Beretta Pico - Who has one?

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SeanSw

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I recently sold off a Taurus TCP .380 after successive failures to feed anything except FMJ reliably, and now I would like to replace it. My first TCP was stolen and had more reliable feeding which prompted me to purchase a second one. Taurus has always treated me decently but I'm ready to move on. The Pico has a true DAO trigger that I prefer in a pocket gun and the magazine release felt very hard to press by mistake, which happened a few times with my Taurus. The size did not seem any more problematic than the Taurus but the clerk who allowed me to handle one spent 3 minutes telling me how much he hated them and suggested that I buy anything else. Anything at all. Their $400 price had me in agreement, at least temporarily.

Why so much hate? I found a few older criticisms online but it doesn't appear very common so I thought I'd try to drum up a new conversation and ask everyone on THR to share their experience.
 
First let me say that you should be able to find a Pico nearer to $300 than $400 unless it had a laser or light. On-line they are under $300.

I have been very impressed with my Pico. The two features you mentioned, the trigger and mag release, are excellent. The overall design is thin, clean and quality. The takedown process a marvel. I love it. The gun honestly feels a bit odd in the hand but it shoots well. Soft in recoil and accurate with small but usable sights. You can install screw in night sights yourself. I have a standard as well as laser frame. The laser works great. Quality is excellent. I have zero complaints. It's handles every different round, (about 7 brands), I had without failure. Just be sure to get the newer "upgraded" model. The box will indicate if so..

I looked at just about every pocket .380 out there but the Pico has each and every feature I want in a pocket gun
 
Sean, what were some of the bad things the clerk said about the Pico? Maybe we can dispel some of them for you. Though I don't have one, I've handled several and it would be very high on my list if I were looking for a pocket .380.
 
I thought the Pico I shot needed to be sent to Beretta for whatever upgrades they do, but then I found out it had been sent in ! :eek:.

My 5-shot group at 15 feet was about 7 inches and I was shooting low and to the left. I didn't have too little finger on the trigger, wasn't breaking my wrist down, my head wasn't drooping and I wasn't "slapping" the trigger. It just took a lot to pull that trigger. Another shooter fired 7 shots, had an 6-shot group that measured 8" and one that missed the paper, 3 of the shots were low left, 1 shot was way left, one shot was straight under the bullseye by about 4 inches - and this is at 15 feet.

I had some nice shot groups with my other guns afterwards so I don't think it was me.

I also was unable to drop the mag, it came out eventually with a LOT of pressure, (I had to put the pistol on the shooting bench and press on the mag release with my thumb)
 
Most of what I read was months ago so forgive me for not citing it all. The chance to finally handle a Pico in person is what put them back on my list of considerations. I forgot to mention that the example I handled did have a laser attachment, so my mistake for leaving out that detail in the $400 price!

I recall many disparaging remarks about the huge magazine grip extension (which does look gratuitous would not be used), a scathing youtube video about the Pico being the worst gun at the 2016 shot show (worst magazine release on any gun, malfunction prone, heavy recoil) with commentary provided by a respectable firearm enthusiast, Hickok45 mentioning a very high bore axis and slide that was difficult to operate, discussion of old vs new models in regards to single and double recoil springs, and a gun review that involved the user swapping out those two springs to find a reliable combination.

The Pico also has a slide lock feature which is not of consequence to me on a micro .380. The biggest draw for me was a true dao trigger that felt decent to me in person and actually has a shorter stroke and reset than the Taurus TCP.
 
I have had 3 micro .380s. The Pico displaced them to such a degree they are all gone with the Pico handling 100% of my ultra deep concealment needs.

Mine is not upgraded, but the only issue I see with that is that it is harder to work the slide. It seems to absolutely soak up recoil disproportionately to its size.

At 25 yards I was shooting free standing and hitting body mass shots. At 7-10 yards an easy fist sized group resulted.

The Pico is slim, reliable, and ruggedly built with true sights and a DAO trigger. I have not had a single misfire in 500 rounds.

