After Action Report, 9mm Beretta Mousegun

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Well, just some observations.

Today, at a local indoor range, was the first time I've shot my Beretta 92. I had it refinished and had a barrel bushing installed. Some quick observations, then I'm off to work.

First, it's REAL tight. Between the bushing and the GunKote bake-on paint, there's no slop. I hate slop. Especially in guns.

Second, it shoots WAY better than my "issue" mousegun.

Third... DAY-AMN, I HAD NO IDEA HOW UNGODLY "SMALL" THIS 9MM MOUSE AMMO IS!!! You couldn't kill a FLY with this stuff! Damn NATO, damn NATO-influenced politics, and damn the people who caved in to said NATO influence and gave up the .45 ACP (with which you COULD kill people) for this piddly 9mm mousegun Beretta. I only bought mine to practice with, since I only see my "issue" gun once a year. Small bullets, small holes in the targets, small everything. Small BRASS, even! This, from a guy who shoots big handguns like .45 ACPs and .500 Linebaughs.

Hey Russel,
Tell us how you really feel about 9mm. Personally I agree with you. The only advantage to a 9 is mag capacity. Of course, you have to use two bullets on everything.

Prison guards will tell you, there's all sorts of "bad asses" in prison with 9mm wounds. The only place they see 45 ACP wounds is in the morgue.

Special Operations in the military are being issued the 1911 some more. SEALS, Special Forces, etc.

9mm is a notorious over-penetrator. Penetration is fine if the bullet stops in the target. But the 9mm has a bad habit of passing through the target and taking it's energy down range.

Bullets for the 9mm are .355" or so and 115 gr. Bullets for the 45 ACP are .451" or so and twice the weight at 230 gr. Velocity is a moot issue here. The energy developed by velocity is pointless if most of it passes out of the target and continues down range.

When I use 357 mag, I use 158 gr JHP. NATO won't let the military use a JHP, so you get a jacketed bullet making a small wound channel and passing through the target. That's not a formula for killing the enemy.

I've often sat in emergency rooms writing the report of the evening's "victim of gun violence" while the docs pored over the X-rays trying to figure out which were new bullets and which were leftover from the victim's last trip to the emergency room.

They seem to collect and keep "9 mildimeeder" slugs as momentos.

Read what McBride wrote about a pistol's "wallop" some 80 years ago. Same story.

I will say in fairness that my Beretta ran through almost 14,000 rounds before I turned it in, and it NEVER, EVER, NOT ONCE jammed. Ever. Ate two barrels and three locking lugs, but WTF?

Redial

My time is SEVERELY limited these days, but I'm checking my E-mail and had messages that this thread had some more responses, so here I am to (briefly) respond.

We're taking a charter plane over and back. Our luggage will not be searched, scanned, felt-up, fondled, or anything else... except sent. Same coming back.

Which means... I could have taken my OWN Beretta mousegun, with the barrel bushing, tight no-slop slide, new finish, better trigger, cleaner sights, and excellent accuracy.

To think -- being able to take your own weapon into combat and bring it home again. Wow. Just like the old days (which, um, I guess would be the Civil War).

However... I'll be getting my POS full-of-slop mousegun. I was issued my holster and ONE magazine pouch -- which means, clearly, that I'll be allowed one magazine in the gun and ONE ("ONE") spare.

Look, I'm not a spray-and-pray kind of guy, honestly, but... hey, if I've got a reason to open fire, I'm also probably going to have a reason to go through a LOT more than 30 dag-blame rounds of ammo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One magazine pouch. Incredible. I should have brought three of my hi-caps.

So, lame ammo and a limited quantity of same. I'm so thrilled.

We un-ass North America early on Sunday morning. From the African forum, I learned about Ambien... and had my doctor prescribe some (bless his heart). So, when they expect us to hit the ground running (and they ALWAYS do), I will have gotten some sleep this time.

If any of you can smuggle a .45 and some ammo and magazines... well, I'd sure be appreciative.

At formation this morning, our chief of staff was pumping us up for battle, so to speak... typical "hooah" stuff, you know... and he made the comment about not knowing how long we'd be gone, because he didn't know what Saddam was going to do.

I said, loud enough for everyone in formation to hear, especially our chief of staff...

"Die, Sir."

Seemed to be favorably received by all present.

Russ

What? They don't supply the troops with long guns these days?

To quote the Oregon State Police: "The side arm is just to cover my ass until I can get to the long guns in the squad car."

There's no room in my locker for a 9mm. Clay.

Sounds like a variation of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

I've looked and looked at 9mm. Can't hardly believe that it might stop anything.

Carried the 45 ACP, 1911 in the service as a Medic. Just believe in that caliber. I like it at the range mostly because it's easy to find the big, fat brass on the ground.