OregonJohnny
Member
I have finally made my Beretta 92FS a 100% metal gun. As most know, in the early 2000's, Beretta began putting plastic or plastic-coated parts in the 92 series. My circa-2007 92FS came from the factory with the following plastic or plastic coated parts:
• Guide rod
• Trigger
• Left side safety
• Magazine release
• Mainspring cap/lanyard loop
And of course, the stock grips have always been plastic, and magazine bases switched from aluminum to plastic at least 10-15 years ago, due to brittle aluminum bases cracking when dropped on hard surfaces.
So, last night I tore down my 92 and installed metal parts that I have sourced in the last week. Before I did, I weighed each piece on a 10-lb. digital postage scale, to compare weights of plastic vs. metal. Here are the numbers I came up with, for those interested:
Guide rod - plastic: 0.1 oz., steel: 1.1 oz.
Trigger - plastic coated: 0.2 oz., steel: 0.5 oz.
Left side safety - plastic: 0.3 oz., steel: 0.5 oz.
Magazine release - plastic: 0.1 oz., steel: 0.2 oz.
Mainspring cap - plastic: 0.1 oz., aluminum: 0.2 oz.
So switching out these parts for their original metal versions adds about 1.7 oz. to the gun. In addition, I have Alumagrips on the gun, which weigh 2.0 oz., compared to just 1.1 oz. for the stock plastic grips. So my gun now weighs almost 3 oz. more than it did the day I bought it. Since this is not a carry gun, I like the additional heft and the reduced felt-recoil it will bring. I also just like the idea of metal parts in a metal gun. The new steel trigger feels better and smoother somehow, but maybe it's just in my mind. Also, the new safety fits slightly closer to the slide and has a crisper feel.
Anyway, I thought this would be of interest to anyone looking to either lighten an older Beretta by switching to plastic parts, or to "fatten" a newer Beretta to make it even more pleasant to shoot, or just for that authentic metal feeling.
• Guide rod
• Trigger
• Left side safety
• Magazine release
• Mainspring cap/lanyard loop
And of course, the stock grips have always been plastic, and magazine bases switched from aluminum to plastic at least 10-15 years ago, due to brittle aluminum bases cracking when dropped on hard surfaces.
So, last night I tore down my 92 and installed metal parts that I have sourced in the last week. Before I did, I weighed each piece on a 10-lb. digital postage scale, to compare weights of plastic vs. metal. Here are the numbers I came up with, for those interested:
Guide rod - plastic: 0.1 oz., steel: 1.1 oz.
Trigger - plastic coated: 0.2 oz., steel: 0.5 oz.
Left side safety - plastic: 0.3 oz., steel: 0.5 oz.
Magazine release - plastic: 0.1 oz., steel: 0.2 oz.
Mainspring cap - plastic: 0.1 oz., aluminum: 0.2 oz.
So switching out these parts for their original metal versions adds about 1.7 oz. to the gun. In addition, I have Alumagrips on the gun, which weigh 2.0 oz., compared to just 1.1 oz. for the stock plastic grips. So my gun now weighs almost 3 oz. more than it did the day I bought it. Since this is not a carry gun, I like the additional heft and the reduced felt-recoil it will bring. I also just like the idea of metal parts in a metal gun. The new steel trigger feels better and smoother somehow, but maybe it's just in my mind. Also, the new safety fits slightly closer to the slide and has a crisper feel.
Anyway, I thought this would be of interest to anyone looking to either lighten an older Beretta by switching to plastic parts, or to "fatten" a newer Beretta to make it even more pleasant to shoot, or just for that authentic metal feeling.