I bought a Beretta, now what?

[Bart Noir]

CQB, that serial number is all kinds of cool. But I guess LTT has a software engineer in the firm, if the first serial number was 000. The rest of the world makes the first of anything No. 1. Anyway, very nice pistol.

Bart Noir

[SW CQB 45]

Bart,

I wiped out the last 3 numbers on my serial number on the image.

If you scroll to post #568 below...you can see the start of the serial number sequence.

You need to get you one. I shot a 92F and had an M9A1 where the sharp edge on the frame cut my hand webbing when firing. This one does not.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....cal-92!/page57

[Talon167]

Yeah, having an extra hand really helps with the G lever install. The rest of it's not very hard. I did a upgrade for a Beretta 92FS that I bought for my nephew as an end of tour gift. The only thing that took a while was that G lever with all the detents, ball bearings, flux capacitors and so forth.

I've got a G conversion kit on order right now. I watched MR.G&G's video and it doesn't look too bad. I've taken a P30 and USP frame completely apart, how hard could the Beretta be?! Famous last words.

[MountainRaven]

I've got a G conversion kit on order right now. I watched MR.G&G's video and it doesn't look too bad. I've taken a P30 and USP frame completely apart, how hard could the Beretta be?! Famous last words.

Berettas are not particularly difficult to detail strip (although, as mentioned, the G models can be fun, the FS models are easy-peasy). And I'd bet that the P30 and USP are a good deal more complicated than the Beretta is.

[ramairthree]

Enjoy and shoot it a lot.

All metal DA/SA guns designed in the 70s may not have some of the claims to fame as more recent designs,
But when you optimize the trigger they are soft shooting, accurate, reliable, and can hold their own or out perform many newer models.

[Dorsai]

I recently picked up a very lightly used 92FS for about $270 (there were extras, so that is the value of the gun). This was an important factor in the mods I chose because it is very easy to do enough to the gun that buying a Langdon or Wilson Combat at the beginning is more economical. As others have said, the factory G conversion and a 13lb mainspring are probably the best and cheapest mods you can do and it's less than $60. There are good videos on doing the G conversion and it took me about 20 minutes. If you want a thinner grip, I highly recommend the Wilson Combat ultra thin grips. They are made for Wilson by VZ Grips. I did a lot of searching for price and also whether the ultra-thin was available as a VZ option without the WC logo. I couldn't confirm that I could get the ultra-thin configuration other than the WC grips, and the difference was only about $8, so I bought a set on Ebay. They are worth the money for the improved feel!

I also opted to get the Langdon trigger-job-in-a-bag and for me, it was an improvement, but not nearly as much as just the mainspring. Because I had so little invested in the gun to start, it was worth it.

Steel parts. Newer Berettas have polymer/plastic triggers, recoil spring guides and magazine releases. My older one had all steel parts, so I didn't have to replace those. I did opt to get the WC short reach trigger, but it wasn't totally necessary. I also got the WC extended checkered mag release. It is hugely superior to the stock magazine release. It is far easier to reach than the stock, but it doesn't stick out so much that it can be activated by setting the gun down, or pushing against something in the holster. The downside is changing it. The Beretta design of the mag release is easily the most difficult of any gun I've ever worked on. It took a couple of seconds to pop out the old one, and 20+ minutes of fiddling to get the new one in. Not the fault of the WC mag release, it was the Beretta design.

I've got about $600 invested in the gun now, which is roughly comparable to buying a new one, so economically, I'm in good shape. I think think the Langdon and WC guns are very good and prices on Gunbroker are good. If you are looking at getting a Beretta and you are considering more than just a G conversion and $8 mainspring, look at the Langdon and WC. Especially if you like the shorter Elite II barrel. They are very hard to find. Langdon doesn't use the Brigadier slide so his guns are less expensive than a WC and they don't need a Brigadier specific holster like the Wilson. But now we're getting into subjective desires for a look vs. function. Both are very good and if you've never felt the improvement in trigger pull, you need to. They make it a totally different gun. I've had a negative opinion on the Beretta 92 series for decades, and the heavy DA trigger pull and safety were the largest part of that. The mods discussed blow those issues away. My final thoughts are this. Remember the 80/20 rule when you are modding the gun. You'll get 80% of the improvement with 20% of your mod dollars. If you want that final 20% of improvement, you'll spend the remaining 80% to do so.

[SeriousStudent]

Dorsai - good to see you posting here. Let me know the next time you are back in Texas.

[Pacific5th]

God stuff Dorsai. Maybe because of my lack of sleep but I’m confused, did you find the Ultra Thin VZ girls wothout the WC logo?

[SeriousStudent]

God stuff Dorsai. Maybe because of my lack of sleep but I’m confused, did you find the Ultra Thin VZ girls wothout the WC logo?

I'm not Dorsai, but I believe them came from here: https://vzgrips.com/pistol-grips/beretta-92