Beretta [Vertex] FS trouble shoot

[YVK]

Just picked up a lightly used FS Vertec that I bought on a Gunbroker, with a future plan to convert it to G model. There is something wrong with a lower receiver. After decocking from SA mode and taking it off safe, it takes two trigger pulls to discharge it in a DA mode. On the first pull 8/10 times trigger travels freely (as if gun is still on safe), and the rest of the time trigger goes back but short strokes.
The problem is fully reproducible with another FS upper, 22LR, when used with this frame. On the other hand, the Vertec slide/upper works fine with Elite lower. Makes me pretty confident the issue is with Vertec lower.

Haven't taken it apart yet, but any ideas what to look for?

[JV_]

I haven't touched a Beretta in a long time, so this is a WAG, but I'd look at the trigger bar & trigger bar spring.

[GardoneVT]

I haven't touched a Beretta in a long time, so this is a WAG, but I'd look at the trigger bar & trigger bar spring.

Agreed.That's exactly what an older Model 84 did before the spring failed at the range.

Beretta reinforced their factory trigger springs recently, but the older guns had issues.

[GJM]

Trigger bar Spring was out of place, it is fixed, and he is busy dry firing now.

[YVK]

Thanks for pointers, guys. That was an easy fix. Back to dry fire.

[JV_]

Great. It's nice when the fix is easy.

[ToddG]

Beretta reinforced their factory trigger springs recently, but the older guns had issues.

The trigger spring and the trigger bar spring are two different springs.

[JonInWA]

The trigger return spring was the problematic one, and was reinforced materially by Beretta some 8-9 years ago. The trigger bar spring, to the best of my knowledge has been kept in it's OEM configuration unmodified. It's the one that actually controls the trigger pull, and I've literally never heard on any issues with 'em. As a preventative maintenance measure I replace mine with a Wolff one annually or every 5K trigger manipulations (inclusive of dry- and live-fire).

As I've commented elsewhere on the forum, I'm a big proponent of replacing the OEM trigger return spring with Wolff's Trigger Conversion Unit (TCU). At their recommendation, I went with the lighter sprung version, which has performed superbly for over 3 years and thousands of dry-fire manipulations. It uses a captive coil spring, and was developed at the behest of the INS/Border Patrol back in the day when they were immensely frustrated with the lack of longevity with the OEM lever-type trigger return springs on their issue 96D Brigadiers. However, if you have a newer 92 with the polymer trigger, you'll need to get an OEM steel replacement trigger from BUSA to use the TCU due to dimensional differences-fortunately BUSA sells a nice kit including a D mainspring, the Bruniton-coated steel trigger, a recoil spring, and a lever-type trigger return spring at a very reasonable price.

Best, Jon

[YVK]

There was at least 1/2 lbs trigger pull weight difference between reduced power Wolff unit and stock trigger spring, in favor of the latter, on my Elite 2. Subjectively, the OEM spring felt like a cleaner pull to me. I decided to stick with a standard part and regular replacement intervals.

[JonInWA]

There was at least 1/2 lbs trigger pull weight difference between reduced power Wolff unit and stock trigger spring, in favor of the latter, on my Elite 2. Subjectively, the OEM spring felt like a cleaner pull to me. I decided to stick with a standard part and regular replacement intervals.

I literally couldn't discern any difference between my OEM one and the reduced-power TCU on my 92D-but keep in mind that my 1996 production 92D had the much more fragile/problematic OEM trigger return spring. I believe that the Beretta modified one changed both the material thickness and spring architecture, either (or both) of which could have favorably affected the trigger pull/return.

It's not terribly difficult (or expensive) to replace the OEM spring, but the recommended 5K replacement interval comes up mighty quickly if you factor in any sort of regular dry-fire (or aggressive live-fire) regimen. I usually run my 92D with the TCU pretty hard for 3-6 months out of the year, particularly dry-fire wise. My daily dry-fire count is around 150 manipulations per practice session, so I'd be going through about a trigger return spring per month with the OEM lever-type spring. Conversely, I've been running with the Wolff TCU for 3+ years without incident.

For me, it's more an issue of durability and reliability than convenience (or replacement) or expense (of the spring/TCU). Having the OEM spring break on me before 2K rounds of live fire (but admittedly thousands of dry-fire trigger manipulations) was a game-changer-for me. YMMV-particularly with the newer, much more durable OEM spring, but, all things being equal, I still prefer (and recommend) the captured coil spring set-up inherent to the Wolff TCU.

Best, Jon