I would say they are quite close. The main difference in the new ones is a polymer trigger and recoil spring guide rod. You can purchase the Beretta brand metal ones and swap them in, Beretta still makes factory metal triggers and guide rods and sells them on their official website. The finish may be somewhat different too, your friend's Beretta may have been blued but the recent production ones have a matte black finish. My experience has been that the modern Berettas exhibit excellent craftsmanship and Beretta seems to have very good quality control. I hear much praise from other Beretta owners but few complaints. My recent production 92FS is very smooth and well fitted and a very soft shooting and accurate pistol.

 

His was blued. I recall it was smooth shooting and accurate. My friend has since passed, but his son acquired it. I keep in touch with his son, and he remarked that he still shoots it. I've noticed that an Italy made used 92FS is a lot cheaper than a new one. 🤔 Plus, you can usually acquire several extra mags too.

 

I love my Italian 92F that I bought in 1988 or 89 after seeing the movie "Lethal Weapon".

 

Good part of the reason I bought mine in the late 80s. Carried it in basket weave leather, (I was a reserve officer, and was told "real cops squeak"). And it shoots GREAT! Very predictable reset on it. I am very accurate with it. If I am where I should be on my body weight, I can carry it with an IWB holster with no problem, and then I wear a South African Springboks Rugby shirt over it, no problem at all.

 

I don’t notice much difference, though most of my Berettas are older.

 

Yes both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon brought a lot of attention to the 92.

It was actually the 92F in both movies, not the FS.

 

And Minority Report brought a lot of attention to the 9000S!
But since I was the only person who watched the movie, that may be the answer to why am apparently the sole appreciator of this forearm…. Sigh….

Guns of Pop Culture: “Minority Report” & the Beretta 9000S

We take a look at "Minority Report" and the Beretta 9000S Tom Cruise uses in the film as he goes on the run.

www.pewpewtactical.com

 

I have Italian and Gallatin made Berettas and other than the fact that the Italian made Berettas are slick as snot from 20-30 years off shooting I will say the Gallatin made guns haven't missed a beat. Most of the military grade Berettas had anodized aluminum frames and parkerized steel slides and barrels painted black....which is a very European treatment...most all the military issued Browning Hi-powers were done like this as was the CZ 75, most Makarovs, German P-38s etc

 

Try to find an Italian made (rather than TN made) new 92FS. Probably a bit tighter QC.

I have a somewhat recent TN built M9 commercial, which is well made, though the sights were poorly painted. Also the sample I bought had an odd blackened stainless barrel. I replaced it with a typical M9 carbon steel chrome lined barrel, metal trigger. And also added a 'D' model hammer spring.

 

I'm going to look for an older one.

 

I'm possibly selling an AK-47 this Saturday, and if I do I'm taking the money and buying an Italian-made 92A1 for $715. I've got tons of new mags for it.

I offered a trade to a guy on another forum last week for his Beretta 92FS he's selling for $900. I offered my third-gen Glock 22, four mags (also have four 9mm mags I was open to giving up), two aftermarket barrels (.40 ported and 9mm conversion), an ASP Glock 22 red gun, 350 rounds of ammo (FMJ and JHP), a Safariland Level II duty holster, and leather Tagua OWB holster for his 10-year-old NIB/never fired Beretta 92FS with 7 mags (four 15 round, two 10 round, one 17 round), 2 guide rods, a set of spare grips, and a Desantis leather holster and no ammo.

Oh, and he wanted an additional $350 cash on my part. and I had to drive 80 miles to him to make the sale, and then possibly stay there for 2 days while a background check clears.

I passed. I dunno, maybe I was being unrealistic? As it is I thought selling my package for $650 at most ($600 without the red gun) was pretty generous for what he would be getting in a straight-across trade. Sooo...GLWS, but I'm not paying an additional $350 for that lol. It's a nice gun though.

 

Sounds like the other person didn't want to trade.

 

I bought a 92FS 5 years ago NIB. Guess I got lucky. Italian made. But plastic guide rod. Put in a short reach trigger. Don’t know what the original was. It’s in a drawer somewhere. 🤷‍♂️

 

I also forgot to add in my initial reply that the main detraction in my opinion to the Beretta 92FS is the lack of flexibility for sights. If you are not happy with the white paint 3 dot sights and want night sights or fiber optics you will have to pay a gunsmith to grind down the slide and machine or drill a channel to insert them. The newer models of the 92 fix this shortcoming and feature a factory dovetailed removable front sight. I think this started with the 92A3 but don't quote me on that.

 

Someday I will have SOME version of the Beretta 92(or copies there of) but you know me.. I only like the models with the controls where they belong.... on the FRAME not the slide

 

I used to stay away from Beretta in general due to a dislike of aluminum framed handguns. But upon educating myself on the subject, I bought a 92F Compact model from 1989 and it's become a favorite shooter of mine.

Forged 7075 T6 aluminum may not be carbon steel, but it ain't balsawood, either. With some care, and keeping the channel where the barrel underlug slides well greased, it should last another thirty years, at least.

 

I used to stay away from Beretta in general due to a dislike of aluminum framed handguns. But upon educating myself on the subject, I bought a 92F Compact model from 1989 and it's become a favorite shooter of mine.

Forged 7075 T6 aluminum may not be carbon steel, but it ain't balsawood, either. With some care, and keeping the channel where the barrel underlug slides well greased, it should last another thirty years, at least.

Aluminum frame handguns have been around a lot longer than plastic framed handguns...lol...

There are Sig P series guns with hundreds of thousands of rounds through them an no issues...

In truth the biggest failure point in the 92 series guns is the steel slide cracking near the locking block....not the aluminum frame. But its not a major concern in any real or practical way.

