New Wilson Beretta -- Centurion Tactical

[Bigghoss]

thankfully, i showed the Cent-Tac pic to my wonderful wife (who is not into guns), she said "it's pretty, get it"....um...ok. done.

She got a sister?

[BobLoblaw]

My wife said she was fine with it as long as I sell a Glock. I could tell by the look on her face that she must think I value those. When life gives you lemons, you order that MFer.

[DAB]

She got a sister?

Also married.

[LockedBreech]

My wife said she was fine with it as long as I sell a Glock. I could tell by the look on her face that she must think I value those. When life gives you lemons, you order that MFer.

"Alright honey, you can get the Ferrari...but...sacrifices have to be made. That Camry is out of here."
"Um...sure babe...it's tough but fair..."

[OlongJohnson]

For those of us in Houston, Athena Gun Club has one in the case. Just handled it. It's really nice. Slide moves smoother than typical, finish is smoother and nicer overall than any 92 I've checked recently. Just a little bit less inertia-y than the full length slide and barrel. The thin grips fit even my big mitts. Having not messed with a Beretta in awhile, I tried a couple presentations. Perfect sight picture with no adjustments. Really like this. I get it.

Still, as nice as it is, I struggle with the 2.7-2.9 times multiplier over the current landed price of a standard 92FS. How frickin' nice would a Camry have to be to cost $68k? It's hard to get an ES 350h loaded much past $50k. I'm sure these will sell out, so there's clearly nothing "wrong" with the pricing. But like someone else here, I just don't see myself feeling good about being part of that group.

[GJM]

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...rion-tactical/

[LHS]

Quick update. Carried the CenTac yesterday in the Fanny Pack that is my usual grab and go. I normally has a VP9 in it. Took the gun out at the end of the day to loctite the rear sight screw in, and found the magazine dislodged. The oversized magazine release is obviously not a good thing for this kind of carry. I have been carrying HK pistols in fanny packs for a ton of years, and the paddle mag releases have never let a mag go. This is consistent with what we found on the LE side where the paddles were much better for not having accidental releases of magazines.
So.....he VP9 is back in the fanny pack (which is the usual take the kid to school at zero dark thirty) in basketball shorts and a t-shirt).
I am waiting for a full set of kydex from JMCK for OWB carry and 3:00 IWB. Still love the gun, and just learning where it fits. The original purpose of a training and OWB more overt carry for when the PX4CC isn't in my AIWB rigs still applies. It may also become the bedside gun with a light.

Personally, I don't like the extended mag releases for the 92, and this is just another reason. When I got my WC Compact, I noticed that some mags didn't seem to drop free. Turns out that my ham-hocks are big enough that I was over-depressing the mag release button and trapping the mag from the inside. I don't have that issue with standard mag buttons, and I'll swap the extendendos out for standards every time. People with smaller hands might well not have this problem, and may find the extended release works for them (albeit not in a fanny pack).

[LangdonTactical]

This gun pushes all the right buttons. Going to order one.

Luckily the Langdon M9 never delivered, so I️ was able to cancel it in favor of this gun.

Nothing like getting kicked to the curb, but I cannot blame you.

[LangdonTactical]

Still, as nice as it is, I struggle with the 2.7-2.9 times multiplier over the current landed price of a standard 92FS.

Yeah, I am not sure I am tracking on your math there? 2.7 time over what price? A standard 92FS is normally about $530 to $580 street price. At the low end of both, you're saying $1430ish. A standard 92FS gets you; Plastic grips, plastic trigger, plastic lanyard loop, plastic guide rod, plastic mag button, plastic F safety lever, carbon barrel, no night sights, no light rail, and you cannot even buy a new Centurian from Beretta if you wanted to right now.

The Wilson Gun is $1250 and you get; all metal parts, G10 grips, solid fluted guide rod, Elite Hammer, D Hammer Spring, Mag Guide, Night sights, Light Rail, DOVETAIL FRONT SIGHT ON A CENTURIAN.

As far as I can see it is a great deal for that gun. Probably worth 2.7 times the price, but the math does not work out that way as far as I can see.

[OlongJohnson]

$469.99 shipped and transferred. It's been more or less continuously available for a month or more.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/beret...js92f300m.html

I didn't want to start a huge flame war. I get how special the CenTac is. Had a serious case of the wantsies when it went back in the case last night.

But here's the outline of my thinking: The fact that an ES 350 is a production item means that the standard for assessing its value proposition is not, "What would it cost to buy the parts and do the work to turn one Camry into a really nice ES 350?" It's generally accepted that there are savings to be had when something is a production item versus when it's hand-built one at a time.

I spent a lot of years involved with all aspects of a business that engineered and manufactured systems with international quality certifications, starting with clean screen designs and machining parts from billet, forgings and castings under one roof. I obviously can't say I know exactly the situation or what the BOM cost spreadsheets are for Beretta, but I have a pretty good understanding of how that type of operation works, and what would be involved in engineering and productionizing something like the CenTac, given what previously existed.

If someone was going to take the approach of "one pistol to rule them all," buy three of these and sell everything else (or just leave the others on the shelf in the walk-in gun safe room...), it would probably make financial sense for that individual in the long run. I know I'm not someone who is going to do that. I'm not saying it's a bad decision for anyone else to buy the CenTac, just sharing my personal feelings that the value proposition feels wrong to me. As I said, these will undoubtedly sell out and soon thereafter begin commanding scarcity surpluses, so that feeling is not universal. Saying much more would lead me to be critical of Beretta's product management generally, and this isn't the place for that. Which makes this a pretty good time to bow out.