All this talk of overrated pistols made me shoot my Beretta 92FS

Beretta fan since 1988 when I got my first an F Compact... 13+1

Today the Beretta and Smith 3rd gen auto share safe and belt space. My favorites are the Compact and Centurion models w/ shorter 4.2" slides.

Some upgrades are available:
A must add is the DOA factory "D" Spring...... a $5 five minute trigger job with a factory part . D spring were standard in the DAO D model issued by many Police Depts.

Newer guns; IIRC post about 2000 have a radius'ed back strap
Ultra thin G-10 grips from VZ
These two upgrades really impact the "to big of a grip" gripe

Mec-gar offers a 18 rd flush fit magazine and 20 and even 30 round 9mm magazines.
Beretta offers a $50 kit to convert the safety to decocker only.

Or just find a Elite II factory gun.....

Understand that Mec-gar will soon be offering a 15 round flush fit magazine for the Compact model

Check out Wilson Combat or Allegheny Arms and Gun Works for the ultimate Beretta upgrades.
 
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I have 2 older 92F pistols. The finish is wearing off both & they are dinged up...they were purchased by me as used LEO from some department in California but I still am holding out on buying a newer one. I have owned may Beretta 92 models over the years now these 2 older ones are my only ones I have but for all of them I have shot...never a failure of any kind.
 
I liked mine a lot, too. It never missed a lick. My SIL seemed to like it even more and I was trying to get him into guns and shooting so I sold it to him at a loss with 4 mags, a Bianchi holster, and a supply of ammo. He still has it, it's his bedside gun.
 
sigp220.45 said:
...
Another 150 rounds went boringly down range, without a bobble, as have several thousand rounds before. They all landed boringly in the center of the target. (This is the only gun I have that shoots everything to the same point of aim. It's weird. 115, 124, 147 grain. They all just land pleasantly close to each other at 20 yards. What a pain. )

The lack of recoil was boring. The long smooth DA pull was tediously enjoyable. The SA pull was crisp and so ho-hum.
...
Click to expand...

That kind of reliability really sucks in a handgun, doesn’t it? :)
 
I've always loved them. And I never really thought about it before, but in almost 20 years of yearly qualifications on dirty and shot-out M9s, I've never had a malfunction except for one magazine that was absolutely encrusted with sand after who knows how many months of being dragged around the desert and never used.

that's a pretty solid track record.
 
I've got one that was originally purchased in 1995 by the Police department in my little town. Later when they switched to Sigs, the officers were allowed to buy their duty pistols dirt cheap. After a couple of years it was sold to a co-worker of mine who later sold it to me at a price I just couldn't turn down. 24 years now and it always belonged to a city employee. :rolleyes:
I like it. Great shooter and completely reliable. These days it lives in my grab and go bag. ;)

A6HXvnJ.jpg
 
Old_Cop said:
I have two, but I don't like to admit it. After all, they're not Smith & Wesson's.
Click to expand...

Only 2....... well I guess it's a start!!! :D

Maybe I should make up a display for the next bunching.

In 30 years I can only recall one malfunction and that involved a deformed case on a reloaded round.... I doubt it would have fed into a .40 chamber.

I got a couple of mine from a Police Supply House..... my "police specials" were Centurions and came with 2 extra magazines.
 
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For a while in the late '90's and early '00's, the 92FS was the issued gun at the PD I work for, if you wanted an issued gun (policy allowed personally owned guns, as well). Over the years, despite abuse and severe neglect (we had one Officer show up for qualifications more than once with an absolutely bone dry and rusty 92FS with rusty mags that still shot VERY well and reliably), we never had an issue with the 92. They just ran and ran well.

We got a new Chief in 2005 and he wanted everyone to carry an issued gun for ammo compatibility. Popular opinion with the guys won out and we bought Glock 22 Gen4 guns (I wanted Glock 17s but everyone was spouting off about how bad 9mm was, so I lost, despite being in charge of the firearms program). The PD sold the older guns to the guys if we wanted them. I bought an unissued 92FS with 6 mags for $225 and an old, beat up 1st Gen G17 (a former issued gun) with 6 mags for $200.00. My 92FS has mostly dead night sights but is 90%+ for condition. I shoot it every once in a while and have to say, if we had to go back to DA/SA guns instead of striker fired, my 92FS would be riding on my hip. They are just so stinkin' SMOOOOOOTH and accurate! I have large hands and they fit me like a glove and feel better than just about any handgun I have ever held or shot. I really like it and, like a lot here, can't understand the hate for them.
 
I joined the multitude who liked the OP's post. :D

In the last "over rated" thread that I wrote in I think, I HOPE, that I pointed out that guns get over rated by gun writers and youtube enthusiasts who go gaga over this or that weapon and make it the next best thing since sliced bread. Then we, the shooting public, find these wonder guns to be not particularly better than the guns we already liked and use. Ipso facto - that is what makes a gun over rated - not if one of us loves it but if the writers and Internet talkers make a big deal out of it and it's not at all that special when we get to it.

