Beretta 92S
Beretta has over the years made several improvements to the 92 series pistols. The 92S was one of the early models, The original version started with the model 951 which was produced in 1951, This was a single stack 9mm pistol that held 8 rounds, The magazine release was on the bottom of the grip at the left side. This firearm served for quite some time in several other countries as military and police pistols. In 1975 The first actual 92 pistol was produced in a double stack magazine configuration. It had the safety built on the frame instead of the slide. And the
magazine release was again at the bottom of the grip. Shortly after the 92s was manufactured. The big change was the safety. I was a single sided safety placed on the rear of the slide. These were sold all over the world to military and law enforcement, and have been in use since then. There have been many other variations to the 92 series pistols. The most notable were the 92sb-F which were later changed to the M9. Which is currently in use by U.S. Military forces. Now that you have a little history. There has been over the past couple of years, a large influx of 92S pistols into the USA. These guns were trade-in pistols from law enforcement agencies and Military around the world. They were Imported by PW Arms and shipped to distributors. The nice thing of this is they are fairly inexpensive as they are older models. At the time of the big influx, I was still working at Beretta USA and fielded phone calls and questions about these pistols constantly. Unfortunately, they are not new firearms so Beretta has no support for them. Parts are available through Numrich and you can get some parts from Brownells . Many of the parts used in this gun are compatible with current models. The first thing I did after receiving my 92S was to change the recoil spring and
locking block. I have no way of knowing how much it was shot so I didn’t want to take any chances. The current locking block will fit the gun however I do recommend you have a gunsmith install it as it may require a little fitting. I cleaned the gun thoroughly and took it out to shoot. Fortunately, factory 92FS magazines that have the cut out at the bottom will fit and function. This being the case I have several for my M9 so I was set. I took the gun out for the first time and just ran some rounds through it. I wasn’t looking for accuracy, just function. The gun functioned flawlessly with Winchester white box 115 grain 9mm. I then took some time to test it for accuracy. I found that it was quite accurate and 15 and 25 yards. Holding in a 2” group. The sights on this model are not as pronounced as the M9 however they are visible. I would probably suggest accenting the front sight with a little white site coat from Brownells. My first outing with the pistol was about 300 rounds. I enjoyed it however it did take a little getting used to the magazine release at the bottom of the grip. Since that point, I have taken the pistol out several times. Never had any issues with function. I did, however, Cerakote the pistol to protect it from any type of corrosion.
These guns are available online for around $300 and would be a nice addition to your collection. Try one out and see how you like it. I am a big fan of older guns and this is one that I would trust if I needed it in a hurry.
There you have it, Straight from the gunsmith’s mouth
