Beretta Blog

Just after I graduated from college, I found out that a friend I’d known forever was carrying a revolver. Carrying might be too generous a term. It was in the glove compartment of his pickup truck, and he didn’t have a permit.

Every time summer rolls around, I find myself justifying the .380 as a practical concealed carry round. It is a story I tell myself, really. When the temperature hits triple digits, I tend to shed layers of clothing—layers that I rely on to conceal my preferred double-stack 9mm.

What do I have against the .380? Nothing really. In my years in the firearm industry, I’ve plugged away at numerous gel blocks. I’ve studied the terminal ballistics of the 9mm Kurz, and I like what I see.

Suppose you’re planning a road trip and intend to transport a firearm in your vehicle. You’re a law-abiding citizen, and of course, there’s this thing called the Second Amendment that should cover you, right? Well, not exactly.

In part, because the Founders of the United States believed that most laws should be made locally, states carry a lot of power when it comes to regulations of firearms ownership and transportation. As a lawful gun owner, it’s up to you to know the laws of your home state, but also each and every state you visit while in possession of a firearm. Let’s plan a hypothetical road trip to outline some of the things you need to know.

Did you know that there are over 20,000 gun-related laws on the books throughout the United States? Did you know that more are added daily? Did you also know that you are responsible for knowing and adhering to every single law that’s in force wherever you happen to be standing at any given moment?

Breaking more targets. Achieving higher scores. From the Tuesday night league shooter to the high school team member to the occasional weekend-with-buddies plinker to the hardened competitor -- these are the goals of every clay target shooter. Break more birds!

Sometimes reaching these goals takes a revamp. You need to go to a professional coach for a tune-up, or maybe a total makeover starting with rebuilding the basics and working your way back up. You know, like when a pro golfer has to go back to his or her swing coach to get back on top.

There was a time in North America when it was possible to learn the skills necessary to become a great wingshot by shooting live birds. But we’re talking a long time ago – think of the heydays of the passenger pigeon, which was the early- to mid-1800s. Think of the days of market hunting for waterfowl, which ended in the early 20th century.

The bottom line is, it takes a lot of shooting to become good at it. Championship caliber shooters in any shotgunning discipline shoot tens of thousands of shells a year to develop and maintain their skills.

Without pictures, it didn’t happen. Unless you bring back a t-shirt, you didn’t go. And without skill and progress measurement, you can’t improve.

One way to exercise your skills and measure your progress is to practice with a structured course of fire. A good routine will “walk you through” a variety of skills like strong hand only, support hand only, two-handed shooting, draws from a holster, and magazine changes. While the shooting community has developed hundreds of such practice scenarios, you don’t have to look any farther than your local law enforcement agency to find one. While every agency differs in the details, most have a structured qualification course of fire that every officer has to complete on a regular basis.

There are two kinds of clay target shooting. You can go out and shoot clays for the sake of the games themselves. Trap, skeet, and sporting clays are all fun in their own right. They can stoke the competitive flame and compel shooters to renown. Or they can be pursued as family fun, a wonderful introduction to firearms, and challenging lifelong pursuits.

Then there is clay shooting in preparation for hunting. It’s practice to make you a perfect shot in the field. The goal is to create mental pictures and instill muscle memory you’ll call upon when you’re hunting.

There are two different ways to look at shotguns for hunting … and to some extent for shooting clay targets. Neither is right. Neither is wrong. They are just different.

The first view considers a shotgun as a tool, and a means to an end. Nothing more. Nothing less. In this philosophy, a shotgun is simply the implement used to make it possible to take game – most often birds, but sometimes furred-critters or even big game. As a craftsman recognizes the importance of maintaining his tools, this shooter is just as pragmatic about maintaining his shotgun.

The argument of shotgun cleaning took place in bird camp. In one corner was my buddy who cleans his shotgun like clockwork... which is once a decade whether it needs it or not (it needs it). In the other corner was a pal who meticulously cleans his shotgun at the end of each day. On some days I wonder if he'd like to clean his shotgun after every shot. I'm in the middle and wipe my guns after each hunt and clean them once a month or at the end of the season. My only exception is that I do a thorough cleaning after hunting in a heavy downpour or after use in a saltwater marsh.