This thread is dedicated to the tried and true 92fs and all other Beretta handgun models. Let's see em...

Italian 92fs Inox

92fs Compact Inox

92fs Compact w/Centurion Slide








This was a unique find in that the Centurion models were only made for a couple years (1992-97) and are pretty rare. They were built with a fullsized frame and a compact upper. The Compact Type M is also pretty hard to find and has a single stacked 8 round magazine and a much thinner frame. I found this pistol with a Compact Type M frame and a Centurion slide. It's been gently used and I can't imagine why anyone would want to get rid of it. Oh well, worked out for me! The Type M is MUCH easier to carry concealed due to the single-stacked mags and resulting thinner mag well.

I've always been a fan of mouseguns and Beretta has had some of the most unique designs out there...


Model 3032 Tomcat .32acp




Model 21a Bobcat .22lr




The tip-up barrel is what interested me in the models. It's a really unique feature that allows you to inspect the chamber at any time without having to manupulate the slide. +1 is a sinch, just pop a full mag in, drop a round into the open barrel, close it up, and you're ready to go. They're both loads of fun to shoot too!

A new addition to the stable...


92 Vertec

I need to get a Beretta 92fs one of these days...

You'll be glad you did, and then wonder what took you so long!


They are a joy to shoot. Very soft on recoil and have the smoothest actions out there. The 92 series makes shooting 9mm feel like you're plinking .22lr. Beautiful guns too, the lines are fluid and give them an unmistakeable and unique look.

Eye candy with attitude...

Here's a pic of my sole Beretta...bought used in 2003 from a friend who decided on something different two weeks later, and sold it to me at a loss for $300.

It's a 9000S series... a polymer framed design that retains traditional open top slide styling with modern materials in 9x19, and is a Type F ( double and single action operation and firing pin block safety, and external frame-mounted manual safety/decocking latches ). This firearm is unique in the Beretta line as it can be carried "cocked and locked". Included were two 12 round magazines, a Beretta cable lock, and original plastic carry case.

It's modern looks can be traced to a legendary Italian race car ( Lamborghini, Maserati, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo ) designer...Giorgetto Giugiaro

It is also a movie star...having been used by the Tom Cruise character in Minority Report.


BERETTA 9000S TYPE F

Picked up another one!

Beretta 950bs Jetfire .25acp






Like my 3032 Tomcat and 21a Bobcat, the Jetfire features the signature tip-up barrel...




However, the Jetfire is an older model with a single-action only trigger. Only produced for a few years, models with the nickel finish are a bit hard to come by, so when I found this little baby at my LGS there was no way I was leaving without it. It was a bit gunked up and came with the standard plastic factory grips, but that simply wouldn't do. I won the wood medallion grips on a gunbroker auction and put them on after a thorough stripping and cleaning. She turned out to be a real beauty!


Here it is with my other Beretta mousers...

Great "family" photo SNIPER...Thanks for posting them...!!

Yes Sir...

The latest Beretta mouse gun, the Pico.

Now I'd like to offer comparisons of my Pico with my Ruger LCP and my Smith & Wesson Military & Police Bodyguards 380 which ain't big enough to carry that full name so will be known as the BG380; and my Remington RM380.


First the BG380. Like the Pico it is a polymer framed very small truly pocket pistol. Also like the Pico it has adjustable and changeable sights. The sights though are only drift adjustable, and just plain black no dot sights. Other similarities are that like the Pico it is a true traditional DA action with multi-strike capability. It came standard with two magazines, one an extended thumb rest and the other a flat plate. Capacity is 6 + 1. So far it's fed, fired and flung all the ammo I've tried with it including some of the new sintered frangible ammo.


Reviews of the BG380 have often mentioned that take down was difficult however this latest iteration is almost as easy to take down as the Pico. I simply turn the tack down lever and at about one full rotation it pops out. Assembly is as simple and again after one full turn the lever locks back in place.


There has been one problem, not big enough to warrant a trip back to the Mother Ship but certainly annoying. While the slide does lock back on an empty mag it will immediately release if I drop the mag without pushing the slide stop fully up.


The version I bought has the manual safety. I wanted that feature since I will sometimes carry this one on my hip and open carry. Even with a thumb break holster I feel better when there is also a safety just in case there were a gun grab. Having that safety might just give me a few extra seconds to transition to Plan B.







Of the four pocket guns I've reviewed in this series the Remington is the only one with a metal rather than polymer frame. It's the heaviest of the group but just slightly; it's still really small and light. Like the BG380 and Pico, it is a true DA with double strike capability. Also it too has fed, fired and flung everything I've offered it. The handgun came with two magazines, one with a flat base the other a thumb rest. Of the four sets of magazines, these seem to have the strongest springs, even stiffer than those that came with the Pico.



A common theme in most if not all the reviews of the Remington I found was about how hard it was to take down and field strip the gun. Maybe I'm just lucky or Remington has been making subtle changes over time but with this one I have found it actually does just what they claim, allow a tool less take down. I simply hold the frame left side down, slowly, very slowly pull the slide back until I see the end of the retaining pin, a slight shake and the pin does fall out. But I'l admit that initially I was thoroughly frustrated. Now that I seem to have learned how to hold my tongue it has become a piece of cake.





The Ruger LCP is simply not in the same league as the other three. It's not a bad gun but the overall impression is that development stopped at 4:30 every day to avoid the traffic between the design studio and the local watering hole. The slide does not lock open on empty, the trigger has a really annoying double reset; the first reset you hear and feel seems to do nothing. Pull at that point and you get nothing. You must let it back out until the second reset before it is operational. Add in that it is not a true double action (the hammer is not cocked by the trigger but by slide recoil) means no second strike capability.





So on to some summaries: Comfort and Concealability.



Thinnest of the guns is the Pico, by far. But compared to the snub nose revolvers I've carried over the last half century and more they are all much thinner. They are all about the same weight as the newer Smith Airweight guns, maybe even slightly lighter when loaded. They all offer one or two more rounds initially than my snub nose revolvers.


The Pico and Remington are ambidextrous from the gitgo. The mag release on the Remington is in the conventional US location while the one on the Pico is in the same location but a pull down rather than push in.


The Remington was by far the most comfortable to shoot, mostly because it is slightly heavier but mainly because it has the longest grip of the four and maybe the widest. It simply felt like it was designed fo my hand.



The Pico has the best trigger followed by the BG380 and Remington with the LCP coming in last. Not only is the LCP not a real DA, it has a really strange double reset. When you hear or feel the first reset you get nothing by pulling the trigger. You need to let it out until the second reset before you can make it work. The BG380 trigger is smooth and lighter than the trigger on my fairly new version S&W 642. The Remington is almost identical to the BG380 with one exception; the reset on the BG380 is shorter than the RM380.



The Pico's sights are simply in a whole different class than the sights on the other three. The standard sights are true three dot and both front and rear are dove tailed and held in place by a set screw making adjustments or replacements easy. The next best sights are the BG380 while the sights on the Remington and LCP are milled into the slide.



Since all of these are meant for up close and personal self defense where even point shooting may be the norm the sights are simply not a major issue with any of them.


In quality of materials and construction the Pico is by far the winner. All the pieces parts fit together tightly and just feel better finished and thought out than with the others. Also the modular design and ease of access to all the internals makes repair much easier. Even the magazines seem exceptional with stainless and a metal follower. The Remington and Smith both come next while again the Ruger just feels like it was built to a price point.


In the final analysis though they all worked and worked flawlessly. I have no reliability concerns with any of them and feel adequately armed with any of them.