When it comes to defending your home, it is hard to find a pistol that is better suited for the job than the Beretta M9A3. Today, there are a few more things that people want out of their home defense pistols. Options are key to satisfying the market of people wanting to defend themselves. Some of the things people are looking for are not as reasonable as others. However, the Beretta M9A3 hits that nice balance of features and characteristics that make it a terrific choice.
ERGONOMICS
The new M9A3 takes the Vertec grip, which is thinner and smaller all around. The grip also helps make this pistol natural for pointing and shooting, which is great for less experienced shooters and when you find yourself shooting in low light without enough time to be completely sure of your aim. Having the smaller grip also allows it to be a nice and comfortable grip for those with smaller hands. This means that this pistol would be good around the house for most of the family, given that they are trained on the pistol and how to safely and competently handle it.
TRIGGER
The trigger on the Beretta M9A3 is pretty good, despite my usual critique of light triggers. the Double action pull is much lighter than the standard double action. This translates into making it easier for the shooter to hit on the first shot. This is extremely important, especially for the overall enjoyment aspect, which directly translates into how much the user will want to practice and become proficient. The single action on the pistol is just like those on other Beretta 92/M9 pistols. The wall is stiff and the break is clean. You can squeeze amazing accuracy out of this pistol when you need to. This is important for home defense, for sure.
THREADED BARREL
One of the newer trends out there is to have a threaded barrel in case you want to mount a suppressor. In home defense, people are seriously adopting the suppressor concept in order to make it less loud to shoot indoors. This is reasonable, but it can have it's drawbacks too. However, the fact that this pistol has a solid mount for a suppressor that comes from the factory with the pistol is huge.
ACCESSORY RAIL
Weapon mounted lights are very popular right now, and have been for a while. There are few reasons to not have one. With the Beretta M9A3, I think the perfect combination is a weapon light and a suppressor. That would turn the Beretta M9A3 into a fully decked out, sexy beast of a weapon. Throw anything on there, and the 1913 rail will handle it and make the weapon look even sexier. Lights, lasers, that goofy bayonet, etc.
NIGHT SIGHTS
I don't know about you, but I don't remember ever hearing about a Beretta 92 that had factory installed sights for the commercial market. Usually that was purely reserved for Law Enforcement units. They would have to drill out the front sight and then hammer a metal-wrapped tritium vial into the hole. Not the best way to setup a night sight but it worked for the most part. With this pistol, you now have removable front and rear sights with a nice modest green glow. Absolutely beautiful to see when you are in a low light area.
CAPACITY
The Beretta M9A3 has a good standard capacity of 17+1. It isn't the best by any means, but it is pretty good compared to the older 15 round magazines. You can easily find extended magazines for this pistol too. Thanks to Beretta M9s and 92 series pistols being around for a few decades, there are plenty of aftermarket magazines out there that are reliable and can offer you capacity in a variety of round counts.
COMBAT RECORD
Despite old rumors of terrible performance, and some of the old anecdotes that people like to place on the web, the Beretta 92 series and M9 pistols have one of the most solid track records for reliability and durability. The M9A3 takes all the upgrades that the M9 can't take, which means you are getting an outstanding design with twice that durability that has already been proven with the US military.
SHOOTABILITY
I hate to say it, but this pistol is not exactly the softest shooting pistol out there. For whatever reason, it is smooth to shoot and get back on target. But as your loads get hotter, you definitely feel it in your hand. Now, I have found that the Wilson Combat Shok-Buffer actually works incredibly well to tame the felt recoil. Getting accurate shots out of this pistol is a breeze thanks to the grip, trigger, and the longer sight radius with the skinny front sight. I have always felt that a thin front sight always helps your precision.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are a multitude of pistols out on the market today, but few of them have EVERYTHING you would want for home defense like the Beretta M9A3, in my opinion. Sure there are "TACTICAL" versions of certain pistols on the market like the CZ P-09 that has greater capacity, but it doesn't have nearly as good of a trigger or the durability and reliability capability that the Beretta M9A3 has. I know that this pistol can cost $700-$1000 depending on where you shop. However, I feel that this pistol is a killer deal. If you are just looking for a plinker, I would just get a standard Beretta 92FS. The Beretta M9A3 was built to serve in a serious role. Give it a serious role and a good home, and I think you will be forever happy with your choice. I'm still thrilled with my Beretta M9A3.
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