I've been looking at the Beretta 92FS. I've used a Beretta .22 pistol before, and really liked the action and the layout of the levers, etc. especially the magazine release button.
On full size American combat handguns, the location of the magazine release button is traditionally right behind the triggerguard. It is the same on the Beretta, the Colt, the Browning, the Glock, the Sig, and the Smith & Wesson (among others).
I also thought the springs in the clip weren't too stiff either which is a bonus, since you don't want to spend all day loading magazines.
Um, generally, you DON'T want weak magazine springs. They can cause malfunctions; The way that happens is that as the slide slides all the way to the rear, it rides over the top round in the magazine, which is pushed down into the magazine about halfway until the slide goes far enough to the rear to release the round (This is usually about the time the previous shell casing, having been extracted, hits the ejector on the lefthand side that kicks it out of the reach of the extractor). Once the round is released from being pressed down by the slide as it goes to the rear, it is the job of the magazine spring to pop that round up into the feeding position (top of the magazine, against the feed lips) so that once the slide reaches its fully rearward position, and is closed by the recoil spring, that round will BE there in the feeding position so the slide can strip it off and chamber it. As it does so, the next round comes up against the bottom of the slide and is held there, down away from the feed lips, until the slide cycles again.
The problem lies in that if that spring is NOT strong enough to pop that round up, the slide will cycle, NOT strip off the next round, and will close on an empty chamber. And when that happens, you will hear the second loudest sound a firearm ever makes: A "Click" when there should be a bang.
And in a defensive pistol, this is just one of several malfunctions that can get you killed.
Just as an FYI, the Glock comes from the factory with a loading assist device, which slides over the end of the magazine. You push down on it and IT pushes down on the top round (similar to the way the slide does, only farther) and allows you to easily insert the next round. I don't use it because I've got my magazine loading technique down to a science without the device, but it is there and it can be used.
I'm interested to know if anyone has operated a 92FS before and what their thoughts were.
I've got somewhere between 500 and 1000 rounds downrange from a Beretta 92. Nice gun. Not my favorite, but my buddy, the late WWSmith, swore by it for over twenty years, and the Beretta Brigadier before that. It WAS his favorite pistol, and I'd learned to trust his judgment on many things, even if I disagreed with him.
The biggest advantage the Beretta (and Taurus, and the Walther P38, from which the Beretta/Taurus Design is derivative) has is its straight-line feeding directly from magazine to barrel without changing the angle of the barrel in relation to the slide and frame. Because the locking block for the Beretta et. al. is hinged and attached BENEATH the barrel, the unlocking process is independent of the barrel itself.
The advantage to this is especially noted when using a suppressor, or "can", what most folks call a "silencer"; Because the barrel does not have to tilt, the extra weight at the muzzle does NOT affect function the way it would on a Browning-design derivative system such as the Ruger, Glock, Sig, Smith, or BHP. Yet, it is still a delayed-blowback temporarily fully-locked pistol design, thus recoil impulse is spread over a longer period of time, making it more pleasant to shoot than strictly blowback designs such as the Walther PP, PPK, or the Hungarian PA-63.
My own biggest gripe with the Beretta is its lack of durability, and I base this statement upon firsthand experience working at a shooting range, where we couldn't keep a Beretta in the case because it kept going back to the manufacturer, and they only have a 1-year warranty, which would start to become cost-ineffective very quickly for a rental gun.
I know there are a lot of folks who swear by the Beretta, some of them dear and trusted friends of mine, but they also understand the limitations of the platform and accept them.
Me, I'd own one if someone gave it to me, or if WWSmith's widow were to grace me with his, but I probably wouldn't go out and buy one; Just not my cup of tea.
I almost bought a Taurus PT-92 recently, though. For me, it's not about the action -- The Taurus PT-92 and the Beretta 92 have a nearly identical action and I like it well enough; The difference is in the location of the safety: I don't like a slide-mounted safety. Which is why I shy away from Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Walther, etc. The Taurus has a frame-mounted safety, like the Colt .45 and the BHP (Browning High Power). Thus, it is a system with which I am already well versed, and thus, will gravitate toward for its familiarity.
The Beretta's a nice pistol. A little big and fragile for my taste, but nice.
And just for the record, I have owned a Beretta as well, just not the 92. Fit and finish is usually of excellent quality.
And because it's a US Military sidearm, magazines can be had relatively painlessly and in significant quantity to make this a decent consideration for a SHTF firearm. Just understand the limitations.
S
