Good Sunday to everyone,

Picked up a 99% 92SB yesterday (no box, 1 original mag) at one of my local pawn/firearm stores for what I thought was a good value at $425. It looked different than most 92's I've seen and I liked the wood grips and blueing. Being this is my first Beretta I have no clue what Pandora's Box I've opened but she shot like a buttercup yesterday. Does anyone have any more information on this model? Pic for reference until I get some better outside shots with the blueing in the sun.

SVT28

You have a piece of history there. It's an early M9 before modifications. What I see from your picture on visual differences between my 92FS handguns is a yours has a straight grip rather than curved and yours has a round trigger-guard rather than scalloped. Magazine floorplate on your SB is stamped metal and the lanyard ring is turned 90-degrees from the FS.

Very nice find, very nice price.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet....... I've got a couple of Compacts SB 1st and 2nd generation .............and 2 Type-Ms SBs .....Safe Queens...


Great guns with really nice blued finishes vs. Bruton....... locking blocks can be replaced if needed......enjoy!!!!!


SB are early to mid-80s IIRC........ you've got the S,SB,F/M9(85/6 to about 90), FS/M-9........

The gun was made between 1982-1985. The factory finish was blue, it has a rounded trigger guard 4.9" barrel with the slide mounted safety and straight frontstrap. The grips look to be period correct.

This gun was produced after the 92S and before the 92SB-F which was quickly replaced by the 92F. It is a nice old school Beretta made in Italy.

You can figure out the exact year of manufacture using this chart. There should be a 2 letter date code in a box. It should be on the right side of the frame

Here's my 1982 model 92S... I bought it after seeing "scarface". I had never seen nor heard of one at the time.

I was delighted to see that date chart. I'll check my M-92FS, although I'm pretty sure it was made within a year or two of when I bought it new. It's very accurate and reliable.

I do think I'd change the locking block on a used 92 series gun, and understand that the older ones will accept the current Third Gen. lock, which is improved over older ones.

I like these guns shown. One or the other has to be the "Beretta" carried by one of my favorite fictional detectives, Sgt. Stuart Haydon, Houston Homicide, in David Lindsey's superb books, the best of which date from the early 1980's through the '90's. Lindsey never named the model of Beretta, and on the one occasion when we met at a signing, I forgot to ask if he knew guns well enough to know.

Haydon used that Beretta in what I feel is one of the best, most believable gunfights in all of fiction. It's where Haydon kills the assassin who'd just murdered his partner on the grounds of an old mansion where a team of Mexicans was staying while trying to kill a corrupt former politician. The book is, "Spiral". Like his other best titles, "A Cold Mind" and, "Mercy", do not begin to read unless you're prepared to become fascinated and not put it down until the end.

I picture Haydon using a M-92SB, as he'd like the polished blue finish and the wooden grips. The action of those guns is also very smooth. He had elegant tastes and was wealthy, the son of a prominent international lawyer, married to an architect. Hardly a typical cop, but a shrewd, sophisticated one. The supporting cast was also well written.

Check your library or used book stores or Amazon. You'll probably be glad that you did.

Yes.. Thanks for the date chart also. Better get your magnifying glass out though.

You may be able to find some additional info on your model here by entering your serial number. Most Beretta firearms from this time period and going forward appear in Beretta USA's searchable database.

Firearm Technical Data Search

The older 92s are something special. The fit and finish blows away anything produced today. I'd say you got yourself a good deal.

Fun fact: The 92SB model was created for USAF trials in the 1980s which it won. The gun was based off the 92S with addition of a firing pin block and relocation of the magazine release from the bottom of the grip, to behind the trigger guard. This model would later derive the 92SB-F (or 92F) which would be entered into the US Government handgun trials from which the Beretta 92FS would derive.

One is on my desk, ha, ha! I'm amazed at how often I use it, despite having good vision after cataract surgery a couple of years ago.

Gun people often need to magnify small or faint markings. Or to fully appreciate the detail in things like the Mayan glyph that custom knifemaker Robert Terzuola uses as his logo.

I graduated high school in '82 and this was my second firearm purchase. I can't believe how difficult it was to see this marking even with a magnifying glass. I had to move under a spotlight

The Beretta 92SB is one of my Bucket List guns. Beautiful workmanship and fit and finish. You "stole" it for $450.

Many poo-poo the Beretta (as I did many years ago). The truth is that they (like the 3rd Gens) quietly get the job done with nary a word said.

You can contact WAL on the Beretta Forum to enquire what should be 'updated'. A new locking block would give you another 100,000 miles.

They are smooth guns that don't require much. If you want different grips that are thinner, Wilson and VZ make them.

Good catch!!!

Wow! Looks like you found the deal of the day on that one! You got a nice Beretta for a good price!
Enjoyyyy!
Berettas are great handguns, I just picked up on a cherry 92S, need to get some nice wood grips on it though!

The very first 9mm I ever used was a 92SB. Got it on loan from the Wyoming Highway Patrol iin the mid-80's when I was working on a case in which the reliability of their issue handgun came into question. They had just switched over from S&W revolvers a year earlier. The Colonel gave me one of their guns and a case of ammo, told me to take it home and do whatever to try to make it quit running. I did about everything I could think of short of welding the frame and slide together - dust, dirt, snow, hot, cold, no oil, too much oil, etc. - it never stopped, and I had never used a handgun that was so slick. I've had lots of 9mm's since then in lots of different flavors, but I've not been without one of the 92-series and I'd love to get another SB. Ya done good there!

The only Beretta in the stable is a 92S which was imported not long ago by PW Arms. I paid a little over $325 OTD including transfer for it from Dans Ammo.

