The new Beretta Pico was announced today at the 2013 National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Houston, TX. Â The new gun is intended for the concealed carry market and comes to the table already looking like a mature platform with multiple options, frame colors and accessories ready to go.
The Pico is being called “ultra-concealable” by the company, and at the widest point, the Beretta Pico is only 18mm. Â For those of us stuck still using the king’s system of measurements, that works out to be less than 0.71″ wide. Â That is pretty darn thin.
Additionally, the pistol has many of the edges rounded to prevent snagging on garments when drawing from concealed locations. Â Additionally, the slide release is flush with the frame, meaning it does not protrude beyond the width of the frame.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the new handgun is its ability to change between 380 ACP and 32 ACP with a quick barrel swap. Â In less than a minute, the shooter can move between calibers with a single gun.
In both calibers, the barrel only tilts 1.4° during the firing sequence.  According to Beretta, this increases reliability of feeding.  Additionally, by having limited tilt, the company states this dramatically reduces felt recoil.  One Beretta spokesperson stated this gun was unlike other subcompact .380 pistols on the market, because the recoil was so low you would actually enjoy shooting this gun.
The new Pico has the ability to swap frames as the company’s other pistol, the Nano, does. Â The frames are polymer. Â Ready immediately for the new pistol are frames in black, purple, white, pink and flat dark earth. Â The Pico is able to do this by using a chassis system like the Nano.