Wilson Combat Beretta 92G Brigadier Tactical Range Report [Archive]

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Sensei

11-07-14, 18:33

Mine arrived at my FFL today and was immediately taken to the range. For those of you wondering when yours will arrive, I placed my order at 1430 on 11/4/14 and my SN is between 90-100. I took my 92A1 that is outfitted with a D main spring and otherwise stock configuration.

The ammo for the day was Federal 147 grain AE. I fired 150 rounds through the Wilson and 50 rounds through the 92A1. The only functional issue was one instance of the slide not locking back on the Wilson using an older check-mate mag. I then noticed that the mag would not lock the slide back on neither the Wilson nor the 92A1 with manually cycling the slide, and therefore is getting its spring replaced. All of the supplied mags functioned 100% with zero feeding or ejection issues.

When it comes to the objective analysis I very much like the stippling on the Wilson over the vertical lines on the 92FS family. The recoil is a hair softer with the Wilson, but this is not as dramatic as I expected with my experience with an older 92G SD. The sights are the best that I've seen on a Beretta.

Some other aspects of the gun did sour my honeymoon just a tad. First, the decocker is very tight; as in use both hands. Granted this will improve with use. My only other gripe is the trigger. Mine is very heavy and measured 13 lbs DA and 6.5 lbs SA on my Timney guage. This is 4 lbs heavier on the DA end and 2 lbs heavier in SA than any other of the 92-series guns that I have (D springs are on all of my guns). The pull was smooth and the reset distinct. However, I was surprised and a bit disappointed with the weight of this trigger. I'll see if it lightens up with some use, but I would have gotten the trigger job if I had to do it again.

Overall accuracy was on par with the 92A1 once I got accustomed to the heavy DA pull; I'm mostly a Glock guy. I was clearly more accurate with the 92A1 on the DA shots, but single action favored the Wilson. I am no Molon, but I'll try to report back with groups once I get accustomed to the trigger.

29489

Bottom line, this is a good gun. The tigger may need some work, but fit, finish, and function are excellent.

YVK

11-07-14, 18:57

That's beyond bizarre on trigger weight. All my D sprung Berettas are around 8 on DA and sub 4 on SA. Even when new, they weren't close to 13 and 6. I can't believe this is normal.

Sensei

11-07-14, 19:17

That's beyond bizarre on trigger weight. All my D sprung Berettas are around 8 on DA and sub 4 on SA. Even when new, they weren't close to 13 and 6. I can't believe this is normal.

I'm no longer a frequent Beretta shooter, but I now have 3 Berettas: the Wilson with 150 rounds, the 92A1 with ~700 rounds, and a 92FS with ~4000 rounds (purchased in 1998). I also spent 20 years in the Army with half of that time spent carrying a M9.

All of my Beretta's have D main springs installed within the last 3 years or so. I get similar measurement to yours on my 92FS. I spent probably 30 min checking the weight of my guns this evening with my gauge. The Wilson is a big outlier and I have a hard time believing that it was missed on test fire. I also checked the weight on a few of my Sigs (all having the SRT) and most are between 10-11 lbs. I'm getting ready for work this evening but will post a video tomorrow of me measuring the weights.

YVK

11-07-14, 19:22

I've no doubt in accuracy of your measurements.
I know that it is crazy right now at the WC, with new building move etc., but I'd give them a call. Methinks something is off with that gun.

SteveL

11-07-14, 20:06

Thanks for the brief review. I'm shocked at the trigger pull weight. I expected much better for a gun in this price range.

YVK

11-07-14, 20:24

My gut feeling is that good folks at BUSA stuck a regular mainspring in this gun. Simple swap with your 92a1 or fs will give a quick answer.

IZinterrogator

11-07-14, 21:11

Did they use the Wolff trigger unit instead of a standard trigger spring? My experience is that the advantages of the D spring are partially nullified by using the standard power Wolff unit instead of the reduced power one.

Sensei

11-07-14, 21:33

I'll swap the Wilson's spring with the factory 'D' spring that I've got in a 92FS tomorrow and report back. I'm working 3rd shift this weekend, so it will be tomorrow afternoon before I get to it.

IZinterrogator

11-08-14, 13:28

Check the length. Bill Wilson said a few got out with standard hammer springs by mistake in the other thread. A D spring is four coils shorter than a standard spring.

Sensei

11-08-14, 14:20

Check the length. Bill Wilson said a few got out with standard hammer springs by mistake in the other thread. A D spring is four coils shorter than a standard spring.

Bingo...mine has a standard hammer spring and plastic lanyard cup. I replaced it with the D spring in my 92FS and pull weight improved to 10.5 lbs DA and 6 lbs SA. This is still a bit high in my book as my 92FS is 8/4 and my 92A1 is 9.5/4 with the D spring installed. I'm going to give WC a call on Monday and see what they want me to do. A 10 lbs trigger pull is still very serviceable, but I'm still a little surprised.

CWM11B

11-08-14, 15:28

I think I got one with a standard spring as well. It did not seem as smooth as "D" springs I have use in the past. I hav not run a 92 in a LONG time. I will check this out as well. I am overall very pleased with the pistol. I need some significant trigger time with it. I shot a couple of horrible groups, perhaps as I was seventeen hours into the day when I got a chance to shoot it.

Sensei

11-08-14, 16:21

cathellsk

11-08-14, 17:23

I picked mine up today and it has a standard spring, you can tell its not a D by how heavy it is. I'll check the lanyard loop for plastic or steel when I get home from work. I'll be emailing them too as they have been rather responsive to any issues with this rollout.

10mmSpringfield

11-08-14, 22:41

I have been told on several occasions that the gun has tighter tolerances than an M9.

Does it shoot noticeably better?

It's really disappointing WC botched the mainspring:confused:

MountainRaven

11-08-14, 23:08

10mmSpringfield

11-08-14, 23:25

I thought the problem was with BUSA and not WC. Maybe I'm wrong.

But wouldn't have the guns been test fired?

I'm hoping whomever was checking them out would have noticed a super heavy trigger pull?

Sensei

11-09-14, 02:59

I have been told on several occasions that the gun has tighter tolerances than an M9.

Does it shoot noticeably better?

It's really disappointing WC botched the mainspring:confused:

It definitely feels tighter than my other two Berettas. It's hard to say if this translates into improved accuracy at this point due to the trigger weight. I'll know more next week when I shoot it with the D spring installed. Recoil feels a tad bit softer than my 92A1, but this could be placebo effect.

But wouldn't have the guns been test fired?

I'm hoping whomever was checking them out would have noticed a super heavy trigger pull?

I thought about this as well and it's hard to imagine that the affected guns were test fired by someone familiar with and expecting guns with the D Spring. This leads me to believe that they were test fired at Beretta by techs who were accustomed to guns with full power springs. I'm also surprised by the number of affected guns. Granted, I don't monitor Beretta Forum, but I've not seen a range report from someone who got a good gun from this batch. Somewhere, the communication lines got crossed.

opmike

11-09-14, 08:51

But wouldn't have the guns been test fired?

I'm hoping whomever was checking them out would have noticed a super heavy trigger pull?

Again, that would be on BUSA, not WC as I don't think WC is cracking open these boxes the guns are shipped to them in and test firing them. However, after this debacle, I expect each gun will be getting more eyes-on since we have precedent for them being shipped in the wrong configuration.

Considering Beretta doesn't even sell a gun with a factory D spring anymore, it doesn't surprise me that their assembly techs didn't immediately catch the issues. It would have felt very similar to the countless 92's they've handled before I'd imagine. Not that I'm making excuses; shouldn't have happened especially with all the "attention to detail" that's been spoken about.