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MD7305
06-13-2011, 04:56 PM
I'm curious about the Beretta Brigadier Elite. I recently ran across one, specifically a 96G Elite, and I'm considering picking it up. Thus far I've learned that there were three categories: Elite, Elite IA and Elite II and they were produced during a limited time period. I believe I read the Elite was only made from 1999-2001? All have a Brigadier slide, stainless steel barrel, dovetailed front sight, and a skeleton style hammer. That's really all the info I can find about the pistol. What was the original intent for the Elite series, competition, self defense? I'm not well versed in Beretta pistols but I learned very much reading KevH's article on pistol-trianing. I know it sounds silly and I don't really need another pistol but this particular Beretta really appealed to me. It's in excellent condition and the trigger is wonderful. I've never owned a Beretta so this is uncharted territory and any guidance is much appreciated. Thanks.

jetfire
06-13-2011, 05:21 PM
I'd buy it, depending on the price. Even if you don't end up running too much, you can always resell it to the guys that have a raging huge love for the Elite series guns.

MD7305
06-13-2011, 05:36 PM
Good point. I generally try to make smart, logical purchase choices but this is just a "cool" handgun. The price ain't bad otherwise my cheapness would have immediately intervened.

KevH
06-13-2011, 09:34 PM
Todd would probably be able to provide more info from me, but if I remember the Elite series was tailored for the IDPA crowd and were supposed to compete with the "Practical Tactical" Glock 34/35. They were heavily influenced by Ernie Langdon when he was shooting for Beretta. There were other pistols that came out during the same time period such as S&W's TSW 3rd Gen's with a lot of the same style que's.

Beretta also had their "Border Marshal" 92FS and 96FS's that came out around the same time that were roughly a tribute to the US Border Patrol guns (96D's with Brigadier slides, flush barrel and a Wolf trigger return spring unit).

There was the Beretta 92G CQB which was sent to Ken Hackathorn and I think a couple others were sent to folks in the industry. I would LOVE to have one, but they were never released to the general pubic (to my knowldege). The Elite series came about a year or two later.

A Beretta 92G Elite tuned by LTT is still one of my dream guns. If you have a chance to buy an Elite I would do so. You probably wont' regret it.

MD7305
06-13-2011, 10:12 PM
Thank you sir for the advice. I want you to know I located your article on P-T.com and it answered a lot of my Beretta questions. Thanks for taking the time a while back to organize all of that information. I'm definently going to get it. I had my dealer put it back for me, hopefully I can make it out tomorrow to pick it up.

ToddG
06-13-2011, 10:27 PM
You can learn everything imaginable by visiting berettaforum.net.

The Elite, followed by the E2 and the E1A, used the Brig slide because it was the only practical way to have a replaceable front sight on the Beretta back then. In 9mm especially it did nothing to improve durability or recoil management.

The E2 was essentially the pistol Ernest wanted when he proposed the Elite. Beretta wasn't willing to dive head first into the competition market so the Elite was a compromise between what Ernest designed and Beretta could do with minimal tooling cost. The Elite was actually the cornerstone of a four-gun promotion Beretta ran that also included the Border Marshal, the Inox (stainless) Tactical, and the Compact Carry. Beretta hoped to sell 4,000 of each model to help balance loss of sales due to the end of the M9 contract.

With Ernest's incredible success in IDPA and then-fledgling USPSA Production division, Beretta committed to the Elite II which had a lighter trigger pull (thanks to the "D" model mainspring), extended magazine release, front and backstrap checkering, a stainless slide (the first Brigadier-style slides in stainless), and a slightly heavier skeletonized hammer than the original Elite.

The E1A was little more a 92G Vertec with a Brig slide (why? because the marketing department at Beretta wanted to keep the Brigadier theme even though the Vertec slide was better suited to the task).

John Ralston
06-13-2011, 10:34 PM
You can learn everything imaginable by visiting berettaforum.net.


It looks like you can just ask Todd...

MD7305
06-14-2011, 09:29 AM
Thanks, are the mag releases on the Beretta 92/96 series reversible?

Rverdi
06-14-2011, 10:07 AM
Thanks, are the mag releases on the Beretta 92/96 series reversible?

They are reversible, a little tricky until you get the hang of it, but no big deal.

MD7305
06-17-2011, 09:41 PM
Well, I succumbed and brought home the Elite. I was able to make it to the range for a brief 200rd. introduction. I was really impressed, my previous Beretta experience was limited to shooting the 92Ds issued to a neighboring agency.

My first thought shooting the Elite was how soft the recoil felt. I realize that recoil is subjective but for a .40S&W it was very soft, almost slow motion. The front sight did not appear to move much under recoil. Maybe I'm getting better at tracking my sights or maybe the heavier Brigadier slide slows thing up a bit? This particular Elite has a very smooth DA pull and isn't as long as I remember those 92Ds. The SA pull is smooth, breaks very crsiply and the reset is short in my opinion. I would say not quite as short as a Sig with SRT, but close. Definently shorter than my P30v2. I swapped the magazine release to the right side and found that it's not nearly as accessible as my 229 and P30 but I have much more shooting to do. Beretta USA offers an extended magazine release, perhaps that might help. I'm not really going to a make any remarks on accuracy other than I could hit with it when I did my part.


I'm really pleased with the Elite. I don't think it will become a carry gun as but I will continue to shoot it and possibly shoot second gun with it at upcoming monthly IDPA matches. If anything, the Elite will be a neat gun to hang onto.

Thanks for all of the information and advice.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v141/doughnut/96GElite006.jpg

DonovanM
06-18-2011, 11:01 AM
That's a sweet pistol. Nice purchase!

TCinVA
06-18-2011, 07:09 PM
67

I've had a 9mm Elite for many years. My one regret is not having Mr. Langdon rework the trigger on that gun as he did on my 92FS. The primary attractive feature on the Elite, for me anyway, was the G model decocker. IIRC, at the time (and Todd can correct me if I'm wrong here) it was the only 92 on the commercial market you could get with the G arrangement. I had always found that the safety on the 92FS would jump up and bite you when you tried to do immediate action drills and the like, especially on the clock. It was my biggest gripe with the 92 series pistol. (Well, that and the trigger return spring's fragility)

The DA trigger on my Elite is sub-optimal with pronounced stacking at the 1/2 way mark in the trigger pull. It's exceptionally reliable, though. The Beretta 92 is the one semi-automatic pistol I've never experienced a malfunction with on the range. No double-feeds, no stovepipes, no failures to extract. I broke trigger springs (until discovering the Wolff TCU) and a couple of firing pins from dryfire, but I never experienced a malfunction with the weapon itself or with the old magazines that had aluminum followers.

The 92 is an underrated pistol, IMO. It's a hell of a lot more gun than most realize.