With so many pistols available, namely the other big 4: 1911, Glock, HK, & SIG. What makes you choose Beretta as your main pistol? I ask because it seems like so many people like to rag on Berettas like they are a totally obsolete firearm.

I know there are just as many Berettas out there as Glocks and others, but it just seems like there are far fewer "Beretta people" on the internet, while Glock lovers are a dime a dozen aroound here.

So with so many choices, what made you choose Beretta as a pistol? Or if you own more than one type of pistol, what do you like about your Beretta?

When I went to purchase my pistol I had no reservations on price. I had already owned an H&K Mark23 and a Para-Ord P14 hi-cap .45. I was looking for something in 9mm... so I looked at a Beretta 92FS, SIG226, & a Glock17. All of them felt nice in my hand execpt Glock, which surprisingly, felt a little too big for me (supposedly the Beretta has the biggest grip) and the slide felt loose, the slide and mag release were smaller than tits on frog and my overall impression of the gun was cheap. But not in price.

SIG226 was a very nice pistol indeed, overall solid feeling pistol. All the controls are easily manipulated with my shooting hand without adjusting grip. Same with the Beretta, except the slide felt very smooth like it was fitted to the pistol. Kind of like my MK23. They both felt good to me, but I chose the Beretta because I liked the styling of the pistol more, and availability of hi-caps. I also liked the fact it had a longer barrel.

Between firing the MK23, P14 and the 92FS. I seriously enjoyed the 92FS more. I know people wll probably think I'm nuts and would trade 5 Berettas to get their hands on a Mk23, but its the truth. Recoil is very light being that is a heavy framed pistol shooting 9mm. Follow up shots are much easier with this pistol. I havent fired any other 9mm's so that may be subject to change if I purchase a SIG226 in the near future. But for now, my fav is the 92FS.

Unfortunately the 92FS is also the only pistol I now own. Had to sell my prized Mk23 and Para-Ord awhile back during a move and since Berettas dont command much used, I felt it was pointless to practically give it away and managed to spare it.

Good enough for the military, good enough for me...

I also shoot it better than a .45

I like the look and feel of the 9 series . I had a 92f for a while , never missed a beat . I traded it for a 96 to get a little more thump and it's also been a solid shooter . I'm so used to the 9 series that inside 15 yards I can reliably hit a 5" plates by point alone .  

I have a decent collection of handguns and add more all the time

But ya know what .......... If it works for you and your happy with it , that’s what makes it the best gun .

What makes Beretta your choice of pistol?  

John Woo movies

Top choice for a 9mm non-plastic handgun. I'm sure there are people somewhere who have had problems with them but mine and everyone I know who has one runs like clockwork. With semi auto's you are going to get the occasional FTF FTE. I have not had a single problem with mine and I love it. For plastic, I am probably one of the few that does not like Glock. YMMV

- The Beretta 92 fits my hand well, is very accurate and has been 100% reliable for me.
- All barrels on Berettas's 92 and 96 series of pistols are either chrome lined or stainless steel.  
- Beretta is the only pistol manufacturer that does a proof test and an accuracy test on every pistol leaving the factory.
- Because they were available in such large numbers before the ban was enacted, affordable and reliable 15rd mags are easy to find.
- Beretta doesn't use cast parts.  All metal parts are forged and/or machined.
- The slide to frame tolerances are very tight and very smooth.  When first assembled at the factory they are too tight to cycle by hand so they are placed in a hydraulic machine that cycles the slide several hundred times in a few minutes so that everything is properly broken in and smooth as glass.

I wanted a nice range pistol that was accurate reliable and cheap to feed.  My criteria for it was:

1. It had to be a full sized frame.
2. Reliable, relatively affordable after market hi-caps needed to be available.
3. It had to be chambered in 9mm.

I looked at the Beretta 92, Sig P226, HK USP9 and Glock 17 (I should have looked at the CZ75 but did not.  I will own one of these very soon as well.)  For the money and my criteria the Beretta was the best bang for the buck.  I already own a Glock so the 17 wasn't really that desirable and after market hi-caps are a rip off.  The HK didn't feel very balanced in my hand and after shooting a friend’s I'm not impressed with the overall accuracy of the pistol.  I really liked the P226 but it would have cost me another $195 over the Beretta.  I decided to purchase the Beretta and don't have any regrets for doing so.  It is an extremely accurate pistol and I do very well with it at our weekly practical shooting meets.  It points very naturally, has a smooth as glass action, can easily be suppressed and with the chrome-lined barrel it makes it very easy to clean after a day of shooting.

