Since the Beretta M9 was adopted by the US military, there have been doubts and questions about the reliability and validity of the Beretta 92 series design as being a true combat pistol. After about 3 decades of service in the military, it has been replaced with a polymer framed pistol, the Sig P230. Since the development of the 92 series pistols, polymer pistols started to hit the civilian and law enforcement in force. Eventually, people started to see alloy and metal framed pistols like the Beretta 92 series to be outdated compared to the lighter and less complicated polymer framed pistols. But is this claim really valid? Well, let me give my impressions on this design and share what I know as far as the claims and how they match up to my experiences with this design.
DESIGN AND UPGRADES
The Beretta 92 series of pistols have a locking block design that is based on an old Walther design from the early 20th century. Beretta has worked over the decades, since the initial design, to update the locking block system in order to extend the service life and make the pistol more robust and durable. When the original locking blocks would have been lucky to last 10,000 rounds, the latest third generation of locking blocks have been found to be capable of lasting up to 30,000 rounds when following a competent maintenance schedule. Not bad since the locking block is seen by many to be the greatest weak point of the pistol. There have been more upgrades in the frame, slide, and even the springs to give the pistol greater service life.
Realistically, I doubt many people out there are going to shoot enough out of their pistols in order to cause parts to break. I know it is hard for me to slam 10,000 rounds through my pistols unless I am solely dedicating time and ammo to shoot that much in a short amount of time. With that said, I would say that unless there is a defective part on the pistol, you will find that these pistols are boringly reliable.
The storied history of the M9 being unreliable is an entertaining one for sure. I have been next to plenty active military at gun counters claiming they would never touch a Beretta because they saw the M9 slide break and hit their friend in the face and almost killed them. Sorry, but their is no way that kind of thing could ever happen again with the modifications that were made to every M9 and 92 series pistol in the later 80s. And also the claims of the pistol malfunctioning all the time is not something I would just take and run with. This is a military pistol after all, which means it is cared for in the worst way by some of the dumbest people when it comes to guns. Hardly any gun in the military is maintained properly or sees spring changes on a regular schedule. In a nutshell, take the M9 reliability and durability complaints with a grain of salt.
Realistically, I doubt many people out there are going to shoot enough out of their pistols in order to cause parts to break. I know it is hard for me to slam 10,000 rounds through my pistols unless I am solely dedicating time and ammo to shoot that much in a short amount of time. With that said, I would say that unless there is a defective part on the pistol, you will find that these pistols are boringly reliable.
The storied history of the M9 being unreliable is an entertaining one for sure. I have been next to plenty active military at gun counters claiming they would never touch a Beretta because they saw the M9 slide break and hit their friend in the face and almost killed them. Sorry, but their is no way that kind of thing could ever happen again with the modifications that were made to every M9 and 92 series pistol in the later 80s. And also the claims of the pistol malfunctioning all the time is not something I would just take and run with. This is a military pistol after all, which means it is cared for in the worst way by some of the dumbest people when it comes to guns. Hardly any gun in the military is maintained properly or sees spring changes on a regular schedule. In a nutshell, take the M9 reliability and durability complaints with a grain of salt.
CONTROLS
In comparison to other pistols on the market today, the Beretta 92 series is classified as being "BUSY" in terms of having alot of controls. In reality, I think it has nothing out of the ordinary. It is just that the controls it does have are a size that allows them to be manipulated with relative ease. There is a slide mounted safety/decocker that is mirrored on both sides, a fair sized slide stop lever, a round magazine release button that is easy to swap from left to right, and then the takedown lever which resembles a be tipped on its right side. Other than the safety on the slide, all the controls are pretty standard and I appreciate that each control has a fair amount of room between them in order to prevent accidental actuation of controls. It is not hard to know how to use them and they are easy to reach when you need to get to them. Not so busy, in my experience.
The other, and more concentrated issue for people who have used the pistol, is that the standard "F" version safety/decocker can easily be turned on while manipulating the slide. This is a true concern for untrained people, but is an unreasonable concern for two reasons. First off, after manipulating the slide, a simple sweep forward on the slide with the firing hand thumb would be enough to disengage the safety if it were to be accidentally engaged. The biggest reason this is a nonissue is that there are now G type conversions you can get that turns the slide mounted safety/decocker into a decocker lever only. Just these two things make the argument almost worthless, in my humble opinion.
