Is The Beretta 92 The Next 1911?

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HFS! You see what the boys over at Wanstalls are getting?

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1157593-Wilson-Combat-Beretta-92G-Brigadier-Special-Order-One-Day-Left

Yannow, back in the good ol' days a lot of the cool kids were still shooting wheelguns. The most powerful handguns (outside of the specialized single shot pistols or 'pocket rifles') - were revolvers. They tended to be the most accurate too. Everyone wanted the big S&W 29's and the Pythons...or they were shooting them already! Dirty Harry wouldn't be caught dead with an automatic. The coolest of the cool slugged it out in the metallic silhouette game and some of rivalries became dog fights of biblical proportions. At the time if anyone asked me the future of the sport I woulda said it was the big Casull and Linebaugh revolvers...but then IPSC came along and the big six guns slowly shuffled off the stage. A lot of us were dumbfounded by the time and money going into the sport and the guns. The 1911 became the dominant hot rod of choice and all that product development took an obsolete design well into the 21st century. Hell, I just ordered a Springfield trophy match pistol myself and it has all the farkles and sparkles to go hunting for medals. There were 4 other guns I looked at and they all looked like medal winners right out of the box too.

But the Beretta 92...how many of you guys are running them? I have always been fascinated by them and the idea of properly pimping them out makes for some enjoyable discussion. I was at first contemptuous of them until I heard that Stormin' Norman Schwartzkopff carried one and liked it. At the time EVERYONE liked to deride the 9mm (because the .45 was intuitively and clearly SUPERIOR dontchya know)...but ... I cannot recall EVER hearing a sqaddie b*tch about the 92. Not once. It's been my experience that while squaddies are the toughest sonsab*tches on the face of the planet...they are more than willing to whine and complain about anything. If this gun had any serious flaws I am 100% sure they would have screamed bloody murder about it.

I think one of you guys should put in an order for one of those pistols and set us up with a range report. If the wife gives you any static tell her I said it's alright - we need to make informed purchase decisions around here and once in awhile YOU will have to step up 'and take a bullet for the team'. Your cooperation in this regard would be sincerely appreciated.:rolleyes:
 
Most of what I've heard of them involved bad mags and the gun being snobbish about being clean, but really anything with tight tolerances will be.

Never quite caught my fancy though, I went the P226 route.
 
Actually, I think more research is required by OP... there have in fact been a LOT of complaints about the service M9 (92F) in Iraq combat. Its reputation today is not "stellar". There has been at least one recent attempt to get US forces to change to an all new .45acp handgun design.

Now... that said... its my belief the failure point for 92's in Iraq is likely worn out magazines, and not replacing them early enough. They may not have had enough refurbish/rebuilds since entering service in 1985. Neither of those conditions can be placed at the feet of Beretta representatives... really that's the client's fault for failing to adequetly maintain them properly.

But if you ask about comparing the 92 to the 1911, forget it. This world has settled on three handgun designs: Glocks and their clones, 1911's and their endless variations, and the "Euro blobs" that all kinda look the same even though they are not.

The 92 is a good design, and well made. But I'll bet a single model of Glock probably outsells every '92 pattern handgun out there.

'92's are made by Beretta, Taurus and some Turkish company. Glocks have been made by Glock, three distinct copies by S&W (Sigma, M&P and now the SD), Croatia's HS2000 (also known as the Springfield XD), and I believe you can now make a "Glock" with all aftermarket parts, not a single one from Glock. Or at least close to it.

And the 1911? Forget even trying to estimate... from the German Norconia, to Dlask, to a guy in the backyard shed in a Manila home with a file and drill...

Sorry, but the 1911 had too much of a head start before the '92 was even introduced to the market. Today its lightyears ahead. No other design will even get to 10% of the 1911 in our lifetimes. Unless laser guns get practical and cheap and easy to copy.
 
The 92 inherited too much from the P-38, including a crappy trigger. I just couldn't love it for anything past its looks
 
I've shot a Beretta 92 exclusively for the past 4 months.

I have over 1800 rounds through it with no additional lube or cleaning. I just looked back through my notes and since Aug 23 (when I started keeping a training journal), not including range sessions, I have just over 14 hours of dry fire on that gun. That represents at least 4000 dry trigger presses, 600 dry slide lock reloads, over 1000 draws. So it's as dry as a damn bone. The slide has gotten a little sluggish but no reliability issues. I'll clean it when it gets to 2k. Also, no holster wear on the gun. Mag well is a little shiney, but that's it.

The only issue I had with the gun was early in the test with two bad factory mags. Once I switched to Mec Gar the issues stopped. It's accurate and reliable. There's not much to complain about with the Beretta. Those that complain about the trigger simply have not spent enough trying to learn a DA/SA

Now, is it becoming the next 1911? Nah. It requires a little bit of work to learn how to shoot it, especially if you are doing more than just casual plinking, and most shooters just don't care enough to spend the time.
 
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I dunno about it being the next 1911 (I've had a few and IMO they're a bit overrated), but I always liked Beretta 92 more. I've swapped a few parts on mine so lack of parts has never been am issue. :)
 
The slide mounted safety immediately excludes the 92 from iconic status. Also, other than Stormin' Norman, I can't think of any gun fighter worth his/ her beans who voluntarily carried a 92 into action. If any had a choice, I would bet a 1911, BHP or Glock would be on their hip. And I own a 92!
 
The fact that the 92 is da/sa doesn't bother me.

The horrendously long pull does and even in sa it's still too long.

Reliable yes, also pretty in stainless, best pistol ever nope, next 1911? Not a snowball's chance in hell.
 
RickR1100 said:
Actually, I think more research is required by OP... there have in fact been a LOT of complaints about the service M9 (92F) in Iraq combat. Its reputation today is not "stellar". There has been at least one recent attempt to get US forces to change to an all new .45acp handgun design.

Now... that said... its my belief the failure point for 92's in Iraq is likely worn out magazines, and not replacing them early enough. They may not have had enough refurbish/rebuilds since entering service in 1985. Neither of those conditions can be placed at the feet of Beretta representatives... really that's the client's fault for failing to adequetly maintain them properly.

But if you ask about comparing the 92 to the 1911, forget it. This world has settled on three handgun designs: Glocks and their clones, 1911's and their endless variations, and the "Euro blobs" that all kinda look the same even though they are not.

The 92 is a good design, and well made. But I'll bet a single model of Glock probably outsells every '92 pattern handgun out there.

'92's are made by Beretta, Taurus and some Turkish company. Glocks have been made by Glock, three distinct copies by S&W (Sigma, M&P and now the SD), Croatia's HS2000 (also known as the Springfield XD), and I believe you can now make a "Glock" with all aftermarket parts, not a single one from Glock. Or at least close to it.

And the 1911? Forget even trying to estimate... from the German Norconia, to Dlask, to a guy in the backyard shed in a Manila home with a file and drill...

Sorry, but the 1911 had too much of a head start before the '92 was even introduced to the market. Today its lightyears ahead. No other design will even get to 10% of the 1911 in our lifetimes. Unless laser guns get practical and cheap and easy to copy.
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Thanks for all the info Rick. Problem I have is that all my military info comes from second hand scuttlebutt from the self-proclaimed experts in the gun media. The rumour mill goes 24 hours a day churning out hogwash and crapola - and I eagerly consume it! It's fun to speculate on their choices and reasoning. It is no wonder the military is very secretive about their selection process and careful to keep gas bags like me at a distance while they go through the motions! Last I heard they were looking at Sigs because women with small hands had problems with the 92...but that was awhile back.

The way I heard it about the guys in Iraq was that it wasn't really "sand" as we think of it. The sand was not granular as is our sand here - it is more like a super fine talcum - and it got into everything and bunged up all their toys from pistols right on up to some jet engines...and any lube or oil just made it worse. If that is the case I really can't see any other designs doing much better... but then again I wasn't there. All I hear is what I hear.
 
Never owned a Beretta and never been a huge fan of the look but... I would do bad things to that gun. First gun to really catch my eye in a while.
 
The 92 will not and has not replace the 1911. However 150 years from now assuming society hasnt collapsed and people still buy guns, the 92 will still be manufactured and sold along with the 1911. I think the 92 will be around for along time yet as it is a legacy gun now.
 
92 Elite 1A was the first pistol I ever owned. The trigger travel between SA to DA takes a bit to get used to, but no complaints. The slide feels like it rides on bearings it's that smooth. From factory loads to reloads, I have never had even so much as a hiccup in operation, freshly cleaned or dirty.

I feel the 1911 is a totally different animal. Apples to oranges in my books. As most things in life, each camp has their own "mine's the best" cheerleaders in them. I love my 1911's in 45 ACP, but there is just something about the Italian 9 that brings me back. ###y.
 
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