Rethinking the Beretta 92F.

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George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I have to admit I'm getting quite smitten with it. I just put another 100 rounds down range through it. The gun loves to be shot... it doesn't want to jam.
I'm also finding that this gun is more natural for me that I want to admit. The grip feels good and the gun comes up on plane exactly as I like.
Really my only hang ups are the slide mounted safety and the 9mm caliber. With good ammo the 9MM can be just as effective as any .45 load... Especially when I am putting that round through an ocular cavity. The slide mounted safety is just something I'm going to have to get used to. That and "Down Is Safe". Down is Safe isn't a problem as I have had a few SIG's and you always thumb down that decock lever to make safe. I really like the mechanics behind the Beretta safety. When you flick the lever down your rotating a pin 90 degrees out of alignment from the hammer. If the lever is down, that gun isn't going to fire. Period.
I can shoot it accurately almost twice as fast as I can a .45.
I think I need to have the stones to admit that 9MM suits me just fine. The toss up between lots of small or a few big - well I'd rather have a few big in a defensive situation between me and an adversary. But for 3 Gun matches - I think this is totally the way to go for me. Maybe not for you... but for me - yeah. The smooth action, good accuracy, and the capacity will work together to give me a combination I think I might want to stick with.
Maybe I have found a gun I could marry.
 
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denfoote

New member
George,
If you think the Beretta is cool, just wait till you try the Taurus 92!! Cocked and locked, man!! Cocked and locked!!! :cool:
 
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Tecolote

New member
Thanks!

George Hill,

Thanks for the report. That's all I need to hear, one more glowing report of a 92FS. They're looking better and better.
 
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Kermit

New member
Yup, I like the 92fs's myself. The most natural feel of any gun I've owned or shot. It is also the gun I have the most rounds through.
 
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Marko Kloos

New member
You can just carry the gun with the safety off. That's what I do with any DA/SA handgun with an external safety. It still has the firing pin safety, drop safety, and the DA trigger pull to overcome before it goes "ka-pow".

Beretta 92/96 series are fine guns. Owned a bunch, liked them all. Never had a problem with any of them.
 
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BloodyThumb

New member
I have to agree. I had never been a fan of the 9, nor of traditional SA / DA action. In the last 20+ years my collection of 1911's has grown, and I have owned several traditional SA / DA guns in both 9 and 45 (Sig 226, 225, 220, CZ's, various Smiths). None of them stuck until the P220.

Then I bought an Elite II, and I have to admit that I really do like it as well. I have shot a few IDPA matches with it. It goes with me frequently in the Jeep off road in a covered holster. Being able to take it with 15 rd, and not feel like I need to carry extra mags on my belt in the Jeep is a plus. On rare occasions I carry it "into town" in an Alessi belt slide under a heavy coat.

It is the only 9 I have ever owned that is 100% with just about any bullet config I have tried. It is the only thing I have ever tried that is 100% with the 115gr +P CorBon's. It has somewhere just over 4000 rounds through it, and it hasn't given me any trouble. Periodic spring changes is all I have done to it.

As a person who for years never cared for the 9, I now have 3 9mm's that will likely stay.

The 92 Elite II, a P7M8 just because it is so unusual, and a KAHR PM9 strictly because of it's size and the fact that is a 9 and not something smaller.

BT
 
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George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I'm not geeking out over the Beretta or anything like that... just admiting that it's a fine handgun. I may have something to settle down with even if it's something I wasn't expecting or even looking for.
Another thing that I really like about it. Look at how high the mag holds the round. It's about as in-line with the chamber as it can get. There is no steep angle the bullet has to climb up... that's a big advantage for reliability.
Have I mentioned how smooth it is?
The other thing that's interesting is the barrel lock up. You have a triangle like wedge that tilts with the help of a plunger device... I'm not sure what it is doing - but what ever it is - it does it well.
Now I need 4 more full capacity magazines.
 
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Tamara

Moderator Emeritus
I'm not geeking out over the Beretta or anything like that...
Click to expand...

Could've fooled me. ;)


It's okay, George; we still think highly of you. :D



(If it'll make you feel any better, in a house full of 1911, Glock, SIG, and HK autos, as well as more K-, L-, and N-frame revolvers than you can shake a stick at, my "pillow gun" is a Beretta 96D. Why? It works, it's simple, and besides, it's just a gun, not a personal statement of some kind. :cool: )
 
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croyance

New member
I always felt that the Beretta 92 series faced what I call the "Deborah Norville Factor" in America. That is, it replaced a sentimental favorite with a long tenure. Anything and everything about it was going to be criticized.
 
