Local gunshop is listing a bunch of these as police trades for $259. I've always kinda wanted a 40 Caliber and back when I was an Army armorer the M9 was standard issue. So I plan on swinging by and taking a look tomorrow at lunchtime.

So anyway, does anyone here have any good or bad experience with these? Anything I should watch out for when evaluating a police trade in version?

There ought to be something here Beretta Forum - Powered by vBulletin

A friend of a friend is a Cleveland transit cop. He had one as a duty weapon. My friend brought him to the club to shoot one day and I got to try it. I HATED the thing. The trigger pull was nothing short of gruesome. I don't like D/A autos, but this was the worst I've ever tried. It made a Ruger P85 look like a slicked up Model 14.

The only advantages I can see to it are that 1)It's big and heavy enough to prevent the muzzle whip that Glock 22s have, 2)with THAT trigger, I can't imagine anyone having an ND with it.

I wasn't a fan of Beretta to begin with, and that only confirmed that position.

The first pistol I purchased was a 96 FS back in 2002. Had some trigger work and a D spring kit done on it and its still an option for IDPA sometimes. Too big to carry. (If I'm lugging that much weight, I'll carry a 1911!) I still like it. Very reliable thus far.

__________________
Redeemed!

Bought a 96D Brigadiere when the Service went to them in '96. When it was stolen, it was not replaced.

Regards,

Tam 3

For that price, you can't really go wrong. It would make a great truck gun.

__________________
Rule of law, not a man.

I'm basically looking to retire my 1911A1 and I'm looking for a replacement. Seems that the Ithaca 1911s are beginning to bring somewhat more than the $125 they brought when I bought mine.

So what I'm looking for is an inexpensive, non-polymer, non-9mm, full sized, semi-auto replacement for the 1911. I'll take a look at these trade ins but it seems most here do not like the trigger pull.

I just purchased a used 96d centurian. I have not shot it yet but I am a DA only fan. The trigger isn't as smooth as my 5943 and does stack a bit but the gun hasn't been shot much. The shop I bought it from purchased it from a guy that only used 1box of ammo in it. The outer box shows it was sent from Gander Mtn warehouses in Indiana to Pa in 07.This gun shows absolutely no wear . I paid $399.00 otd. When the shop ran the stamping on the dust cover it came back to a dealer in Washington state.

Seems everybody either loves them or hates them. I have a 92 D model and think it's about the best 9 MM I've ever shot. Mines been shot a lot and the trigger is smooth as glass. I don't think I've ever failed to ace the qualifications with it either. I also have an FS model that's a safe queen because I like the D so much bettrer. To get a 96 D at that price I couldn't get my money out fast enough.

I had a 92D, it had a nice DAO pull as such things go. My wife has an IN State Police trade in 96G (the decock only version). You might want to research the 96 series. They're a big gun for the capacity that they offer and the 96s ended up traded in by most users for a variety of reasons. Of particular concern was that some agencies seem to have issues with unexplained malfunctions.

I'm not a Beretta fan but for 259 bucks I would be awfully tempted to get one! I can't think of another gun at that price that I would rather have and they have always been known for good quality, reliability, accuracy. Most people(including me), just don't like the big fat grip or the busy top half, but I would try one for that price and if I got tired of it I could probably get my money back.

My agency went to them shortly after I retired. Since then they went to the H&K and God knows what will follow that. The search for the perfect gun goes on--and on--and on.

Berettas always were too big IMHO. For $259 I would prefer a good used police revolver anyday. It was good enough for me to put in a full career with.

when i worked for the state in the urban midwest i was issued a 96D np3 when the swich was made from the 681.

i liked the 96D, some didnt, and the state eventually went with the rust magnant Sigs.

__________________
I'm only allowed 30 characters

I carried one for 3 years. I liked the gone except for grip size. I have small hands. I carried a glock next and it fit better. The 96 was a well made gun I liked the way it disassembled. That's a great price. I would buy one if I could.

