# New Beretta for the Pocket Carry rotation.



## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

Welp, I bought this one today, so that my two Ruger LCP's have a third buddy for pocket carry rotation. I find myself, due to work, having to pocket carry most of the time, and my two Rugers do just fine, but I wanted a third to add to the carry rotation and added this Beretta.

I got it home and cleaned it....easy take-down btw, and was surprised at the amount of stainless steel in this little gun. It may be small, but it damn sure seems to be put together well. I won't be able to carry it until next week, for I have to get it to the pistol range to run some ball and JHP ammo through it, then another cleaning. From how well it is built, about the only issues I can see is a "break in" period (it is really stiff), but other than that, I have high hopes for this one. :mrgreen:










If anyone here has any feedback on this particular Beretta, fill me in please! Thanks.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

Hey my friend, nice new pistol there. Congratulations. I'm envious. 

One suggestion on breaking in and you might be aware of. I'll make it short, and I know you don't have weak hands like me. One thing I do to help with the breaking in of new handguns is to put it in my nightstand's lower drawer from my normal home defense gun. I take it apart and apply Flitz or jeweler's polish on the slide and rails. Then, every night before prayers, I use a heavy oven mitt to rack the slide over and over, maybe fifty times a night or until my wrist hurts. After a few days, I strip and clean all that out, relube and rack it a few times. If it isn't absolutely butter smooth, I rinse and repeat until it is. I also, at least once, completely take it apart and hand polish with Flitz and a rag, all moving parts other than the sear which I'd leave to a qualified gunsmith if I thought it needed work. I pay special attention to feed ramps, sometimes using that Flitz and rag wrapped around a pencil or wood dowel. 

Along with some shooting time at the range, I find the above really breaks in a new pistol well, at least for me. I want the feed ramp to look like a mirror. I want the rails to look that way too, but covered in a light film of Rig gun grease. Just my opinion. When I'm done with all this, it's a brand new gun from what it was out of the box. I don't care how good the build was initially, it becomes smooth as butter to these tired arthritic hands.


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## xotech (Feb 7, 2012)

Here you go:
New Beretta Pico 380ACP Pistol - Beretta Forum

A couple thousand replies.


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## henry0reilly (Feb 10, 2011)

I've been told that if you shoot somebody with a .380 and they find out about it........... Just kidding, I sometimes carry a 950BS in .22 short.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

*Envy* reigns in my bosom!

Jean and I need a new pocket .380, but her medical expenses, and mine now also, take precedence.
So I'm carrying her Kel-Tec, and she will have to make do with our J-frame Smith, but she prefers having her own pistol back.
So I gotta find something else that's .380 and pocketable.

Medicare is covering almost all of our medical expenses...except the ferry fares and gasoline.
The problem with living in paradise is that every 'round-trip to the mainland costs us a little more than $50.00 for the ferry, and all of the specialists are...
You guessed it: On the mainland.

And gas here is almost $4.00 a gallon!


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## Babbalou1956 (Sep 2, 2014)

Congrats. I got one of the early Picos. Very reliable with any kind of ammo except Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator, the weird shape caught on the feed ramp a lot with mine. I carry with Speer Gold Dot. Trigger is long & a little heavy but very smooth. DAO so you get restrike capability. Quality is excellent. It's my B.U.G. You can carry it several ways so I got 4 holsters; ankle, pocket, IWB & OWB. The grip is like a short cigarette lighter so I added a slip-on grip. Hogue SKU 18500 $9.95. Perfect fit. Some have tried the Hogue SKU 18120 $10.95 & like it. I trimmed the mag extension & use it so I get a 2 finger grip instead of 1 1/2. Lots of good info in the mentioned Beretta forum link.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Jean and I need a new pocket .380,


It may not be small enough for you and the price has risen some since I got mine, but I love my Bulgarian 9x18 Makarov. I like it a lot. I would also consider the Polish or Russian models if they were less at the time. I chose it because of you talking about various imported small arms over time. It sparked my interest and I'm glad it did. What a wonderful little firearm. There are plenty of magazines out there. Both FMJ and JHP ammunition is available from reputable manufacturers, including Hornady. Hornady also makes their Critical Defense round with the polymer tip, shooting at 1000 ft/sec. in 95 grain 9x18mm Makarov.