 

The Italian-made 92 is a sweet shooting, reliable and beautiful pistol. I bought one built in Italy because I thought it was made by very experienced hands in its ‘home place’. It’s still pristine after many years of ownership.

 

Mine is an Inox that I bought in 2011. It is exceptionally smooth in function, and shoots very well. I put in the lighter trigger spring. I really enjoy it. Absent experience with the high-end pistols in Bac's collection, I consider it to be the smoothest pistol I have shot personally.

 

On my birthday in 1991, my wife told me to stay propped up in bed while she brought coffee and the newspaper to me. The kids piled into bed with us and we all read and then talked. A few minutes later Mrs. Tuscany and the kids left and then came back giggling, carrying a brightly wrapped small heavy package. They dumped it on my lap and I opened it to find an Italian made Beretta 92 FS that I had been wanting and had mentioned to my wife. She had sneaked to the gun store I normally did business with and bought it, completely unknown to me.

Our son was always responsible, more so than most his age. When he was 15 we bought a 92 for him as well, the difference being it was made in the United States. It stayed in the safe until each range trip where he could shoot a couple of boxes of ammo through his while I shot my Italian one. Then back home it was his responsibility to clean both his and mine while I watched. He became very fast and proficient at field stripping and cleaning those Berettas. When he graduated college after a four-year ROTC scholarship he was commissioned as an Army officer and the USA Beretta became his permanently. Since he had much experience with that handgun, his Army issue Beretta was quite familiar to him and he carried one during his two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

I don't shoot my 92 as much anymore as I used to, so this thread made me pull it out of the safe to take on the next range trip. It's on the desk as I type this post. I went though the DA/SA phase and owned those type guns from makers like S&W, Sig and a couple of others. This Beretta is the only one of that action type that I still have left. Because of the way it came to me and the fact that I liked it best of the DA/SAs I owned, this Italian Beretta will be with me as long as I'm upright and able to shoot.

 

On my birthday in 1991, my wife told me to stay propped up in bed while she brought coffee and the newspaper to me. The kids piled into bed with us and we all read and then talked. A few minutes later Mrs. Tuscany and the kids left and then came back giggling, carrying a brightly wrapped small heavy package. They dumped it on my lap and I opened it to find an Italian made Beretta 92 FS that I had been wanting and had mentioned to my wife. She had sneaked to the gun store I normally did business with and bought it, completely unknown to me.

Our son was always responsible, more so than most his age. When he was 15 we bought a 92 for him as well, the difference being it was made in the United States. It stayed in the safe until each range trip where he could shoot a couple of boxes of ammo through his while I shot my Italian one. Then back home it was his responsibility to clean both his and mine while I watched. He became very fast and proficient at field stripping and cleaning those Berettas. When he graduated college after a four-year ROTC scholarship he was commissioned as an Army officer and the USA Beretta became his permanently. Since he had much experience with that handgun, his Army issue Beretta was quite familiar to him and he carried one during his two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

I don't shoot my 92 as much anymore as I used to, so this thread made me pull it out of the safe to take on the next range trip. It's on the desk as I type this post. I went though the DA/SA phase and owned those type guns from makers like S&W, Sig and a couple of others. This Beretta is the only one of that action type that I still have left. Because of the way it came to me and the fact that I liked it best of the DA/SAs I owned, this Italian Beretta will be with me as long as I'm upright and able to shoot.

That's a heartwarming and amazing story thanks for sharing. I am loath to use the world jealousy because of the negative connotations but we would all be so lucky to have such a wholesome loving family as you. I hope you appreciate what you have!

 

Many years ago, a friend of mine had the model listed above. I had an opportunity to shoot it, and as memory serves me (mid 90's), it was a very accurate and smooth shooting firearm. My question is, are the new 92FS models anywhere near what I experienced with the older model?

Yes! I have a Beretta 92 (M9 A1) made in Italy. And it is arguably the best “shooter” in my collection and I have guns that are twice as expensive. The weight of a steel frame gun makes it shoot like butter.

 

are

 

Yes. IMO they are still awesome. One of my all-time favorites. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a brand new one tomorrow.

 

I have a 92g that I bought several years ago. It has Indiana State Police grips on it and is a fun shooting pistol. Does anyone have a current link that will provide date of manufacture? I found a post on a forum that indicated that G series were Italian made and several links to a no longer operational S/N inquiry site. But nothing current.

 

Wow, $535...good deal for a new 92FS LE (it has 3 mags and I believe comes in a cardboard rather than plastic box). I paid $600-ish for my M9 a couple years ago.

 

I have a had a few Italian Beretta's and just one US made M9. I honestly couldn't tell you that I feel any difference between them. All have had the same level of accuracy and smoothness. I sold my last Italian 92FS for what I paid for it and am keeping the M9.

Until I can find an actual US military issued M9 (which is damn near impossible), I turned my civilian M9 into as accurate a clone as possible. It has all USGI parts except for the frame. It is an excellent pistol and I would highly recommend one to anyone looking for a nice full size 9mm.

 

Beretta 92XX...old school..Italian made...

92SB, hasn't been on a range in a couple of decades, own/keep it for good reason, provenance. Someday, I'd like to pair it with a factory blued, same-year production 'Compact' sibling...just because.

It sits in the dark recesses of a safe, wearing 'ugly-azz but practical' Pachmayr rubber [function over form should it ever need to be put in-service] and the original factory stocks are tucked-away in a 'preservation' bag.

Its one that will never make it to the top of my 'modern/current' rotation but...having an 'old school' 92 checks the "its pretty cool to have box." Clean engineering, a work of art.