I have read a lot of bad reviews on Beretta Nano FTF and FTE. Has this problem been corrected on newer models? I have been debating on whether to purchase a Nano or a Shield. I would prefer the Nano,as I plan to pocket carry, but as this would be a carry gun, it needs to be 100% dependable. If they were both the same size, the Shield would be my choice.
Shield vs Nano
- Thread starter Edknn123
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MrJT
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I hate to be the guy who comes up with option C, but have you looked at the Sig P290? Dimensionally a tiny bit smaller than the nano and reliable according to my son.
This is a question to pose to the Beretta Forum (or in our Other Guns Sub-Forum), but I hadn't read any (that I remember anyway) Nano horror stories. When I was shopping for Subcompacts, what knocked it out of the running was comfort and ease of maintenance. While it felt great to fondle at the counter (as many often do), the Nano wasn't comfortable to shoot and field stripping required a tool (or coin).
Don't let size be a major factor. For example... The PF-9 is still one of the smallest & lightest, but it's a bear to shoot.
Find one to try (borrow, rent, whatever) and see if it feels good to shoot.
I can Front Pocket carry my Shield in almost any pants I have. If you can't, maybe you need to look at pants with longer slashes on the front pocket.
Don't let size be a major factor. For example... The PF-9 is still one of the smallest & lightest, but it's a bear to shoot.
Find one to try (borrow, rent, whatever) and see if it feels good to shoot.
I can Front Pocket carry my Shield in almost any pants I have. If you can't, maybe you need to look at pants with longer slashes on the front pocket.
Pisgah
Member
Right around 1500 rounds thru my Nano so far with zero failures of any kind, shooting everything from Tula steel-case hardball to premium carry ammo, plus a motley assortment of reloads. I find it quite comfortable to shoot and almost unbelievably accurate.
Iwant2shootlikehickock45
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I pocket carry the m&p bodyguard 380.
I have the shield and it is a great pistol.
Over at the glock forum a lot of people are taking about the single stack glock 9 mm that is suppose to be announced this week. A lot of members refer to how great the shield is and they have no plan to by the ss glock
I have the shield and it is a great pistol.
Over at the glock forum a lot of people are taking about the single stack glock 9 mm that is suppose to be announced this week. A lot of members refer to how great the shield is and they have no plan to by the ss glock
I have a Beretta Nano and have had NO problems with it. It is easy to field strip.
I also have a Shield 9 and 40 and they are both great guns.
I also have the Sig 290RS and it is a great gun. I was surprised at how similar the Nano and the 290 were in size. They are pretty much identical in size.
I like all of them and they all will do the job for you. The Shield is a bit larger than the other two.
You can have failures in any gun. That is what immediate action drills are for.
I also have a Shield 9 and 40 and they are both great guns.
I also have the Sig 290RS and it is a great gun. I was surprised at how similar the Nano and the 290 were in size. They are pretty much identical in size.
I like all of them and they all will do the job for you. The Shield is a bit larger than the other two.
You can have failures in any gun. That is what immediate action drills are for.
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gtistiffler
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I think the Kahr CM9 is even slightly smaller than the Nano. Might check it out
I have a Nano as well and I had a few FTEs with 115 gr range ammo at first. Once it got broken in a little, it was good to go with pretty much any quality ammo. It never had a hiccup when using more expensive self defense ammo.
Strangely enough you'll probably get some of the worst reviews of this pistol on the Beretta forum because it's just not like their beloved 92s or anything else in the Beretta lineup. There's a lot of guys that really slammed the Nano for not functioning 100% out of the box with whatever cheap garbage they could feed it but personally I don't think that's a legitimate complaint. Brand new the gun runs fine with quality SD ammo and let's face it, it's a carry gun and a SD weapon, not a range toy. Who in their right mind is going to carry one with cheap range ammo in it? No one, so that argument is invalid.
Granted, you don't want to have to spend a fortune on expensive ammo just to get some range time in with the Nano but that isn't necessary. There are plenty of choices in 115, 124 and 147 gr fmj ammo that have enough steam to cycle the Nano reliably. Once it's broken in it's a total non issue anyway.
As a carry gun I think it's a decent choice if you're after a compact single stack 9. I think its looks are a little odd and the trigger is a little long but it shoots great, has low perceived recoil and is available at a decent price.
Now with all that being said, my lgs has Shields on sale right now for $349 and I am really tempted to take one off their hands. I don't think it'll shoot or carry any better than the Nano but there are trigger upgrades available for it and I think it's a little sexier looking. It also has a slide stop which some people prefer to have but I never really missed it on the Nano.
If there's anything specific you want to know that I haven't covered, I'll do my best to answer any questions you might have.
Edit: I just noticed this from your post
The Nano may be classified as a pocket pistol (and I have heard of guys carrying them that way) but I think it's a little large for that. The Shield is bigger still, so I guess if you're considering that a pocket pistol then the Nano should be fine for you.
Strangely enough you'll probably get some of the worst reviews of this pistol on the Beretta forum because it's just not like their beloved 92s or anything else in the Beretta lineup. There's a lot of guys that really slammed the Nano for not functioning 100% out of the box with whatever cheap garbage they could feed it but personally I don't think that's a legitimate complaint. Brand new the gun runs fine with quality SD ammo and let's face it, it's a carry gun and a SD weapon, not a range toy. Who in their right mind is going to carry one with cheap range ammo in it? No one, so that argument is invalid.
Granted, you don't want to have to spend a fortune on expensive ammo just to get some range time in with the Nano but that isn't necessary. There are plenty of choices in 115, 124 and 147 gr fmj ammo that have enough steam to cycle the Nano reliably. Once it's broken in it's a total non issue anyway.
As a carry gun I think it's a decent choice if you're after a compact single stack 9. I think its looks are a little odd and the trigger is a little long but it shoots great, has low perceived recoil and is available at a decent price.
Now with all that being said, my lgs has Shields on sale right now for $349 and I am really tempted to take one off their hands. I don't think it'll shoot or carry any better than the Nano but there are trigger upgrades available for it and I think it's a little sexier looking. It also has a slide stop which some people prefer to have but I never really missed it on the Nano.
If there's anything specific you want to know that I haven't covered, I'll do my best to answer any questions you might have.
Edit: I just noticed this from your post
The Nano may be classified as a pocket pistol (and I have heard of guys carrying them that way) but I think it's a little large for that. The Shield is bigger still, so I guess if you're considering that a pocket pistol then the Nano should be fine for you.
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