Beretta Blog

With the rapidly growing interest in shotguns for home defense, tactical use, and 3-Gun competition, buckshot loads are back in the spotlight and in demand! Until these trends took over, interest in buckshot was waning. Few states still allow bucks (actually deer of either sex, for that matter) to be taken with buckshot. Even in those that do, rifled slugs and slugs fired from rifled shotgun barrels, muzzleloaders, and rifles – even handguns – provide more practical and efficient tools to cleanly harvest deer under modern hunting conditions.

Right out of the box the Beretta APX is an awesome pistol for personal protection, competition shooting, or fun on the range. After putting a few hundred rounds through my new APX RDO, I investigated performance upgrade possibilities.

If you carry a defensive firearm or compete in practical pistol, you know consistent practice is the key to confidence and skill-building. We all need to practice more often, so we dry-fire at home to improve our skills without the time and expense of going to a range. Dry-fire is effective, and it’s something I do it on an almost daily basis, but at some point, the rubber has to meet the road and we need to put our plans into action and send rounds downrange. 

When the International Defensive Pistol Association launched their Compact Carry Pistol division, I thought it was a great idea. Lots of people shot IDPA matches with guns that weren’t really designed for concealed carry even though the sport was created for real-world carry guns. There’s nothing wrong with shooting a single-stack pistol with a huge magazine well in IDPA because, after all, it is a game; however, the CCP and Backup Gun divisions make a little more sense if the goal is to shoot actual carry guns.

The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA for short) is a popular sport that combines the accuracy of a pistol shooting match with the speed and action of a foot race and mixes in a fair amount of strategy and planning as well. Once you’ve shot your first match and understand what it takes to compete in USPSA, and have taken the time to develop a smooth trigger press and a good sight picture, it’s time to learn how to shoot a USPSA stage quickly and efficiently, with no wasted movement.

If you want to become a better shooter, you must measure your both your current skill level and your progress. You can measure and track accuracy results, and depending on your personal goals, that may be enough. For recreational shooting and some types of competition, time may not matter. However, if you want to improve your defensive shooting capabilities or perhaps move up the action pistol sports ladder, being able to shoot accurately under time pressure becomes important.  

A simple shot timer is a great addition to your range kit. Here’s what you need to know about how they work. 

Not too long ago, iron sights were the king of sighting systems for pistols and rifles. Rightfully so, as the fundamental designs of iron sights have remained largely unchanged for 300 years. Iron sights are thus a very mature technology that had been proven to be reliable and rugged. But slowly things began to change.

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.

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.

If you’re one of many new gun owners who has bought their first gun these past few years, now is a great time to think about different ways to enjoy going to the range. Along with thousands of other people, I’ve found that practical pistol is a great way to have fun with a handgun and learn how to use it safely under the stress of competition.