>Ahhh, so then this, being a .22LR, is thus meant more for target
>shooting, practice, or plinking

Yes. More the former than the latter, I think, by Beretta's own internal estimation, anyway; it has a Serious Business vibe about it, with its interchangeable parts and its accessory rail, that speaks of the expectation that formal range time will be its thing. Though I'm sure it would do fine at plinking as well.

>I was wondering about its suitability
>as an actual...I suppose the term would be 'Personal Defense Weapon'?

As it happens, PDW in all caps is a newfangled jargon phrase for a particular type of military shoulder arm, somewhere between a submachine gun and an assault rifle. They're in vogue nowadays as the type of weapon to be issued to rear-area troops—artillerists, truck drivers, and the like—who previously would've been issued either SMGs or, if you go far enough back in history, carbines.

But that aside, generally speaking you would not want to rely on this, or any other .22, for personal security. Attitudes about where the lower bound for that kind of thing are vary, and have changed a lot over the last hundred years or so. As mentioned in a number of other GotWs, the .32 ACP/7.65mm Short cartridge used to be the go-to for defensive handguns (both civilian and military/police), but nowadays it would be considered underpowered for that role. Most modern authorities insist on .380 ACP/9mm Short at a bare minimum, and really recommend the full 9mm Parabellum if it can be managed. There are a number of well-made 9mm pistols on the market today that are as compact and handy as the .32s of yesteryear, though I don't own any myself.

>A fancy-looking gun for newbies to cut their teeth on before they get
>into 'real' guns, as it were? It certainly fits the first part!

Like I said, I think it's partly meant for that and partly intended to appeal as well to the experienced target shooter looking for the New Hotness. Guns have fashion trends just like cars and electronics, and the tactical raygun look is in right now.

>I've been leery about going to a firing range and trying out a gun
>ever since I saw an episode of CSI (I forget which flavor) that had a
>novice shooter get 'bitten' by the....damn I forget the term. The
>slide? Feels like theres another word for it - In the bit between his
>thumb and forefinger, and I've been afraid of that happening to me;
>it's a rather sensitive spot to get bitten by a fairly heavy spring
>throwing around - what, a half pound of metal?

That can happen, although it's generally a consequence of carelessness or poor technique these days. The Colt M1911 (old Army sidearm) and Browning Hi-Power (see relevant GotW) have reputations as biters, in both cases largely because they were designed not to be held with as high a grip as is fashionable nowadays. (I've never experienced the Browning bite myself, though I did once whack my thumb in good shape with the bolt of a Ruger .22.) The Browning designs bite by pinching the thumb web with their hammers, though, not actually cutting into the shooter's hand with the slide rails. No gun that did that as a matter of course would survive long on the market; people who have that happen to them (and it does happen) were just plain Doing It Wrong.

Not Doing It Wrong is a big part—arguably the biggest part— of recreational shooting, and training should reflect that. It's a fine line between fearing the weapon (which does the operator no good) and not respecting it (which does no one any good), and it's not easy to teach. And it's very true that semiautos are disconcerting to a lot of people specifically because of the issue you mention, that there is a significant amount of mass moving briskly around simply by the way they work. It's hard to forget that every time you fire, you're depending on the skill of the designer and the quality of the materials to keep a big piece of metal from flying into your eye. (Which is one of the reasons smart shooters wear safety glasses.)

I've never taught a complete raw novice to shoot, but I think if I did, I would do it like my grandfather did with me and start with something single-shot. Then, perhaps, move on to revolvers. Save semiautos for the 200-level course. :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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