However I feel about the matter, it is obvious that the new generation of shooters out there are starting to think that controls should be so low profile that they are virtually impossible to use. As with everything, you get extreme standards when coupled with extreme ignorance and inexperience. Most of these concerns for "larger" controls is that they can snag on clothing or be actuated unintentionally. I have rarely had that issue on a Beretta, but I have accidentally held the slide stop down on the Sig Sauer P200 series of pistols, the H&K VP9, and and caused the slides to not lock open on the last shot fired. Though low profile, the controls can still be put in a crappy spot. For those who give a crap, just thought I would give you some food for thought.
The other, and more concentrated issue for people who have used the pistol, is that the standard "F" version safety/decocker can easily be turned on while manipulating the slide. This is a true concern for untrained people, but is an unreasonable concern for two reasons. First off, after manipulating the slide, a simple sweep forward on the slide with the firing hand thumb would be enough to disengage the safety if it were to be accidentally engaged. The biggest reason this is a nonissue is that there are now G type conversions you can get that turns the slide mounted safety/decocker into a decocker lever only. Just these two things make the argument almost worthless, in my humble opinion.
However I feel about the matter, it is obvious that the new generation of shooters out there are starting to think that controls should be so low profile that they are virtually impossible to use. As with everything, you get extreme standards when coupled with extreme ignorance and inexperience. Most of these concerns for "larger" controls is that they can snag on clothing or be actuated unintentionally. I have rarely had that issue on a Beretta, but I have accidentally held the slide stop down on the Sig Sauer P200 series of pistols, the H&K VP9, and and caused the slides to not lock open on the last shot fired. Though low profile, the controls can still be put in a crappy spot. For those who give a crap, just thought I would give you some food for thought.
SIZE/WEIGHT
One of the biggest criticisms that the 92 series faces is observations on the large size and heavier weight compared to that of the more modern polymer pistols. The pistols unloaded come in at around 33 ounces, which is about the same weight as a fully loaded Glock 17, which is about 25 ounces unloaded. Now, weight seems to be a big deal for alot of people, but I have a hard time seeing how half a pound is such a big deal. After all the time I have dealt with guns, I still can't understand the complaints about the weight of this pistol. I am not a big guy, but I have been known to carry a full size 1911 and 4 spare magazines. That was my first carry experience and I never noticed the weight in the least. But then again I wore a belt and had a holster for my pistol.
As far as the size of the 92 series, it is constantly critiqued as being TOO LARGE for a 9mm. Realistically, the 92 series of pistols are not much larger than the Glock 17, which is the standard they are judging this pistol off of. The The biggest part of the pistol is the slide, which makes it look ridiculously long. The grip of the 92 series is said to be too large for some hands. This is true if some hands are tiny, but it is not much worse than some of the other polymer offerings like the earlier Glock Generations. The biggest issue for people is reaching the trigger in double action mode, which I understand and have had issues with when wearing gloves, but it hardly makes a design inferior or outdated. Not everything is going to be perfect, even today.
As far as the size of the 92 series, it is constantly critiqued as being TOO LARGE for a 9mm. Realistically, the 92 series of pistols are not much larger than the Glock 17, which is the standard they are judging this pistol off of. The The biggest part of the pistol is the slide, which makes it look ridiculously long. The grip of the 92 series is said to be too large for some hands. This is true if some hands are tiny, but it is not much worse than some of the other polymer offerings like the earlier Glock Generations. The biggest issue for people is reaching the trigger in double action mode, which I understand and have had issues with when wearing gloves, but it hardly makes a design inferior or outdated. Not everything is going to be perfect, even today.
TRIGGER
Now we come to the gripe about the trigger type. Well, the 92 series is a double/single action trigger system. This means that when you load the pistol, you are to decock the pistol and put it in double action mode. This means you have 1....1...1 long trigger pull so you have to make sure you truly intend to fire. The weight is about 10 pounds on the first pull, but it is not hard to pull through. I think the problem people have is when they try to pull the trigger really slow. This is a fighting trigger, not a target trigger. If you want a target trigger, flip the hammer back and shoot in single action for a smooth and crisp 5 pound, "CONSISTENT" trigger pull.
SUMMARY
In the thousands of rounds I have put through the 92 series of pistols, I have rarely had issues that were not a result of an out of spec part. If a pistol is shot too much without proper preventative maintenance, it will start failing. This is common sense, but it seems that common sense is more of an uncommon virtue. If you do a little research, you will find that the 92 series is one of the most proven platforms and has one of the best reputations in the hands of people that have actual experience using the pistol. They may not have liked the size of the grip or the double action, but the 92 series always seems to command respect by those that were issued one or owned one. I personally find it hard to believe that the 92 series is seen as obsolete. Until 9mm ammunition is considered as archaic as a slingshot, I don't think the Beretta 92 series can be reasonably considered archaic or outdated.
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