"Your
gun got stuck, if I recall. This Beretta of yours with the silencer.
Something wrong there, 007. Can't afford that sort of mistake if
you're to carry an 00 number. Would you prefer to drop it and go
back to normal duties?"
James Bond's original weapon of choice was
a Beretta .25 automatic, which he used on many missions successfully.
However,
after almost losing his life to Rosa Klebb in From Russia
with Love due to a silencer catching in the holster, at the
beginning of Dr No we find M asking the armourer, Major Boothroyd,
to recommend an alternative.
His
answer was to replace Bond's beloved Beretta with a 7.65mm Walther
PPK, with a Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight .38 for use
when "something bigger" is required.
Boothroyd
praised the Walther for its light trigger pull and the ability to
obtain ammunition for it anywhere in the world. He critisised the
Beretta for being "a lady's gun" and underpowered. Despite
Bond's criticisms of the Walther, he used it successfully on many
missions after. The Smith & Wesson is hammerless to avoid getting
caught on clothing and to keep the weight down holds only 5 cartridges.
007 has also been able to use throwing knives,
either hidden in the soles of his shoes, as in Goldfinger,
or built into his attache case as in From Russia With Love
as well as constructing weapons from materials to hand.