beretta diffrences

[towncarblue]

i recently went to the range and rented a beretta 90-2 in 9mm.
i fell in love with the gun instantly, good weight , accurate ,light trigger pull when the hammer is pulled back . i found it to be a better firearm than my glock19 for ME PERSONALLY . i went to a gun store to purchase one but the store did not have one in stock , the salesman instead offered me a beretta 92fs telling me " that they are basically the same firearm " . i did not buy one. i went to the beretta website and found that they have four firearms that look almost identical
1- 90-2
2- 96 inox
3- M9
4 M9A1
are these four firearms basically the same ?
what are their differences?
most importantly do they all shoot the same?

 

[berettaprofessor]

The model '96 is a 40, the rest are 9mm. The 90-two is a successor to the '92 but never became as popular with the Beretta kool-aid drinkers...primarily due to the appearance of the added accessory rail and the addition of more plastic parts. You can't go wrong with either the '92 or the 90-two, but the saleman probably had a '92 just hanging around (offer him a deal!). The M9 and 92 are essentially the same gun (slightly different sights). The M9A1 is the 'M9 with a rail added, more similar to the 90-two than the '92.

 

[hammie]

berettaprofessor: are you sure that you didn't omit some letter suffixes? My 92 (no letter suffix) has the magazine release on the heel, is double action, but can be carried cocked and locked.

 

[ZEBRARANGER]

I agree, very nice handling handgun. I got one myself after trying one out at the range. Some of the differences are smoothed out edges and lines to make it more snag free. Rounded trigger guard & interchangable wrap around polymer grips in two sizes and an accessory rail. ambidextrous safety & reversible magazine release. It also has an internal recoil buffer and luminescent night sights. To me it also has better ergonomics. Slightly longer sight radius. The only con I've discovered so far is that the polymer grips can get a little slippery after a while. Definitely a fun gun at the range.

 

[ShootingNut]

towncar,
Just bought a 92FS Inox (made in Italy) from Bud's.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/60338
Heading to the range soon with it.
Put a pair of Hogue Rubber Finger Grips on her, feels and looks great!
Bud's had a great price also ($666) as compared to other vendors.
Gotta love a Beretta.
SN

 

[berettaprofessor]

Hammie; your '92 is probably a classic, one of the early ones I'm sure, but I can't place it exactly as the left side lettering and serial number doesn't match published descriptions. It is similar to the early model 92 pictured on page 187 of JB Wood's book "Beretta Pistols", right down to the grips, but doesn't have the stepped slide; the stepped slide was scrapped for the flat (like you have) early in production. It does have the heel mounted magazine release, so it was probably manufactured between 1976 and 1979, which makes it either a classic 92 or a 92S. The serial number indicates it may have been Italian, not a Berben import, but if it was the latter it'll say Berben Corp on the right side.

It might be to your interest to run that picture by the real experts who'll be on www.berettaforum.net. That baby might be worth something to a collector.

Todays models are usually 92FS (safety) or 92G (decocker only). Of course, I'm also omitting all the special runs like the 92Vertec, 92Custom Carry, Billenium, 92 Steel 1 etc.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Hammie, more info; I looked in another book; Gangarosa's Modern Beretta Firearms. Your '92 is definitely one of the early ones, especially pre-S series because of the frame-mounted safety. Also, everything I can find says the serial numbering system should have started with a letter "A" or "B" as in
A17560 or B19386. Gangarosa does allude to an unknown number of pre-production experimental pistols that may not have had a letter prefix, but gives no details other than to say that one now in Canada may have been numbered 08000 something.

 

[hammie]

berettaprofessor: I'm always impressed with everyone's knowledge on this site!! If you zoom the photo and look closely, there is "Brazil" stamped on the slide. I'm thinking that it is a beretta made under license by taurus, before beretta pulled out and taurus started making 92 clones. One other question: I'm always worried about the slide breaking at the locking lug notches and coming back in my face. The army tests showed slide breakage anywhere between 4,500 and 20,000 rounds. Of course beretta said that it was due to non-industry standard pressures from the nato ammunition. I have about 1,000 rounds though mine and use a handloaded 124 grain jacketed, which chronographs at 1,150 ft/sec. Not a +P, but not a reduced load either. Should I retire the beretta and let it be a wall hanger? If I want to shoot 9mm parabellum, I can always use one of my other nine's.

 

[JohnKSa]

If you wish, any reasonably competent gunsmith with a milling machine should be able to do the slide mod and install the FS style hammer pin which prevents a separated slide from coming off the back of the gun.

 

[towncarblue]

none of my local gun stores have the beretta 90-two in stock
instead they are offering the 92sf at $607 .
has anyone fired both of these guns? do they fire the same? same recoil ?etc..

 

[ShipWreck]

There is a tiny, tiny difference in recoil between the 2.

But, the front strap of the 90-Two is kind of slippery, and there are no aftermarket grips for it like there is for the 92.

I'd get the 92FS

 

[berettaprofessor]

Hammie, you're correct, Brazil ordered about 40 thousand of the early 92's in 1977 which, according to Gangarosa, would have had the flat slide and the regular Beretta grips as yours does....Beretta already had a factory in Brazil so this is probably one of those guns. I couldn't find anything out about the serial numbers for the Brazil guns.

The pistol should be safe to shoot, just don't use +P ammo.

 

[Dave85]

My understanding is that Beretta owned and operated the factory at the time these pistols were produced under their name, and and Taurus took possession of it later. That would mean that hammie, your Beretta would have been made by Beretta, and not by Taurus under license. Is that correct? Or is there yet more to the story?

Your 92 is a good reminder that the frame mounted safety on the Taurus guns is a holdover Beretta design, and not a Taurus modification, as some assume it to be.

 

[hammie]

I think that you all are correct. I bought the gun, new, in the late 70's and beretta 92's were oddballs then. Johnksa, mike irwin, tamara, craigc are all great, and their words are a "lamp unto my feet". And now the beretta professor! Wild alaska is not a lamp, but he is still funny. The problem with this beretta is using the double action feature. With my finger between the back of the slide and the hammer, I let the hammer down to half-cock for double action starting. It seems the risk of an accidental discharge may be less that way than by letting the hammer all the way down on a loaded chamber. I think that is also the recommended method for those CZ's that can be carried cocked and locked.