Finally took the Beretta 86 to the range.

A

Andrewh

New member
I managed to find a beretta 86, the tip up barrel 380, the weekend before the WTC attack, and just haven't had a chance till now to take it to the range with the wife.
I must say, I am a little disapointed in it.
We fed it UMC, Winchester Silver tips, and Winchester white box.
After the first couple of clips of UMC, the medalion in the grip fell out. Both grips went loose, so I had to break out a screw driver to tighten them up.
I have to figure the UMC was fairly dirty, because near the end of the day, I had to force the tip up to open.
The next just maybe me or my wife, but it shoots low and to the left for her, and left for me. Both my full sizes, and 22/45 were dead on for me and her, so I was tending not to believe it was my shooting, but I am open.
Is the only way to fix this, since it is a fixed sight gun, to have a smith knock the rear sight around?
 
Sounds like you need to lube the barrel's pivot pin. I stripped mine and applied Neco MolySlide and have no problems there with the barrel tipping up - even after shooting nearly a thousand rounds through it.

The medallion falling out is pretty lame.

The grip screws backing out can be rectified with some blue Loctite 242 Threadlocker. Permatex bought them and I don't know what the new number designator is. FWIW my Sig 228 grip screws back out even with blue Loctite applied after a few hundred rounds.

As for shooting left, I would be inclined to say it is your trigger pull. Given the size of the pistol it is typical to pull slightly to the left.

Try it from a rest and pull the trigger slowly to the rear next time and see if the shot placement improves. Otherwise, a gunsmith with a BIG hammer will need to move the rear sight. Did I say BIG hammer? Their rear sights are extremely tight and will make a priest curse trying to get them moved.

On the bright side it doesnt shoot 6 inches high like mine did.
 
I have never heard of Neco moly. What is it, and where did you get it?
Would something like mobil one or some such work?
 
Andrew, you can get it from Sinclair International or Lock, Stock, and Barrel. It is basically molybdenum disulfide in a carrier.

The MolySlide stays put and is far superior to a liquid lube or oil. I use it on all moving parts in all my firearms and have done so for several years. Industry has used similar products for years to eliminate bearing and other machinery wear.

The most important thing to do is to get lube on that pin to prevent wear. If all you have is a good gun oil that will do fine. You will just need to be sure and put a drop on either side of the pin where it goes through the frame when you clean the gun to insure it is adequately lubed.

If you aren't comfortable disassembling guns you might not want to disassemble the 86 - in fact, Beretta recommends you don't(that never stopped me). It can be an exercise in patience if you don't have a set of good pin punches and a good working surface to support the gun.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the stuff. I will take a look and see if it is beyond me. (Never stopped me before either.)
 
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