The Beretta M9 lasted far longer than many service pistols ever do. Adopted in the 1980s and carried for more than three decades, it earned a place as a familiar sidearm across the U.S. military while also collecting a reputation shaped by age, maintenance headaches, and changing expectations. The Army’s...

In pistol design, reliability is not a bonus feature. It is the line between an interesting mechanism and one that earns long-term trust. Compact dimensions, unusual locking systems, and low-cost manufacturing can all look compelling on paper, but repeated stoppages tend to expose where engineering margins were too thin. This...