Beretta 96 - Durable gun or not?

[RAM Engineer]

I was wondering how durable and reliable the .40 S&W Beretta 96's are. I don't hear much about them. I know that our local county Sherriffs used to use them a decade or two ago, but I don't know about how they held up, or what their status is now.

Any info would be appreciated.

[Denali]

Historically, no! The new(ish)96A1 attempts to address the major issue by incorporating an integral recoil buffer into the frame. They are Beretta's of course, and therefore sweet to look upon and slick in handling, but if it was me, I'd steer clear of the 96 altogether. If you are sweet on the design, and its look, look no further then the 92A1 9mm. It incorporates the same integral frame recoil buffer apparatus and has the rail and dovetailed front sight.

Its a beautiful pistol...

[Kain]

Historically, no! The new(ish)96A1 attempts to address the major issue by incorporating an integral recoil buffer into the frame. They are Beretta's of course, and therefore sweet to look upon and slick in handling, but if it was me, I'd steer clear of the 96 altogether. If you are sweet on the design, and its look, look no further then the 92A1 9mm. It incorporates the same integral frame recoil buffer apparatus and has the rail and dovetailed front sight.

Its a beautiful pistol...

I am pretty much in agreement here. If you want a 92 family of guns stick to the 9mm versions.

[Sensei]

The only metal framed 40SW that I trust is the Sig P229.

[glocktogo]

I owned one when they first came out in the 90's. To date, it's still one of the hardest recoiling .40's I've ever shot. I was not a fan. :(

[brickboy240]

I have a late 90s police trade in 96F that I bought many years ago. I don't run gobs of ammo through the thing but over the years, it has been totally reliable. I also tend to think it is one of the softest recoiling 40s out there, next to the full size HK USP40.

I have heard of problems with these guns but my personal experience has shown me that it is as reliable as the 9mm version. Now if I really ran it hard or used it in competition it probably would not hold up like it's 9mm cousin. But for light use...I cannot complain for the 300 bucks I paid for the thing.

-brickboy240

[sjc3081]

The only metal framed 40SW that I trust is the Sig P229.

How about the 4006?

[HCM]

Our Agency had 96D Brigadiers in the mid to late 1990's - they were reliable as far as stoppages / cycle of operation but not durable. I personally broke 3 of them in 4 years. Recoil with the heavier Brigadier slide wasn't bad but it was noticebly harsher on the standard 96.

If you're buying new and just have to have a Beretta 40 i'd go 96A1 or find a used Elite or Elite II with the brigadier slide.

FYI if you see a deal on a PD trade 96, you can drop in a 9mm barrel. It will run ok for range use and you can feed 9mm from the 96 mags. The 11 round 96 mags will hold 14 rounds of 9mm and will also work in a 92.

[jschmitt08]

I carried a Beretta 96F for a couple of years before we switched to the Sig Sauer P229R. I never had an issue with my mine and did not hear any bad things about them from anyone else at the department. They were very accurate and seemed durable. I would go dump the newer Sig P229R in second to carry the Beretta again.

[brickboy240]

I know the Border Patrol had problems with trigger return spring breakages but Wolff has the cure for that problem.

Buying a 96F really depends on what you're going to use it for.

I would not want one for competition or a police duty gun .If my dept mandated a 40...I'd go HK or maybe a full size M&P40.

For a plinker, range toy or home defense pistol...I don't think it is a terrible choice. They are reliable and the long sight radius is nice. Makes a decent pickup truck gun, too.

Another reason would be to round out a collection and to have a 40 in the safe...just to have a pistol in that caliber. There are still tons of police trade 96Fs out there for around 300 bucks or so. Mine had some holster wear but looked damn near new on the inside. Mags are cheap and it fits any holster made for the 92 as well as any grips made for the 92.

The 96F is not any sort of be all end all but it can serve a purpose.

-brickboy240

[buckpatriot]

Depends on what your definition of durable is. I have an original 96 from 1992 when they were first introduced. I have had no problem with it except for having to have the firing pin internals cleaned that got gunned up and it wouldn't fire. I haven't put thousands of rounds through it in that time, have used it off and on but it shoots well and as has been mentioned, is a beautiful weapon. Because of the size, I wouldn't carry it, but it is accurate and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. My biggest hangup is the safety. Would like the decocker only version. That was the thing that made me the most nervous carrying M9 overseas-that the safety would slip down to "on" while in/ drawing from holster.

[rauchman]

I owned one when they first came out in the 90's. To date, it's still one of the hardest recoiling .40's I've ever shot. I was not a fan. :(

+1

My 1st pistol was a 1994 96 Centurion. Felt like the pistol was getting beaten up pretty hard when shooting. Had no regrets selling it.