Beretta with loose barrel

J

Joel Harmon

New member
My 92fs barrel wiggles around when the slide is locked back. When the weapon is ready to fire (ie. the slide is forward) I can take my thumb and index finger and grab the end of the barrel and move it around...very little...but it does move. Of course I do this practice while the weapon is unloaded. I think this might account for the tremendous difference in bullet impact point when I am shooting. I noticed that using my carefully constructed reloads some bullets will be right on where I am aiming and others will be waaaay off. I have had lots of practice reloading and I reload rifle and get superb results so I don't think it's that. I use a sturdy rest when firing and still get these problems. I really don't think it's me. Does anyone have a 92fs that has a wiggly barrel? Is it easy enought to tighten it up myself or should I just ask Beretta company to do it?

The gun sometimes (but rarely) will jam. The bullet will not quite go into the chamber and it will kind of stovepipe and hold the slide open. The gun is still pretty new. I only bought it last month and have fired maybe 100 rounds through it. All my reloads fit into the magazine without trouble. The length of the rounds are all measured and they are recommended length. Can newness be attributable to jams? I thought Beretta's were never supposed to jam.

Thanks,

Joel
 
I own a pre-ban 92FS, bought it in '88 and have fired thousands of rounds through it and have never had a jam. Never had any "barrel wiggle" either.

I recently purchased another Beretta, Tomcat 3032, and this thing has jammed at least once in every 100 rounds I have put through it so far. I was told by another 3032 owner that it takes some wearing in time before the jamming will cease.

In the mean time I wrote to Beretta and they have offered to look at the gun and make adjustments or replace it if necessary. So I'll wait until I have fired it some more and then send it back just before the warranty is up if it still jams.

I have never fired reloads through either of these two guns, factory ammo is all I have used in them.
 
Some "wiggle" in the barrel is normal when the slide is locked back, but it shouldn't wiggle too much when the slide is in firing position.

Have you shot factory ammo through it at all? If so did it stovepipe with the factory ammo? Did it group reasonably well with factory ammo?

If you haven't put any factory ammo through it since you got it, I'd recommend you put a couple of boxes of different types of factory ammo through it and note the group sizes and any malfunctions. If you have the same problems with it with factory ammo, I'd send it back to Beretta (if it were mine).

I've never had to deal with their customer service, but a friend sent back one of their smaller autos that was having a lot of failures to fire and they simply replaced the gun and gave him an extra magazine to boot.

Let us know how it turns out.

Shake
 
Beretta

I have found it does not matter how much the barrel shakes when the slide is locked back because it makes no difference there- because the barrel achieves lock-up when the slide goes forward. They will wiggle a bit even in lock-up unless you have an accurized one. It is a mass produced weapon originally designed for military purposes so loose tolerances are built in. But I have noticed that the civilian models tend to have better lock-up than the military ones. One thing that can be done to better lock-up is to get a new locking block but that is only 50-50% at best assuming the locking block you get is tighter and not looser.
As to the malfunctions you get from time to time I would recommend that you keep the weapon oiled. Especially in the slide ways and the locking block area that usually ends the prob. if not dissamble the weapon and magazines and give them both a good cleaning. Magazines can be the prob also if you are using military contract mags. there is one in particular that gives beaucoup probs with feeding that is the ones mfr'd by CHECK-MATE INC. If not your mag could be worn.
But also reloading can be tricky at times sometimes H.P.s' have a tougher time feeding. Or O.A.L. is not right MilSpec. for the M882 fmj. ctg is 1.165" (29.591mm)
Or could be as simple as a new gun with a tight chamber and tighter parts. Very rarely have I seen an M-9/M92 series jam w/factory ammo.
 
A normal Beretta barrel will wiggle a small bit while in lockup, the important thing is that it should return to it's original position when you quit pushing it around.

When the slide is locked back, a lot of wiggle is acceptable and has no effect on function.

It's possible to replace components and tighten up the tolerances to the point that your barrel doesn't wiggle in lockup. If you do that, you will likely cause the gun to be unreliable when it gets a little dirty. You'll start to have failures to return to battery. When parts move against each other in a possibly dirty environment, there must be enough clearance/tolerance to keep them from binding.

The Beretta 9X series pistols are capable of excellent accuracy. I suspect you are having some trigger control problems due to the overtravel on the triggers. Here are some things to concentrate on.

1. Place your finger in exactly the same spot on the curve of the trigger for each shot.
2. Make sure the trigger touches the same spot on your finger for each shot.
3. Pull straight back into the gun with your trigger finger.
4. Release the trigger as soon as the shot breaks. By that I mean, think about your trigger finger as only exerting enough pressure to fire the gun, don't think of it as following through to press the trigger as far as it will go.
 
My MD96 barrel at lockup wiggles "a lot". But it is unbelievably reliable and reasonably accurate. (My wife got her CCW permit with it so it is "good enough").

The 96 has been shot a lot. I bought it used and have since put thousands of rounds down it of hot loads. The only problem I have had is the breachface was slightly dished in from the prior owner(I did not know to check) so the primers look a bit "squirrly". I was told I should probably replace the slide, but for what I do with the gun (plink) it is ok.

I think the looseness is a function of use and I would be more worried about the occasional jam then the looseness.
 
Beretta

Jon:
Actually when the Beretta is accurized properly they seem to be just as reliable as a factory standard M92 believe it or not. Although they have not been tested under real world conditions that I know of. Personal experience from matches is that my services are very rarely needed to repair a M-9 that has gone down-if so if usu. revolves around magazines, ammo or not lubed properly.
Would I carry one (accurized) as a civilian carry gun-yes I am building one now. Would I take it into battle-I am not sure yet due to the general nastiness of climates and it is not proven as of yet.
 
"The bullet will not quite go into the chamber and it will kind of stovepipe and hold the slide open"

Joel,
I also have a fairly new 96fs and have had the same problem with it partially feeding a new round on several occasions. probably put 500 rounds or so through it, all factory ammo (usually Winchester). this has happened to me about 4-5 times in 500 rounds. I haven't found a cause for this yet. new factory mags that came with the gun. I have been very carefull to oil the slides and keep everything well lubricated and thats seems to have cut it down somewhat. Also it happened to me a couple of times when I had the slide locked back and put in a new clip and released the slide using the slide stop on the side. found that if I pulled back on the slide and released it without using the slide stop that the problem did not occur. I haven't noticed any excessive movement in the barrel but I will be sure to check now that you have brought it up. Accuracy seems to be pretty good but I have noticed that I get an occasional round that wanders far off the group.
Thought maybe it was just me. will pay more attention next time.
 
teufelmann55,

Key word is "properly" accurized. I'm betting that doesn't mean removing ALL play in the barrel at lockup, but only tightening things up a bit.
 
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