Beretta M9 Failures

[Rocketmedic]

I'm in El Paso, Texas. Just got back from Iraq, never fired it there except to qualify, had a few jams there. Here is still dusty, but with temps in the low-40s, low winds, low dust, good lube, it still jammed. Its a heap of crap.

Serial is 147xxx

 

[possum]

i really do not like the m9's and or 92's, but that has nothing to do with them being un reliable, i have never had that issue, with the many that i have shot in the military, and or the ones owned by various folks.

 

[Jeb21]

This is disappointing. I have the 92fs that I bought used. I have in excess of 3000 rounds through it with no jams at all. I have used the weapon for SD carry, for competition, for range use. I have made a point to only use factory mags, though I have no problems buying used factory magazines.

 

[fgr39]

My units M9's look like they were tied to a car bumper and drug down the road after a wedding, still I have not seen one malfunction in any way on the range.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

It has been about 20 years since I owned a 92 variant (92SB-C), and now have a 92FS in 9mm. It has been 100% reliable for the 400 or so rounds put through it lately, and it was very slightly used when I got it. I would trust it with any ammo I have used so far, and that includes FMJ and HP reloads, Win & Fed +P+, and FMJ FNM factory ball. Perhaps they just need broken in?

 

[Skylerbone]

Rocket, my father was at year 20 of his LEO career after serving another 7 in green and his jammed from limp wristing. The other thing their department did was change to a hotter load (they started with Fiocchi, don't recall specifics). I'd wipe every bit of oil off it, buy 100 rounds of high velocity stuff and run it through. Wipe it down after, lube the normal points with a light weight synthetic and see how it does with the issued stuff.

Most people do in fact over lubricate their pistols and you seem to know what oil and sand as a combo does for function. It ain't a wheelgun but it's still more reliable than 90+ percent of what's made.

 

[Proud Southern Son]

I've got three 92s and one 96. Owned three or four before that. All super reliable. Guess even they can make a bad batch.

 

[Yo Mama]

Woah, wait a second here!!!!!!

Ok, we need a bit more information.

1. What field are you in, LEO, Military?

2. Was this your gun?

3.

That's what armorers are for.

This is what I'm thinking if it's not your gun and you were just using it to qualify with.

 

[shep854]

Rocketmedic, I think everyone would agree that the jammamatic you were issued is absolutely not to be trusted. I mentioned armorers--turn it in and demand another pistol: then test it for reliability at first chance.

Go back far enough and even the Rock, M1 has probably had a failure or two.

 

[gatornavy]

...

 

[NWcityguy2]

All the M9 problems I saw/experienced were magazine related. I don't care for the gun myself, small hands grabbing a needlessly big gun, but magazines are it's Achilles heel more than design or durability.

I'm here in El Paso working on a government contract. Do you shoot at the Rod and Gun club at all?

 

[johnnylaw53]

While anything is possible I have used and been around beretta's for a long time and I feel they are very reliable.

be safe

 

[DenaliPark]

Qualified today with the Army's standard M9 pistol. Clean, lubricated, and close to brand-new. Ten failures to eject, three failures to feed from new magazines, one failure to fire (light strike on the primer). Ammunition was standard Winchester-provided Army-spec 9mm. Once again, these are nearly brand-new pistols. Eight of the FTEs were stovepipes, one was a double-feed related to a stovepipe, and one was a complete failure to engage the extractor (rechambered the expended casing).

TEN failures to eject on a weapon out of 35 rounds fired is horrific- and my pistol was not the only one malfunctioning. Some were admittedly excellent, but mine and at least three others were very unreliable. Temperature was low-40s, dry, clean weapons, properly loaded magazines.

For comparison, my Hi-Point JHP 45 has 650 rounds through it with no failures of any kind.

I cannot recommend the Beretta 92 or M9 for service or concealed-carry- in my opinion, it's totally unreliable.

If you actually had those "failures" I suspect it was shooter induced, though any firearm can & will fail. However, you are foolish to think you can make such a post and not immediately be challenged on it, I don't believe your report!

 

[JR47]

If you actually had those "failures" I suspect it was shooter induced, though any firearm can & will fail. However, you are foolish to think you can make such a post and not immediately be challenged on it, I don't believe your report!

Really? What crystal ball did you use to observe him? I would be looking at the gun, myself. He's obviously not new to the platform, as he said that two of his magazines were personal ones, from his earlier issued M9, in Iraq.

It's quite possible that the gun was a re-build. Some are on their third or fourth time. Several well-regarded gun-smiths have already asked about how many times an aluminum frame can have new parts tacked onto it, and remain in spec. Larry Vickers brought it up while still attached to the military.

The Prince George's Co., Md. Police Department has been using Berettas for the past two decades. They attempted to transition to the Model 96, but the guns weren't reliable enough to do so. The Model 92s that they were issued also had a number of production-oriented problems. Beretta USA is located in PG CO.

What another poster believes has little to do with anything but their own ego.

 

[PapaG]

I've got a civilian 92f, totally reliable and even pops off some old, old Remington primers I found in the back of the shop. I use it to shoot up stuff I don't want to run through my Glock, 39, or Kahr.

Sorry for your poor experience.

 

[LubeckTech]

I bought an M9 new and had problems only if it were not properly lubricated. Basically, from my experience if it is kept clean and properly lubricated it is dependable. I would not consider it AS dependable as a Glock, M&P or 1911 when all of these guns are used under the same conditions.

 

[hardworker]

I have a 92fs and it eats whatever I feed it. I think the OP was just unlucky. Everyone puts out a lemon now and then. The interweb is full of people complaining about their Kimbers.

 

[Rocketmedic]

Considering that my life very well could depend on my issued pistol, I'm very concerned with it. I was not the only soldier out there with problems- we had several bad M9s out there, and although another weapon shot in my hands flawlessly, I got a lemon. In my context, I cannot trust the M9. It is that simple. I experienced a 40-percent failure rate with my weapon. For only 40 rounds, with good magazines, that is horrible. Really horrible.

I want another pistol issued, the Army gave me a lemon. Maybe the arms room or his support chain can make it right.

To those who challenged me, I'm a combat medic with 1/1AD in El Paso. I have a lot of experience with handguns and rifles, enough to know how to shoot them reasonably well. I just can't trust the M9.

 

[Rocketmedic]

If a weapon is not reliable after 50 rounds, its sure as hell not going to be reliable after 50000. I know some M9s have been to hell and back and still work. I also know that this one is horrible.

 

[NWcityguy2]

To those who challenged me

Just take the high road, which they didn't.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

If a weapon is not reliable after 50 rounds, its sure as hell not going to be reliable after 50000. I know some M9s have been to hell and back and still work. I also know that this one is horrible.

Kimber 1911s sometimes need a break in that takes around 500 rounds.

 

[SwampWolf]

I know some M9s have been to hell and back and still work. I also know that this one is horrible.

So, you got a bad one. These things happen. No need to condemn an entire production of pistols because you had a bad experience with one. Many people with much experience in terms of using the Beretta in combat venues swear by it, not at it. I think the M9's reputation as a reliable and accurate pistol by most people is a well-deserved one. It's certainly been my experience.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I'm not going to advocate this, but there are probably ways to render an M9 unserviceable (read that - damaged beyond repair: cracked frame, bent this or that, etc), which would require a soldier to return it to the armorer and get a different weapon. It would not make me feel guilty if that happened to a weapon that was unreliable otherwise, and kept getting issued to me. I think the powers would get upset if one KEPT returning damaged weapons, but it would be one way to get another, possibly MORE reliable weapon. The moral and ethical contract of offering one's service to country and risking one's life should be backed by proper equipment, not by deficient equipment that would get one killed.

 

[altitude_19]

No need to condemn an entire production of pistols because you had a bad experience with one.

Agreed. A failure of one serial is not a failure of the platform.
I do hate it when we immediately shout "SHOOTER ERROR." Yeah, that's why guys come here...to get accused of incompetence.

 

[Minnesota Wild]

If you were shooting ammo that you could see was marked Winchester, you almost surely weren't shooting the 124 Grain M882 ammo, you were shooting frangible ammo that has been widely supplied to the Army and Air Force for the last 7 or 8 years by Winchester for training. If that's the case, the military's frangible training ammo causes significantly more problems than the regular ball-type ammo.

As a weapons instructor for 6 years with the Air Force, I saw virtually zero M9 malfunctions with the regular ammo, but the frangible ammo caused some significant issues. If you were using real M882 ammo, that gun was seriously messed up. I have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds though these weapons and seen millions run through them. I have the utmost respect for the M9. It is exceptionally reliable if properly maintained. Unlike the AR-15 platform, I have never actually seen a factory "dud" that a problem could not be easily identified and fixed.

Just my two cents.