The slide to rail fit is the best i have ever seen on a semi pistol. I have heard they have to have machines work the slide a few hundred times to make it easy enough to have a person work it because their machining tolerances are so tight. It doesn't urt that it is amazingly accurate, and has a chrome lined barrel, and straight blowback for ease of suppression (not original intent, but it is true).

Mel Gibson.  If its good enough for him its good enough for me.  

Oh, and its accurate, 100% reliable, reasonably priced, easy to strip and clean, spare mags widely availible, did I say 100% reliable, leather easy to find, a tad bulky but no worse than most, not made out of tupperware, used world wide.  

I love them. THey feel great in my hand, and they are very accurate and reliable.  THe ONLY reason I carry a Glock 19 over a beretta is the size.

Maybe Im just a wierdo but I dont mind having a love affair with Glocks, and Berettas.  JMHO.

It is one of the best feeling guns I've ever handled, they are quite accurate out of the box, easy to get hi caps for, and after 13,000 rounds, I've had 2 failures. The 1st magazine I ever fired through it failed to strip off the 2nd round in the mag and about round 6K the slide failed to return to battery after firing a mag on COMPLETELY dry rails. One drop of oil cured the second problem.




The thing that made me fall in love with it originally was a spread in (I think) Handguns magazine that Ichiro Nagata did the photos for. That man made that gun stand out like no other.

My 92fs feels like quality.  Everything on it feels precisely machined, and tight.  I think they get some criticism because they are more complex than other pistols, and have close tolerances.  This means that there is more to go wrong like locking block failures, and cycling problems due to a lack of lubrication/garbage in the slide.  

Also people want something they can carry and the the 92fs is HUGE.  I have a Glock and its tolerances are looser, and it's nearly as simple, and durable as a brick.  And it's ugly too.  

I like to hold my pretty Beretta, and have fun with it at the range but my glock is what's in the glovebox and waistband.

Main Reason for having my 92F:

This is my current issue sidearm (mil), I can stay familliar with it.

there are a few other reasons:

parts=cheap and plentiful
9mm also cheap


notice I said "reason for having", not "choice"

the 92 series safety/decock is in a shitty location

there are better choices for 9mm and caliber.

Quoted: Besides my goal of having at least one of each brand , the Beretta fits my hand, is good looking and reliable. Besides the M9 as a military counterpart, magazines are plentiful too. Generally, it feeds any type of ammo as if it were ball.

+1

I have owned at least one of every major manufacturer except Sig (working on it now )

I'm pretty competent with firearms repair, but I'm not gonna work on my 92FS.  I can fix my Glock's and my 1911's fine.

Main reasons for me to get a Beretta M92FS were:

The .mil uses them, so good enough for them = good enough for me
PLENTIFUL cheap supply of hi-caps, got a bunch from CTD for $13 that work 100%

I have one for target shooting only.  I love the pistol, but the slide mounted safety eliminates it from being a defensive pistol candidate.

I proved that to myself when doing a fast empty gun reload.  

Quoted: What makes Beretta your choice of pistol?

When I run all the rifles, the 1911, and the HK out of ammo, I might pick up Dave_A's 92...
...to throw at the enemy!

Now just give me a sec to put on my flame-proof suit...

I never understood the need to even have the saftey engaged anyway. I know its in a difficult spot, but I believe the military wanted it like that. The original design had a frame mounted saftey, but was changed for the second trials. At least I read that somewhere.

Glocks dont have a saftey lever, its "dont pull the trigger" saftey. You could treat a Beretta the same way. Its DA is heavier than a Glocks anyway. Same with de-cock only Pistols.

You can lighten the DA though by installing a "D" model spring. I did this with my Beretta and it is a major improvement on the trigger pull. Best $8 I ever spent for a pistol upgrade.

