Leonidas24
03-02-15, 01:48
So I picked up a new (to me) Beretta 92F that I've had my name on for the past 4 months finally, and am looking for some advice on how to bring it up to a modern standard. A quick back story on this gun: since I've worked for this particular LGS for the past year and a half I've come to know a lot of very loyal, local customers. A few have become good friends. One such friend was Mark Goldstein, who'd been a good customer long before I started working there. We became decent friends and went to the range together fairly often and swapped reloading advice with eachother; he was much more of a collector than I and I enjoyed shooting the large inventory he usually hauled to the range with him.
Moving forward to October 2014, while ferrying a KingAir down to Arkansas on a contract (he was a private pilot) his aircraft experienced engine failure and the plane crashed into one of the buildings at Mid Continent Airport. He along with several occupants of the building were killed. We volunteered to take in his estate of guns and ammunition to sell for the family to help them out with funeral costs. To say the least Mark had some amazing firearms; a Costa M&P, a couple Sig X5s, an SBR SCAR-H, and others, yet I didn't know he owned a Beretta 92F. I'd been eyeballing a Beretta ever since Wilson began doing work on them last year. Apparently Mark had regulated it to safe-queen status after being told to move forward into the 21st Century after bringing it to a class in a drop leg Bianchi universal holster, and I don't blame him for doing it either.
Nonetheless the gun in question was manufactured in 1986 and purchased in 1987, making it a year older than me. It was the right price, and in very well-kept condition, so when the time was right I laid down the cash and made it mine. I do have plans to turn it into somewhat of a memorial gun, but I in no way plan on babying it or putting it away in a shadow box. Mark wouldn't want it and it's too awesome of a gun to do so.
The plans thus far are to have Wilson tune the action, replace the sights, convert to G configuration, add a short reset trigger, and checker the front strap. After that the slide, frame, and barrel will be refinished at Black Fire Ordnance in TNT-BN. I also want to have "Mk. G" engraved on the slide to complete the memorial aspect of the gun.
My question is, outside of doing all that which in all honesty probably won't happen for the next year, what can I do to bring it up to carry standards myself? I've got 500 rds on the gun thus far and am thinking of at least replacing the barrel. The grips are probably going to also be replaced by VZ slants when they'll email me back on other color options. Outside of those two things should I look into overhauling the internals and springs?
Moving forward to October 2014, while ferrying a KingAir down to Arkansas on a contract (he was a private pilot) his aircraft experienced engine failure and the plane crashed into one of the buildings at Mid Continent Airport. He along with several occupants of the building were killed. We volunteered to take in his estate of guns and ammunition to sell for the family to help them out with funeral costs. To say the least Mark had some amazing firearms; a Costa M&P, a couple Sig X5s, an SBR SCAR-H, and others, yet I didn't know he owned a Beretta 92F. I'd been eyeballing a Beretta ever since Wilson began doing work on them last year. Apparently Mark had regulated it to safe-queen status after being told to move forward into the 21st Century after bringing it to a class in a drop leg Bianchi universal holster, and I don't blame him for doing it either.
Nonetheless the gun in question was manufactured in 1986 and purchased in 1987, making it a year older than me. It was the right price, and in very well-kept condition, so when the time was right I laid down the cash and made it mine. I do have plans to turn it into somewhat of a memorial gun, but I in no way plan on babying it or putting it away in a shadow box. Mark wouldn't want it and it's too awesome of a gun to do so.
The plans thus far are to have Wilson tune the action, replace the sights, convert to G configuration, add a short reset trigger, and checker the front strap. After that the slide, frame, and barrel will be refinished at Black Fire Ordnance in TNT-BN. I also want to have "Mk. G" engraved on the slide to complete the memorial aspect of the gun.
My question is, outside of doing all that which in all honesty probably won't happen for the next year, what can I do to bring it up to carry standards myself? I've got 500 rds on the gun thus far and am thinking of at least replacing the barrel. The grips are probably going to also be replaced by VZ slants when they'll email me back on other color options. Outside of those two things should I look into overhauling the internals and springs?