Beretta 92 FS Compact (and general Beretta love lately)

[holmes168]

Lucky for you I just wrote a graduate paper on firearms marketing ,so here's the abbreviated version.

The "second tier" status comes down to two big factors. One, the 92 is the standard issue pistol of the US Military. Standard issue is never "cool",and people wanting to have the cool blaster is primarily why we have the massive gun industry we do.

Two,it's DA/SA. That trigger system is dead in the consumer marketplace. Economies of scale mean no metal pistol manufacturer in the 80s and 90s could compete with Glock on price and win,a fact Glock and countless municipal city managers took full advantage of. I mention the latter point because a majority of Glocks sales came about because a city admin looked at buying those vs a Beretta ,Sig,S&W and the Glock won on cost hands down.

One cops started carrying Glocks it became the go to gun for Joe Public,at which point DA/SA became a museum piece system. Sure us enthusiasts rock them,but they'll never be mainstream again any more than the Colt SAA will become standard issue . Average shooters buy DA/SA guns as range toys-a fact Sig caught onto way faster then Beretta . Their "LEGION" lineup is business genious - take a gun they're already making and build a social identity around owning it. You can't sell DA/SA guns as tactical tools to mainstream consumers -they already have Glocks/M&Ps etc for that. So you gotta sell those pistols on flash and style instead (see Sig Legion,WC Brigadier,etc)

This is why Sigs and Glocks have better perception the Berettas,mostly. This also is why few mainstream shooters know what a 92G SD is,but they all recognize a Brigadier Tactical.

Makes good sense. Plus add in the horrid maintenance the M9 gets in the military which leads to Vets not giving them great publicity.
The two I've shot recently are fantastic and the brand new M9 that I bought changed my mind in seconds. I really like Glocks, but Beretta is fast rising in my eyes. Reading thoughtful reviews and someone like Ernest Langdon being involved with Beretta can only help.
Maybe the APX will help make the company more mainstream as I've heard good things about it.

[Ptero]

Has anyone had the new Tooltech pinned on nightsights installed on their 92? Are they as tall as they look on the website photos? They look to be almost suppressor height. I am considering them for my 92 Compact but I think it will look odd with super tall sights on it.

If you do have the pinned on ones, what are your impressions? Do they shoot POA/POI and with what sight picture? Any other options besides nail polish and glow in the dark paint? I would like tritium sights but may settle for drilling the FS for a fiber optic.

Thanks in advance for your input!

[HCM]

Makes good sense. Plus add in the horrid maintenance the M9 gets in the military which leads to Vets not giving them great publicity.
The two I've shot recently are fantastic and the brand new M9 that I bought changed my mind in seconds. I really like Glocks, but Beretta is fast rising in my eyes. Reading thoughtful reviews and someone like Ernest Langdon being involved with Beretta can only help.
Maybe the APX will help make the company more mainstream as I've heard good things about it.

All that plus few people or groups in the Military really know or care about shooting pistols to any significant level of proficiency.

On the rare occasions pistol training is conducted, units have everyone training with a limited number of dedicated training guns which get beat hell and malfunction. Not to mention the mandatory use of lead free frangible training ammo on more and more .MIL ranges accelerates wear.

On the maintenance end, it is not just the lack of PMCS compared to rifles and MG, but also the use of craptastic third party replacement parts when PMCS is performed.

Is it a surprise the gun has issues with a replacement locking block made in the back of Uncle Billy's bait & tackle ?

[AJD21]

I've been an avid fan of DA/SA pistols since 2009 and have been a fan of Beretta since then as well and truthfully I was oblivious to the PX4 till this year. I'm astonished at how good a PX4's trigger is with the competition trigger kit and a 12lb hammer spring. I've had professional trigger work done by some big names and none were as smooth and consistent as either of my two PX4's with those kits/springs.

To me the 92FS and Px4 offer the best value/quality in the DA/SA world.

[Cory]

So I recently found out Beretta has never made a 10mm. I'm kind of surpirsed by that. I wonder why? Maybe its just because they werent trying to get an FBI contract.

If someone were "all in" on Beretta and looking for a 10mm, what would you recommend? I'm not in that spot just wondering what would fill a 10mm role on a Beretta wishlist.

-Cory

[JSGlock34]

So I recently found out Beretta has never made a 10mm. I'm kind of surpirsed by that. I wonder why? Maybe its just because they werent trying to get an FBI contract.

If someone were "all in" on Beretta and looking for a 10mm, what would you recommend? I'm not in that spot just wondering what would fill a 10mm role on a Beretta wishlist.

-Cory

Hmm...do you mean what's the closest Beretta to the 10mm role, or what Brand X 10mm pistol is closest to a Beretta?

It seems that for most brands, 10mm and .45 pistols share the same chassis. For Beretta, the .45 is the PX4 Storm. I was actually surprised to see that Beretta had revived the 'Special Duty' moniker for a PX4 Storm SD developed for the Joint Combat Pistol program. Not sure if 'Super Dave' Harrington had anything to do with this design, but learned something new today.

[Cory]

Hmm...do you mean what's the closest Beretta to the 10mm role, or what Brand X 10mm pistol is closest to a Beretta?

It seems that for most brands, 10mm and .45 pistols share the same chassis. For Beretta, the .45 is the PX4 Storm. I was actually surprised to see that Beretta had revived the 'Special Duty' moniker for a PX4 Storm SD developed for the Joint Combat Pistol program. Not sure if 'Super Dave' Harrington had anything to do with this design, but learned something new today.

Sorry, I wasnt real clear. I meant what 10mm made by another brand would be your choice if you were a solid Beretta shooter otherwise.

-Cory

[Suvorov]

So I recently found out Beretta has never made a 10mm. I'm kind of surpirsed by that. I wonder why? Maybe its just because they werent trying to get an FBI contract.

If someone were "all in" on Beretta and looking for a 10mm, what would you recommend? I'm not in that spot just wondering what would fill a 10mm role on a Beretta wishlist.

-Cory

When I had the 10mm bug - I went with the Smith and Wesson 1006 in no small part because it shared an almost identical operating system (DA/SA and a frame mounted decocker/safety) to the M9.

My guess in part on why there was never a 10mm Beretta is that when the 10mm became "the rage" Beretta didn't have a platform that was capable of handling the cartridge. Beretta was already enjoying considerable success with the M9/92 and resting on it's laurels so there was a fair amount of hesitation to develop a platform that could handle the cartridge. By the time the Cougar had been developed, the 10mm was already yesterdays newspaper and everyone was in love with the .40.

[Sigfan26]

So I recently found out Beretta has never made a 10mm. I'm kind of surpirsed by that.

-Cory

Ferrari never made a diesel, either. Some folks just realize it's not their market.


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[Bigghoss]

The closest thing to a 10mm 92 or PX4 would be one of the old S&W classics like a 1006. Problem is parts are drying up for those. Wolf still makes springs for them though and I think there are night sights and holsters for them still. I have a 3914 I had planned on using for a carry gun to get me buy but I was able to scrape together cash for a PX4. But I was able to find new mags, Wolf springs, night sights, and a holster for the Smith.