Beretta 92 Mag. Release Upgrade

[BSA1]

There are so many aftermarket parts being made today for different guns it is hard to know what ones are just "cool looking" and which ones actually improve the performance of the gun.

Following the killing of two domestic terrorists in my part of the State I have been considering bringing my Beretta 92FS for carry for self-defense. As Kansas is Open Carrying size is not that much of a issue.

The Beretta 92 in consideration is a Law Enforcement model I brought new 25 years ago. It has spent it's life in it's gun case stashed away in the vault. It gets shot occasionally usually by my son who is in the Army.

Since reintroducing myself to the gun while on the range I found the magazine release button hard to operate. It requires me to break my grip and shift my hand to reach the button. In addition the button is to small for my taste.

Enter Wilson Combat and his accessories for the Beretta 92. He offers a checkered and smooth oversize magazine release buttons. I ordered the checked version and installed it yesterday. After installing it the question was how well does it work.

The answer is very well.

I can now easily reach and push the button without breaking or shifting my grip. The magazines both full and empty eject cleanly and quickly.

Installation is for advanced d-i-y using YouTube video instructions. The old spring factory release button is easy to remove and disassemble. There are two parts that must be installed with a spring between them in the new button. The spring is strong and under a lot of compression. If your fingers or thumb slips the spring will launch one of the parts a long way. ( Let's just say thank goodness for a wall).

Installing the assembly back into the frame involved putting it in at the right angle. A plastic widget did the trick.

The new release button cost me a little over $50.00. It is very high quality with excellent workmanship.

 

[JTQ]

It requires me to break my grip and shift my hand to reach the button.

I don't consider that a problem. I'd expect to do that with every gun. I know I do it with the semi-autos I own. Consider it a "feature" that prevents you from accidentally dropping the mag while you have a shooting grip.

 

[badkarmamib]

When I had my Beretta, I switched the magazine release to left-handed and operated it with my middle finger. I thought it worked well.

 

[Devonai]

For awhile I had a 92FS Compact to go along with my full-size. The previous owner had switched the mag release for lefties. I found it very easy to drop the mag with my index finger. However, I was concerned that under stress my muscle memory for using my thumb would slow me down, so I switched it back.

My grip does shift slightly to release the mag with my thumb, but I never found it to be a problem to resume normal firing.

 

[BSA1]

JTQ,

I don't have a problem with accidentally hitting the magazine release button.

badkarmaib,

Using your middle finger on your shooting hand overcomes a short thumb but still requires you to break your grip.

For my hand size I can rest my thumb on the oversize mag release button and depress it ejecting the magazine without breaking my grip. This means I can keep my gun to pointed at the target without breaking my shooting stance and grip. I bring the fresh magazine to the magazine well and insert it putting me back on target quicker and more accurately.

The Beretta 92 is a big gun to conceal and on the heavy side. The Wilson Combat oversize mag release is made for those that are willing to work to carry the Beretta for self-defense and in competition such as IDPA. For a range plinker the $50.00 is better spent on ammunition.

 

[tarosean]

A few months ago I handled a friends WC Brig, and came home and immediately ordered the WC mag release.

 

[OregonJohnny]

Yes, after the "D" hammer spring installation, I feel like the oversized and extended checkered mag release is the best upgrade you can do to a standard 92/M9. Followed by a Wilson low-profile single-sided decock/safety lever.

I have the extended mag release on 2 of my Berettas - a 92G Brig Tac and an Italian 92FS. And I agree, the installation is tricky the first couple of times you do it. There is a little magic trick to it, but it's nearly impossible to explain.

People who base their dissatisfaction with the Beretta on their experience shooting a bone-stock 92FS or M9 should really try to shoot an upgraded model. Things such as the G variation, a D hammer spring, low-profile levers, the extended checkered mag release, etc., really bring the Beretta into a new era and make it much easier to shoot and manipulate.

It's kind of like my dad, who has lukewarm feelings about 1911s, since his experience is from carrying a rattle-trap WWII-era 1911 pistol while in Vietnam. A tricked out modern 1911 with ambidextrous thumb safety, beavertail speed bump grip safety, night sights, precisely-fitted parts, lowered and flared ejection port, etc., is not the same as an issued USGI Colt Government 1911A1 made in the 40's with hundreds of thousands of rounds through it.

The same goes for a Beretta. Compare an issued M9 with hundreds of thousands of rounds through it to a Wilson Combat 92G Brigadier Tactical, and you'll see what I mean. Small upgrades can make a big difference.

 

[strambo]

Yes, if I ever had my own Beretta 92, the "G" conversion, D spring, and Wilson mag release would be required for sure.

 

[9mmepiphany]

This means I can keep my gun to pointed at the target without breaking my shooting stance and grip. I bring the fresh magazine to the magazine well and insert it putting me back on target quicker and more accurately.

Whatever speed, back on target, you might pick up, by keeping the gun pointed at it, is more than lost by the speed you're losing bringing the magazine up to the gun (at arms length) and aligning the magazine with a magwell that you can't see to index.

In more than one class I've attended, both defensive and competition, this was referred to as, "clapping like a seal"...as in "Don't clap like a seal"

Most schools teach bringing the gun back toward your body into your "Workspace" or "Sphere of Dexterity"...at least in the last 30 years