Beretta 92 FS Quirks?

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DonP

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I stopped in at a small local gun shop the other day to pick up a nice little Marlin Model 60 plinker I bought for $75, and it turned out to be a very "expensive" Marlin.

The shop got in over 90 Beretta 92 FS autos in 9mm over last weekend, most never fired, from a security firm that lost a major contract.

The price with case and two mags was under $450, so even a dedicated 1911 guy like myself couldn't resist. Besides I've been thinking about trying a double/single action auto for a while (and it's small enough that the wife won't notice another handgun ... probably .... I hope anyway).

So now I'm a stranger in a strange land as far as the 92 FS goes.

What kind of quirks, if any, should I be looking for? Any stock parts that should be replaced when I get the chance? Recommendations on holsters for it? Love it? Hate it? Use it to pound nails?
 
I'm mostly a 1911/revolver guy, but I had an older 92FS before standardizing on .45ACP and it was a very good pistol IMO. It fit my hand really nicely, was accurate, and never malfunctioned. I eventually learned to deal with the DA/SA trigger and enjoyed shooting it. I sold it to a good friend after deciding to stick with the 1911 platform and .45 caliber.
 
Lots of people knock the M9/92FS but the only complaint I ever had about it was the NATO 9mm rounds. Pistol-wise, never had a problem with mine. No misfires, stoppages...I plan on getting one myself in a month or so. I think the Beretta is an awesome weapon, especially teamed up with some good defensive 9mm rounds. I dragged mine through a lot, never failed me.

PS- I hear lots of people are replacing any plastic parts with older metal parts. You might want to look into that.
 
Quirks? Well, other than: the pistol is exceptionally easy to field strip and clean ... I've never seen one jam (and that's being around hundreds of M-9 shooters during my last 12 or so years in the military) ... They are usually more than adequately accurate for a service pistol ...

Someone will undoubtedly mention that the locking blocks have been known to crack, but you should get at least 25K-40K rounds through the pistol before you would even need to worry about that happening ...

Use only quality mags (Beretta factory or Mec-Gars, which come in 17-rounders now) and you'll do just fine.

The DA trigger pull is often not the best, but it'll smooth out a bit after a while, and you can get used to it (or find someone who does Beretta trigger jobs).

Great price on a solid, reliable pistol, BTW. The M-9 can be carried concealed (I have a Galco high-rise Fletch that does okay in this regard, a Blade-Tech kydex paddle holster that works well, and a Kramer pancake Belt Scabbard that's my favorite for this pistol).

I've been a 1911 guy all my life, but I have developed over the years a certain sneaky fondness for the 92 ...
 
I had one, I could never get it to shoot accurately, it patterned like a shotgun at 25 yards. Accuracy was ok at 10 yards or less. Mine was a stainless compact model. I could shoot my Glock G26 more accurately with my eyes closed.

It aint a tack driver or a bullseye gun, but it was very reliable.

Good luck with yours:)
 
Great gun in spite of the complaints from some quarters. These run like Timexes.

On the locking block question, see http://beretta.squawk.com/blocks.html If your 92 has the first style, non-radiused locking block, you might think about replacing it before it cracks.

Your 92 may already have the revised locking block. If not, or for other parts, check out http://www.olhasso.com/beretta/ - a very easy guy to deal with (no connection other than as an infrequent customer - infrequent because these things really don't need much attention).

Enjoy.
 
I'm in the Chicago Area too and I want to know where I should go pick up my new Beretta for $450!
 
I'd buy a new 92FS for $450 too! :D
I think he's talking about used ones. People who knock this gun is the ones who never own it, or just have small hands. Never had any problems with my Berettas.
 
quirks?
hmm, off the top of my head:

1. slide mounted safety/decockers seem to be on the way out but there's many people used to them via walthers, berettas, smiths, rugers.
2. Jet Li might take the slide off and smack you with it, so don't let him near your 'retta (or keep a back up Glock 7 ceramic pistol in case Jet Li does show up).
3. funny habit of going bang every time without problem for thousands and thousands of rounds (some reputable sources have called it the most reliable out of the box production pistol there is).
 
DonP,
Sounds like you got quite a deal on the 92FS.

The only quirk that I'd say that I've found is that mine shoots just a hair to the left at 25'. At 50' I'm about 3" to the left. Maybe it is my grip. I'm not sure.

One 'quirk' I've found is that the safety is a push up rather than the push down on the 1911. I like the push down release of the 1911 style rather than just about every other model being a push up. OH well. If I had everything, I'd be Bill Gates!!:D

I've definitely found it accurate with the Winchester Bulk pack. I believe those are 115gr FMJ.

I tried factory magazines and a Checkmate mag. No problems with either kind.

Good luck!! I'm sure you'll have fun with it.

Jim
 
was not too impressed with the factory trigger. after reading somne tutorials on beretta forums and about $30 worth of parts for a trigger job its awesome now. i love them so much i have 2 now (92,96)
 
Replacing the hammer spring with the lighter one from the 92D is a popular modification, making the DA pull a little lighter and smoother.
 
Had mine over 10 years, no quirks here, just replace the hammer spring, with a D spring from Beretta for a few bucks, It makes the trigger a little nicer.
 
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One quirk is that Berettas are big for what they are. So make sure your hand fits - if not accuracy (yours, not gun's) will suffer.
Another is that they look pretty, an unusual thing with today's CNC and plastic.
Most say that the DA pull is smooth for a semi-auto.
 
I had a 92F Stainless about twelve years ago. It was a great gun. I put alot of rounds through it. The only time that I ever had problems with it was when I used after market mags. Stick to Beretta magazines only.
 
"What kind of quirks, if any, should I be looking for? Any stock parts that should be replaced when I get the chance? Recommendations on holsters for it? Love it? Hate it? Use it to pound nails?"

It does have one funny "quirk", it just doesn't seem to ever want to jam. It is kind of a boring pistol in that way. I like to tinker and when I get a gun that won't work, it makes me feel good to put it right. The darn Beretta never needs me, it just feeds every make and type of 9mm you can stuff it with.

There are no parts that need to be replaced but if you want a nicer trigger pull, you can replace the stock hammer spring with one from a Beretta "D" or even a 1911. I have 1911 springs in my three Berettas and it has improved the trigger pull in DA a great amount. It helps the SA as well but the DA is where you really feel it.
 
The only "quirk" I have with mine is that it hates a specific brand of aftermarket 15 round magazines. I got a couple of pre-ban aftermarket magazines to get back to the design capacity. Big mistake. I think they are USA Magazines brand. I replaced the magazine springs with some Wolff ones which helped significantly, but those two magazines are just reserved for plinking, and even then I tend to lean toward my factory magazines. So, I don't think it's really a quirk with the gun, but the magazines.
 
The best magazines are MecGar of Italy (made in the same town: Gardone VT, 17- rounders for 9mm and 12-rounders for .40)

There's also Beretta Factory magazines, now they're made under a different Beretta Holdings company: Meccanica Del Sarca. I haven't tried MDS mags yet, I really have no need because MecGar is superior in capacity, perfectly reliable, more easily found and in a way feels more authentic being made in the same town rather than MDS made near Trento.
 
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