Beretta Cheetah 84FS .380 ACP Range Review Session 01/29/2020 at 5 Star Firearms in Zion, Illinois

This was my second range session for the year 2020

91 rounds of .380 ACP were fired, consisting of:
1 x 13 round magazine of Federal 90 grain Hydra-Shok hollow points (expensive self-defense loads)
6 x 13 round magazines of Federal 95 grain FMJ

My last range session using this pistol was way back on 02/11/2016; that's nearly 4-years ago.  It was cleaned / lubed with CLP after that session but it received no cleaning / lube since.  Sooooo we had a clean but very dry pistol for this session (probably in the same condition as many home defense pistols).  I was curious to find out if it could go the distance without me refreshing the lube beforehand; it did.  There were no jams or stoppages but on three occasions I felt the action struggle through (what I believe to be) momentary feed ramp hangups. On the first event I stopped firing to check out the possibility of a squib; after removing the magazine and clearing a live round from the chamber (squibs often lack the power to eject a spent case) I still checked to make certain there was not a bullet lodged in the barrel.  On the subsequent couple of anomalies that I felt I simply assumed that the noticeable pauses in the slide action were caused by momentary feed ramp hangups so I just kept on shooting.

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The first sheet had 5 targets.  Each target was subjected to 1 full magazine (13-rounds)

First, the sole center target was fired at 15-feet (5-yards) (4.6-meters)
Next, top pair of targets were fired at 21-feet (7-yards) (6.4-meters)
Last, the bottom pair of targets were fired at 30-feet (10-yards) (9.1-meters)

What in all of hell is that big yellow arrow doing in the photo?  Well, let's call it the big yellow arrow of integrity; in all honesty I gotta tell ya that the first round that I fired at the center target (the closest distance of this range session for crying out loud) went LOW.  Yep, it was just really bad shooting on my part.  For some reason it was a struggle for me to adhere to the basics during this session; probably a sign that I need more practice. (EDIT: In my defense I will offer that my first shot was using the LONG and somewhat heavy double action trigger; subsequent rounds were fired single action.)

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Reluctantly I pushed this next target out to 45-feet (15-yards) (13.7-meters)

Shooting at this distance is an act of faith for me when using small caliber guns because I (usually) cannot see my hits until after I reel in the sheet.

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2 x 13-round magazines, all on paper, all within the silhouette, most are within the better numbers.  It may lack the elegance of one big raggedy hole but I'll take it. Upon my return to the domicile the Beretta was promptly cleaned and lubed.

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