Baretta Nano Review

[Laneman]

My friend brought over his new Baretta NANO 9mm yesterday so he could try it out. After we ran a few magazines through, I have to say I was not impressed. Even with the extended mag I could not get my pinky on the grip. Recoil was snappy compared to my Kahr CW9. We also experienced multiple FTE's with 115 grain target ammo of several popular brands. I later looked up the problem online and sure enough there are multiple complaints with the Nano failing to extract the empty casing. Most owners and Baretta say it is because the Nano cannot properly extract 115 grain bullets, and that a 124 grain is needed. It did help when we switched to heavier ammo, but there were still some FTE's, just not as many. Some owners reported improvements after polishing the chamber and feed ramp. There is talk that Baretta used the same recoil spring as their .40 cal, thus the need for 124 grain ammo. Don't know if this is true or rumor. Final conclusions: my Kahr CW9 was more accurate, had less recoil, never jams, feeds 115 grain all day long, has room for the pinky, holds one more round, and costs $50 less. There are also many other small 9mm's that will feed 115 grain target ammo. I would say pass on this one.

[extremist]

My Nano has been flawless from round 1 and will eat anything from 115 to 147gr. It especially likes my 115gr reloads which are 126 to 134 power factor (115RN Xtreme over 5.0-5.2 W231).

If your friend has issues with his, I'm sure Beretta will take care of him. Most of the early issues with the Nano were traced to puny 9mm factory loads.

My one complaint with the Nano is that the bump around the trigger pin irritates my finger after a couple or three magazines shot.

My BIGGEST complaint about the Nano is that I cannot buy the 8 round magazines ANYWHERE. Incredible that Beretta can't find a way to fill the supply chain. Good grief, it's not like it's a desirable hi-cap

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a Pico to see if I want to get one. Looks promising.

James

[TexasCajun]

I put over 500 flawless rounds through my Nano before including it into my EDC rotation. When I was able to get my hands on the unicorn 8 round mags, it became my only carry gun. Well getting the 8 rounders plus my glock 17 being stolen actually pushed my Nano to the top of the list. Anyway, my Nano gets a regular range workout and I've never had an issue. I use all types of factory ammo. I will say that it does feel better shooting heavier rounds. At some point I will look into replacing the trigger as my follow-up shots would probably be better with a shorter reset. But that wasn't a deal breaker for me when I was trying before buying.

[sdmahoney]

I've had 2 FTEs with Federal 115gr 9mm from Walmart, the first time I went out to shoot with mine. I know many people report issues with Winchester White Box as well. No issues with handloads (115gr Winchester FMJ or HP over 4.6-4.8gr HP38) or with any premium ammo at all. I'm still trying to find some 124 grain bullets to use in it, but I am confident enough with my 115gr handloads that I don't have an issue carrying it.