Classicfirearms has the first version Beretta 92 S

[Shear_stress]

I also managed to snag one of the unissued ones from Dan. Strangely, its date code is from 2004, long after these guns were supposed to be out of production. It also has CHE009814 stamped on the barrel hood--just like every one I've seen from this batch. I wonder what the significance of that is?

 

[nathan]

Can someone show a pic of how fat the grip is looking from the rear? Maybe a side to side comparison in grip trhickness with the FS model? Thanks

 

[WVsig]

I also managed to snag one of the unissued ones from Dan. Strangely, its date code is from 2004, long after these guns were supposed to be out of production. It also has CHE009814 stamped on the barrel hood--just like every one I've seen from this batch. I wonder what the significance of that is?

Here is an explamation from the Beretta forum:



Originally Posted by JoseyWales2 View Post
It appears to me that these 92S examples are different from the standard 92S version produced in the 1980's. Maybe a special run made only for the Italian military/police? I'll speculate that's the case. It's interesting that they would stick with such an older model, not to mention that they actually blued them instead of applying the Bruniton. It would be nice to know if they actually produced these in 2004. Or were they produced in the 1980's, stockpiled and then proofed 20 years later. That seems hard to believe.
- Much later date code BU = 2004
- Extra markings "PM" on slide and barrel,
- Some other type of serial number on the barrel?
- Possesses the larger hammer pin and corresponding slot in the slide that was introduced with the 92FS
I've been in touch with Vins_cb on this topic, and he provided a couple of pieces of information that I either forgot or never knew. Those are that firearms produced in Italy for the Italian armed forces (including police) do not have to be proofed, and that it was a common practice in Italy to send your 98F to Beretta in Gardone and have it converted to FS by swapping the hammer pin and milling the slide.

Originally Posted by holepuncher View Post:
His thinking is that the pistols were manufactured in the early 1980s and sold to police/military, who issued some and stockpiled the rest. The FS hammer pins and milled slides may have been done when all the 98F owners were having theirs done, or when the pistols were traded back to Beretta for newer models. In either case, Beretta wanted to sell these trade-ins on the civilian market and had to get them proofed to do so, which they did in 2004.

That explanation fits neatly with what we can observe.

He didn't have an explanation for the alphanumeric string on the barrel or the MP on the barrel and slide.

 

[jhb]

PW Arms imported them and then distributed them. None of them are DAO that was a typo. They are LEO Italian trade ins that went through the Beretta factory in Italy.

Some have the improved hammer pin and FS channel slide mod some do not. They do not have the Gen 3 locking block as far as I can tell but that can be replaced for $35 if you feel the need.

Barrel condition seems to vary depending on the gun. Mine was new IMHO had never been shot before I shot it. Others report some wear but 100% shoot able.

Good info thank you Sir.

Someone here reported that they bought some from sog and got sogged. Said sog changed their description from unissued or like new to used. I'm paraphrasing..but y'all get the idea.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

I am really thinking about picking one of these up in the upcoming days. Are these worth the gamble for this price?

Any suggestions about which site would be best to order from? I have only seen them listed still available at Southern Ohio, Palmetto State, and Bud's as of this morning.

 

[Shear_stress]

Here is an explanation from the Beretta forum:

Interesting! Thanks for posting that info.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I had one years ago and found them to be way too big, especially for a 9mm. INS used to carry them in .40 for a brief period. All of the female agents and smaller males complained of the pistols size. These are as reliable as a pistol gets if the size doesn't bother you.

 

[AustinTX]

I am really thinking about picking one of these up in the upcoming days. Are these worth the gamble for this price?

I would say they're "worth" the price, from a value standpoint, and I wouldn't really view it as a gamble -- unless you're dead-set on having one in LNIB finish condition. It looks like those have already sold. The remaining ones will have different levels of finish wear, but they should all be in great shape functionally. People following the release of these guns to the American market more closely than I am have indicated that more batches might be forthcoming, and with some more LNIB guns included. I don't know if there's anything to that or not.

The only note of "caution" I will sound is something I've said on other boards: aluminum-alloy metallurgy for firearms, among other things, has come a long, long way since the frames for these guns were produced (somewhere between 1978 to 1982). Today's 92 series Berettas will be far more durable than an old 92/92S/92SB. Service pistols with aluminum alloy frames in those days -- from Beretta, Sig, S&W -- cracked frames at what today would be regarded as low round counts. Ben Stoeger's 92G Berettas, on the other hand, lasted over 100K rounds each. The odds of a 92S lasting that long are nil.

However, these guns are beautiful, and they exhibit great craftsmanship and quality given the materials and associated knowledge available at that time. They're an excellent deal for that price, in my opinion (particularly the ones in LNIB condition), but I value different things in different guns. If you are hoping for the gun to stand up to several tens of thousands of rounds of use, this is not the gun for you. That said, it's still unlikely that most of us would ever shoot one enough to wear it out. If you do buy one, swap out the old locking block for a new one (third-generation). I would err heavily on the side of caution and put in a new $8 Wolff recoil spring every 2,500 (maybe even 2,000) rounds at the maximum. A popular mod on the 92 is changing out the 20-lb. standard mainspring for the 16-lb. "D" model mainspring (a $5 part), which reduces the DA pull from 12-13 lbs. to ~8 lbs. and the SA pull from ~5 lbs. to ~4 lbs. This is a great move on a more recent 92, but I personally would not make this change on a 92S, since the tradeoff of the lighter trigger pull is reduced resistance from the mainspring to the rearward travel of the slide and a corresponding harder impact on the frame with every shot.

Any suggestions about which site would be best to order from? I have only seen them listed still available at Southern Ohio, Palmetto State, and Bud's as of this morning.

I'll have to let VAgunner speak to that. It seems like some people were a little disappointed with the level of finish wear for guns originally described as "excellent" from SOG. I don't know about PSA and Bud's.

 

[WVsig]

Everyone who has them left in stock seemed to be luck of the draw. I heard that Dan's ammo might be getting more. If I was still in the market I would call Dan's Monday and find out if it s true.

With him you know what you are getting. It is the only place who I know of that stated they had unissued guns and everyone who ordered one got an unissued gun.

 

[AustinTX]

If any of you who bought these pistols want additional historically "correct," factory-original 92S mags, they're on sale at the site below for $25/ea, which is an excellent price. They're usually hard to come by, and they sell for a lot more than that.

https://apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/cPath/181/products_id/1679

The site says the sale will go on for 72 hours, but unless I'm missing something obvious, it doesn't say when the sale started. So if you want them at this price, you have somewhere between one second and ~64 hours to buy them.