Quoted: Glocks dont have a saftey lever, its "dont pull the trigger" saftey. You could treat a Beretta the same way.

True, but you have the issue of lowering the hammer on the round you carry in the chamber.  Granted, most marginally intelligent people can accomplish this task, but it's not the safest procedure in the world.

If I carried the Beretta for Personal Protection, I would have the safetly fixed in the off position somehow.

Quoted: Quoted: Glocks dont have a saftey lever, its "dont pull the trigger" saftey. You could treat a Beretta the same way. True, but you have the issue of lowering the hammer on the round you carry in the chamber.  Granted, most marginally intelligent people can accomplish this task, but it's not the safest procedure in the world. If I carried the Beretta for Personal Protection, I would have the safetly fixed in the off position somehow.

You could simply place the safety on when you load, so the hammer returns to the down position, then flip the safety off.  Or you could simply flip the safety off on a 92FS already loaded to safely lower the hammer, then flip it off.  Or you could just get a 92G.  The "G" simply has a decock-only lever.  The switch is the same as the "FS", but it's springloaded into the off postion.  Load the gun, decock it, done, same as a Sig really.  Certainly safe to do it that way.

Ross

Quoted: True, but you have the issue of lowering the hammer on the round you carry in the chamber.  Granted, most marginally intelligent people can accomplish this task, but it's not the safest procedure in the world.

You've never actually handled a Beretta have you?   Lowering the hammer is done automatically when you activate the safety.  And lowering that -is- among the safest procedures in the world.  When the safety lever is moved the connecting pin is pivoted out of the way so there is no way for the  hammer to affect the firing pin, and even if it did the firing pin is locked in place by a firing pin safety unless you pull the trigger.   If your Beretta fires while dropping the hammer with the safety lever, then it fired because of Spinal Tap style spontaneous combustion inside the casing.

If I carried the Beretta for Personal Protection, I would have the safetly fixed in the off position somehow.

Why?  All you've got to do is drop the hammer using the safety, then put the safety back in the off position so that the pistol is ready to fire.  Or just find a 'G' model Beretta that automatically springs back into the fire position.  Or you could just spend a little time learning how to use your firearm.  Maybe you guys who complain about the position of the safety have really small hands or something but I've never had a problem with it.  Just slide your thumb forward with the first knuckle pressed against the bottom of the slide and the safety is deactivated.

Quoted: Quoted: Glocks dont have a saftey lever, its "dont pull the trigger" saftey. You could treat a Beretta the same way. True, but you have the issue of lowering the hammer on the round you carry in the chamber.  Granted, most marginally intelligent people can accomplish this task, but it's not the safest procedure in the world. If I carried the Beretta for Personal Protection, I would have the safetly fixed in the off position somehow.

Personally, my only beef with the 92 is that that blasted decock function...

I personally can't stand DA trigger pull, and would much rather have the USP-style 'DA or SA, you pick' safety config...

Folks have been dropping hammers on pistols from 1911 and before, most can avoid shooting things in the process...

Quoted: Personally, my only beef with the 92 is that that blasted decock function...

It can be removed, so the safety would only work as safety, but it wouldn't be easily selectable like on the Taurus or on certain versions of the HK USP

There was a special order of Berettas without decockers for the USN so that certain people could have pistols that work very well with suppressors and can be carried cocked and locked

I neglected probably the biggest reason I own a Beretta.

They have donated a million to the NRA. They support RKBA and ever since the 16th century its always been about the sportsman. The ones who truely keep the business running. Contracts come and go, die hard customers are few. If a company can stay family owned for that long, you know they are doing something right.

I dont think it would be fair to mention anything of the other gun companies in contrast. My money will always be on Beretta.

Reliablity....any of the 92F's that I have owned..up to the 2 Cougars, a 8040 and a 8045, have been ultra reliable....the only other would be a SIG....

Well let's see

military issue
cheap mags (5x 100% reliable Asian mags from RGUNS)
cheap ammo
fits my hand
great sights
relatively cheap gun, compared to a good .45/glock/USP (got it used)

I too like the 92/M9 series pistol.  It has served me well as a privately owned pistol and as an issue sidearm.  I am currently serving in Afghanistan and have both and M16A2 and an M9.  While I have always liked the M16 it does require daily (++) attention, whereas my M9 is always ready to go.  