INS issued 32,000 of them in 1996-1998, then bought some SS mods for the Marine units and port crews.
I carried one from the GLENCO, GA academy (1996) until retirement in 2007. Two castistrophic failures in the 11.5 years. One broken extractor and the other a broken sear face. Both rendered the pistol inoperative. Less than 10,000 total rounds fired. I had the last 96D on the northern border and they retired when I retired. Replaced with a H&K USP Compact and USP 2000. Much better piece in .40. Bought my own from the DEA contract over runs and carried it off duty.
The 92 was a piece of junk when it was adopted as I was retiring from USN and the 96D is no different. The trade off to 9MM was a political payback to NATO for forcing the .223 on to them.
Thom Braxton
SWCA #1474

I have an ex Pa State Police 96-D. Im not a big 40 S&W fan but the gun shoots and handles well. Im a double action shooter and it feels good to me, no issues with the gun. Plus I am freinds with the Seargent to whom it was issued.

__________________
Stay safe people!

I have a 96G, it's a great pistol!
For that price, you really can't go wrong.

I had a 96D Centurion for a while and really liked it. The grip ergonomics were good, it pointed naturally, function and performance were flawless, and it was quite accurate. The DAO trigger on mine was exceptionally smooth and contributed to it's good accuracy, certainly a far better trigger than any Glop red ryder BB gun trigger. It was a little big for carry, and those early days when 40 brass was scarce I got tired of the open top ejection throwing my empties to the four winds. I traded it on a Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt. I'm a big fan of the 40S&W cartridge, better penetration than a 45ACP and a well proven street record now. It is a little snappier than the 45 auto. I have several S&Ws and HKs in 40S&W chambering.

__________________
" I said, good DAY! "

My 96G NP3 Trijicon night sights. Heavy gun, easy to shoot, very accurate, not very concealable. Functions well till it gets dirty. Slide gets sticky on a long range session.

Well I went to the shop to look at the Beretta and found most of your comments to be correct. Had I not been looking for a full sized pistol the size and weight might have been a deterrent. Most of the trigger pulls I tested were very smooth and over all condition of the firearms was nice as well.

Unfortunately as I was contemplating the purchase I happened to spy a 6" pre Victory with matching commercial grips and lanyard sitting in the case. Serial number is in the 700,XXX range, so fairly early and the price was just a tad over $200. When asked the clerk said the store a couple hundred 96Ds in that shipment. What can I say, I'm a sucker for 6" barrels and lanyards plus I already reload for 38 S&W. Guess I have a short attention span because I delayed the purchase of a 96D.

What Thom said, I carried an INS issued 96D for about 10 years, however unlike him, I learned to really like the gun. I truly hate the H&K we carry now, it's way to small for me, and I can't shoot it worth a *****, and would gladly go back to the Berreta. Once you get used to the trigger pull, it's a fine weapon. I'm a big dude, so I like bigger weapons I can hang on to.

I'd pick up the 96D for that price, enjoy it!

I worked for the U.S. Border Patrol until retirement. After carrying the S&W Model 19 for many years we were issued Beretta 96D. I was carrying my personal Sig 229 for a time, but decided that it was foolish to get holster wear on my Sig. I started to carry the Beretta and after I got used to the double action only I found the weapon to be great. When I turned the weapon in I had fired approximately nine thousand rounds with the Beretta and never had a problem. I was a firearms instructor at the Academy and we often turned the Berettas back with around ten thousand rounds and was very impressed with their performance. The only problem with our version was that it came with a heavier slide and we had a few frame cracks on the slide rails, but I literally delt with hundreds of the weapons. Not real impressed at first, but now have purchased one of my own to go with my Sigs and my S&W wheel guns.

My dad, who's also my FFL, bought a lot of 5 96D Centurions when the Minnesota State Patrol got rid of there's. I find the DAO trigger pull to be much smoother and lighter than my DA/SA 92 Centurion's DA pull. It's never failed him yet although he doesn't like DAO. His and mine are Italians if that means anything.

For $259 you really can't go wrong. Buy it, try it, if you don't like it flip it, I'm sure you could without losing much if any.