Funny how I sometimes dismiss a good gun for no reason or another...I never liked the Beretta 92 or its Brazilian cousin, but recently I came across some old threads about the 92S surplus pistols that came onto the market in 2008, and I wanted one. These are not $350 in nice condition anymore, but they can still be had for a reasonable price.

Smoothest working pistol I've ever owned.

I'm not sure if mine is an Italian Police trade in or not? It does not have an import mark, like so many I have seen. It has the Berben NY markings, which I think may suggest that this pistol was bound for the US market from the beginning. Maybe?

Berben was likely the importer. That is one very nice looking gun. It doesn't look like the average surplus example.

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Release the Kraken

A 92S was my first Beretta 9mm. The 92 just fits my hand well.
I’ve added a few since then, a couple of 92FS (one Italian and one US made), a 92A1 and an M9.

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Looks like a good group to take to the range.

Great call on the 92S. Mine was police surplus. At some point I caught the bug and added a 1951 SAO and Inox 92FX. Then decided I needed more so a: PX4 in 9mm, PX4 in .45, .380 85F, .32 M81 "Cheetah," M70 and 1935 both in .32acp. I keep looking for a 96 (or the Taurus equivalent) but can't find a "bargain." But I'll keep looking.

After Smiths it's the most numerous roll mark in the safe. Except maybe for Sig. Too many of them as well.

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Got a couple of the S Compacts.........13+1 BBQ guns!

Very nice 92S. Berben was the importer prior to Beretta building a factory in Maryland . The Berben Ny Ny script on the right side of slide is the important mark. The right side trigger guard has a two digit alpha code stamped inside a square box that willl give you the date it was made. All Italian Berettas have it.

My Beretta 92F is Italian made and has an AN stamp indicating 1985. Also has the Berben NY,NY script on the slide. The 92F was the design that the US Military chose in 1985 for it's pistol contract. Later a safety feature was designed in the slide and it became the 92FS

Great pistols, enjoy!

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I bought one of the 92S's when the flood hit. Beautiful finish, and even slicker than my 92FS, and that's saying something. However I sold it because the sights were too small for my old lamps.

I have read other posts where folks have said that the Italian made Berettas are slicker than those made in the US. The military contract with Beretta required that the pistols be made in the USA. That is why Beretta built the manufacturing facility in Accomack, Maryland.

Beretta experts please correct me if I am wrong.

I'm so sad that I missed out on getting one of those. Back in 2019 PSA had them for $399 in Good Condition, but folks who bought them kept reporting receiving them in Like New Condition.

Alas, I didn't have the money at the time, and by the time that I did, they were sold out. I left myself on a backorder list, but never received an e-mail.
The part that really annoys me is the fact that multiple reviews on the sight openly admitted to ordering multiple guns to sell later. I really wish that PSA had a strict Limit One Per Customer policy on Police Trade-ins like that.

On the bright side, I used the money I had intended to spend on a Beretta 92S on a California Highway Patrol S&W 4006TSW, which was a personal grail gun for me, so it all worked out for the best.
Still, I wish that I could have gotten one of those Berettas. The price was outstanding and the bluing on them is absolutely fantastic, much more attractive than the Bruniton (Teflon) Finish that they replaced it with.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Stanmerrell

Curious to know the year code on your 92S. Please post. Also is the barrel on your 92S chrome lined? My 92F has the chrome lined barrel as required by US military contract.

Admittedly, not the best picture - this 92S Italian police surplus (see the lanyard loop) looks pretty doggone good; it shows some wear but, still, nice, deep color -



Smooth pistol, fun to shoot..........but it lives its life in a secret place with two extra magazines for when the balloon goes up.....as we used to say in the military - but wait! The balloon is up!!! Sorry, I couldn't resist due to today's excitement in the news..........

Importer was P. W. Arms Redmond WA

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Come and take it!!

Call me suspicious and/or cheap, but $399 for a surplus gun is on the ragged edge of what I would pay to PSA, and I certainly wouldn't pay any more to provide profit to a reseller. Surplus guns are surplussed for a reason, and when they come from another country, that reason is long lost. Unless the gun is something more unusual like a H&K P7 or PSP, $399 is a up there as far as I am concerned. 2019 was before the COVID madness, so if I even saw the ad I likely snorted and moved on. That said, I do kick myself that I let the $600 PSP pistols slide by when CDNN had a bunch of them, but that's ancient history now.

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This is probably the best shooting pistol, as far as accuracy, I own. I had to get rid of the stocks, as they were all scratched up & ugly. It was also imported by that place in Washington. PW Arms I think.

