Honestly, I don’t know or care. I like the gun and it is reliable. All these youtube “tests” with people putting guns in buckets of sand and mud are silly to me. Sorry. I wouldn’t do that stuff to any gun I own.
But, if you do some googling, you can likely find the “tests” that the military did during the 80s.
double post
I have no doubts that you’re a fan of your Beretta. However, my post was giving a few reasons about why it isn’t as popular as some other firearms, and how the popularity of other offerings (especially amongst those who have BTDT) shouldn’t solely be attributed to some sort of bandwagon effect.
I still contend that the majority of people looking and shoot and carry a platform will find the 92 line less favorable than a number of polymer options for reasons I feel are obvious.
This isn’t to detract from those who enjoy the ones they own, shoot, and carry, but that’s a subjective preference. Most quality handguns today are going to be reliable, so other criteria and considerations start to come into play.
What “field tests” are you talking about?
My 92FS holds a capacity of 18 + 1 rounds…MecGar Optimus magazines are superior to the Beretta factory fare…
There are polymer-framed pistols with similar capacities that weigh significantly less. That’s all I was getting at.
I sold my Beretta 92FS to my father (who really likes them) to buy my P30. Over all I didn’t really care for the gun that much. It was accurate and reliable but thats about it. It was heavy, the grip was too fat even for my gorilla hands, the safety was in a horrible spot, it had no provision for mounting a light and I was stuck with the 3 dot sights that came on the pistol.
I accidently switched the safety on numerous times when performing malfunction drills or simply reloading. I hated the trigger on the gun as well, it was ok in single action but its double action was way too long and heavy.
All that being said, I wouldn’t buy one for anything other than a range toy or a collector item. There are far better options out there these days.
I think you might change your mind if you tried one of these . . .
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Well, I REALLY would love a Billenium. And that is super nice too. I do spend quite a bit on 1911s, so if I wanted one of those, I could track one down.
But, the main thing stopping me is the lack of rubber grips for the frame mounted safety versions. That’s why the 90-Two is my least favorite. There are NO rubber options out there.
I plan to get a 45 cal Cougar soon, but I already managed to track down a set of NIB pierce rubber grips for the 45 Cougar. They haven’t been made in several years, and are like finding the Holy Grail in that caliber (it is a LITTLE bit easier to find them for the 40/9mm frame).
Since there are zero options and I’d be stuck with the stock grips, that’s why I haven’t gotten one yet. I even have simple pachmeyer grips on my 2 high end 1911s, because that is what I like…
Well, I do think that part of it is because the design has been around so long, and Beretta no longer makes all the variants that they once did (and seem to show no interest in doing so, since they get fed the big $ from the government contract).
And, the gun is so large in this world of concealed carry. If I remember right, even the Sig 226 has a slightly shorter barrel. Everyone wants small guns for concealed carry - usually no bigger than the compact size (Glock 19 size). Also, polymer is all the rage now.
To me, I like the feel/weight of the Beretta on my waist. It’s not overly heavy, but I feel strange when I do not have it or have a lighter gun on me.
Can’t under-estimate the fun/cool factor of having a firearm that is in plenty of action movies… Every body knows it, even if they won’t admit it 
I wish more companies had models with a little more barrel sticking out the end of the slide, more velocity with less bulk.
My problems with the 92:
I don’t have those problems with my 92 . . .
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NUMBER 3!!!
Why would anyone WANT to train with a gun that the safety is as high and a rear as possible? On top of that, it goes the wrong way!!!
Assuming prices were in-line with the current 92 offerings, I’d go out and buy one of these RIGHT NOW if Beretta re-introduced these and ramped up production.
The 92 Stock is the 92 as it should have been, IMO. Even better if there was a Centurion-sized model available.
FWIW, you can use a downward swipe of your thumb to take a 92F/92FS/M9 off safe. I don’t know if you have one handy, but give it a shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0VxLkqm--U&feature=player_detailpage#t=167s
However, I still have no love at all for slide mounted safeties, and I wish I could convert my 92FS to a G like you can with the PX4 line (atleast, I think you can on those). The ears tear into my hands and I occasionally will put the gun on-safe when doing a fast overhand rack of the slide under stress.
Well, someone can. I think your hand has to be sized right for that to work every time.
I’d rather not keep the manual safety engaged anyway. Once the hammer is down or at half-cock, that’s plenty safe with this design.
You don’t hear much about them because the “new” has worn off.
Just like every gun they have their peculiar characteristics.
Yes…you should get one and try it out…why not?..it looks like you’ve tried the other popular models. Then you can decide for yourself if you think it’s a keeper and that’s all that rally matters right?
Beretta 92 series pistols are great for flat range IDPA/IPSC/USPSA/etc type shooting, which means it is a suitable pistol for 90% or more of the people on the interwebs who will tell you it’s a piece of shit. It is a nicely built pistol with decent ergonomics. It is an easy pistol to learn to shoot very accurately and control, making it quite fast in practiced hands.
For some the grip is too large. That’s no fault of the pistol or its designers though. You can’t accommodate everyone.
It’s a fine shooting pistol. It’s a lot of things, but reliable is not one of them. Everyone needs to realize that “reliability” is a subjective term. What one shooter deems an acceptable level of reliability may exceed or fail to meet what others deem as acceptable. For this shooter (and many others) the M9/92 series pistols fail to make the grade. Rather than get into a pissing match or dick measuring contest, I hope that end caveat will suffice. If the M9/92 meets your needs, that’s excellent, and you have chosen a quality pistol that will likely make you happy.
Could you comment on what, specifically, are the 92’s shortcomings in the area of reliability as you see it?
There may be other more reliable pistols, but I think its a bit of a stretch to say the 92 ‘isn’t reliable’.
It may be worth remembering that the 92 design has evolved quite a lot since its introduction in the late 70’s. Some of the changes are improvements and some are attempts at cost reduction (an exercise that seldom results in performance improvements).
People who had the earlier locking block design -if it failed- will have some choice words about the gun.
Those who were issued an M9 and a handful of poorly made magazines will probably consider the pistols’ performance sub-standard.
People who shoot practical matches may have observed one that performed badly. Usually this is because someone installed whiz-bang parts or brought bad magazines.
Its a matter of perspective.
I know one chap who simply can’t leave well enough alone. He has a Glock that won’t run 100 rounds at a time without choking and a CZ Shadow that has broken all kinds of parts. Ordinarily these two brands are known for solid performance. He puts go-fast parts in hoping for an edge and gets opposite results. There is no telling if his pistols would have worked as they came from the factory.
My perspective: I bought my 92FS in the 90’s. Its no longer 100% stock but I use decent mags and quality ammo. It has fired every time I’ve asked it to; which puts it above the Browning Hi-Power, Smith Wesson revolvers, M&P, Kahr 9, CZ-97, Walther P88 and a few others.
This lands my 92 in league with guns like an H&K P7, SIG P226, Glock 17, CZ 75, Ruger P89, S&W 4506 and an STI 2011. Some of these are not my favorites. Some I don’t own but they have proven to work when I wanted them to. Call it what you will.