Beretta 92S Italian Police!

Model12Win

Moderator
Well guys, in my "CZ-75 vs Beretta 92" thread I told you all I bought a Beretta 92S Italian police surplus gun. Well it arrived yesterday and today I shot it at the range. In short, it is fantastic:

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These are older Italian made guns (late '70s early '80s vintage) with early features such as a rounded triggerguard and bottom mounted magazine release. I think it looks a bit classier and more stylish over the modern 92 design. The heel release took me a bit to get used to but I got the hang of it eventually. These were carried by Italian police and some military for a number of years. This example has mild holster wear and very handsome bluing, with the internal parts and bore appearing like-new after a thorough cleaning to remove some old grease in the works. I believe the "carried often, shot little" mantra for police trade in guns rings true for this pistol.

At the range today, the gun shot amazingly well. The original magazine and two new Beretta produced magazines were flawless for the 115 rounds of 124 grain and 115 grain brass cased Winchester and Federal ball I fired. The double action is decent enough, but the single action is quite good. The sights are very small but that did not hinder accuracy. I kept every round in a 3" group at 8 yards. The first couple magazines were much tighter than this, but fatigue set in after a while but I wanted to keep going to test reliability. The 92S did not disappoint.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this purchase. For $300 I consider it a bargain for a classic Italian Beretta made with forged, polished and blued steel parts and no MIM or plastic innards. I know MIM and plastic can give fine service all things considered, but something about having a unique variant old world craftsmanship Beretta 92 is very cool indeed! The gun fits my hand well and I imagine once I get used to it, it will make a fantastic range gun which is why I bought it. I know the Beretta 92 isn't for everyone but after today I can say for sure that I very much like it.

M12
 
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Many thousands of these pistols were sold in the past few years, many in like new condition ( I received two new pistols) and many more with various stages of wear. I should imagine the supply will soon be exhausted and pistols listed on GB will accelerate in price.
If you are an affectionado of the Beretta platform this is a great pistol for not so much money.
 
I see for $20 more you can get hand select!
Que?

No hand select option available when I bought mine. :(


Can't complain, though. Mine was like Model12Win's: lots of external wear that looked more like sliding across a counter than riding in a holster, but the internals looked brand-spankin'-new.


...I'm not a fan of combining modern magazines with the 92S frame, though. The plastic floor plate bites!
 
Que?

No hand select option available when I bought mine. :(


Can't complain, though. Mine was like Model12Win's: lots of external wear that looked more like sliding across a counter than riding in a holster, but the internals looked brand-spankin'-new.


...I'm not a fan of combining modern magazines with the 92S frame, though. The plastic floor plate bites!
I couldn't find any with the flat metal floor plates.
 
Model12Win said:
I couldn't find any [magazines] with the flat metal floor plates.
Original 92S magazines have them, but the supply of such magazines seems to have been exhausted, presumably by folks who are snapping up these pistols!

I bought my surplus 92S fairly soon after they appeared on the market and was able to pick up 3 mags for (IIRC) ~$16/ea from Apex. The mag bodies are parkerized rather than blued like the mag that came with the pistol, but they have blued flat metal base plates. They were surplus and had obviously been in storage for a long time, with a bit of light surface rust, but they were otherwise in like-new condition. I'm not sure if similar magazines are available anywhere today, however.
 
Que?

No hand select option available when I bought mine. :(


Can't complain, though. Mine was like Model12Win's: lots of external wear that looked more like sliding across a counter than riding in a holster, but the internals looked brand-spankin'-new.


...I'm not a fan of combining modern magazines with the 92S frame, though. The plastic floor plate bites!
I wouldn't say this one has lots of external wear.

The M9s in our armory at work... THOSE have lots of external wear!! Several have so little finish left on the slides and frames that they almost look like stainless guns!

I think mine has just enough holster wear and blemishes to look interesting, it's got a history and unlike some of the unissued ones this example was actually carried in the field and used by an Italian person. I pause to think about the person(s) who carried this firearm over there, if it ever ruined any bandit's day, etc. That's half of the enjoyment of these surplus guns for me, the history!
 
Sorry. In this context, "lots" was the wrong word choice.
It has noticeable wear, but it's nothing like the average M9.
To me, the 92S has 'lots' of wear, as most of my pistols look almost factory fresh.