Many of you will claim that the 9x19 lacks sufficient knock-down, killing power.  I would argue that the 9x19 has killed many more people than alot of the calibers out there.  It is controllable with light recoil and acceptable accuracy.  Our magazines over here sometimes leave little to be desired, but having a mag loaded w/ 15 rounds for 6+, 12+ months leads to problems.  At home the 92 is a pistol that my wife will shoot w/out complaint (I can't say the same about my .357 mag), and is comfortable enough with to use as a primary self defense weapon.  

I have owned a High Power (liked), a Glock (didn't like), and a Desert Eagle (nice chock block).  I still own a HK P7 and several revolvers.  While the P7 has an air of finesse that the 92 lacks I would take the Beretta to a gunfight anyday.  

That is it for my 2 cents.  Happy shooting!

I wouldn't say my Beretta is my pistol of choice, but it is great when I am tired of shooting the HK USP45. I seem to shoot the Beretta better after a long day with the HK. Thanks Arvin

I bought mine back in Sept. of 2001 on a saturday morning, it might have been something like the 14th. I don't feel like looking up the date. Anyway I was at the local indoor shooting range/gunshop talking with the owner and her brother inlaw who happened to be in town. This guy, the owners brother inlaw was talking about his job as a agent with the KBI and how he wanted to become an air marshal. I was intrigued and actually started the application process but never followed through for various reasons. The main being that I found out that when on duty an air marshal could be gone for one to two weeks at a time with no contact with family or friends. The other was I had plans already laid for starting a new business with my Father and didn't want to leave him high and dry. I bought a Beretta 92FS Inox because it was close to the M9 which I was told that the air marshals carried. Besides, and I liked how it looked and felt.  The only other choice they had that day was a Glock 17 and I bought it for my Dad's Christmas present. I figured if I did go through with it, my own 92 would have been good to practice with. I don't know it the Air Marshals actually carry them, thats just what they said in the shop. I have never regretted buying the Beretta! I love to shoot it, I can shoot it better than any other handgun my Dad or I have.


Oh, by the way, I don't need a lecture on the whole "straw purchase thing".  The owner of the shop was a good friend of the family. I paid for the gun, she kept it in the safe and gave me the tupperware box and owners manual. I put an airsoft G17 in it with a note and wrapped it up. On the day after christmas  we went to the range and had the gun transfered to my Dad.

well as i have a glock also i cant really say its my gun of choice but i love that gun more then any other i own.  i carry the glock more seeing as i dont care if it get abused as much or worse yet stolen.   i do have to say that being in afghanistan that my m9 i carry as yet to fail me.  or anyone else i know here that carry them.  only other 9mm that i have considered is and will get when i get home is an HK P7.

Reliablity and it fits my huge hands. It is also quite accurate. I have a 96. The 40 round does just fine and I like the safety aspect. I like how the safety is mounted as I can thumb it off on the draw. It is not as intuitive as a 1911 style safety but easily adapted.

Quoted: I have one for target shooting only.  I love the pistol, but the slide mounted safety eliminates it from being a defensive pistol candidate. I proved that to myself when doing a fast empty gun reload.

What is it with people who pull on the slide to release it, anyway?

If you're reloading from empty, there is a SLIDE RELEASE for that purpose...

The only gun I can think of where you'd do this would be the PPK, as it has no slide release...

Quoted: Quoted: I have one for target shooting only.  I love the pistol, but the slide mounted safety eliminates it from being a defensive pistol candidate. I proved that to myself when doing a fast empty gun reload.   What is it with people who pull on the slide to release it, anyway? If you're reloading from empty, there is a SLIDE RELEASE for that purpose... The only gun I can think of where you'd do this would be the PPK, as it has no slide release...

Even in speed reloads I use the slide and never trip the safety...on any of my Berettas....

I got one partly due to pre ban mags still being fairly reasonable in price(asian military mags for example), and that's important since NY has its own AWB
plus I kind of wanted a semi auto 9mm with an exposed hammer and a safety(which ruled out any glock)