I've recently started to reduce my collection as I just don't have time to shoot them all. The Pico is one that isn't going anywhere...except in my pocket most every single day.
 
I was very tempted by the TCP, especially when they would go on sale for $169.99

The Remington RM380 is a true DAO hammer-fired 380, and the trigger does get better than what you'll experience pulling it at the LGS, but the sights are just plain black milled into the slide and they can't be upgraded.
 
SeanSw said:
I recently sold off a Taurus TCP .380 after successive failures to feed anything except FMJ reliably, and now I would like to replace it. My first TCP was stolen and had more reliable feeding which prompted me to purchase a second one. Taurus has always treated me decently but I'm ready to move on. The Pico has a true DAO trigger that I prefer in a pocket gun and the magazine release felt very hard to press by mistake, which happened a few times with my Taurus. The size did not seem any more problematic than the Taurus but the clerk who allowed me to handle one spent 3 minutes telling me how much he hated them and suggested that I buy anything else. Anything at all. Their $400 price had me in agreement, at least temporarily.

Why so much hate? I found a few older criticisms online but it doesn't appear very common so I thought I'd try to drum up a new conversation and ask everyone on THR to share their experience.
Click to expand...
 
I purchased a Pico in January 2016. There was an indication on the box that it had been upgraded. I kept it a couple of weeks and finally returned it without firing it. These old hands had great difficulty racking the slide.
 
I got a Pico for Christmas. I immediately slapped Tractiongrips onto it -- I like the rubbery/pebbly feel of the add-on.

I burned through 68 rounds of WWB solids without a hiccup until the front sight popped off. Fortunately, this was at a range, and I was quickly able to find the sight amid a scattering of casings. I guess I could have kept function-testing the Pico's reliability, but all I could think about was the sight.

I screwed the sight back on with Loctite Blue. Fortunately, I have a full set of Allen wrenches, including one for 0.05" -- man, that screw is TINY! o_O

Just a caution to all Pico owners that you might want to test the security of your front sight. According to the Beretta forum, just be cautious of OVER-tightening the screw.

I haven't been back to the range yet, but the indications of the mechanical reliability of the Pico were good with the stated ammo. Both magazines (flush and extended) fed flawlessly for those rounds.

Once muscle memory kicked in and I treated the trigger like any double-action revolver, my accuracy improved immeasurably... :)

On balance, I have to say I really like the piece. For my hands the recoil wasn't bad, and I'm sure the Tractiongrips helped a lot also. Assuming the front sight stays on and I can burn through a few more boxes of ammo without a hiccup, I'll be good to go.
 
Thanks for the input on the Pico, I'll seek one out. Rural King has the best out the door price that I can find right now. I considered the RM380 but I'm leery of Remington and it's one of the thicker options for a.380 pocket carry. They seem to be off to a much better start than the R51.
 
Okay -- I went through the Pico manual.

Lo and behold -- there is a caution in there against the "long term dry firing" of the Pico, and the recommendation to use Snap Caps. Just didn't occur to me that in this day and age of centerfires, that would actually be an issue. o_O


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JFrame said:
Okay -- I went through the Pico manual.

Lo and behold -- there is a caution in there against the "long term dry firing" of the Pico, and the recommendation to use Snap Caps. Just didn't occur to me that in this day and age of centerfires, that would actually be an issue. o_O


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Click to expand...
I'm as guilty as anyone else of doing it, but I just don't like dry firing a gun if I don't have to.

Something about a part hitting another part at a high velocity without something to cushion the blow that makes me cringe.

I don't even dry fire my ruger revolvers unless I have to.
 
Fiv3r said:
I'm as guilty as anyone else of doing it, but I just don't like dry firing a gun if I don't have to.

Something about a part hitting another part at a high velocity without something to cushion the blow that makes me cringe.

I don't even dry fire my ruger revolvers unless I have to.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, Fiv3r! :) And then there are the people that tell me I'm paranoid for using Snap Caps in any of my centerfire firearms... :D

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It depends on the design and not on the caliber. You can dry-fire Glock 42 until you wear out the striker spring. But Kahr P380 can break the striker like Pico. I just wish snap caps were popular enough to make them cheaper. I had to get a 5-pack of 380 snap caps for $18. Remember that they gradually wear out. I used up a pack just by breaking in a Taurus M380.
 
I love my Pico. I'm mostly a revolver type, so no problems with the DA trigger. Racking the slide is easy on mine. It's been 100% for the first 200 rounds and shoots better than my Shield. If I'm carrying where I can dress around things, I'm more likely to carry a 686+. But if I want HIDDEN carry, versus concealed...then the Pico works for me.
 
Good call on the snap caps. On that warning I have just ordered a set of A-Zoom .380s to go with a Pico which should be in hand in the next week. With a DAO pistol I will dry firing a lot early on. If it turns out to be a dud I will never forgive myself for not going with a cheaper and more common Ruger LCP when I've had every opportunity to do so. For awhile I thought another .380 would sit in the safe most of the time but it became so handy that I missed mine when it was gone. Plus, I have some ammo left over, and we all know that's a good reason to buy another gun.
 
Took my Pico out yesterday for a 1/2 "point and shoot" and 1/2 "laser and shoot" session. Went very well. I really like this gun. Laser shots were a tad bit better but pointing works quite well. IMHO, there is a learning curve to this petite pistol, both in trigger and grip, but it delivers competence with practice, as any CCW should. I'm still surprised at how soft it shoots.

Tried some new ammo; Golden Sabre 102gr. I'll probably stick with my Hornady as I get it in those 125 round boxes at a slightly cheaper price than most other quality carry ammo.

Side note; Took my Beretta 92 Vertec too. Man, that is a sweet, sweet pistol! So smooth and accurate. Good genes in that Pico.
 
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SeanSw said:
Good call on the snap caps. On that warning I have just ordered a set of A-Zoom .380s to go with a Pico which should be in hand in the next week. With a DAO pistol I will dry firing a lot early on. If it turns out to be a dud I will never forgive myself for not going with a cheaper and more common Ruger LCP when I've had every opportunity to do so. For awhile I thought another .380 would sit in the safe most of the time but it became so handy that I missed mine when it was gone. Plus, I have some ammo left over, and we all know that's a good reason to buy another gun.
Click to expand...

Using all of the stated precautions, I think you should be happy with your Pico... At least, I hope so. :)

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Quick update on my new Pico now that it's been dry fired few thousands times and had a hundred rounds through it. It's brief but I thought I'd keep my thread going in case anyone else was interested in buying one. I fired a 50rd assortment of factory and reloaded fmj through the gun without any teething issues, and surprisingly it ran a full box round of brown epoxy steel cased wolf .380 flawlessly as well. That surprised me a bit as I was concerned it may not cycle the heavily sprung Pico reliably, but it worked well and has given me enough optimism to begin feeding it higher priced self defense ammunition.

The Pico is definitely harder to shoot than the Taurus TCP. It has a smaller grip and a heavier trigger. The sights are better but the rest of the gun is working against you. It took me awhile to find the target but once I built a cadence with the tiny pistol I was able to shoot well enough to make my informal outdoors shooting practice worthwhile. I had a much faster learning curve with the Taurus TCP due to the light and smooth trigger and "generously sized" grip. The Pico feels like a pistol one form factor smaller despite having the same capacity and it is challenging. I will need to put some friction on the grip before taking it out again. Slick and hard to handle but flawless operation so far.
 
SeanSw

The Pico is definitely harder to shoot than the Taurus TCP. It has a smaller grip and a heavier trigger. The sights are better but the rest of the gun is working against you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. Your descriptions are what I felt was the problems with both the Beretta Nano and the Pico I tried out; that they had overly heavy triggers and their grip design and overall size were just too small for my hand (and I have small size hands). I didn't really care for their ergonomics and both guns just felt awkward when I held them. After trying out several other subcompact pistols I went with a Kahr CM9 and a SIG P238.
 
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