Thug gun, JG sales, and a broken locking block.

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sigp220.45

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So my NOPD kid calls me and asks about a Model 1951 Beretta. He took one off a felon, loaded with the obligatory mix of 9mm ball and .380 ammo, and was intrigued.

I'm a big Beretta fan. He is also, to a lesser degree. He has a 92SB Compact and a .45 PX4.

Apparently I slept through the last big wave of M1951s, all Italian police surplus, but JG Sales had some left at $299. I picked it up yesterday. He has a birthday coming up.

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The import mark was well hidden on the underside of the slide.

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I took it to the range today, and after two mags it locked up tight. I got it home and finally got the slide back.

Busted locking lug. I'd heard about it, but never had one.

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I was shooting plain old generic Winchester ball.

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I emailed JG Sales, so we'll see what they say. I just asked for another locking lug.

If they tell me to have conjugal relations with myself (the gun is from 1976, after all) I'll just order another locking block. They are about 70 bucks.

Anyway, I'm glad I test drove it first. I'd feel bad if I gave it to my kid and it self-destructed on him .
 
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I have one of these as well, the 1976 marked guns are from the last production run, said to have the frame made from the same alloy as the 92’s which were starting to come out. These were Italian Carbiniere pistols. The one that I got from J&G maybe in a little better shape then yours, I have shot it and had no problems, I will say that I like my 92FS much better then the 51
 
There's website that sells surplus old and new style locking blocks as well as mags for M1951s. I don't know if I can post a link and not get dinged.

If you want, PM me and I'll post the links.
 
The Beretta locking block has a lifespan of 15,000 to 20,000 rounds, more than most people will shoot in their lives. Changing the recoil spring frequently, like every 5000 rounds or less, will get you the longest life out of a locking block. My guess is that a lot of the former military and police Berettas rarely, if ever, had their recoil springs replaced, which shortens the life of the locking block.
 
I had never heard of mixing .380 ammo with 9mm to be shot in a 9mm pistol, why would anyone do this, especially a thug?
I "Googled" it seems it is fairly common even though the site I read said it could lead to jams, .380 less powerful, and surely more expensive.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Steve W
 
Stevens said:
I had never heard of mixing .380 ammo with 9mm to be shot in a 9mm pistol, why would anyone do this, especially a thug?
Click to expand...

On "the street" expediency is all important. Thugging ain't brain surgery so if it looks close you go with it. Many lives are saved by "Thug gun malfunctions." Joe
 
Had a friend of mine who was a Jefferson Parish deputy back in the 70's. Story floated around that a common pastime among deputies that had access to reloading ecquipment was to double-triple load .38's and then scatter them in places where they would be picked up-apparently there were "dump sites" that the street thugs would hide ammo. How true it was, I do not know but it made for a good story.
Brad tell your son he needs to get out of New Orleans and go North to St. Tammany-better class of criminals there and they don't call it St. Slammany for nothing :D
 
I'm sorry to hear that your Model 1951 went down so soon after buying it. I've never had a 1951, but I did carry its offspring, the M9, for several deployments after they finally took our 1911A1s away.

At one time, my team had three of 12 M9s down for sheared locking lugs. I personally had one break on me while on a deployment. My son also had an M9 go down on him while deployed.

That oscillating locking lug of the Model 1951, Model 92 and M9 goes back to the German P38 as I recall. Has anyone heard of a P38 going down for a sheared lug?
 
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Replaced maybe 40 of these over the years, seemed like the ones that broke were all from guys who shot a lot. Biggest culprit was worn/set recoil spring. Beretta redesigned the block removing the 90-degree angle making it radiused, that seemed to fix the issue for good never replaced one of those. Then they updated it again and left way more material in the scalloped area. Cant see one of those ever breaking. If they had been glock they would have have just called it upgrade and not repairs, HA. I would gladly offer you another block for your gun, to help another cop out but I don't think a 92 series block would work it designed completely different. Anyone know for sure. Bob
 
I have one, picked it up two or three years ago. Policia del Stato, 29000 serial range, late 50's as best I can tell. Runs fine, sights are a challenge to my eyes. Neat, slightly odd ball piece.
 
CAJUNLAWYER said:
Brad tell your son he needs to get out of New Orleans and go North to St. Tammany-better class of criminals there and they don't call it St. Slammany for nothing :D
Click to expand...

He lives in Slidell, but is assigned to NO East so its a short commute. He likes the guys he works with and things are always hopping in the East. I’m sure the city will screw him over something before long and he’ll switch PDs.

As far as the Beretta goes, I hadn’t heard back from JG so I called and they promised to send me another locking block. We’ll see. I’ll replace the recoil spring, too.
 
Just a thought. Winchester white box with black letters is NATO ammo that is equivalent to +P pressures. Just Sayen.
Don’t know if a gun that old was designed for that type of ammo.
I remember in the 60’s when Super Vel ammo came out, there was a debate if it was safe to shoot in a revolver. I had a S&W model 19 at the time.
 
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I was tempted to get the model 1951 for a long time, but finally fell into a deal on a barely used 92FS for a few dollars more that I could not refuse. JG sales is also a good source of Star Pistols and parts.
 

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VictorLouis said:
I wonder if 'thug gun malfunction' was what stopped the NYC Subway shooter's G-lock?
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I think it was a magazine issue. The NY Daily News mentioned “High Capacity Glock style magazines” Being used. I’m thinking after-market.

When I was on the job in Brooklyn in the 1990’s, the perps used to carry mixed ammo. Rarely same manufacturer. Mix of aluminum, steel, and brass, and rarely fully loaded. We used to scratch our heads that ammo was so hard to come by for these thugs. Ammo was plentiful and cheap in the 90’s. A short drive to Long Island or Westchester Counties, and you had all the ammo you wanted.

Don’t recall a mix of 9MM and .380, though.
 
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