Beretta 92SB - History

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SVT28

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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.
 
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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........
 
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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
92s-proof-marks_zps537a0374.jpg


datecodes.jpg
 
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.
 
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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.
 
HARDWARE said:
Yes.. Thanks for the date chart also. Better get your magnifying glass out though.
Click to expand...


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.
 
Texas Star said:
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.
Click to expand...

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! :cool:
Enjoyyyy! :D
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?
 
SVT28 said:
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?
Click to expand...

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
 
BAM-BAM said:
I belong over there great stuff and people........ didn't know we could link to other forums...........
Click to expand...

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. :confused:
 
I have two Beretta Cougars in my collection, I like my Berettas as much as I do my Smiths! ;)
 
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