A Look at the Beretta Gun Charge
[written by Larry Burchall] In court this morning the fact that Sanchey Grant was charged with unlawful possession of a Beretta handgun sparked my interest.
During my time in the military, I worked with the Connecticut State police and trained with them in Connecticut on one of their conversion courses to the Beretta.
The Italian designed and manufactured Beretta 9mm semi-automatic weapon is the weapon of choice for many western Police and Military services including the US Armed Forces, US Border Patrol, US Immigration, as well as many international military including France, Italy and Brazil.
It is a well-balanced handgun with the capacity to hold up to 15 cartridges in its magazine and chamber. Because of its accuracy and ease of handling, it has essentially replaced the old NATO favourite of the semi-automatic 9mm Browning, a US designed and built handgun.
Berettas are not cheap. They are mass manufactured but are still somewhat expensive to buy. There are many cheaper and less well made models of 9mm handguns that are legitimately on sale in gunshops in the USA. Berettas would not be in the same league as these cheaply made “Saturday night specials”.
Nine millimeter ammunition is a common ammunition and is widely available. Fundamentally, any 9mm cartridge will fit any weapon chambered for the 9mm round. The power packed into a cartridge may vary with manufacturer; and the power – as well as barrel length – helps determine range and accuracy.
Generally, in the hands of a skilled and practiced shooter, and under ideal conditions, the Beretta could be considered accurate out to 50 metres. However, in the hands of an average user, handguns, even the Beretta, are generally only good out to about 15 metres.
Handguns are no longer legal in the UK. There are severe restrictions on the sale, use, and carriage of handguns in Canada. Bermuda law does not permit any person, except a bona fide member of an established gun club, to own a handgun.
In Bermuda, there is only one bona fide gun club – The Coral Reefs Rifle & Pistol Club. All club members must undergo stringent checks by the Bermuda Police before they can even be accepted as potential gun-owners.
Comments (1)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Articles that link to this one: