Beretta 9000S Type F

Purchased new, February 2005
Died May 25, 2009

I was not stuck on getting a 40 S&W and was teetering between the Beretta and a Ruger P345 in 45ACP.

After handling both of them, I went with the Beretta mainly because it was more compact and I liked the way it fit my hand better.

The specs on the Beretta 9000S Type F

Action : Double/Single
Sights: Fixed 3 Dot
Grips: Plastic
Frame: Fiberglass reinforced technopolymer
Capacity: 10 rounds
Weight: 27.5 ounces empty (loaded with 180's, 34 ounces)
Length: 6.6 inches
Barrel: 3.5 inches
Decock & Manual Safety
Chambered Round Indicator
MSRP $485

Features:

Magazine floorplate has drop down tab for extended grip length

Accessories Included:

Extra Magazine Standard (no drop down)
Cable lock
Lockable storage case
Bore Mop
Bore Brush

If you have read much of my stuff, you know that I do not make a habit of shooting factory ammunition. This pistol would be no exception. In fact, I never even purchased an initial box of factory ammo. I jumped in, bought brass dies and lead and headed for the loading bench.

I loaded 100 rounds, half with HS7 half with Unique. All were loaded with Speer Gold Dot 180 grain bullets.

I polished the bore with JB Compound before heading to the range. At the range, I fired 3 shots and cleaned the barrel for the first 9 shots.

Then I ran through a couple of magazines full and cleaned the barrel again. After that, I turned it loose.

Somewhere around shot number 75, the gun failed to chamber the round. I corrected the situation and had no further problems for the next 15 rounds at which point, I called it a day.

Accuracy was not part of the equation I guess because I did a terrible job at 25 yards. At short distance, like 20 feet, I did better but nothing to write home about. It is going to take a lot of practice to develop some level of proficiency with it. At this point, I would not consider the gun to be the problem. Me and open sights don't get a long well.

I do not have much experience with handguns but recoil seemed mild. The gun did not twist and squirm in my hands and getting back on target was relatively easy.

Likes and dislikes:

I really like the fit of the gun to my hand. The grip is deep front to back and this leaves a gap between my fingertips and the base of my thumb. Much like gripping a ball bat, if my fingers wrap all the way around, I don't feel like I have as much control. I am sure it's just a personal preference.

The height of the grip is adequate with the drop down tab. Without the drop down, the grip is a little short, however, I could not tell any difference in recoil, control or down range performance while using the magazine without the drop down.

A dislike about the gun is the take down button. It is well protected from accidentally depressing it but when you do try to press it, it only has to move about 1/32nd of an inch and it is really hard to tell when you have actually made it move. On the opposite side of the gun is a small lever that must be flipped down to release the slide. You have to swing the lever down while depressing the button. A little tricky but something I am sure that I will get used to in time.

The drop down on the magazine is a great idea and when in service it works great. It is easily deployed and is tucked out of the way when at rest.

To decock the gun, the safety lever is pushed up and it springs back to safe mode. The functionality of this is great but the angle is a little awkward. It is a little hard to make your thumb swing up from practically parallel to the barrel. Again, with practice, I will get used to it.

Past that, I love the gun and was impressed with it's consistent performance at the range. Like I said, I am not well versed with pistols but I felt like 1 jam in 90 shots was pretty darn good considering it was brand new and tight. I have seen other shooters struggle a lot more than that with a new gun by a different maker. But, I think they were using cheap ammo and I think you get what you pay for.

As for scattering brass, the Beretta does a fair job of keeping it in the same neighborhood. I fired 90 rounds and found all of my brass. I had to work at it a little bit but not bad.

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Update June 2009

I did go ahead and replace the Beretta with another Beretta 9000 in 40S&W. I guess I'm as much or more a creature of habit than the next guy but being happy with the Beretta and comfortable with it, replacing it with seemed to be the right thing to do. I found a nice clean used one on GunBroker and in short order was back in business. The new one shoots as well and as you would expect operates as well.

Bill