Sorry. I accidentally clicked post long before I was done typing. I think I answered most of your questions.
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
Thanks kwik2010.
I am sure all readers appreciate your info.

It happens I have very small hands. So that is basically one of the few advantages of having small hands.
Medium to large hands will twarp and wrap fingers on the Picos grip.

Having very small hands I just can tell the grip os fitting me perfectly.

Waw. 350 rounds is much ammo.
At 30 yards the gun is then a movement-of-torso accurate gun. 18“ should be in the ballpark of an torso center mass. Nice shooting.
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
In my opinion. Ball ammo is to be used only in 380 auto guns.
To guarantee penetration.

I for my part will use my reloads with about 200 ft-lbs of energy and lead cast Lee 102 grain Round nose bullets.
 
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Kwik2010

New member
I agree on the ball ammo. As for reloads, I won't carry them. I don't want to risk being sued for having some "home cooked killer bullet that I invented just to kill people". It's probably not a problem where i come from but I'd rather not risk it. But if I can find some JSP ammo or some hardcast lead that'll run through the Pico reliably it'll for sure be my carry round. The only stuff I've come across is from Buffalo Bore but I can't seem to be able to get it in any more quantity than a box here and there when I'm extremely lucky. Plus I don't want to run +p ammo all the time as I practice with what I carry. But I might have to if I can't find a better alternative.
 
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ZenShot

New member
I bought a Pico after trying one at a Beretta demo day at my local range. I was surprised how low the recoil is. It has been very reliable. Mine is a "Gen 1" and the slide was difficult to rack. I sent it to Beretta for the upgrade and now the slide is easier to rack and still has a soft recoil. I put Talon grip tape on it which made the grip feel more secure. Also, the stainless steel used is high quality.
I don't really agree that the trigger is long or heavy. For a DAO gun, the trigger pull is shorter than many other popular pocket guns that I've tried.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
I guess nobody, not even me, has Problem to reach the Trigger. So the allways present Problem of DAO guns (SIG P250) not to reach the Trigger is not present in the Beretta Pico 380 Auto.
 
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Kwik2010

New member
I guess I should have clarified. The trigger is nowhere near as short as a SA firearm. But for a DAO it is top notch in my opinion. I didn't mean to make it sound as though it was a bad trigger. Just different if it's not what you're used to.
 
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ZenShot

New member
It took me a little while to develop a one and two handed grip that worked for the narrow frame. Again the Talon grip (standard rubber texture, not the more aggressive sandpaper texture) made a big difference in comfort and control. It is about $15 and is custom cut to fit the Pico grip.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
If the comfort is such an issue due to the small grip, I wonder how in the world People Claim similar sized pistols in 9mm Luger are preferrable.

If this is hard to shoot in the smaller 380 Auto caliber how People can Claim similar gun in 9mm Luger is "the way to go".

I had the opportunity of handling an Taurus curve 380 acp. The gun seems to be well built (made in USA). But has no sights whatsoever.
Again, the modularity for me is a deal breaker.

I wonder if the batteries of the light and laser are leaking acids onto the light/laser circuitry with time (leaving the batteries years in the Frame. Since it is an SD gun).
That is the reason (and Price) I did not buy an light or laser grip for the Pico. I have to bad experiences with leaking batteries in any devices mostly AA, D and AAA batteries but as well bottom style batteries.
 
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Carmady

New member
Imo, the Pico has a lot going for it.

To me, the trigger feels very similar to the trigger on the LCR. It's not as wide across as the LCR's trigger, so you feel it more in your fingertip, but it's nothing to complain about. The big difference is the distance from the trigger to the back strap (or the back of the grip); about 2 1/8" on the Pico, and 2 5/8" on the LCR with the Bantam boot grip. It would be easy to short stroke, but not if the shooter is paying attention.

One guy on youtube said the sights "aren't that bad." I wonder what he's been looking at. I think the sights are swell.

And speaking of sights, another guy on youtube has a good video, and he demonstrates that the rear sight allows you to rack the slide on your belt.

And people mention the "high bore axis." There's no way this thing will jump out of your hand. Plus, the "high bore axis" also greatly reduces the chance of slide bite.
 
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Carmady

New member
Yes, but I think this is where the Pico's stiff recoil spring comes into play. I'm just guessing at that.

I doubt if anyone ever describes the Pico's recoil as "snappy" as they do the LCP.
 
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PSP

New member
This past week I shot both the Ruger LCP and the Pico side by side. IMHO the Pico was the superior gun by virtue of less recoil, better sights and, in my case at least, better accuracy.
 
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TheGuyOfSouthamerica

Moderator
I just put the Pico Frame into an leather cellphone disguised Holster (on back is the gun in on front the cell phone).

The Frame entered just fine but when the slide (whole pistol) ist mounted it will just enter snug.
The Extended Magazine may not enter but the flush Magazine for sure will enter. This one has NOT an added zippered compartment for Money.

The other cellphone disguised Holster (again on back is the gun in on front the Smartphone) which is Nylon has more room and the gun with Extended Magazine will enter plus 2 spare magazines. And the other Zipper could contain some Money and on front again is the cellphone. This is actually a bigger disguised Holster.
In this Holster you could have on front the Smartphone visible to public and in the other 2 compartments the gun with about 6 (+ 1 in the gun) spare magazines loaded (in case you don't care about weight downpulling your belt and Pants). That gives you about Extended firefight capabilities.
My set up would be one mag in the gun plus 1 spare Magazine plus a few loose rounds (about 7 loose 380 Auto cartridges).

Both are from Amazon.com (search for cellphone disguised Holster).
 
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Carmady

New member
It shot 137 rounds of reloads yesterday with zero malfunctions, and the front sight remained on the slide. That's 206 rounds total. I'll update again when it gets to 1,000, hopefully with the same firing pin.
 
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OhioGuy

New member
For those of you who have and enjoy the Pico...

How on earth do you work the slide stop lever easily????

I tried it numerous times, in numerous ways in the store. It seemed really difficult. The mag release was squirrely too.

I ended up getting the S&W Bodyguard--although the Pico was a bit slimmer and has a smoother trigger, the Bodyguard was very easy to grip and the controls are all easily reachable and usable one-handed.
 
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