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Waiting For The Sun.

I have one, it's the only 92 I own, imported by PW Arms also.

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SWCA #2817

Thanks. Nice pistol. The date code is AH. From what I have learned the S model was only made from 1978-1982. Thank you!

The date code is AH, and I'm pretty sure the barrel is not chromed. It does look like the guide rod might have been replaced as it is in the white...I read somewhere that the imported 92S from police service were all arsenal refurbished with new parts and sometimes refinished slides.

Not really sure about that though. Thanks again!

Notice the different mag releases ...... some are behind the trigger (American style) some at the base of the grip (European style).

Both my Compacts (early [straight] and later [flared] front straps) are behind the trigger guard .

Like I said, reports were that they were in pristine condition, and a new USA 92FS ran around $500+ at the time, so to me, $399 was a fair price, especially since I prefer the rounded trigger guard and blued finish to the hooked trigger guard and Bruniton finish on the 92FS.
Also, I'm a sucker for plum-colored bluing, and a lot of these particular 92S models were showing up with either plum controls or even slides.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Ah, now that might have swayed me. I also have a soft spot from bluing gone plum.

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Release the Kraken

My 1976 production 92.

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Nice. Love the frame safety.

Taurus still makes them that way.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

AH manufacture year date code for Italian Made Beretta is 1981.

I believe that the Beretta 92 is a great pistol. It fits the hand and shoots accurately.

That's kind of how this 92 kick I'm on right now got started. I ordered this PT99 off of GB, and when I got it I realized it was unfired, NIB. It's kind of been a quandry for me since I only own shooters...I have not been able to bring myself to taking it out for a target shoot.

Good info! Appreciate knowing it's an '81.

You must have big hands. The one time I shot one the DA trigger pull started in the next zip code. Hated the square plastic grips, too. I understand that somebody (finally) makes thinner ones, but I'd still want a shorter trigger pull.

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Release the Kraken

I used to have a 92c, I should have never traded it away

Ultra thin grips are available at VZ and Wilson Combat..... newer guns post 2000 have a scalloped backstrap..... and WC has a short reach trigger

The 92 doesn't have to be your 1985 M9 anymore!!!!!

I have a 92S. It is surplus, Italian police. I think I paid about $300 for it, circa 2015.

May I share a funny 92FS story?

I walked into a pawn shop one day, circa 2012. I saw a Beretta 92FS for sale, used, in great condition. I asked to see it. I looked at the gun, and I noticed that it had small, unusual printing on one side of the slide. It said (approximately): "Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, 1991 -- U.S. Marine Corps, XX Company, XXXXXX." I thought to myself, "Wow, this is an unusual gun." The price on the gun was maybe $420. I thought to myself, "I wonder if they know about the unusual stamping on it?"

Turns out, they didn't know. When I said, "Okay, I'll take it!" the clerk began looking at the gun and said, "Hey....hey....wait a second....this gun is very unique..." Needless to say, I was NOT getting that gun for $420 now!!! (I didn't get it. Not enough money in my wallet).

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So very Politically Incorrect

So just recently a Beretta 92S showed up at my LGS market a $450 in Excellent Condition, and even at that price I was ready to buy it, but unfortunately it sold before I could.

I actually ended up buying a new Taurus PT92 AFS recently, so it's interesting to note the aesthetic differences between an old and new model.



Note the wider set slide serrations, accessory rail, 3 position safety/decocker lever, and plastic grips.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I was at my LGS and a gentlemen was selling his like new 92FS with box and papers and extra mag because he did not like the way it felt in his hand. I asked the store owner if he wanted to make $50 for holding a gun for two minutes and he said yes. Scratched one of the check list.

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I let the 92S opportunity of a few years ago pass me by and now have non-buyer’s remorse. Here’s my M9 which has over 12k rounds downrange over the past 13 years of ownership.

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The Beretta 92 has come a long way from the M-9 of 1985, thin grips, radiused backstrap (since about 2000) and short triggers are out there.....
15 rd mags for the Compact and 18rd mags for the Centurion and full size 92s.....

Check out LTT (Langdon Tactical) or Wilson Combat for "lists" of changes and improvements!

I wear medium size gloves and the PT92 fits my hand, well...like a glove.

Granted, the PT92 has a slightly smaller overall grip than a M9/92FS because the grip is straight on the front with less of a hump on the back PT92 whereas the 92FS flares out near the bottom of the front strap and has more of a hump at the rear, but more modern iterations of the M9/92 such as the M9A3, 92A1, and 92X use the Vertec grip geometry which is more like that of the 1911, ergo it's even smaller in the hand than a PT92.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.