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

[03RN]

I did this with a 92DX. Can't say I disagree. It's a 21 shot K frame.

If I get back into Berettas it will be a 96D

[Bucky]

Just skip the safety altogether:

Attachment 115078

Wish I didn’t trade my D Centurion. I did get a USPc in trade, so it wasn’t like I made out that bad.

[DMF13]

I don't have much to offer, but I will say I used to hate the B92 safety, and swore if I ever had another 92 it would have G style decocker. Hiowever, after hearing a podcast where Ernest Langdon described this:
https://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=15317
I am now only mildly annoyed by the safety.

I had been taught in the USAF to flick it up from the underside, rather than sweep forward. I was discussing this with a buddy who was a Marine Officer, and another who had a 92 when he was with LAPD. They both were also taught to flick it up, rather than sweep forward, and were equally upset they were also taught the wrong way to manipulate the safety.

I still want a compact 92, with a G series decocker, but I don't absolutely hate the safety anymore.

[HCM]

If I get back into Berettas it will be a 96D

I understand why a DA revolver shooter would want a D model Beretta.

However, friends don’t let friends “Beretta 96.”

I broke three issued Beretta 96D Brigadiers in 4 years all at relatively low round counts (less than 5k rounds).

The 92 is a great design but it’s not durable enough for .40 even with the brigadier slide or the improved recoil spring set up of the 96A1.

If you really want a DAO .40 Beretta get a PX4 D model or a standard PX4 and convert it to DAO.

[SoCalDep]

First, congratulations on an exceptional $300 setup! That's rad.

Your post hits home for me. I've been dealing with lesser and greater elbow/arm stuff (some say tendenitis, others say lateral epycontolitis... and I've surely spelled it wrong... I'd spell it right if I ever reported it or got it diagnosed) since late 2012. There've been a couple years in there that I barely shot. Also, having recently retired I'm on a nostalgic kick and while I haven't dropped the pistol optic stuff (still shoot competition with Staccatos and such), I'm carrying and shooting iron sights more, trying to avoid strikers and polymer, and I'm planning on using some Berettas for competitions in the fairly near future.

As for Berettas I've talked about my admiration for the design and history with it. I fired a 92F or FS when a friend's dad took us to an indoor range. I was 15, which would have been around 1993 or so. Later I fixed a "broken" (not broken - put together wrong) M9 at an Army display booth at the Van Nuys Air Show around 1996... based on reading and researching how Berettas worked and how to field strip them. I remember that the Army guy was impressed and I scored points with my ten year old brother for being cool. I wasn't normally very cool.

Fast forward to my first real purchased by me pistol... A Para Ordnance P13 Limited. It sucked. It wasn't reliable at all. I traded it in and bought a Beretta Custom Carry (13rd mag compact model) in 1999. It was totally reliable. Man I wish I kept it.

By 2002 I was a 1911 fanboy before the term (Ha! - still am), but I got issued a Beretta 92FS. It's sitting next to me right now as I type because I was able to buy it from the county in 2013. At the time I didn't think it was cool, but compared to several of the other pistols issued that day, mine seemed to have a really nice trigger, so I was sorta ok with it. I bought a lot of Berettas over the years since to try to fill niches and be consistent.

I went the striker fire route for a bunch of reasons and was shooting M&Ps, but in October of 2015 I decided to go back to Beretta. I bought an M9A1. It eventually got a factory Beretta D spring, extended mag release, Wilson fluted guide rod and rear sight, steel trigger, and G10 grips. All of that was department-approved because we'd approved the Wilson Brigadier Tactical recently. Since Beretta didn't have the conversion kit at that time, any pistol with a safety had to (and still does have to) be carried "on safe", so when I went to the Langdon Tactical class in 2016 that was my setup. M9A1 with that stuff, carried on safe, on a duty belt with flapped mag pouches.

So backing up...

I graduated the academy in September of 2002. From that day... stuffing my 92FS into a Bianchi 3S that I still own and used a couple weeks ago to carry another important Beretta... I carried a bunch of full-sized Beretta pistols to include both "FS" and "G" models after they were authorized. The new "G" looks...kinda gross... but it carries fine. At least for me.

Back to 2016.

