Beretta 92FS low volume rant...

[Lou629]

Recently got myself a 92FS and love the thing. It shoots better than i do, which doesn't take much, lol, but it is one sweet shooting piece. In fact i even prefer the sights on it to my beloved BHP which i've had for going on forever. I do have one gripe however:

It seems that this 'all metal' gun comes with a guide rod that is made of plastic. ***? Isn't that like one of the most important if not THE most important pieces of the gun? And it's made of plastic? Now it's not like the sales guy didn't tell me that or anything before i bought it, but i mean come on Beretta, what were you thinkng?

Anyway, i called Beretta usa and got them to send me a steel one to replace it. Very good CS dept. by the way, and the part arrived this morning with the UPS guy. The thing is this...the steel rod cost me $34.00 with shipping, which, considering what i paid for the gun itself, i just think Beretta should use a steel one to begin with.

<rant off>

 

[Black Majik]

Beretta has been steering towards plastic for a while, starting with the guide rods, then moving to "polymer" coated metal parts.

Then they came out with the whole dang abomination of plastic called the 90-two!

 

[gc70]

The guide rod keeps the recoil spring in place and a full-length guide rod obstensibly keeps the recoil spring from kinking. Your beloved BHP operates without a full-length guide rod, so what's the big deal (other than appearance) about a polymer guide rod in the Beretta?

 

[STAGE 2]

Realistically, a plastic guide rod is no less durable than a metal one. I've never heard of a plastic guide rod breaking in ANY gun. Not saying it can't happen, but its apparently not a problem. That said, if I'm shelling out that kind of money I want everything metal. At the very least if you're gonna change it, don't lie to me and say its for "improved performance". I'll be almost as happy if you just tell me its cheaper to make and wont affect anything.

 

[DonP]

Tens of Millions of rounds ...

... can't be wrong.

The 92FS, and the M9 counterpart, have fired tens or maybe hundreds of millions of rounds with no problems from the "plastic" guide rod that I've heard of.

I think they made the steel one available to shut guys like us, used to shooting 1911's and BHP's, up.

 

[Manedwolf]

I believe the Taurus PT92 still comes with a steel guide rod out of the box?

 

[Black Majik]

Well thing is, Beretta 92FS didn't always make it with a plastic guide rod. They used to be metal. So in essence, it feels as if they're using cheaper priced parts and settling on plastic instead of the metal guide rods they USED to come with.

My BUSA 92FS Inox came with a metal guide rod. So should the newer ones IMO. It'd bother me too if mine was plastic

 

[Boats]

By many accounts, the plastic guide rod in the M9/92FS pistols of today is a product improvement. As I have heard it from some shooters I respect, the plastic guide rod is far more self cleaning than the old steel one. I think it makes sense once I saw the part, combined with my own ownership experiences with Berettas and other makes.

The plastic guide rod is not cyndrilical like the old steel one, it is "X" shaped. I have been told, and it makes sense to me, that the new one will chew sand and other debris out of its operating path in a way the old one never could hope to. Another property of the plastic one is that it is self-lubricating, and since you should never have to oil it to ensure proper function, it has less of a chance to gum up the works than than does a steel one, which most shooters will at least lightly oil.

I have several 1911s that do not use guide rods at all and are no less reliable for it. As far as I am concerned, a guide rod, even in a Beretta, is a non-stressed part, so it hardly matters what it is made of as long as it is something durable.

The only way in which the addition of plastic parts on the 92FS has ever bothered me is when they put black plastic on inox pistols. That was cheap and cheap looking. On the black pistols, the newer plastic parts are strategically in the high finish wear parts of the gun, the trigger, which is still steel cored, the safety levers, the lanyard loop, and IIRC, the mag release, IOW, the first parts of a black Beretta duty gun that start looking ragged the fastest. In those applications, the plastic is a benefit to the long term appearance of the shooter's pistol because they don't adversely affect its functioning one bit.

Finally, given that a new Beretta 92FS is still sold for a price within dollars of its asking price throughout the 90s, most of the savings have been passed on to the buyer. That last bit is hardly the makings of a raw deal.

 

[Lou629]

Stage 2...

A big +1 on your thoughts, i wish i had worded my own a little better.
Black Majik, ditto.

gc70: Stage 2 & black Majik expressed it better than i did:

Stage 2 said: "if I'm shelling out that kind of money I want everything metal. At the very least if you're gonna change it, don't lie to me and say its for "improved performance". I'll be almost as happy if you just tell me its cheaper to make and wont affect anything."

Black Majik said: "So in essence, it feels as if they're using cheaper priced parts and settling on plastic instead of the metal guide rods they USED to come with."

...ymmv and all that, but that's what makes it a big deal to me too.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies

 

[gc70]

Lou629,

I agree the guide rods should be metal from an appearance perspective on an Inox pistol and from the perception of "getting your money's worth" in a fine gun. As a question of functionality, the plastic is probably just as good, and possibly better.

 

[oldskoolfattieg]

to answer your question manedwolf the Taurus pt92 does still come with a steel guide rod, at least mine did. It was purchased about 2 months ago

 

[Croyance]

This isn't exactly a load bearing part. As said, some designs have no guide rod at all. The only wear on the guide rod should be the spring scraping on it.
Many 1911 afficianados consider the addition of the guide rod to be a negative. Some like the weight.