Sometimes a design is so good that it withstands the onslaught of technological improvements and laughs at the “long in the tooth” moniker some like to place on it. Such is the case with the venerable Beretta – a proven product from the world’s oldest firearms manufacturer. Steel and aluminum are expertly mated by the Italian engineers to provide the “all metal, traditional handgun design” preferred by many over the more modern “tupperware” packages.
The 92 is available to consumers today with a wide variety of options and model variants, including one with an accessory rail, various safety/de-cocker arrangements, colors, grip panels, etc. Its 40 S&W caliber sibling is known as the 96. The M9 variant is also available to the civilian consumer and is an almost exact duplicate of the military version.
The 92 is intended to was designed as a combat or personal defense weapon, not a marksmanship tool, but it performs exceedingly well at recreational accuracy exercises and can be modified with target sights, trigger feel, etc. for enhancement into this segment of the shooting sport. When so modified, the 92 holds its own against more prestigious competitors and exceeds the performance of many others. For those who would carry a standard sized pistol for personal defense, the 92 meets or exceeds any reasonable set of specs for this mission. After all, this is exactly what it was designed to do. A “compact” version of the 92 is also available in a compact version which is has shortened slide and grip lengths (and is a bit lighter but is identical in functional design) to enhance its footprint for every day carry.
Our testing of the venerable 92 platform was performed on 3 separate model variations – a “box stock” 92fs, an M9 version, and a “frankengun” which was cobbled from various frame, slide, barrel, and spring set pieces. The frankengun version has been customized to perform accuracy testing of ammunition from a hand loading operation. It gets a lot of use in this role and performs so well that the ammunition can be measured objectively because it is fired from a consistently accurate platform.
Shooters with average-sized hands will find the ergonomics to be excellent. Those with very small or very large hand/finger appendages should easily find a grip method that will make the 92 completely useable, if not totally natural. Grip panels can be changed to diminish the width and modify the contour providing a more useable perch.
A wide variety of ammunition was fed through all three models, including “factory” and “home-grown”. As with other high quality self-defense firearms we’ve tested, the 92 operates reliably with all variations of this kind of ammo. Frequent/regular cleaning and inspection is always recommended for any firearm, but the 92s we tested continued to provide reliable operation even if horribly neglected. The best way to describe the 92’s reliability is: “It just works – period.”
Ergonomics is excellent for most shooters. The grip size might be a bit thick for those with small hands or short fingers but the trigger reach is short enough to accommodate them even so. The compact model’s grip length might be a bit cramped for someone shooting lots of rounds at a range or competition session, but for a defense mission it is not noticeable and is a worthwhile compromise to get the extra concealability.
Those consumers looking for a high-quality, utterly reliable semi-automatic pistol for personal defense should definitely include the Beretta 92 on their short list of candidates. The fact that this firearm has been in service with many military units worldwide validates it as a superior choice where reliability and durability trump cost. Even so, the 92 is less expensive than many others in this class.
Respectfully submitted,
The Bunker Bunch
August, 2014
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