Last week I did something I probably shouldn’t have… Okay, I know that’s a list that goes all the way to the floor, but I’m talking about one particular thing.
I pulled a Beretta M9 out of the case and really looked at it again. I felt it. Cycled it. Stripped it down and examined it closely. Now, the Big Beretta is nothing new to me… I’ve owned two of them but they never really inspired me or made me feel all that interested in them. I got them just because.
Now, looking at this Beretta… Feels good in the hand. Big and Curvy and Sexy… It’s been growing on me.
Here’s the odd thing. I’d want it in 9mm. I’d pretty much just keep it stock save for Slipstreaming. Because really they are fine just like that. Huh. I don’t know why I’d even want the thing. I prefer SIG and Glock… Single Actions over Doubles. But I am digging the M9 right now. I just don’t know why.
I had the same feeling picking up a used Beretta Cougar in 9mm. I was never A Beretta fan, but I now have 2 Cougars and a 92.
Well the two biggest bugs of the 92 have been taken care of from what I read. The slide is now strong enough to take a really high round count and the other problem was 2nd party magazines. Run original Beretta mags and you are OK. The down side is they are too thick in the grip for some. The up side is they are one of the largest capacity 9mm pistols. If you run JHP’s that will function you’d be OK for the most part. I had a Taurus clone for a while and I traded off because it just didn’t fit my hand.
A slipstreamed M9 is a slick piece of work. Trust me.
Novelty whore? I find myself switching the lineup from time to time. Some weeks I’m in the mood for high cap 9mm, sometimes for a small 45 that holds 1/2 the round count of a 9mm in the same size. A few months ago I just had to have a BUG and got a Smith J-frame for that. If nothing else, if I don’t change it up, then only a single gun or pair of guns is going to work and the rest, being different, won’t get used.
Viva la difference! From the civilian-owned Berettas I’ve had a chance to experience, they were kind of like Italian sports cars of guns, very well made and buttery-smooth actions. Give in and go with the 92 for a while.
Had one grinding into my hip for over a year while legally separated from my wife and child. It’d been beat to hell Long b4 i was issed it (possibly by you, Mr Hill). it was a brick and a badge of rank more than a usefull tool, but I never saw one malfunction-even after being drug by pistol leash from a moving MRAP!
I’ve replaced more locking blocks than I care to count…and 99% of the time the gun was locked up TIGHT because of it. If it’s not the locking block then it’s the trigger spring. I like them for a range toy but I’m just not comfortable trusting my life with it.
The military did a hell of a lot of testing on it, and it passed.
I retired my first 92FS after 35,000 rounds . The only issue was on a training day when it started slow return to battery after 1000+ rounds. At that time I replaced the recoil spring with a new one as the original had compressed by about 3/4 of an inch vs new. It’s replacement 92FS has been my daily sidearm for 7+ years. In 12+ years in USAF SP or CATM never saw any of my units M-9s,including training weapons have any mechanical failures of ANY kind.
Taste in firearms can be compared to taste buds. Constantly changing.
Isn’t that one of the original “Crunch and Tickers”? Jeff Cooper wouldn’t approve.
It is. But Cooper wad wrong on some occasions.
My first handgun I ever purchased was a Taurus 92AF,back in 1987 or so. I replaced the stock grips with pachmyr grips. Other than wearing out magazines, it still shoots extremely well even after 25 years. Still own it.
Youngest son just turned 21 and chose the m92 with a .40 conversion slide/barrel/recoil system after shooting 8 different guns. Good taste that one.
The Beretta is truly a thing of beauty. It would be a lot less hated if it hadn’t replaced the 19-by God-11.
Welcome back! Second strike capability on a bad primer while perfoming S.P.O.R.T.S., the smooth controlable recoil, the open slide, the only semi auto I trust more is a 1911A1
I went through Army MP school in 1988. We trained and qualified with both the 1911 and the M9. I liked the feel of the 1911 more, but performed better with the M9.
Carried a 1911 in two units and three deployments, along with many days/nights of L&O duty, then transferred to yet another unit, where I carried a M9 solely for L&O duty.
What do I have now? Two 1911s, no Berettas.
Don’t make me have to drive out to Utah with the ghost of JMB in tow and knock some sense back into you.
Dude… its a gun. Its not lie I’m thinking bout voting Socialist.
If it makes you feel any better, I am usually a Glock or revolver guy who is feeling the urge to get a nice P226. I sometimes hear the siren song of the 92F as well…
I feel your pain.
you guys that like the Beretta must have huge hands. Foe me, it is like holding a coke bottle. Especially compared to a hipower or CZ75.
Well, you know what they say about guys with big hands.
Find a good used Hi-Power instead. Capacity close to M9 but will fit all those 1911 holsters you have laying around.