Beretta Blog

Maybe you don’t even reload your own ammunition. That’s OK, read on anyway, because this article still might apply to you.

For purposes of this discussion, let’s consider a universe containing two types of ammunition: practice and self-defense. Practice ammunition is designed to do one thing – go forward in more or less a straight line. As a bonus feature, it should also drill holes in paper or cardboard targets and make a clanging noise against steel plates. If a practice round doesn’t go bang once in a while, it’s no big deal and presents a training opportunity to work on your malfunction drills.

Some decades ago, conversations over newfangled inventions for guns went something like this...

“Hold on there son; you want me to put a thing made of GLASS on top of my trusty rifle? Are you kidding me?”

The discussion was about the idea of adding a scope to a rifle to perform the task of accurately getting sights on target. For hundreds of years, shooters had relied on a solution of simplicity and extreme durability: iron sights. Adding a potentially fragile, and more importantly, unproven invention had to be just asking for trouble, right?

There are times when the need to be discreet is going to mean carrying your defensive firearm somewhere other than on your waistline. There is also the fact that in our society, it’s quite normal for women to walk around with a purse on their shoulders, and a purse is useful for carrying any number of things such as a self-defense pistol.

I suppose that any pistol you have handy during a personal defense emergency is a perfect carry pistol, right?

Technically speaking, any handgun that shoots reliably can be a carry pistol. Large or small, mouse gun or big-bore caliber, double-action, single-action, or striker-fired. The usefulness of a concealed carry tool depends more on the skills of the user than on the hardware. However, assuming that one’s commitment to training and practice comes first, there’s nothing wrong with finding a pistol that’s optimized for concealed carry. In fact, the right features can provide a significant advantage to the skilled user.

So, what defines a perfect carry pistol?

If you’ve been around the gun-related internet for any amount of time, you’ve seen how much fun it is to shoot action pistol matches like IDPA or USPSA. Action pistol (also known as practical pistol) is a ridiculously fun sport, but getting started can be intimidating for both men and women because you’re going to shoot an unfamiliar course of fire in front of your friends and others. Admittedly, the potential for embarrassing yourself is pretty high.

Ask me how I know this.

The art of talking turkey is essential to becoming an independent hunter. While many people will go with friends who know how to call, you can learn and do it yourself. You may have been hunting on your own for years, but talking turkey is a skill that separates the serious hunters from the beginners. When you learn to speak turkey, you'll be proud to proclaim, “Look! I’ve learned to talk!”

How to Hunt Turkey Series

Part 1: Why You Need to Hunt Turkeys

Part 2: How to Locate Wild Turkeys

Part 3: The Gear You Need for Your Turkey Hunt

Part 4: Learn the Art of Talking Turkey

There’s a lot more to handgun sights than meets the eye. OK, so that little play on words was entirely on purpose, but it’s true. While sights seem simple and even mundane, there’s quite a bit of thought and sophisticated science put into the design of effective handgun sights.

In my previous article, I talked about getting starting competition in the United States Practical Shooting Association, or USPSA, with your everyday carry 9mm service pistol. In this article, we’re going to talk about shooting the USPSA’s stepchild, IDPA, which stands for the International Defensive Pistol Association.

Your hunting license, Beretta turkey shotgun, and ammunition are at the very top of the ‘Must Have for Turkey Hunting’ list. However, there is a long list of other items you need and can use to help make the hunt more productive.

Sometimes when I’m trying to emphasize the value of shooting instruction, I use the analogy of riding a bicycle. I ask the individual or group which way you turn the handlebars on a moving bicycle to turn right. Over 90% respond you turn the handlebars right to turn right. They look stunned when I tell them they’re wrong. Then I explain.