I am thinking of buying the Beretta 92fs. I found this to have very managable recoil as compared to the other 9mms I have tried. I am a smaller female so I was intimidated by the other 9mms I tried. I also shot the beretta 85fs .380 and was comfortable with that as well. I will be using this for range shooting and for home security. I do not plan on carrying it concealed. Does anyone have any comments on the 92fs? I have been told to buy the largest calibur you are comfortable shooting so I am leaning towards the 92 as opposed to the 85fs. This will be my first gun purchase. I would appreciate any insight you have.
Beretta 92FS vs Beretta .380
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usp9
Member
Either gun is more than adequate for home protection. The 92 fs is a full size duty weapon, made for long life, ease of maintanence and good accuracy. Some small females may have a harder time getting a good grasp on the full size, double stack, grips. If you can grip it, I suggest it as the better gun for your use. Ammo is cheaper for the 9mm gun.
If not...then the Beretta 85, or big brother 84f, is an outstanding pistol with many of the same qualities the 92fs has. These are very popular with off duty LEOs, are great range guns, very accurate and reliable.
Pick the one you "feel" more comfortable gripping, aiming and test the trigger action.
Good luck.
If not...then the Beretta 85, or big brother 84f, is an outstanding pistol with many of the same qualities the 92fs has. These are very popular with off duty LEOs, are great range guns, very accurate and reliable.
Pick the one you "feel" more comfortable gripping, aiming and test the trigger action.
Good luck.
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I'm active duty USAF and I'm issued the Beretta M9. The USAF has more women than any other branch and I've seen plenty of small women qualify with the M9 and shoot it well.
With that said, the 92FS is the same gun as the US military's M9.
It's a good gun, but our M9s deployed in the desert do not function well unless they're cleaned constantly and well lubricated.
For your purposes, I doubt your gun is going to see much sand. If you follow the instruction manual and lubricate the areas that require it, you should be good to go.
The M9 and the 92FS does not function dry. You need to keep it lubricated.
There are other guns out there that are more user friendly to women than the M9 or 92FS. Try the Browning High Power and CZ75. Like the Beretta 92FS, these two are metal framed which will help to reduced the recoil.
Out of the guns I've mentioned, I suggest you try out the High Power and the CZ75.
With that said, the 92FS is the same gun as the US military's M9.
It's a good gun, but our M9s deployed in the desert do not function well unless they're cleaned constantly and well lubricated.
For your purposes, I doubt your gun is going to see much sand. If you follow the instruction manual and lubricate the areas that require it, you should be good to go.
The M9 and the 92FS does not function dry. You need to keep it lubricated.
There are other guns out there that are more user friendly to women than the M9 or 92FS. Try the Browning High Power and CZ75. Like the Beretta 92FS, these two are metal framed which will help to reduced the recoil.
Out of the guns I've mentioned, I suggest you try out the High Power and the CZ75.
highrider
Member
The 92fs is a classic firearm, accurate & dependable. And as you already know, it has a comfortable recoil. IMO an excellent choice for the purpose for which you intend to use it. I would also recommend a set of CTC laser grips. They are a very nice addition for a home defense handgun.
Devonai
Member
In a concealed carry/home defense environment the 92FS is 100% reliable. I'm a soldier and I know Joes who have abused their M9s to the point of failure, but this is not normal. As the others have said, if you can get your mitts around the full-size pistol it is an excellent choice.
I have also owned the 84F, and it is a fine pistol and adequate for self-defense with Jacketed Hollow Points. If it fits your hand better I highly suggest it.
I have also owned the 84F, and it is a fine pistol and adequate for self-defense with Jacketed Hollow Points. If it fits your hand better I highly suggest it.
10-Ring
Member
If you're comfortable w/ the 9mm, go w/ that as a more potent round over the 380 
Oh, welcome to THR!
Oh, welcome to THR!
The 92FS is a great home defense gun. I have one for that purpose myself. If you're comfortable shooting full size 9mm pistols, be sure to check out some other full size guns to see if anything else might fit your hands even better. There are many different grip shapes out there.
The-Fly
Member
The 92FS is an excellent range and house gun. Get some of the Mecgar 18 round mags, fill em with your favorite JHP's (I recommend Federal HST 147gr), and sleep good at night.
HorseSoldier
Member
The 92FS should due quite well for you under any sort of normal operating environment and round count civilian shooters are likely to subject the pistol to. If you are planning to run a lot of hot ammunition (+P or hotter kind of pressure levels) I'd recommend keeping a log of rounds fired and changing the springs regularly to avoid beating up the locking block, but for standard pressure range ammunition (and some occasional hotter loads to, say, test out how well whatever defensive ammo you might prefer to shoot) the locking block should hold up for tens of thousands of rounds.
the Beretta 92fs
A word on the Browning HiPower; the slide is very hard to work on a lot of BHP’s. I am no weakling and have very good finger/ hand strength (I rock climb regularly), and I have trouble operating the slide of my BHP when the hammer is down.
