beretta 96d .40- yea or nay?

[Kookla]

Was looking at this today in the lgs. Beretta 96d- double action only in .40. I don't mind double action only autos and the trigger pull was very nice. Can't seem to find much on it. Looks like it may have been a police gun at one point. Had a bunch of outside wear, but seemed clean. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[JTQ]

I believe I recall forum moderator 9mmepiphany saying his 96 was the most accurate .40S&W he's shot. I'd try and get his input.

On the other hand most folks I see comment on the Beretta 96 seem to think the .40 S&W was a bad match for the Beretta as the round typically beat the gun to a premature death.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Yes, my 96 was the most accurate .40 I've ever owned.

Mine had it's action slicked up by Ernest Langdon and had a "D" mainspring installed.

The 96D is a very nice gun as it's "slick" slide addresses the 92/96 quirk of having the safety activate when the slide is racked with an over hand grip.

The 96 is nice because it's non-tilting barrel has a very smooth recoil impluse and coupled with it's huge ejection port makes it very reliable. 10-round magazines are inexpensive...I paid $15 each for NP3 coated LE surplus ones...and make much more sense than paying a premium for the "high capacity" 11-round ones. It's limited capacity, for such a large gun, is odd.

If the 96 you are looking at is the mainstream model, the front sight is formed as part of the slide and isn't easily replaceable. I would expect it to have the straight slide without the reinforced budges around the ears of the locking block...this is the only slide strength concern with this model.

I would recommend checking that it has at least the 3rd Gen locking block with the rounded corner where the ears join the body...if it doesn't, it is an inexpensive replacement. The other thing is to change all the springs and replace them at regular intervals

 

[Wireman]

Short answer: nay. Owned and used one for many years. Its not about accuracy, they are accurate enough. Arguments about DA/SA autos don't hold water, just ask Ernest Langdon. Nope, the trouble is that the 96 is not designed for .40 S&W. It is a band-aid. This design was intended for 9mm from the ground up. The 92 is one of the finest, most reliable 9mm designs ever made. It came out right when all the fuss started about the 9mm not being suitable for law enforcement and everyone was trying to swap their 9's for .40 S&W. Lots of examples in this category, but the bottom line is that we have an unaltered 9mm frame and slide (ok, breech face is slightly different) trying to feed a short, fat, flat nosed cartridge that doesn't even look close to a 9mm round.

Yes it will work and probably more often than not. But it will also jam reliably every so often with case mouth firmly dug into the top of the frame ramp. I tried everything to cure this problem before selling my 96. Nothing is really amiss, other than the design was counting on the shape of the 9mm and the not the .40 S&W cartridge. Feeding orange juice cartons through a beer bottling machine.

Wire

 

[Devonai]

Mec-Gar makes 13-round flush fit and 15-round extended mags for the 96 series.

I've mulled purchasing another one because of that. At the time that I owned a 96 the 10 and 11 round mags were the only ones available, and that's why I sold it - there were higher capacity alternatives out there. However, I was in a "capacity is king" mindset at the time, and since I've modified my thinking somewhat.

I never had any problems with it; in fact, when I had a 96FS Centurion slide assembly I simply plopped it on my 92FS frame and it ran just fine. I even used my 92 series mags loaded with .40 (they held 11 rounds) and had no problems. I'm confident in the platform.

I never had a 96D but they are dirt cheap these days and very tempting.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I have one. It's incredibly accurate but the D model trigger is incredibly long. I much prefer the FS variant.

 

[Kookla]

Thanks for the replies, very appreciated.

 

[cuervo]

It most likely is a police gun. Many were Centurions, which are full-size grips with a shorter dust cover and slide and 4.3" barrel instead of 4.9". There are plenty of used 11 round magazines out there that are very inexpensive--my LGS has a tupperware bucket full of them, $12 I think.

No problems with mine. You can also pick up a 9mm barrel and have a fairly reliable conversion to 9mm with no other parts needed--not even the magazine. If it is a Centurion, you would just need a shorter barrel, or cut down a longer one, or live with a longer barrel sticking out of the slide.

Here is a good resource:
http://berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=98238

The 96 frame does have more of a "feed ramp" (clearance) for chambering the thicker bullets of the .40S&W. The link above has a good picture.

If the price and condition are right, go for it. For a comparison, a quick look on Gunbroker shows this one at $399:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=530333165
and there are 4.9" 92 barrels on Ebay for $95

 

[mikemx5]

I have 2 Beretta 96's, an inox and a Centurion Vertec Frankengun. They both shoot very well and have never malfunctioned. I would say if the price is right and you don't mind DAO, it would be a good gun.