Maybe one day I'll get a D model and send it out for SAO conversion with frame mounted safety.
Maybe one day I'll get a D model and send it out for SAO conversion with frame mounted safety.
I most heartily agree.Originally Posted by Clobbersauras
Here's a sneak peak of my 92D Centurion. I've only just received the gun, so I will write a better review in a day or so
Some random thoughts:
- Trigger is excellent! It's the best out of the box DA trigger I've ever tried. I've dry fired it the last two nights and IMO if you can't shoot this DA trigger without modifications, you simply can't shoot a DA trigger. It's that good.
- Centurions are the HEAT when it come to Beretta's. Nothing else comes close.
- Grips aren't as slippery or as wide as I thought they would be.
When I was running a 96D a few years ago I used Trausch Grips. Super thin. Completely changed the feel of the gun. I don't know how they compare the WC grips though.
http://masterclasschronicles.blogspo...sions.html?m=1
I couldn't resist taking some more pics. I hope this helps the OP.
I love the finish on this gun. There are dings, scratches, and holster wear, just the way a gun should be. It's perfect.
This one came with Trijicon night sights. 1995 vintage. They still have a faint glow, which is impressive after 20 years.
The stubby D hammer at full arc.
Hammer down. No safety or decocker to mess with...
It doesn't appear to have been shot much....I'll fix that.
Trigger at reset.
Reset on my Elite II.
Last edited by Clobbersaurus; 10-31-2015 at 02:11 AM.
Size compared to my Elite II.
This one has a captive recoil spring assembly. There is a pin in the guide rod which holds the recoil spring onto the rod. Also, the recoil spring seems very light. Much lighter than my other Centurion.
I'll be putting this pistol through the 2000 round challenge and will report back in this thread with my results.
Great pictures - I am definitely hoping that I win the gunbroker auction. I probably won't have the time or cash to send it to wilson right away but that will be my next move for certain. Very excited about the gun.
My very first 92 came from the factory with wood, and yes, they are thick. My hands are large but I still prefer something a bit thinner with more traction.
On old 92s I would replace all springs and think about the firing pin.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
92D's are, well, kinda limited.
You can get the DA pull down in weight using some WC springs, maybe throw the alternate SR trigger in there, but the reset isn't what I'd call "short".
(Dunno if the SRT will actually cause the DA reset to be shorter, either...)
They do work alright and are reliable, but it is kinda tough to make it "better".
I had a 92D Brig that I just put different sights on to match my competition guns. I beat the crap outta the frame and finally sold the slide...
I did shoot one IDPA match with it - splitting with the gun was difficult (long DA pull for every shot...) but I did ok.
Not my first choice... Dunno if I'd spend more than $200.00 for one.
BTW - you used to be able to buy 92D slides from Midwest Gun Works: http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/prod/UD8A0077
Tom_Jones, in answer to your slide grasping groove question, in reality, I believe that there was really only one actual production "variant" for the 92D/96D and 92D/96D Centurions I believe that the one with the longer grasping grooves was the one standardized for 92D/96D production; the one with the shorter grasping grooves were simply 92FS slides modded, and I suspect that they were very limited, and may have just been press mules. There was even one very early example that still had the divots where the "safe/fire" dots would be filled in with paint.
Of course, the 92DS (a 92D with a manual safety/safety levers) would have the shorter grooves, but I believe that there were only some 800 92DS pistols actually manufactured.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 11-02-2015 at 05:26 PM.
As some of you know, I've run a 1996-vintage 92D for years. Here are my recommendations:
-On ANY pre-owned gun, and especially one with an unknown providence, I always recommend immediate replacement of recoil and magazine springs, either with Beretta or Wolff springs.
-I would also recommend immediately replacing the trigger return spring; OEM ones, especially earlier production ones, are notorious for lasting only around 2K triggerpull iterations; while Beretta years ago materially redesigned and strengthened it, I recommend replacing it with either one of Wolff's TCU springs (a captured coil spring), or Wilson reputedly has come out with a "lifetime" lever-type spring (like the OEM Beretta one), which I believe is made of chrome silica wire; while I've not seen or used it, I still recommend the Wolff TCU and their captured coil spring set-up for it's proven durability (both personally and with the Border Patrol, at whose behest it was specifically developed, back when they were issuing 96D Brigadiers).
-I also recommend replacing the trigger bar spring (immediately, and every 5K rounds/trigger manipulations (or annually) thereafter, and the slide lock spring (the Wolff one has a longer "leg," so it's also easier to install).
-Beretta 92-Series guns are somewhat lubrication intensive. On metal-on-metal reciprocating surface points, I use Mil-Comm TW25B; for general "oil-type" lubrication points, I use Weapon Shield, and for difficult/tricky action component areas, I prefer a moly-disulfide dry film lubricant, Dri-Slide, which utilizes a liquid evaporating carrier solution to reach necessary nooks and crannys via gravity and capillary action, and then evaporates, leaving a film of lubricant (which has the additional advantage of not serving as an attractant for GSR and dirt). Massad Ayoob's book, The Gun Digest Book of the Beretta is well worth it investing in for the excellent pictures he provides for pretty much all of the 92-Series requisite lubrication points. It's a fairly good read, albeit somewhat dated/overcome by post-publication events.
-Ahh, grips. The absolute best grip that I've encountered, and currently use (and have for years) is the exceptionally thin Trausch nylon/fiberglass grips. The literally transform the handling of the double-stack 92, enabling it to handle like a single-stack pistol. Their thinness enables the primary gripping surfaces to be the front- and back-straps, as opposed to the grip plates themselves. Unfortunately, these grips were fairly difficult to obtain in the US when they were in production, as Trausch never really developed an effective US distributor, and since he unexpectedly (and very unfortunately) passed away several years ago, the grips have essentially become made of unobtanium. The Wilson thin grips may well be the cat's meow, but I simply haven't personally exprerienced them; other users, on this forum and otherwise seem to be very pleased with them however.
-Magazines: I've been a sponsored shooter for Check-Mate Industries for several years, and have consistently had exceptional results with their dry-film magazines, including some that are over 10 years old, and some that have been long-term loaded for years. I particularly like their hardened-steel baseplates, which are significantly thinner than the OEM Beretta baseplates. Otherwise, I don't think that you can go wrong with Beretta/MDS magazines, or MecGars. The ne-plus-ultra magazine for a 92 is arguably the Beretta PVD-coated and internally straked "Sand" magazines, made specifically for fine sand environments, but they're fairly expensive.
-Cartridges: I use standard-pressure 9mm cartridges with my 92D; the "Classic Federal 9BP hollowpoint has an excellent record in the field for both accuracy and performance, so I've personally stuck with it, but DocGKR runs an excellent list that he continually updates on the Ammunition section of the forum-I'd go with anything he recommends in a standard-pressure loading.
-Sights: Mine came with OEM Trijicons, which have provided an excellent day and night sight picture (despite the tritium being significantly faded over the years-eventually, I'll ship it to Tool Tech and have them replace the front sight tritium capsule, but keep the dimmed rears as they are, to minimize low-light sight confusion. There are a number of alternatives, but the lack of a dovetailed front sight can severely constrain alternative selections, unless significant gunsmithing is involved.
I hope this helps.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 11-02-2015 at 06:13 PM.
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