Quoted: my only complaint, is that the grip is too big for my small hands. but then again, most full sized auto-loaders have this "problem."

Ditto on that. Maybe a little too big for my taste, but still love mine.

Just as B0ne points out....."non-NATO" ammo was used.  It was proof ammo, which isn't even available for commercial sales or LEO for that matter.

Gun manufacturers and military testing labs/facilities use that type of ammo for testing.  

I once heard that one proof load puts so much strain and force on the gun, that it's equivelant is like shooting regular ammo by the hundreds if not thousands.

It's like putting rocket fuel in your Ford F250!  LMAO

I have about a dozen different guns, I I could keep only one it would be the Beretta.  I have one of the original 92's.  Low mag release model.  The action is smooth as butter and it's so accurate that it actually makes me look like an OK shooter!  If I had money I'd buy six more of them.  Absolutely reliable.

I doubt it was proof ammo. The military stocks other 9mm ammo than just M882 which is a little lighter loading than some of the other 9mm out there especially for the luger and other pistols. The M1 ball (amongst a few others that are stocked) was/is authorized for most 9mm weapons EXCEPT the M-9 pistol.