Beretta M9/92 Slides???

[Mike357]

Greetings all,

I tried a quick search for this in the forums but to no success. I want to buy a Beretta 92fs aka M9 and have asked the local gun store and Iron Sights range about the rumors on slide failures that I have found online. Now my girlfriends dad says opinions are like ***holes everyone has one, but as a seeker of the truth, I ask these questions here: Is it true that the above mentioned weapon has had know slide failures? If so, under what conditions? I do have a retired sheriff deputy/marine in security at my work, and his opinion is that he would not own one because of slide failures. Now I am not in the military or in any police department, so I can say for a fact that I will not be exposing my potential 92fs/M9 to the rigors that the military and or police agencies may have put these guns through, but if this gun has known problems past or current, that makes me hesitant to spend my hard $$$ are this $$$ weapon. Any good place for truthful information, and actual knowledge in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
I also believe that the 92fs/M9 is a great weapon, so another question should be asked, should I buy one?

[fighterpilot562]

I have shot the 92fs many times, and its my buddies gun, he's never had this problem.

[ptoguy2002]

BS from people who don't know s***. Bottom line is this: NOT A PROBLEM
Your Beretta 92FS/M9 will last longer than you will.
Buy your Beretta and be happy with it. It is a great gun. The only real complaints about the 92 series are the grip size, so unless you have small hands, you will love your Beretta.
All that said, there were slide issues way back when, on VERY high round count guns, but the problem (initially) was traced back to over powered ammunition. If it were a problem, the military wouldn't have been using them for the last 25 years and buying more and more of them. You do see a picture or report of one come up once in while where the slide has failed (it does happen), but again, these are VERY high round count guns, that more than likely have NOT had the required preventive maintenance done on them (recoil springs and locking blocks need to be replaced every so often). The "S" in the 92FS means that the gun has been modified so that IF the slide does fail, it will fail safely and won't smack you in the face. One of the benefits of buying one, it has been tested to exhaustion to the point that failure modes are known and engineered to fail safely.
Any / every gun will have major failures if you put enough rounds through them. HKs, 1911s, glocks, etc, etc, will have a major failure if you put enough rounds through them.
Google "M9 slide failure" and you will find the history on this.
Of all the guns I own, my 92FS will be the last one I would get rid of.

[223556]

Incase you need parts or a slide

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=502350

[ptoguy2002]

Slide failure mode on [probably] high round count gun.
This is NOT common, but with the shear numbers of guns out there, it does happen.
You hear about more kabooms on Glocks than you do slide failures on M9s.
Note the safety feature that IF the slide fails, it is still kept on the frame.

[Chrushev]

Its not bull$#it.. its true.. however a bit misinformed.

M9's had slide issues back in the mid 1980's when they were first adopted by the military. This is before the 92FS.. this is when it was called 92F. The slide issue has been resolved wiht 92FS and hasnt happened since (over 25 years)... so unless you get an M9 or 92F (not FS) from mid 80's then Id worry.. but I believe that even those that had slide failures was a limited run.

Here is more details:

Prior to its widespread adoption by the U.S. military, questions were raised in a 1987 General Accounting Office report after an incident where a slide failure on a Beretta 92SB injured a Naval Special Warfare member,[7] and two more failures were later observed in additional testing. These failures included both military and civilian Beretta models with very high round counts, and after investigation they were deemed the result of ammunition supplied by the U.S. Army which exceeded the recommended pressures specified by NATO but nonetheless provoked a modification in the M9 design to prevent slide failure from causing injuries.

A lot of haters that love nothing but their Glocks or 1911's or whatever it may be tend to pick out random facts without telling the whole story... so aside from what I said above, the only issues that would happen with the slide or any other part of the Beretta have equal amount of probability to any other gun.. infact Beretta is made better than most guns, and Id wager that compared to other guns (not counting Glocks, 1911's and a handful of others) Berettas have less chance of failure than most other guns. Its as well built as a 1911 or a Glock.

[Mr. Beretta]

Hi Mike

You asked for the truth. Here's the truth!

My 1985 92F (which I purchased new in 1985) has at least 100,000 rds down range without ever a problem. I've shot every kind of 9mm ammo known to man with the exception of the "hot" sub gun rounds. With the exception of a pair of new grips and NP3 refinish on the slide, it's a 100% original including the locking block!

The later model of either USA made or Italian made 92FS's will last longer than you & me put together. Just keep it clean, lubed and stay away from the hot ammo. And BTW they will shoot NATO 9mm until you hand cramps up.

Good Luck!

[gumby]

Hi Mike

You asked for the truth. Here's the truth!

My 1985 92F (which I purchased new in 1985) has at least 100,000 rds down range without ever a problem. I've shot every kind of 9mm ammo known to man with the exception of the "hot" sub gun rounds. With the exception of a pair of new grips and NP3 refinish on the slide, it's a 100% original including the locking block!

The later model of either USA made or Italian made 92FS's will last longer than you & me put together. Just keep it clean, lubed and stay away from the hot ammo. And BTW they will shoot NATO 9mm until you hand cramps up.

Good Luck!

What MR. B says.

[Write Winger]

Not an issue.

[Munk]

Any gun can fail due to a metallurgical impurity or just excessive abuse; and with berettas, they can handle the excessive abuse for a surprisingly long time.

As seen in the picture above, they re-designed them so that IF someone finds a way to break the slide through use of carbine or other excessively hot ammo over very long periods , it will be retained without injuring the shooter.

My father's old 92 with the mag release at the bottom of the grip (which means it was before the redesign) has fired a load of old surplus ammo, including some damn hot stuff that was shocking to shoot (I can't say for sure what loading it was, but it stung the hand a bit, we finished the boxes off and didn't buy any more). No cracks, no damage, no lockingblock failure, no feed problems. It's been gobbling up whatever ammo we could ram through there without issue.

[bcsoftware]

Had an M9 in the Army have a 92fs now and was a Army armor in the late 80's. Did see a few back then, but more to abuse than high round count and that was the early ones with out the slide safety. I personalty like the Italian made 92fs for some reason not sure why. It is the most accurate that i shot.

[the86d]

I have been reading on this, as I am looking to drop money on an M9 on the 30th.

What I got from a few hours reading:
There were issues with crap metal, or the manufacturing process of the slide (initially Beretta blamed on the AMMO being too hot, which turned out to be false). The issue was addressed and MANY slides were replaced on government contracted Beretta M9s. There were 2 more issues, one the frame, and the other the slide lock, I believe I read.

Typical service life now is ~22,000 rounds before replacing any parts... and the slide should not punch you in the face.

Hit these this morning: http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/history/true_story_m9.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/beretta_M9_pistol.htm

[triggs75]

Here is some good info:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_15/101362_Check_Your_Beretta_92FS__lots_of_pictures_Dial_Up_Death_.html

[darqhelmet]

It was my one of my issued weapons in the Marines, ZERO issues my m4 on the other hand had some problems. (mags, extractor) I purchased a 92fs when I got out and love it. Hell everyone that has large enough hands to hold it loves it. I have had zero issues with it as well. They are great pistols, buy one and enjoy it until you pass it on to your kids.

[KeithG]

Before adopting the SIG P226 there was a saying, "You're not a SEAL until you've tasted Italian steel." That was then, this is now.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk