To G or not to G...help me build a Pizza gun

[Basher]

Do I convert it to "G" or not?

I don't really care for the giant levers of the G conversion kit and its my understanding that it may not fit the Brigadier slide anyway. I've been eye balling the Wilson single side safety lever and I know they can convert the slide to make it G only for $150 or so. Is it worth it?

Which sights?

It's a Brigadier slide so my options are a little more limited than the Vertec slide. I think I'd like to do a Wilson plain serrated rear with their orange ring tritium front. Which heights would be the correct ones to use for the Brigadier slide?

Which TJIB?

Which hammer should I run? What spring? She needs to pop WWB, Federal HST and everything else.

What trigger?

Should I play with a new flat trigger? There is the factory Beretta one for around $40 and the Volker trigger for $100. Any preferences?

Grips?

I'm leaning towards the VZ Palmswell Tactical Slants Gen2 in black (currently out of stock of course). Any thoughts on these?


Am I missing anything else? What say the P-F hive mind?

Always do the G, ALWAYS! You need to "G" all the things!

If it's merely a range toy or it's a rarer and more desirable model, I'd consider leaving the safety alone. But aside from that, I only by Berettas if they're a G model or will take the kit. Yeah, the original G models were superior to the current models that pretty much all use the conversion levers, but you get used to them and they can be shaved down and rounded off some if you really want to.

As for the TJIAB, I'd go with a 12# or 13#. Probably the 13# if you really want to make sure it'll pop everything, but most folks don't have any issue with the 12# from what I've read.

I'd run the stock trigger for starters. The only flat triggers I have right now are on my M&Ps, and while I do want to try them on my 92s and PX4s, it's a low-priority thing. The stock trigger works fine, so run it for a bit and see what you think.

For grips, I like the VZ UltraThins that come on the LTT guns. I've never tried a set of LOKs and want to change that, but again, fairly low on my list at the moment.

Whatever you do, that'll be a gorgeous Brig when you're done with it!

[Sal Picante]

I have never broken, or replaced, a Beretta trigger return spring. Not even on my Brig, which has well over 30,000 rounds through it.

I have...

[Sal Picante]

We all go through phases in our life and I have to say right now I'm completely sick of plastic striker fired guns and and (gasp!) pistol mounted optics. I spent the last four years or so shooting almost nothing but those guns (which as I've stated elsewhere they're all kind of the same to me right now) and I just can't get really exciting about going to the range with them, which sort of makes me not too excited about going to the range at all.

Sorry I'm late to the party, pal (see what I did there?)

PM inbound.

[EVP]

I have...

Les, do mind giving a quick rundown of stuff you have broken and estimated round counts?

[AdioSS]

The conversion you're referring to as "milled" actually involves welding up the plunger hole and then recutting it. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer the conversion kit, aesthetics aside.

You can trim down the right side housing to a certain extent, but it has to be the size/location it is in for the return spring. The 90 series G conversion kit is basically the PX4 G type adapted to the 90 series safety design.

Seems a lot more Cougarish than PX4 on the outside

I love all these stories! But I actually like the 96.

[sickeness]

FYI, the match hammer will likely have light primer strikes if used with the 13lbs spring. The match hammer reduces the arc of the hammer vs the standard or elite hammer. In my experience to consistently ignite hard primers you would need a D weight spring for the match.

[Hambo]

I have...

I broke a firing pin.

[CraigS]

FYI, the match hammer will likely have light primer strikes if used with the 13lbs spring. The match hammer reduces the arc of the hammer vs the standard or elite hammer. In my experience to consistently ignite hard primers you would need a D weight spring for the match.

I agree. When I got my 92X Defensive I was really put off by it's ExtremeS trigger compared to my other 92s w/ Langdon NP3 TJIBs. One of the things that LTT and Wilson did w/ their trigger bars was increase the DA hammer arc to assure DA will ignite harder primers. The DA arc on the X-Def is much reduced compared to LTT and W. I thought to myself, well one way to reduce DA pull weight is don't pull as far. I didn't shoot the X-Def long enough w/ it's stock trigger to see if it would ignite all ammo. We shoot idpa and are running 11# hammer springs to get the DA pull as light as possible, so the last thing I want is a reduced hammer arc. I pulled all the stock X-Def trigger parts out except for the sear which is different from other 92s. LTT NP3 TJIB went in and I haven't looked back. SA pull is 2#12oz and DA is 4# 13oz.

[e_stern]

Seems a lot more Cougarish than PX4 on the outside

I love all these stories! But I actually like the 96.

When I built the first proof of concept conversion kit (that actually got me written up believe it or not), I used a mix of 90-Two G conversion Kit wings, PX4 return spring, and a ground down roll pin as an over-rotation stop since there wasn't any step milled into the Brig slide I used like there is on the 90-Two. You're not wrong about the lineage going back to the Cougar, but I literally used PX4 and 90-Two parts. LOL


Additionally, I can't stand the 96 and really can't stand .40 in general. It never should have existed IMHO. 10MM was in bigger guns for a reason. It's like .45GAP.

[AdioSS]

When I built the first proof of concept conversion kit (that actually got me written up believe it or not), I used a mix of 90-Two G conversion Kit wings, PX4 return spring, and a ground down roll pin as an over-rotation stop since there wasn't any step milled into the Brig slide I used like there is on the 90-Two. You're not wrong about the lineage going back to the Cougar, but I literally used PX4 and 90-Two parts. LOL

It’s been a long time since I swapped my 90-two to G. I remember that the parts to do it cost about as much as it cost a gunsmith to convert a 92FS slide. I have converted several Cougar & PX4 slides to G. But I actually have never used the G conversion kit for the 92. I only have a single 92FS style slide now. It is my M9 which was my introduction to Berettas. All of my other 92/96’s are old school G or D-style. I did keep one of my Cougar slides as an FS. That 9mm & my M9 are great for teaching people who are brand new to pistols. A lot of them think you NEED a safety. All of my PX4 are G converted or D/C.

Additionally, I can't stand the 96 and really can't stand .40 in general. It never should have existed IMHO. 10MM was in bigger guns for a reason. It's like .45GAP.

You’re going to hate this, but when I realized that the PX4 barrel ODs are the same between .40 & .45 I had the thought to convert one to 45GAP. BUT that was after I thought of attempting to convert one to 10mm.