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Blue Duck357

New member
I once spent a day doing a head to head with a loaned 92F from a friend who wanted my G-19. I really wanted the Beretta to win me over because I liked the looks so well. Just could not get over the fact that the Beretta was HUGE compared to the 19, held the same number of rounds and was no more accurate, or faster to shoot for me. Kept my 19.

Now a couple of years later I'm more of the school that if it's not a CCW weapon being a bit bulkier does not really matter. I've also recognized that for a house or open carry gun the true doubleaction first pull and manual safety have some advantages for a lot of situations. Wish I would have traded with him now.

'Course two years from now I may have changed my mind again ;)
 
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BrokenArrow

New member
It is a very good gun. I've been shooting them since 1985, was issued the M9 from 1987 to 1998 when I retired. Worked better than the M1911A1s they replaced in my unit. In all fairness, those were over 40 yrs old at the time. Wonder how a 40 year old M9 will work?

I'm always amused at the Beretta bashers who then cut Glock soooo much slack for their problems. Scores of countries and thousands of police departments have been shooting the Beretta 92 for decades and haven't had any unusual problems. The military had some slides replaced/modified. NYPD is doing the same w Glocks. At least as good as Glock in the hand grenade department? I've never seen or heard of a broken Beretta slide w a US police department; I have seen and heard of broken slides/frames on Glocks... YMMV. ;)

Let's see... the Beretta slide fractures effected about 1 in 100,000 Beretta slides. The latest Glock stumble effects about 1 in 25,000 frames. So I guess Beretta slides are 4 times better than Glock frames? Yeah, right!

Let he who is without spin cast the first bullet?

Both are great guns. Use what ya like, or flip a coin and like what ya use? ;)
 
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Logistar

New member
Look at how high the mag holds the round. It's about as in-line with the chamber as it can get. There is no steep angle the bullet has to climb up... that's a big advantage for reliability.
Click to expand...
That is one of the things I really like about it too, George. My Taurus hits VERY low. In fact, if I let the slide move forward easily, it will come to rest there and not go into the chamber.

I know that I shouldn't "ride the slide". I also know that the Taurus feeds reliably as long as the slide slams shut. However, I am not as comfortable with this severe of a "hit and bounce in" technique. Maybe I am being too paranoid but the Beretta makes me feel better.

I don't know that this gun is for everyone but it works really well for me. I have become surprisingly accurate with my first shot (DA). I just never became comfortable with C&L. If I need the safety, I have it. If I decide I want SA again I just pull the hammer back if I have time.

The only problem I have with the "non-C&L" issue with the Beretta is when I am at the range and need to pause my shooting, I can't just engage the safety and then disable it and continue firing it. I have to manually cock it again (or fire DA). This really isn't much of a problem and is probably safer anyway. Otherwise I don't miss C&L.

- FWIW

Logistar
 
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Blue Duck357

New member
I knew I should have said "a smaller more compact auto" instead of the G-word. No G things were talking Beretta's. My apologies, let us forget I ever mentioned my little test ;)

My only real concern with them other than the above mentioned size is durability (especially as I'm also considering a 96). Half the post talk about how tough they are and being 50K guns. The other half mention the locking block like it's a disposable item akin to Bic lighter ( to be replaced every 2 or 3 weeks) with the whole gun going 10-20K before needing replacement :confused:
 
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shu

New member
I got a Beretta 92fs a few years ago to replace a lost/stolen G-17. I soon set it aside, thinking it large for carry and not liking all the knobs, buttons, and springs hanging off the sides (after the clean sides of the Glocks. Eventually I settled on a G-26 for carry.

Recently I started sitting in on IPSC matches at our local club. The 92fs came out of the safe. I like the grip. The safety is inconvenient, but the first SA trigger pull is nearly as stout as a revolver. I feel quite comfortable with the safety off and the weapon holstered.

I plan to find a 9mm load close to but above the minor power factor floor. After the moves start to come togather and the speed picks up, I can move on to the 1911 and bark with the big dogs.
 
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Logistar

New member
Blue Duck357, I *THINK* the locking-block is "fixed" on newer models and is supposedly not a serious problem anymore. You might wanna do a search on it.

Not sure what the serial numbers are with the newer block.
 
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Brian D.

New member
Another Beretta fan...

Ther are other guns I like better, a few of those I shoot better, but none of them have ever been more dependable than the couple of B-92s I've owned. I don't have big hands, but somehow I can reach the trigger and other controls OK. I've had a chance to handle the new model with the straight backstrap (can't remember the name now, darn Halfheimer's disease), that thing seems like it really fits me. When they get a little more available--maybe even a few used ones pop up---I'll have to seriously ponder getting one. Please somebody, remind me of the name of the new model, stuck at work now and can't get to my gun rags. Oh, heck, I'll jump off here and look at Beretta's site, this'll bug me til I do! Shoot smart!
 
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