The Beretta 92fs is a very good gun. They are reliable, accurate, and easy to operate and maintain. If it fits your hand well, then I would say go for it. My sister is in the Army and is 5’2”, 110 soaking wet and loves her M9 (the military version of the 92fs) and is very proficient with it. The only word of caution I would give with the 92 is to avoid cheaply made magazines. Everyone and their brother makes 92 mags and some do a better job than others.
Since you are considering options other than the 380’s now, may I suggest that you also look at the HK P2000 or the HK USP9 and the SIG 229. The HK’s have the easiest to operate slides, IMHO, of all of the duty calibers.
The USP and P2000 are wonderful guns. Dead reliable and very accurate, they are easy to maintain, and the P2000 has a nice trigger option (called LEM) that many consider to be the best of all of the polymer framed guns. They also have a recoil reduction system that softens recoil a good deal, and their polymer frames are slimmer than that of most metal framed guns.
The SIG 229 is a fabulous mid size 9mm that is all metal and has a very nice, smooth trigger. My girlfriend is very good with hers (well it was mine, but she borrowed it a year ago and I have not gotten it back yet) and it was amazing how fast she became proficient with it. Also, this is the gun of mine that most new shooters (male or female) that I take shooting like and can shoot well with right away, after starting out on a 22 of course. The 229 is a bit on the heavy side, especially for its smaller size, but that weight makes it a “soft” shooter recoil wise.
Hope this helped,
-Fred
A word on the Browning HiPower; the slide is very hard to work on a lot of BHP’s. I am no weakling and have very good finger/ hand strength (I rock climb regularly), and I have trouble operating the slide of my BHP when the hammer is down.
The Beretta 92fs is a very good gun. They are reliable, accurate, and easy to operate and maintain. If it fits your hand well, then I would say go for it. My sister is in the Army and is 5’2”, 110 soaking wet and loves her M9 (the military version of the 92fs) and is very proficient with it. The only word of caution I would give with the 92 is to avoid cheaply made magazines. Everyone and their brother makes 92 mags and some do a better job than others.
Since you are considering options other than the 380’s now, may I suggest that you also look at the HK P2000 or the HK USP9 and the SIG 229. The HK’s have the easiest to operate slides, IMHO, of all of the duty calibers.
The USP and P2000 are wonderful guns. Dead reliable and very accurate, they are easy to maintain, and the P2000 has a nice trigger option (called LEM) that many consider to be the best of all of the polymer framed guns. They also have a recoil reduction system that softens recoil a good deal, and their polymer frames are slimmer than that of most metal framed guns.
The SIG 229 is a fabulous mid size 9mm that is all metal and has a very nice, smooth trigger. My girlfriend is very good with hers (well it was mine, but she borrowed it a year ago and I have not gotten it back yet) and it was amazing how fast she became proficient with it. Also, this is the gun of mine that most new shooters (male or female) that I take shooting like and can shoot well with right away, after starting out on a 22 of course. The 229 is a bit on the heavy side, especially for its smaller size, but that weight makes it a “soft” shooter recoil wise.
Hope this helped,
-Fred
The 380 is a decent caliber. I prefer 9mm, of course. But, despite what is said above - the 92FS does have a big grip. I have smal hands - I have owned a few 92FS's over the years - but I put off my first purchase for a while because I never found the grip as comfortable as other guns.
The Berretta Cheetah 380 is a great gun. Very reliable and well made. It is a smaller caliber, but tons of women are using 380s for their weapons (the Versa 380 is hugely popular among women).
I want to get a Beretta 380 one day - just because I like the way it looks and it has always been a gun I've wanted. But, I own several 9mms, so it's not like it will be anything else than just 1 more in my collection.
The most important thing is to get a gun U are comfortable with. If U like that Beretta 380, go get it. U can get some decent ammunition that will make up the shortfall in power a little bit. U will also get a bit more velocity out of that 380 round because the barrel is longer than those little Keltec barrels.
The Berretta Cheetah 380 is a great gun. Very reliable and well made. It is a smaller caliber, but tons of women are using 380s for their weapons (the Versa 380 is hugely popular among women).
I want to get a Beretta 380 one day - just because I like the way it looks and it has always been a gun I've wanted. But, I own several 9mms, so it's not like it will be anything else than just 1 more in my collection.
The most important thing is to get a gun U are comfortable with. If U like that Beretta 380, go get it. U can get some decent ammunition that will make up the shortfall in power a little bit. U will also get a bit more velocity out of that 380 round because the barrel is longer than those little Keltec barrels.
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