Teach me about the Beretta 90-series pistols

The 92 is now called the M9 and it replaced the M1911.

I like the 1911. Is he interested in the 1911, because people love the 1911 and will overlook the gun jamming by yelling loudly "Two world wars".

Baby birds look funny.
Jamming is caused by limp wrists…;)
 
This has been over blown to the maxim extent.
Do you crap all over Sig's p320 lineup as well out of curiosity?


This video while long addresses the above mentioned things. Quite educational.
Never shot a Sig p320 and I've been out of the Marines for nearly 20 years now.

Yeah, maybe "will break" was not accurate on normal conditions, but the examples that I've seen are consistent with what the guy in the video described (guns used in training environments with very high round counts).
 
Never shot a Sig p320 and I've been out of the Marines for nearly 20 years now.

Yeah, maybe "will break" was not accurate on normal conditions, but the examples that I've seen are consistent with what the guy in the video described (guns used in training environments with very high round counts).
And not maintained properly.
And incorrect magazines used.
Also the more than +p+ ammunition that winchester (i think it was) screwed the pooch on that caused locking block breakages and the very few fabled slide breakages.

None of it, the fault of the gun
 
I went with the 92FS over the P226 for a few reasons:
-looks way sexier
-a few hundred cheaper
-huge aftermarket support
-worldwide battle proven
-feels incredibly comfortable in my hand
-awesome double and single action pulls
-action is smoother than a babys butt

Nothing wrong with the Sig, just preference. I honestly think everyone should have a Beretta. They're great guns.
 
A 92FS is like a mid 90's chevy pickup. Very functional, mostly reliable, good looking in an iconic sort of way, and even though it isn't the coolest thing in the world, it's always good to have around. I'll also add that the Beretta .22 conversion kits for the 92's are quite good and reasonably priced.
 
And not maintained properly.
And incorrect magazines used.
Also the more than +p+ ammunition that winchester (i think it was) screwed the pooch on that caused locking block breakages and the very few fabled slide breakages.

None of it, the fault of the gun
Can you clarify, exactly what incorrect maintenance and magazines were the military orgs demonstrating when they had the failures he noted? Because I want to understand just how much more fastidious private owners ought to be than Marine armorers.
 
Someone I know is interested in the Beretta (and only the Beretta) and I'm interested in helping them out. Problem is, I'm just a simple polymer brick fan so I don't know the first thing about these guns.

What's a 92? 92A1? 92FS? 92G? 92X? M9? M9A3? M9A4?

Are they all either blued or stainless?

Some are made in Italy vs USA vs France? Is there one that's better than the others or one to avoid?

What's a typical price for pre-ban mags? How do you even identify pre-bans?

They're all DA/SA, right?

Anything else I should know?
Has your friend ever shot any? If if he has, let's set up a range day and he can try out an old 92fs, a LTT RDO type g, and a 92x performance.
 
Has your friend ever shot any? If if he has, let's set up a range day and he can try out an old 92fs, a LTT RDO type g, and a 92x performance.
it`s too bad i still can't get at same time at harvard with you - i bet after you try the shadow 2 you will flip to a dark side. :)
 
I owned a couple 92s, a 92FS INOX and 92FS INOX Compact. Mine were 100% reliable and extremely user friendly. But the 92 is a dated design and insufficiently modular for 2021 unless someone's willing to pay for a 92X or a Langdon. DA/SA is also not very sensical in 2021 because of the ubiquity of striker guns and how reliable factory ammo is generally. In eleven years of gun ownership, I've never seen a dud primer in modern factory pistol ammo. Is being able to solve dud primers with a second trigger pull an issue for militaries or police? Evidently not anymore to the point of caring considering how most now use striker guns.

I'd recommend a 92 to someone who doesn't mind the older design or who just really likes the look. Beretta knows how to make a visually pleasing gun. But in 2021, it's a dated gun.
 
What's a 92? 92A1? 92FS? 92G? 92X? M9? M9A3? M9A4?

Look at Beretta's website and the guns themselves. Some designations aren't visually obvious immediately but Beretta's website has very good pictures and explanations. If you're still stumped... google it.

Are they all either blued or stainless?

No 92s are blued. Stainless Berettas have the suffix "INOX." The black guns have a nitride finish, I believe. Definitely not blued.

Some are made in Italy vs USA vs France? Is there one that's better than the others or one to avoid?

French guns are a different topic - that's technically a PAMAS G1. As part of the M9 military contract, Beretta built a factory in Maryland and then later moved to Tennessee. I find the Italian-made 92s a little nicer, but there's usually minimal difference.

They're all DA/SA, right?

