Superesse sends his carry ensemble for a river trip for today’s Pocket Dump of the Day from Everyday Carry.
He wrote this:
A little guerilla marketing there, I guess. Because everyone needs a “Bug Out Bracelet.” And yes, it can be yours for $125 (follow the link). Plus $10.50 shipping.
I love the Beretta Model 84 .380 ACP. Unfortunately I don’t see a carry rig. Hopefully he has one. Even if it’s to throw into a dry bag if it’s a “wet” river trip.
I’ve got one of these 84s and it’s my “throw it on to go to the gas station for a moment” gun (with a DeSantis rig IIRC). Mine came from a guy who committed suicide (sad for him and his family). Using a different gun.
The trigger on mine feels like a toy gun. It feels like barely more than four pounds… and that’s double-action! It doesn’t like hard primers though. American ammo works just fine. S&B and some other European .380? Not so much.
With 13+1, it’s a great little gun. But then again, I romanticize it because I’ve wanted one since I was a teenager and when it came along a few years ago, I jumped on it and five extra magazines.
I see a lot of stuff there but no knife. That leaves me scratching my head. Knives are incredibly versatile for everything from utilitarian use, to rescue to self-defense. They do so much. And he’s got a $125 survival bracelet but no blade. Hmmm.
I would for sure carry a knife on an outing out of the city limits. Which is what I visualize when I see ‘river trip’. And at least an led headlight. Hand held lights have their uses. But when I’m out in the boonies my hands always seem to be occupied when I need a light.
The 84 is a decent gun. The light primer strike needs to be sorted.
Agreed on the LED head lamps. I have the affordable Energizer ones in my EDC bags, BOB’s, earthquake emergency kits, trucks, and always on a hike.
I often thought about buying one of the older model 84’s but certainly not the trash Beretta is making today. The reason I did not was the same reason I never bought a CZ 82 which is another pistol I always wanted but will never buy. So why not? Simple, these pistols are so large that you may as well buy a 9×19 pistol some of which are smaller than they are. In the real world neither the Beretta 84 or the CZ 82 has any practical purpose these days except as a collectors item as time as moved on and no one I know would not rather have a 9×19 in same size or even smaller pistol for discrete carry. The older Beretta’s certainly were quality guns and ditto for the CZ82 and if I had more room for more guns and an unlimited bank account I probably against my own common sense would gladly buy both just to have one each.
Likewise, I wanted a CZ-82 since reading about them in the 1990s. However, when I first handled one in the 2000s, I already had a
CZ P-01 in 9mm and realized the CZ-82 and P-01 were almost exactly the same length, height, and weight, but the CZ-82 has higher recoil (due to CZ-82 blowback operation), weaker round, and lower magazine capacity. I may eventually get a CZ-82 as an interesting item, but see no need to carry it. I’d rather carry a modern compact 9mm than a “large” .380 or 9×18 blowback pistol (same size pistol as compact 9mm).
What you and a lot of other people here seem to forget is that the Beretta 84 was meant to be a duty pistol instead of a concealed carry gun. Before the Munich terrorist attacks, many European police forces carried .380s.
We know the large .380 and 9x18mm Makarov pistols like the Beretta 84 and Vz 82/CZ 83 were duty pistols for European police and military forces in the 1980s. That is part of the reason I was first interested in them. However, this artical is about carrying one of them today. I still find them interesting, but not a practical solution for my carry or home defense purposes. If that’s what you have available, ok. I’ve found that a blowback .380 or 9x18mm Makarov has a harsher felt recoil impulse than a non-blowback 9mmx19 of similar size and weight (and have a less effective round and usually lower magazine capacity). In his classic reference book The 100 Greatest Combat Pistols, Hands-On Tests and Evaluations of Handguns from Around the World (1994), author Timothy Mullin, rated the CZ-83 as “far better than some of the more popular and expensive .380s, such as tne Walther PPK.”
Many of the .380 and 9mm Makarov former military and police pistols are good guns, especially in their time, but not so much the best today for personal protection purposes, concealed carry, open carry, duty pistol, or home defense. Two of the retired SEALs I worked with said they bought alloyed-framed Hungarian FEG PA-63 9mm Makarov pistols for their wives as EDC pistols back when they were on active duty. I have PA-63 pistols because I find them interesting, but don’t enjoy shooting them. I haven’t asked, but I’ll bet those SEALs’ wives have probably replaced theirs for EDC purposes by now. Mullin in his book mentioned above, rated the FEG RK-57 in 9mm Makarov (basically PA-63 scaled down slightly to Walther PPK size) as “This pistol is an ideal size for the infantry trooper who is already overburdened with equipment. Although it does suffer from the typical double-action slide safety mounted problem (noticeably absent on the CZ 83), the combination of size, weight, and caliber adds up to a highly rated weapon for field troops. If it does not make the top-five list of available military handguns, it certainly gets into my top 10.” (1994).
i do pa63. i will do cz82 eventually. i like the mak round.
not familiar with the feg57, but i have a goulash of hungaroring stuff.
tsbhoa.p.jr,
Have you changed any of the springs in your PA-63?
