Beretta 92 cracked barrel.....

Finally got a chance to throw a few downrange with my '98 92F. Its a retired Prince George's Co. Sherriffs gun, and appeared well cared for. It still had the original squre-cut locking block installed, so replacing that was on my to-do list. Now Im glad I waited!

After about 30 rounds, the gun locked up solid (after ejection). Took it home and had to tap the slide off with a rubber mallet to find this-

Not a locking block failure, but the barrel itself! The misalignment of the guide rails was enough to bind up the action, which is a good thing as it prevented further firing and the crack extends into the chamber.

According to the interweb, this is not a common problem, guess Im just lucky that way.....

BAD NEWS: $150 to fix.
GOOD NEWS: New barrel comes with the new, improved locking block.

pblanc said:

I have not heard of that particular failure occurring with the Beretta 92.

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I only found a handful of other folks reporting this issue, but they also failed in this same spot, which follows since there is an obvious stress riser at that point.

460Shooter said:

Bummer! It wasn't a squib and accidental follow up shot?

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Nope.

crestoncowboy said:

Were the others you found online the older style locking block as well?

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There were only a couple and they didnt specify. The block that came out of this one is still ok, though.

usp9 said:

Was the frame damaged in any way?

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The guide rail has a tiny gouge where the misaligned barrel rail was binding when I forced it apart, but otherwise no.

armedwalleye said:

Have you contacted Beretta about the matter? I'd be very curious to hear their response...

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Naw, why bother. Its an old gun with who knows how many thousands of rounds through it and no warranty. Like any tool made by man, it will wear and break eventually. Its just strange that the barrel failed before the block, since blocks are a common breakage item.

Patocazador said:

No warranty from the seller????

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Bought it from a private party at the gunshow 6mo ago, this was the first chance I had to shoot it, lol.

I doubt the fella knew it had a (impending) problem. The first thing I did when I got it home was dissassemble, clean, and lube everything and even I didnt notice anything amiss.

crestoncowboy said:

I ask because they basically relief cut the block to make it less solid and therefore break less by flexing. I wonder if a newer one would have gave enough to spare the barrel. Just curious.

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I think the idea behind the "improved" block is to eliminate the stress riser point at the 90deg. square cut on the old block with a curved, radius cut- perhaps not necessarily to allow for flexing.
I may be a member of the SAE, but I ALSO stayed at a Holiday in Express last night......