That said, I admit I have - HORRORS - "other brands" in the stable. Shhhhhhhh..............

I really like this one and it's a REAL Italian beauty!

iscs-yoda-albums-pistols-all-brands-picture19129-beretta-92-italian.jpg


I have some of its cousins, too! Shhhh!
 
The first 9mm I ever used was a Beretta 92SB that belonged to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. I was representing the patrol in some litigation involving one of their pistols. The Colonel gave me the pistol and 1000 rounds and told me to try to break it. Since it wasn’t my gun I tried real hard to do just that. No luck. I haven’t been without one since. The 92 is one of my all time favorites, and I don’t much care what anyone else thinks about it. I have three right now - just barely enough to get by.
 
I also have owned a Beretta FS 92 in Black with Walnut grips, Trick trigger,target sights and spring set and Hammer on it. Like a Dummy I sold it one day while I had some buyers here buying other guns off of me at the time. I said a High price on it and the one guy had the money in his pocket.
 
Actually, "boringly accurate and reliable" is precisely what I want in a gun.

My experience with the M-92FS is very positive, and my son had no problems with an issued M-9 in Iraq, where fine sand gets into everything and is a real nuisance.

He used only Beretta or Meg-Gar mags and cleaned his gun. It served reliably.

BTW, he discovered that the enemy hadn't read that M-882 ball 9mm ammo is ineffective. Not realizing this, they died promptly when struck with it. Of course, you have to hit them well, but he's a fine shot.

That said, now that he's out of the Army , he (and I) like Federal's 124 grain HST and Speer's Gold Dot ammo even better.
But even GI 9mm FMJ works most of the time, with good placement. Maybe we need an "Underrated ammo" thread.

As for the M-92, Muley Gil may show up here. He's posted that he found the guns unreliable in Bosnia, where he was training an international police force. If the guns were dry, they jammed, in his experience. But his were the only such reports that I've seen.

When USAF Capt. Scott O'Grady 's F-16 was shot down over Bosnia, he found the Bruniton finish didn't prevent rust well as he crawled around in wet grass and underbrush, evading enemy forces until his famous rescue by Marine helicopters. He was critical of both the M-9 in that regard and the AF issued survival knife. His Swiss Army knife didn't rust.

However, his issued Beretta may have had some finish wear that enabled rust. He didn't go into great detail about the matter in his book. Offhand, I think the title is, Return With Honor. A very good book!
 
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BAM-BAM said:
Some upgrades are available:
A must add is the DOA factory "D" Spring...... a $5 five minute trigger job with a factory part . D spring were standard in the DAO D model issued by many Police Depts.

Ultra thin G-10 grips from VZ

Mec-gar offers a 18 rd flush fit magazine

Beretta offers a $50 kit to convert the safety to decocker only.
Click to expand...

I installed the D spring. While it was an improvement, it wasn't as much as when I installed one in my PX4 Compact.

I'm planning on getting a set of LTT grips (designed by Ernest Langdon, made by VZ) before too long. I'm thinkin' black cherry.

I've got some of the Mec-gar 18rnd mags...still have to try them out.

I keep going back-and-forth about doing the G-conversion. I'll probably end up doing it at some point.

I've thought about trying the Wilson short-reach trigger, but I think I'm going to wait and see if the grips are enough.
 
A local shop had a 9mm 92 (used) for $400. I kinda wanted it, but I'd rather save the sheckels for the P30L Ver 4 (or S&W R8) I really want.

I'd consider rolling my beater 59 into it, though.
 
One of my favorites. I don't have one right now, I popped for a Sig P226SSE before they are all gone, so I don't have the funds to start looking for a 92FS, to replace the one I sold in '13. I've had 4 of them, the first one back in '77, it was my second semiauto and 4th gun ever. I got it at a Vegas pawn shop cheap. The second was brand new about 1980, and I had it until 1990 when I needed cash and sold it off. The third one was a rough looking one from a LGS that had a whole bunch of them. I think I paid $225 or so for it. Nasty dirty and the finish was about 60%. I replaced the grips with rubber ones and cleaned it up and it shot fine. I sold it to a friend who still has it, I think. Last one was a real bargain, near new, in the box with 7 mags, all the paperwork, some parts , and the sales receipt with the original owner's name and email address, who I contacted just to ask why he sold it. He sold off almost all his guns when he had a stroke and moved to assisted living. I think I'm going Inox with the next one.
 
An old friend...

The Beretta 92FS was the first handgun that I had ever fired. This was a long time ago when I knew absolutely nothing about handguns. What I remember is that it felt good in my hand, the recoil was less than I expected, it never had a functional failure, it was very accurate, and it looked like it was made by someone who cared just as much about beauty as they did about function. To this day, I still believe all of these things to be true about the 92.

I currently have a 92A1. I still find it beautiful and I trust it.
 

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