92A1 Shooting Low

M

Mowens

Member
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Location
St. John's
Hey all,

I just got back from the range with my brand new Beretta 92A1 and it was shooting a solid 4-5 inches low at 20 yards. I gave it to my buddy to try out and he was having the exact same issue. I ended up having to aim at the top of my target to hit centre. The groupings were fine and the windage is spot on.

I can regularly shoot my S&W 586 at the same distance with good groupings so I know it wasn't us. I was shooting CCI Blazer with the aluminum casings. I don't know if it is an ammo issue or not as it is my first 9mm and that was the only stuff available.

Has anybody else had any issues with this particular pistol shooting low, and is there an easy way to adjust/replace the sights?
 
That seems like a lot but before you break out the metal file or order a new front sight try shooting some 124gn ammo of another brand. The heavier bullets will tend to hit a trifle higher. But maybe not high enough in this case. It's worth a shot though...... if you'll pardon the pun :D

If it still needs to come up a bit then the cheap and dirty fix is to file off a little of the height of the front sight until it hits right on point of aim. File a little then shoot a couple of magazines to test. Repeat as needed to sneak up on the final height.

There is a way that uses a large flat fine cut file and a 3/32 to 1/8 thick shim to file the front sight that results in a very nice flat and square result.

Lay and clamp the file onto a flat surface. The lay the shim on the file. Field strip the gun and put the slide upside down onto the file so that the rear sight is sitting on the shim and the front sight is resting on the teeth of the file. With a little pressure on the rear sight to hold it down onto the shim push down on the front sight with your other hand and push back on the slide to cut the top of the front sight.

The shim ensures that the flat you file on the front will be angled down and away from your view so you don't get any glare off the new surface.

Initially you may need to cut a few strokes off to get the new filed surface down to where it meets the rear edge. Much of this depends on the present shape of your front sight.
 
Last edited:
Your 586 and the Beretta are completely different in where you hold in my experience. You need more time with your Beretta. 5" low at 20 yards would only be a small adjustment in your sight picture. You probably want to cover your target with the front sight with a Beretta.
 
My old Beretta has a fixed front sight. To make it shoot higher I would have to file the front sight, or installer a higher rear sight.

if it has a removable front sight, take it off and install a lower (maybe fibre optic) front. If it is fixed, I would rather install a taller rear sight.
 
I'll try the heavier ammo at first. All that was available was 115 grain. It seemed like I was having to hold very high on the target, but I also clearly need to shoot it more. It was pretty cold today and I was a tad hungover. That also probably had a factor in it.
 
You sure you are not flinching with the 92? If you are grouping with a 357 which has more muzzle flash and recoil then flinching is probably not the case but check for flinching anyway. Quick trick is have your buddy load a round without you looking. He can load a live round or a spent casing randomly and have you fire the gun. If the muzzle drops when you shoot the empty then you know you are flinching and jerking the trigger low.
 
Its a common issue for first timers with the 92a1's I have one myself and had the same issue... At the end of the day it was me. More practice and really paying attention to how I was shooting cleared it right up.
 
What sight picture are you using? Beretta 92's are meant to use sight picture 3. That's what I use and it is dead on.
sightimages.jpg
 
Edit: Pistolwhiptricks' pic was a a huge block of code when I replied.

With 92's you have to cover the target with the front sights dot, see #3
images


92A1 has removable front sights so you could get a shorter one. My 92FS Inox has a fixed front sights so I ended up getting a Novak rear sight that was taller than original.

sam0907a.jpg

sam0909v.jpg
 
Last edited:
Actually if you think about it the sight pictures 2 and 3 are the same thing. If shot from something like a Ransom rest #3 has the potential for printing the shots on target about 2mm lower than #2. And for the vast majority of us that's close enough to being the same.

I suspect that the #3 option is best used in lower light or shooting at all black targets when there is little to no contrast between the sights and the target.

I'd also forgotten that the front blade on some Berettas is milled right onto the slide. Given that I withdraw my suggestion about filing down the front blade. Buy the taller rear sight instead if it turns out that you truly do need it.
 
Funny I had the same problems the other day with my M&P: cold, slightly hung over and Blazer 115 aluminums = shooting low. LOL coincidence?
 
9ineMM said:
Funny I had the same problems the other day with my M&P: cold, slightly hung over and Blazer 115 aluminums = shooting low. LOL coincidence?
Click to expand...

Define what "slightly" is in this case. From my own shooting if the group was about 1 to 1.5 inches low I'd say that it's the ammo. Try some 124gn and see if the groups are spot on or not.

Similarly when I've shot 147gn 9mm I found that the groups climbed to around 1.5 inches high.
 
Well had a few gin and tonics the night before. Actually not too hung over. I really don't like blaming equipment for poor shooting tho (but i really do think that it was the ammo this time). In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have bought 1000 rounds of it (on sale for 200). Groups were 1.5-2" low (with a few way off). I definitely shoot better with the 124 federal. Bang on 1" groups in the eye.
 
At out around 20 to 25 yards? If so that's about right for it to be due to the ammo. The 1 to 1.5 inches low was based on around 10 to 12 yards.

Of course that much isn't a big deal if you're shooting in any sort of situation other than a bullseye competition or practice. And cheap is good for the most part when it comes to ammo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom