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Beretta Slide Markings Question

GunCat

GunCat

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I'm either tired or my Google-fu is failing me today....

Just picked up a Beretta 92FS in trade. Serial comes back as a model J92F630, a (approx) 2008 Police Special.

But I'm not used to seeing a blank left side of the slide. For US made Berettas, I'm used to seeing "Beretta USA CORP" on one side, the model/caliber on the other.

Maybe a replacement slide? Filled in and refinished? Just a different version? Thoughts?

I don't think this is anything particularly special, just trying to figure out why my slide doesn't look like other examples I've found.


New Beretta 1.jpg New Beretta 2.jpg
 
Well, I don’t think you can fault your Google-fu. I’ve never seen any 92 slide with a completely blank left side. And I also can not find anything on the web about such a creature.

ETA You might want to try posting on the Beretta Forum:

Beretta Handguns - Beretta Forum

This area is for discussions on all handguns manufactured by Beretta. This includes their semi-automatic pistols and various revolver lines. Sights, grips, repair, holsters, etc. belong in smithing or gear.
berettaforum.net
 
Last edited:
I'm glad it's not just me.
Just setup an account on the Beretta forum, hope the folks over there have some insight. Thanks for the help, Cathouse, and AHM!
 
Yeah, fair amount of expertise on how the gun operates, but not as much on its history.
 
LTCRN said:
Could have been left blank for the issuing police department to be engraved on it?
Click to expand...

Seems like that may be the answer. [thumbsup]

The admin of the other site chimed in: " There are a few of those out there. One side was intentionally left blank. I seem to recall that there were a bunch of PS slides made up that were ready for laser engraving by the department or these weren't delivered in the contract and are overruns."

I'm continuing to search for another example....haven't had any luck so far. I was happy with the trade; happier now that it's a bit more interesting than the usual 92FS I come across.
 
GunCat said:
Seems like that may be the answer. [thumbsup]

The admin of the other site chimed in: " There are a few of those out there. One side was intentionally left blank. I seem to recall that there were a bunch of PS slides made up that were ready for laser engraving by the department or these weren't delivered in the contract and are overruns."

I'm continuing to search for another example....haven't had any luck so far. I was happy with the trade; happier now that it's a bit more interesting than the usual 92FS I come across.
Click to expand...
Can you contact Berretta directly?
 
Dench said:
Can you contact Berretta directly?
Click to expand...
I called Beretta. Rep's response was (paraphrased) "These were marked LE, because of the round capacity...uhh.....as far as all the markings on one side, maybe it was because it's easier to get all the info from one side of the gun? Otherwise, I don't really know. There's nothing in the system about it."

Except the serial number is on the left side, so you'd still have to turn the pistol over to get "all" the info, so that wouldn't provide much benefit.

I sent an email to their support team, with photos, too. Might get the same answer as the rep, but doesn't cost anything to ask.
 
GunCat said:
I called Beretta. Rep's response was (paraphrased) "These were marked LE, because of the round capacity...uhh.....as far as all the markings on one side, maybe it was because it's easier to get all the info from one side of the gun? Otherwise, I don't really know. There's nothing in the system about it."

Except the serial number is on the left side, so you'd still have to turn the pistol over to get "all" the info, so that wouldn't provide much benefit.

I sent an email to their support team, with photos, too. Might get the same answer as the rep, but doesn't cost anything to ask.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I'm sure someone there knows. The trick is getting in touch with someone there who cares enough to ask around.
 
Dench said:
Interesting. I'm sure someone there knows. The trick is getting in touch with someone there who cares enough to ask around.
Click to expand...
That's it, in a nutshell.

I was a little hopeful that given the more recent manufacture, that maybe the records would have a little more granularity. If it was part of an LE order, the original order details, date it was moved to surplus/overrun and sold, maybe. Wasn't holding my breath, but more likely than if I was inquiring about a trade-in from 1980. We'll see if my email gets anywhere.

I'm basically out of search terms to try. I can find plenty of examples of this model, just none have a blank left side like mine.

The plan when I made the trade was to flip it, but gets a little tricky when you can't find another to directly compare price to. Sometimes "interesting" equals valuable, sometimes it doesn't, and I don't like guessing. Since NES requires a price in ads (not a complaint), maybe I'll throw it on Armslist with a price of "Offer" and see what comes my way. Or Gunbroker, since it'd get a wider audience...
 

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