Beretta 96 magazine questions...HELP!

[effengee]

I have a friend who recently purchased the Beretta 96 .40S&W.
I could have sworn I read somewhere that the Beretta 92f magazines were interchangeable with the 10mm/.40S&W at the cost of like one round less in overall capacity.
We were wondering if the large capacity 92 magazines (i.e. 15-30 rd.) would feed the .40S&W?
It seems that they are the same, but will they fit/function for firing?
My friend is looking to buy another magazine for the pistol but I've had little luck finding any high capacity ones specifically for the 96...
Any ideas???

Thanks as always, and I'll post one here at the autoloading pistol page...
JIMBO

 

[Amish_Bill]

The differences between a 96 and 92 mag are small to the point of being unimportant.

It's an established fact that you can use 10 round 96 mags as 13 round 92 mags. I haven't tried using a 15 round 92 mag as an 11 round 96 mag, but I have confidence that it would work fine.

 

[meathammer]

I was using my friend's factory 10 rd. 92 magazine with my 96 to see if it would work. It did. Some of the time. It did not work 100%. Tell your friend to purchase Beretta 96 mags.

 

[Amish_Bill]

Factory 10 round 92 mags are a really odd bastardized product. Were the bullets not lifting right? were they nosediving? Were they binding?

It's possible that you'd have to slightly widen the front of the feed lips to let the .40 cartridge lift higher. Not too much though...

 

[otomik]

tell him to wait a few weeks and get politically active to make sure that in a few weeks he can buy nice new MecGar 12-rounds with the redesigned follower (MecGar mags are actually Beretta factory mags). And those 12-rounders will function as 17-rounders for Beretta 9mms.

 

[9mmepiphany]

the mag bodies/tubes of the 92 and 96 are the same. the spacing of the lips has a slight varience and will cause 9mm rounds to ride higher in 96 mags and .40 rounds to ride lower in 92 mags.

the factory "high cap" 96 mags are a useless expense as you pay a premium for only one extra round. the factory 10 round 96 mags are utterly reliable and available for <$20...the base plates are much sleeker too.

mec-gar is not an OEM for beretta mags, their mags are great but they are not OEM

 

[effengee]

I assumed as much...

What I don't understand is what 9mmepiphany meant by:
"the factory "high cap" 96 mags are a useless expense as you pay a premium for only one extra round."
I meant that the 92 hi-cap mags (factory&aftermarket) seem to be in abundance for cheap, but ANY 96 mag is pricey with NO high capacity...
I assumed that the mags were interchangeable but does that mean only 11 .40S&W/.10mm rounds fit a 15rd. 92 mag?
Does that mean you'd only have 24 in a 30???
If it functions then my buddy said it's all good, he just hates reloading after ten when they go so quick and smooth...



Thanks
jim

 

[9mmepiphany]

your original post includes: "...I've had little luck finding any high capacity ones specifically for the 96..."

i'm assuming you were looking for the original high cap (11 round) 96 mags...these cost a premium for the one extra round. only the 10 round 96 mag bodies are interchangable with the 92. the 11 round, high cap, factory mag is longer and will hang out the bottom if you try to use your 92 baseplates

 

[Amish_Bill]

You are correct in your guess that a 15 round 92 mag will only hold 11 .40 rounds. A 30 round 9mm mag will have a similar lower capacity in .40 -- probably around 22. (but I could be wrong on the exact number)

 

[effengee]

Questions, round 2...

The only use for the 30rd. high cap. would be for target shooting purposes so the fact that it sticks out the butt is a moot point... However, Would it be worth buying a high cap mag for this purpose???
Is there a 15/30rd. mag specifically for the M96???
Now, is it safe to assume that when he goes out and buys ANY given M92 magazine (regardless of manufacturer and/or capacity) it WILL function as a magazine for a Beretta M96 feeding .40S&W???
thanks
jim

We should ban anyone from politics who thinks that a law will stop a criminal from using a firearm to commit a crime...

 

[Amish_Bill]

Now, is it safe to assume that when he goes out and buys ANY given M92 magazine (regardless of manufacturer and/or capacity) it WILL function as a magazine for a Beretta M96 feeding .40S&W???

With the variations in quality out there, you can't guarranty that any given 92 mag will actually run in a 92, let alone a 96.

That said, I would expect any good 92 mag (except those 10round abominations) to work. Minor feed lip tweaking may be needed, but probably not.

 

[effengee]

THANK YOU ALL!!!

What a great country this is to allow us the freedom of communtication!
Unfortunately, my friend has sold the M96, so I won't be able to run a field test and give my opinion of fit and function...
Again, thanks to all of you for your responses.
jim

 

[MP-5]

9mmepiphany said

mec-gar is not an OEM for beretta mags, their mags are great but they are not OEM

FACT: Mec-Gar makes Beretta FACTORY magazines for Beretta.

 

[9mmepiphany]

"Beretta Holdings owns MDS (Meccanica del Sarca) which manufactures the factory magazines and also sells mags under their own name.

You can visit the MDS website here: www.sarca.it "

this is from the beretta forum