I believe there've been SAO 92s made in limited runs, like this one:

Beretta 92 Centennial 9mm SAO Limited Edition 10rd

Supposedly a SAO 92X is also coming.
 
Can you clarify, exactly what incorrect maintenance and magazines were the military orgs demonstrating when they had the failures he noted? Because I want to understand just how much more fastidious private owners ought to be than Marine armorers.
No locking block replacements
No spring replacements
Sub standard non beretta mags(i.e. the military standard of cheapest contract wins) as soon as beretta mags were used the issues were non existent

The video i posted covers pretty much a good chunk of the history of it in its service life
 
I owned a couple 92s, a 92FS INOX and 92FS INOX Compact. Mine were 100% reliable and extremely user friendly. But the 92 is a dated design and insufficiently modular for 2021 unless someone's willing to pay for a 92X or a Langdon. DA/SA is also not very sensical in 2021 because of the ubiquity of striker guns and how reliable factory ammo is generally. In eleven years of gun ownership, I've never seen a dud primer in modern factory pistol ammo. Is being able to solve dud primers with a second trigger pull an issue for militaries or police? Evidently not anymore to the point of caring considering how most now use striker guns.

I'd recommend a 92 to someone who doesn't mind the older design or who just really likes the look. Beretta knows how to make a visually pleasing gun. But in 2021, it's a dated gun.

DA SA anything is stupid, but Beretta, CZ and Sig aren't going anywhere. There's enough ongoing demand for old stuff it won't die. Guns like P226, P228, P220, 92/M9, C75 ETC.. are iconic.
 
DA SA anything is stupid, but Beretta, CZ and Sig aren't going anywhere. There's enough ongoing demand for old stuff it won't die. Guns like P226, P228, P220, 92/M9, C75 ETC.. are iconic.

Its a question of what someone wants the gun for. If someone wants a 92 to have a 92, have at it. If someone wants a great defensive pistol in 2021 and doesn't have a lot of handgun experience, I'd probably try and steer them towards something else.

Its like any other dated design. Most people these days under 50 agree that the 1911 isn't the ideal defensive pistol. But the 1911 isn't leaving the market for quite some time. Shit, Colt made bank on the SAA during the 1950s and 60s, ninety years after the gun came out, because of cowboy TV shows and movies. But no one would seriously suggest a SAA defensively. At least I hope not.
 
I am not saying he has to sell any of them, ever. I shot them, they are perfect.
Shadow 2 is just better, sorry. :)

Surprisingly as of late I went back to g34, almost 100%. Not sure why. Old habits.
🤫🤫🤫 he doesnt need to know that he can keep them.
He'll need the funds to feed the CZ habit
 
For the 92, history lesson not necessary. Just buy any variant and shoot it. The pizza-gun-addiction starts there. Then the 92 finds a suppressor and the gun family is complete.

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skip all of them and go to CZs.
shadow models for range fun, p10 and 75B for other tasks.

CZ makes fine pistols but none of them hang with a pizza gun. one needs a tackle box full of weird shaped springs to keep a CZ running beyond 5k rounds. Pizza gun needs nothing but occasional recoil and trigger spring swaps. It also the finest 9mm suppressor host ever made due to non-tilting barrel. my last 3 CZ’s went down hard including broken trigger bar in my 75 omega and a trigger bar spring that self-ejected from my P-09. CZ used some type of glue to re-attach my trigger bar. What a joke. the Czechs need to calm down on spring designs and stick to simpler mechanisms. Add the fact they cannot be dry fired. No comparison to a beretta. The only 9mm TDAs that hang with a 92 are the PX4 (rotating barrel) or the USP-P2000-P30 series.
 
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Its a question of what someone wants the gun for. If someone wants a 92 to have a 92, have at it. If someone wants a great defensive pistol in 2021 and doesn't have a lot of handgun experience, I'd probably try and steer them towards something else.

Good luck trying to do that while "gun babysitting". They won't listen to you. Unless they're on a tight budget. Newbs tend to get gun-itis or something, deer fever, whatever you want to call it.

"but I want something other than glock/xd/etc"

"Dude I'm just trying to save you a shitload of money, because eventually with time and knowledge you're going to end up back... right THERE. Buy the weird shit
later. " [rofl]

Basically I just visualize being the adult in the peanuts cartoon making the funny schwa/fart/honking/muted trumpet noises they make, becuase that's literally all the newb is hearing. [rofl]

I don't think he has. He just likes the look basically, which is as good a reason as any to buy a new gun!