So drawing from safety-on I managed to get a FAST Coin... That was probably the greatest day of my shooting life. It was also simply what I trained. The safety sucks when you do it wrong. It's fast as anything if one knows how to do it. The LASD holster was designed to assist in deactivating the safety and it works great, but regular 6280s were no problem with the right technique. Problem was NO ONE taught how to do it right and everyone bitched about how it didn't work. My hands aren't big, and I've taught a lot of small females to run an on-safe Beretta like a champ. It's not hand size. It's technique. Even most instructors in my old department don't know how to train to draw an on-safe Beretta effectively from a standard 6280. Many of them simply shit talk the boomer pistol choice.

So where does that leave me...

I ended up getting a Wilson Centurion Tactical, then later adding "G" kits to several of my guns. When the LTT Elite was released, I bought one right away. Soon, since most of my guns were now "G", I'd become accostomed to drawing without deactivating the safety. When I got an old 92FS Inox and did some practice I realized pretty quick that consistency is important. It was then that my original issued 92FS got a "G" kit. I still have the original parts.

I retired in September. At "some point" prior to retirement, I was able to arrange to be issued a Beretta 92FS Compact L, Type M. It was one of a few "M" pistols purchased by the department for small-handed people who couldn't become proficient with a full size 92F/FS. I've heard a few stories about it but from my understanding/knowledge, no one ever selected one because if you did, that was the only pistol you could carry on duty.

I was able to purchase that pistol when I retired. I don't think it was ever fired before I tested it for accuracy and reliability. I ended up adding a D spring and I've been practicing manipulating the safety on the draw, which is not unsimilar to a 1911 if done right.

So to answer all your questions in one statement... Do nothing... Do everything. It doesn't matter. Just practice and be good. Excuses don't win gunfights, competitions, or coins.

[KevH]

@Joe in PNG @JonInWA

Guys, I'm sure the 92D is absolutely bitchin, but I got the slide and barrel for free. That's the whole reason I'm even asking about the Beretta stuff. I'm not going to go out and buy a D model.

@SoCalDep

Thank you!

[Joe in PNG]

@Joe in PNG @JonInWA

Guys, I'm sure the 92D is absolutely bitchin, but I got the slide and barrel for free. That's the whole reason I'm even asking about the Beretta stuff. I'm not going to go out and buy a D model.

@SoCalDep

Thank you!

There's nothing more dangerous to the wallet than a free part. I've spent a more than a few dollars to turn an extra $0.20 transistor into a full guitar pedal, or an extra truss rod into a bass guitar.

[AMC]

@KevH.....G Model. Unquestionably. Like Joe Bob Briggs used to say, "I'm surprised I have to explain this stuff." I bought one of the earliest 92Gs imported into the country in early '92. Carried that for years as a personally owned weapon until we mandated the 96G.

@03RN... @HCM is right. Stay away from .40s. We broke well over 400 barrels, and had AT LEAST 2 guns pop that I know of (all before the 320....strange). The 92 design does not play well with the higher pressure cartridge.

And @SoCalDep......thanks kid. Those timelines and stories made me feel old the night before my birthday.

[KevH]

Thanks for the input everyone!

@Joe in PNG Dude you aren't kidding!

I busted out ye ole credit card and ordered the following tonight:

- The G Conversion Kit (you guys sold me)
- LTT Trigger Bar
- Beretta Match Hammer
- 13 lbs Mainspring
- Chrome Silicone Trigger Return Spring
- WC .305 Square Notch Serrated Rear Sight
- WC .140 Tritium with Orange Outline Front Sight (much fatter than I typically prefer...I can always switch to a skinny Dawson FO later if I need to)

I'll modify the trigger bar for the match hammer and polish the appropriate contact surfaces and these parts should yield a darn good trigger for not too much cash.

I need to call VZ tomorrow and see what the wait time is for a set of their Palm Swell Tactical Slants Gen2 (that's a mouthful) in black. If it's quick, I'll order those. If it's going to be a long time I may just grab a set of LOK grips.

I'm getting excited.

[CSW]

Do I convert it to "G" or not?
If you can, yes. The G conversion means the pizza is always ready to go bang
Which sights?
I went with Wilson on my full size, and my compact. My centurion wears a dot.
Which TJIB?
Yes.
Which hammer should I run? What spring? She needs to pop WWB, Federal HST and everything else.
I prefer the flush hammer for the smooth look. I've never had a non ignition. 13# is my go to, and you'll still have a great trigger.
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?
Meh...
Grips?
Lok Veloce'
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?

A good holster.