Thanks everyone for the great responses and picture contributions. The more and more I read/learn about the 92's specifically this model, the more ecstatic I get about the purchase. This pistol reminds me a lot of my 39-2, that was my initial lure to it.

What about the other models? Is the 96 the same as the 92 except in .40? What are some other rare-ish Berettas? Did they ever make any in nickel?

You should jump over to the Beretta forum they have flow charts showing the development of the 92 series and other series Berettas pistols.

Beretta Forum FAQ - Beretta Forum

I belong over there great stuff and people........ didn't know we could link to other forums...........

I don't see why not. The info is not here and it would take too much time to reproduce it hear. I am not "promoting" the other forum I am just telling a fellow member where they can find the information they are looking for.

Wasn't criticizing..... just didn't know we could!

I have two Beretta Cougars in my collection, I like my Berettas as much as I do my Smiths!

I've got a 92 Centurion and a 12 ga 1201FP. I've had several others over the years and never had any issues with any of them. Joe

__________________
Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I've shot a S&W M39 and I've shot Berettas. The M-39 feels really good in the hand, but was awful in accuracy.

The Beretta has a thicker grip but shoots like a laser beam. I'd never buy any Smith auto. The M-4506 seems good, but is too huge, so never made a dent in .45 purchases among Colt M-1911 enthusiasts.

My son did three combat tours in Iraq, where the fine sand raises heck with guns and other mechanisms. He found the M-9 reliable and accurate and a good killer, if the bullets were well placed. But he saw failures with some aftermarket GI magazines. He paid his own money to get just genuine Beretta and Mec-Gar mags. Had no trouble with those, which probably saved his life several times.

I have a lot of faith in my M-92FS. It's one of the few guns I've named and rely on as a primary defense arm. Name is Pietro, a logical choice, I think. I hope that Dr. Beretta would feel honored.

They make Inox guns........ stainless upper over a silver alloy lower.......

Here's one for you;

........ a 92SB Compact short butt (13 shots) with a short 4.25" barrel/slide (like the Centurion pictured above) or


92SB Compact Type-M..... single stack 8+1 w/ the 4.25 barrel slide.


Throw on Beretta/or aftermarket Wood grips........ and I've got my BBQ guns.........I got into Beretta's Compact 92s a few years before the 3rd Gen Smiths were introduced........the 2nd Gen 469 felt like a 2X4 in my hand



To me the SB Type-Ms make the 39 look almost "homely"...



FYI with Mec-gar magazines the Full size 92 or Centurion are now a 18 +1 round guns....................I've even got some older Mec-gar 17 round mags with true flush fit, flat steel base plates.

There is probably no other semiautomatic pistol which has been tested as thoroughly as the Beretta was during the M9 selection process. Reading the military test reports is an educational exercise in how many ways a gun can be tortured. It's a little larger and heavier than almost every other 9mm semiauto, but it can withstand any treatment it is given and keep on shooting. One cannot go wrong in choosing it. I have seen M9s with several hundred thousand rounds having been fired through them, and they work as well as new ones.

IMHO the latter issue is addressed and solved by the Centurion with it's full size frame and Compact 4.25 inch barrel/slide........the Centurion is the best of the Model 92.... and what the M-9 should have been.

So I stumbled upon another 92SB the other weekend for another "silly if you don't buy me" price and like a duck on a june bug, I picked it up.

The counter guy at the pawn store in smalltown Cottonwood AZ even found the box and paperwork for me after he realized it was a different Beretta that had no box. This one has a stainless guide rod and factory wood grips of a different design/variety. Can't decide if I'll keep both, they are both in similar condition. One with and one without the box.

I shot both last weekend and wow, I'm a sucker for a 92. I find myself very accurate with these pistols.

Here's the pair


Best Regards
SVT28

Those don't grow on trees! If you were lucky enough to buy both, I'd keep both. You need a spare of anything that you like that ISN'T MADE ANYMORE.

I've been searching far and wide for a 92SB compact or a 92SB Type-M single stack. Can't seem to find any in decent condition or at all really. There is one on the auction site right now that's rusted to high noon, and the barrel looks like a sewer pipe.

I'll be patient, my time will come. Berettas get overlooked in pawn shops here in AZ.

SVT28

Nice Purchase at a Good Price. I purchased a 92F earlier this year at a local auction. Made in Italy in 1985. 1985 was the year that the US Military adopted the 92f. Later a modification were made to the slide and designated 92FS.

Here is a photo so you can compare.

They are accurate, well made and smooth.

Enjoy!

VaTom

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VaTom

I really like the wooden grips, think they are original?

Yes - Grips are original to the pistol. On left side the medallion is the PB and the other side the medallion is the Berreta trident logo.

In earlier posts there is a chart of the stampings on the trigger guard indicating year of manufacture. I understand that those marks are only on ones made in Italy. Am I correct?

SVT28

Close up of Beretta 92F grips. As far as I know they are original. They were on the pistol when I purchased it and they appear original. The grips initially caught my eye and drew my attention to the pistol when it was in the show case at the Auction House. Since I had only seen the black grips on Beretta's, I began looking at the pistol and it was in excellent condition, shot very little, and was well maintained so I bid on it. Glad I did as it is a sweet shooter. Two original magazines came with it. It is an Italian made Beretta. I don't believe Beretta was making 92s in the US in 1985 when this one was made. These grips may have been unique to Italian made pistols.

Besides the modifications to the trigger guard and frame, the other difference between the 92SB and the 92F is that the 92F has a chrome lined barrel. All subsequent models beginning with the 92F have chrome lined barrels. This was a modification required by military contract.

As I understand it, Beretta did not start making the 92s in the US until after they received the US Military contract which stipulated that the 92s (M9) be manufactured in the US. That is when they began making them in Maryland.

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