From personal experience you cannot stop people with gun fever, the only thing you can do is try to guide them into the least-shit version of *whatever* it is they're fixated on. :)
 
Good luck trying to do that while "gun babysitting". They won't listen to you. Unless they're on a tight budget. Newbs tend to get gun-itis or something, deer fever, whatever you want to call it.

"but I want something other than glock/xd/etc"

"Dude I'm just trying to save you a shitload of money, because eventually with time and knowledge you're going to end up back... right THERE. Buy the weird shit
later. " [rofl]

Basically I just visualize being the adult in the peanuts cartoon making the funny schwa/fart/honking/muted trumpet noises they make, becuase that's literally all the newb is hearing. [rofl]



From personal experience you cannot stop people with gun fever, the only thing you can do is try to guide them into the least-shit version of *whatever* it is they're fixated on. :)

I still have my 92FS.... I've sold all my Glocks.... They felt like I was holding a brick... The triggers had more creep than a sleepover with Clinton and Cuomo on Epstein Island and more grit than my truck after an afternoon mudding... The smooth plastic grips made them hard to handle with sweaty hands. They were reliable... But that's all I'll give them... 19 and a 21... both gone....

Not to mention the Italian looks like a super model and the German looks like it fell out the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
 
Transporter accidents.


Was that single case
the slide failure causing operator injury on 23-Sep-87,
the slide failure causing operator injury on 6-Jan-88,
the slide failure causing operator injury on 8-Feb-88,
or the slide failure causing operator injury on 14-Jul-88?

NSIAD-88-213: Procurement: Quality and Safety Problems With the Beretta M9 Handgun

Not sure which of the four slide failures causing injury
was the one that chipped a tooth,
which two caused cuts requiring stitches to treat,
and which caused bruising to the chest.
(I assume the latter didn't include a face full of slide).

Those were the pre FS models... The FS stands for "fixed slide".
 
92FS, F, FS and G are all the same frame. They do not have a Picatinny rail which makes it a bit lighter.
Up until 2021, when Beretta released 92X with cutouts for red dot mounts, all 92's have no provisions for a red dot.

92 is has a unique recoil system. where the barrel does not drop the barrel to eject the spent cartridge. basically, the barrel never moves and stays level. this helps tremendously with recoil and the time it takes to get back on target.

96 is the same as 92 but in 40S&W caliber. It's literally the same gun with a different barrel.

92's handle is thick so people with average hand size(or smaller) have a hard time holding the gun and pulling the trigger in double-action mode. If cocked, the trigger is further back and pretty much any hand size can work the trigger.

Back in the day, Wilson Combat started modifying the handle by shaving the back where there was extra metal. this gave the handle(and the gun itself) a different look All new 92's such as INOX and X are now made with that shape at the factory. If you're looking for a classic Die Hard Beretta look, these new guns are not it.

92 A3 and A4, X, G(tactical version) have Picatinny rail for mounting lights.

The G series is just like FS. The Italian police, called Gendarmerie(thus the series name G), wanted a gun without a safety. the G series was born! It is pretty much the same gun except for the safety level which acts as a decocker only. 92 safety switch usually pivots the striking pin by 90 degrees to prevent any contact with the loaded chamber. It also decocks the hammer.

92 INOX is a stainless steel version of 92FS and is supposed to be the "Bling Beretta".

Shooting-wise, the gun feels nothing like a Glock or metal body CZ's, for example. It is VERY similar to 1911 in how it handles. One of the reasons Massad Ayoob and Bill Wilson, two of the biggest 1911 proponents, are also big supporters of Beretta.

The gun's history is "spotty" primarily because it was used in MASSIVE numbers by the US military. Two reasons people claim "it's bad!":
1) there was a single case early in 92's life with the military where the slide broke and hit a soldier in the face, almost taking his eye out. Beretta quickly changed how it manufactured the slide. There have been no reports of the slide ever breaking again
2) US military loves to get bottom-of-the-barrel quality stuff and push it on soldiers. This is EXACTLY what happened with Beretta magazines used by the Army. They gave the contract to the manufacturer who decided to modify the magazine to make it even cheaper to manufacture. This resulted in consistent feeding problems. The guns would jam pretty much on every magazine. It took the army 10 years to change the supplier! In those 10 years, the reputation of Beretta as a gun "with problems" has become a de facto reality. That said, if you can get your hands on a used army surplus Beretta and use a proper magazine, they will shoot perfectly fine without ANY feeding problems.

92's barrels do not wear out. It is not uncommon for a 92 with 30,000+ rounds through the barrels to shoot with exceptional precision.

92 recoil springs don't last beyond 10,000 rounds and need to be replaced.
Don't get me started on the 96. Glad he didn't ask about them, once I start, I'll get banned.
 
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