I am planning on getting sets of Wolff springs to increase the recoil spring to 15 lbs (from 11 lb factory) to decrease recoil and also decrease trigger spring to 9 or 11 lb (from factory 16 lb) to decrease heavy DA trigger pull.
https://www.gunsprings.com/FEG/PA-63/cID1/mID20/dID103
And the RK-57 and RK-59 were rare variations of the PA-63 with a slightly shorter barrel, slide, and grip, with a 6-round magazine (instead of PA-63’s 7-round mag).
i thought the safety was broken the first time i flicked it off and it decocked.
i went in and stoned internals to smooth. same for the mags, clean, oil.
http://www.ktgunsmith.com/improving_pa63.htm
no spring change yet, but now that i trust it i’ll go heavier recoil/ lighter da trigger.
now i want an 82 and a 57. thanks.
tsbhoa.p.jr,
Thanks for the info. I’m going to try the “Rounding the Rear Sharp Edges of the Slide (or How to Prevent Needing First Aid to the Web of My Hand!).”
One problem some older service pistols is the poorer ergonomics compared to modern guns. Slide bite sucks.
I shot a Beretta 84 once decades ago. I think Browning was importing them at the time. Thought it shot fine, but way oversized for such a small caliber. River trip? Of course, the caliber would depend on location. Almost certainly stainless. Reloads and carry method a must. A survival bracelet? What the hell is that? Looks like it might have rudamentary compass and probably a one inch blade. As backup to a lensatic compass, or at least a Silva, and a real knife of some description (I carry fixed and folder off the beaten path.), okay. And, let’s see, a survival bracelet for a river trip EDC, but no life jacket. Where was this river trip? The same waters that Mike Fink’s keel boats plied in Disney World when I was there in the 8th grade?
I love my 84f
But all the criticisms are valid. The redeeming quality is that it fills your hand and has 13 shots not 8.
Took me a while but once you figure out the trigger it’s pretty sweet.
Where his notebook?! How will he record notes?
Nice heater. I’ve always been a fan of beretta pistols because they’re a combination of a practical firearm and unique designs and mechanics.
On a different note, has anyone anywhere at any time ever actually used one of those Paracord bracelets as a source of cordage before? I’ve always just chalked them up as a default mall ninja accessory.
I love me some gentle oversized 380ACP action. The Browning 1911-380, Shield 380EZ, etc all scratch that itch. For years I wanted an M84, with a double stack mag and sleek Beretta curves. Then I found one at a good price, shot it, and was sorely disappointed. The blowback action is overly snappy compared to Browning actions. It was about as much fun to shoot as an LCP. If S&W made a double stack Shield 380 to make use of all that extra room in the grip, I’d buy two. They’d likely lose the “EZ” moniker with the increased mag spring tension and ease of loading the mag, but for that size of a pistol a measly 8rds is the biggest limfac on me treating it as a serious carry gun. 12-14rds of 380 and I’d be willing to accept nominal terminal ballistics. And, of course, a pleasant platform for teaching new shooters the fundamentals on a mild-recoiling pistol that handles and operates like a “real” gun.
I would buy a pair of double stack 380EZs as well. I’m desperately hoping they make one. And if they scaled it up slightly to 9mm…
Love the 84. Just ordered a surplus 81 today (32).
Boggles the mind there is no knife. And unless he’s in Wyoming, he needs a light.
Since the safety is up, I’m guessing he dumps the 84 in a pocket or bag.
Not what I would do…but that’s on him.
If that bracelet is 125 bucks, I dont want to be cool.
The 81 is one of my “Bucket list” guns. I love the Cheetah, and I love .32 ACP.
Aim still had the Good Grade.
Most curious about his holster.
Took a river trip 2 weeks ago by kayak. Of course I got soaked as did my LCP and LEATHER holster. What the F was I thinking??
The LCP was fine.
Some neetsfoot oil and all was well. But STUPID me, the thought to use a nylon holster not once crossed my puny mind.
What we need is something like the Hill People Gear chest rigs but also waterproof. It would be discrete-ish, allow the user to be active outdoors, and allow easy and quick access to the gun. HPG makes 2 sizes, here’s one: https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/1/ProductID/6
I supose one can use this and place the gun and spare mag in a waterproof quick open bag?
Thanks for the link.
Not much good when wearing a PFD.
Should have used one of my nylon holsters, like I said.
Oh well. Live, learn. forget and learn again.
Remember, if you hear banjos, you’ve gone too far.
Sounds like that 84 needs a new hammer spring. My 85s trigger is pretty heavy. Smooth, but heavy. It definitely couldn’t be described as toy-like. That plus the light primer strikes tells me the spring is either worn out or has been screwed with.
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