Going a bit bonkers for Berettas

[ECVMatt]

@Riomouse911 Those are awesome! When I managed a gunstore many years ago we had crates of those Helwans come through the shop. That was when I was not smart enough to buy stuff like that. Glad to hear you have your new part on the way and it will soon be good to go again.

And the star of the show is the 96D Centurion! In the same store we had a 92D that sat on the self forever! We final sold it for a loss and that became yet another gun I wish I would have picked up back then.

It looks like you had a much better shooting session than I did, but it is important to practice like you play.

I think I am set with my 92 at the moment but after you comments about the dot on low center hold, I feel the need to confirm the zero. I will run a couple of hundred more rounds through the gun to make sure my handy work holds up. I am taking my daughter up to the Saline Valley for some camping in two weeks, so she might have to deal with some adult target practice time. We are planning on bringing her .22 LR, a CZ 452 Scout, so I am sure she won't mind me shooting a handgun or two.

 

[Riomouse911]

Just checked the roads on Saline Valley Preservation Society site. Looks like it should be a good ride for you if these next series of rains don’t get across the Owens Valley and rut them up.

SV looks like fun, but 90+ miles roundtrip on untended, rocky desert roads in my F350 would be brutal.

Stay safe.

 

[ECVMatt]

Not trying to bring this back from the dead, but I finally got the 1/16 punch I need to change out the safety.

I learned a couple of things in the process of switching it out.

First off, the roll pins do not orientate directly up and down. The are set at an inward angle. If you try to use the punch straight up and down, it will feel like the punch is over sized or the roll pins are stuck. Once I figured this out, the roll pins taped out with minimal effort and this is where the fun begins.

I put the slide inside a plastic bag to full remove the safety. I was glad I did this, because the two plungers and springs will go flying. You have to depress both the firing pin and the firing pin safety to allow the safety to roll up and disengage. Once it was out, I thought I had it licked. I was wrong.

Putting it back in is also a pain. You have to depress the off side safety detent, push up on the firing pin safety and push the safety over the first detent. Once that is in, you have to gently push the safety back to the left to expose the hole for the second detent. If you go too far the off-side detent will go flying and you will have to depress the firing pin safety once again to get it back in place. It is a delicate balance to get it right and I would highly recommend using the plastic bag trick again. Even with the bag the plungers snuck out a few times but where luckily slowed down enough to be found. Getting the second detent in requires a small screw driver to depress the plunger while pushing the safety to the left. I felt a great sense of relief when it all snapped in place. I immediately placed the other safety lever in the slot and inserted the punch to hold everything together.

One last hint for reinstalling the roll pins. There is a video out there showing the roll pins knocked out from the top and reinserted from the bottom. Unless you make Swiss watches for a living do not try to insert them from the bottom I gave it a couple of tries using my roll pin set punch and it was a total failure. Inserting them from the top is a breeze and only takes a few small taps. Be sure to check the bottom of the slide to ensure they are not sticking out the bottom. If they are a bit deep, a small tap from the bottom end will get things right.

Now the safety is in, I don't see myself doing this very often. This process made me long for the simplicity of my Glocks as well as a deep pour of some nice whiskey over ice.

I hope this is helpful to someone else.

 

[TTv2]

Beretta isn't a brand that I would call my favorite or have a pistol I could call a favorite, but they do make pistols that interest me, specifically the tip up mouse guns and the Px4.

 

[Riomouse911]

Not trying to bring this back from the dead, but I finally got the 1/16 punch I need to change out the safety.

I learned a couple of things in the process of switching it out.

First off, the roll pins do not orientate directly up and down. The are set at an inward angle. If you try to use the punch straight up and down, it will feel like the punch is over sized or the roll pins are stuck. Once I figured this out, the roll pins taped out with minimal effort and this is where the fun begins.

I put the slide inside a plastic bag to full remove the safety. I was glad I did this, because the two plungers and springs will go flying. You have to depress both the firing pin and the firing pin safety to allow the safety to roll up and disengage. Once it was out, I thought I had it licked. I was wrong.

Putting it back in is also a pain. You have to depress the off side safety detent, push up on the firing pin safety and push the safety over the first detent. Once that is in, you have to gently push the safety back to the left to expose the hole for the second detent. If you go too far the off-side detent will go flying and you will have to depress the firing pin safety once again to get it back in place. It is a delicate balance to get it right and I would highly recommend using the plastic bag trick again. Even with the bag the plungers snuck out a few times but where luckily slowed down enough to be found. Getting the second detent in requires a small screw driver to depress the plunger while pushing the safety to the left. I felt a great sense of relief when it all snapped in place. I immediately placed the other safety lever in the slot and inserted the punch to hold everything together.

One last hint for reinstalling the roll pins. There is a video out there showing the roll pins knocked out from the top and reinserted from the bottom. Unless you make Swiss watches for a living do not try to insert them from the bottom I gave it a couple of tries using my roll pin set punch and it was a total failure. Inserting them from the top is a breeze and only takes a few small taps. Be sure to check the bottom of the slide to ensure they are not sticking out the bottom. If they are a bit deep, a small tap from the bottom end will get things right.

Now the safety is in, I don't see myself doing this very often. This process made me long for the simplicity of my Glocks as well as a deep pour of some nice whiskey over ice.

I hope this is helpful to someone else.

I did the take down-reassemble shuffle with the M*CARBO kit. I agree that the bits and pieces of the 92/96 series slides are not the easiest things to work on. I was close to a few safety lever pin-spring launches myself before all went back where they should.

Glad the gun is finished and all parts are accounted for

Stay safe.