For a smaller pistol, take a real serious look at Ruger's LCP II. It's miles above the old LCP. It's smoother, easier to rack, better grip, has a far better trigger, and far better sights. It now holds the slide open on the last shot. It is easily worth the small upgrade price, in my personal opinion.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

If I remember correctly, the Makarov is TDA.
That is, its trigger switches, after its first shot, from DA to SA.
Neither of us likes that. We prefer DAO and M1911-style SA, and prefer to pocket-carry DAO.

We could afford to get another Kel-Tek P-3AT, but then we'd need to add enough after-market gunsmithing to bring the price up a little too high for our current finances (until Jean's back is, um, finished).
Depending upon the quality of its trigger action, and how difficult it might be to rack its slide, the Beretta Nano looks very good to us...but unaffordable right now. The same is true of the Ruger, as long as it does not have a damned magazine safety.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

The LCP II has no magazine disconnect nor any external safety. I paid $299 when they were first released and at Bass Pro Shops. I know that was too high, but I wanted it right then and was unwilling to wait for the price to fall and other outlets to have in stock. I've them recently in the $200 - $250 range online. Mine literally eats anything without issue, but I admit, it took some hand polishing with Flitz to get the slide and rails smooth enough for my old arthritic hands to rack easily. For me, that's true on most all mouse guns. I liked my old Kel-Tec but never could get it where it was easy to use and practice with. I tried a Kahr with the same results. My first LCP which I still have, is not nearly as easy to rack and use as this second generation is. You'd just have to see for yourself. 

Out of the box, I was initially a little disappointed, but after a couple of weeks working it over, I became more than happy with it. It took around 100 rounds and my Flitz with oven mitt procedure. Again, for me, that's true for most handguns these days. The LCPII comes with only one magazine, but does come with a fairly nice Ruger branded pocket holster which I use when I carry it. I feel no need to upgrade that holster. The magazines say "made in Italy" and look to be Mec-Gar but I don't know. They are of high quality. The difference between the LCP along with many others and the LCPII is that the LCPII is a single action internal hammer design, but acts like a striker fired pistol. Every pull is the same and there's enough tension to be more like a well maintained double action revolver pull. The trigger is very good for this price range or for that matter, any price range. It has little long but clean pull with a crisp break at the wall with almost no creep. Also, it has a fairly decent enough reset compared to many hammer fired or small DAO pistols. Again, no magazine disconnect nor thumb safety. 

I saw a used one last month in a local pawn shop for $175. I offered $150 which was turned down. I didn't go higher because I didn't need it. SS and pension only go so far. I wish I'd have known you might be interested. I could have bought it and shipped it. You could've tried it and sent it back if you didn't like it. Kept it if you did. You'd not find any handgun cheaper than free.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks, Craig...
The Ruger LCP II it is, then.
I think that we can afford it, even if we have to buy a couple of extra magazines.

I'll also try your polishing routine, as well as my own.


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## lakesailor (Jun 20, 2018)

I have been a Pocket gun enthusiast for about 10 years. Started off with the Ruger lCP original, then the LCP gen 2. Actually burned through 4 of them. Now hands down favorite is the Pico. Just a magnificent, high quality pistol. Stainless steel, barrel, receiver, chassis, and even ships with a stainless steel guide rod. I now own two of them. I stopped counting after 2500 flawless rounds through my range Pico and over 1000 rds through my CCW and that was quite a while ago. Love the double strike capability, the modular design. Take down is a breeze.* Extremely MILD shooting pocket Pistol. Shoots hot ammo or Plus P better than most guns shoot standard ammo. Magazines are all stainless steel to include the follower. Gun looks like it was designed in wind tunnel. * None of the High Five recoil slap like the LCP. 
I still own one LCP, but it is now a truck gun. They do not compare to the Pico.

Best sights in class NOTE: NIGHT SIGHTS ARE EASY TO INSTALL, NO NEED TO SEND TO SMITH.








Best build qualit My LCP on Left Pico on right.
















Heavy barrel of Pico on left
























Magazines look like high end 1911 custom-Pico in center








Pico even has a stainless steel follower








My Pico, Kahr and LCP
















Modular design.


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