That Beretta...

by Paul , Thursday, July 24, 2025, 10:34 (14 days ago) @ JimT

reminds me of the one I fixed for a fellow way back when. Some genius had spray painted it gold. It looked like a kid's toy. The genius hadn't even taken off the grips or anything, just gunked it up and let it dry. For some reason it wouldn´t function properly. So I stripped it down, found a lima bean holding two pieces of magazine spring in line - and interfering with loading the magazine full. After a bit of judicious cleaning I lubed it up and reassembled it and it shot OK and, if I recall correctly, it ran 5 rounds through, all the magazine could handle with the busted spring. I don't recall what I did to get the magazine to function other than cleaning. I don´t think I left the lima bean in there, but don't remember now what I did to the spring. Anyway, it was in 22 LR and I always wanted to try one in 6.35 Browning/25 ACP.

Fast forward a few years and I was at the Crowder shooting range, shooting a 22 LR Taurus version of the pistol. That tip-up barrel is nice for folks who can't rack the slide for whatever reason. Anyway, that Taurus started doubling or trippling on me. Kind of fun, but too many curious folk around. With no desire for a visit from the alphabet boys I grabbed a can of brake cleaner and squirted it through the mechanism until it ran clear. No more doubling. I also would like to try the 380 (or was it 32?) version of the pistol.