Mine, with the other 'Nines':
Sorry, bad lighting. There's more wear than apparent in the photo.

attachment.php
 
Sorry. In this context, "lots" was the wrong word choice.
It has noticeable wear, but it's nothing like the average M9.
To me, the 92S has 'lots' of wear, as most of my pistols look almost factory fresh.

Mine, with the other 'Nines':
Sorry, bad lighting. There's more wear than apparent in the photo.

attachment.php
Very cool.
 
Many thousands of these pistols were sold in the past few years
~
I should imagine the supply will soon be exhausted and pistols listed on GB will accelerate in price.
I noticed there use to be a lot of cheap pachmayr signature grips on ebay/gb for the "S".. not anymore supply of those grips dried up mostly.

I don't think they'll get to high in price.. I mean collectors will still want them.. but to me It's not that desirable cause it's still has the slide safety.

at 300 I start thinking about another Taurus, I think 250 is an appropriate (non collector) price.

But I personally probably would not bite till 225 or less.
To many deals on other guns right now.

Im glad the OP is happy though, If you was looking for a Beretta 92.. and didn't have one yet it's not a bad place to start assuming you're cool with the heal release.
 
These are great pistols, and a great deal! Give me a round trigger guard, and no front slide serrations any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
 
Speaking of Taurus and mags-

Sarco has magazines labelled as compatible for the Taurus 92.

They have metal bases, and they have the notch in the correct place for the Beretta 92S. I believe they were something like $15 apiece, and I had a coupon code for a bit off, and free shipping (they do this around most holidays).

I've run them through the 92S several times, and they are flawless in function.

They are definitely an option for range use.

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/taurus-model929mmcalibermagazine15rd.aspx

I notice one review complained that the mag would fall out... that would be the Taurus notch. The Beretta notch at the base is definitely correct, and I think that's probably a more secure attachment method than modern notches (the 92S has a big notch at the base, if it engages it will lock it in from the bottom, not midway up the mag).
 
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The Taurus mag catch is slightly different then a Beretta catch for the behind the guard.

however you're right for the heal release Taurus/Beretta are the same.
It's a throw back to when they diverged, the first Taurus off the line was identical to the at the time Beretta.. the Original design.

Taurus bought the factory and machines from Beretta after they finished a contract with Brazil that required "In country" mfg of the guns.

As far as I know Taurus is the highest capacity mag to fit the 92s.. At least years ago the factory 17 rounders.. unless that's changed.
 
I noticed there use to be a lot of cheap pachmayr signature grips on ebay/gb for the "S".. not anymore supply of those grips dried up mostly.

I don't think they'll get to high in price.. I mean collectors will still want them.. but to me It's not that desirable cause it's still has the slide safety.

at 300 I start thinking about another Taurus, I think 250 is an appropriate (non collector) price.

But I personally probably would not bite till 225 or less.
To many deals on other guns right now.

Im glad the OP is happy though, If you was looking for a Beretta 92.. and didn't have one yet it's not a bad place to start assuming you're cool with the heal release.
I'm glad I'm happy, too. Some of us buy guns for the history and are into milsurps/police trade ins with a past. They're not always perfect, but are interesting. I bought this one because it was different and I wanted a range gun. I think it's an excellent value for $300. We all choose to spend out money differently, and none of us is wrong as long as we're having a good time! :)
 
Excellent choice! The OP got a reliable, well-made, sturdy service pistol for $300. It is perfectly functional for police or military use. It hasn't been shot much; most people would never wear it out in their lifetime. It looks great.

I've been lucky enough to get a number of good milsurp deals like that. As a result, I rarely buy any other kind of pistol anymore.

My FiL got one of those Italian 92's also. It is a very good pistol and like the OP's, rarely fired. They are an extremely good bargain at that price, IMHO.
 
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The two new ones that I kept were a great buy and should remain " like new" because I just cannot warm up to the 92 package. The guns are beautifully made, shoot very accurately, hold a jillion rounds but I cannot get comfortable firing a 92 although many others will disagree.
The Beretta 84 BB from Aim was, until I received it, an unfired pistol (380) and is a pleasure to shoot although a bit large for the caliber. One could really defend life and home with that pistol.
 
IBMikey - After enjoying my 92 so much, I couldn't resist that double-stack 380 (Model 84). I got one of those milsurp ones for cheap. The finish is worn, but it's a great shooter.

I am probably not the first person to notice that Beretta makes nice pistols. :)
 
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