Beretta Slide Problems
Craig Isaacs
I went shooting with a friend on Monday, and I shot his Beretta 92F.
After 4 or 5 rounds, the slide broke and decided to remove some of my teeth and
part of my face in the process. (I wore eye protection but forgot the face
mask...)
I went with this friend because he is *meticulous*. He maintains everything in
perfect condition -- his car, his computer, and, especially, his guns. His
equipment is always top-notch and in perfect condition. (This was one of eight
of his guns.)
The police officer who filed the report said the ammunition looked good (my
friend kept the boxes), and the gun is now undergoing forensic testing.
What's the deal with Beretta slides? Has anyone else experienced this? I know
there are stories about the M9 having problems, but Beretta claims the
well-documented problem really isn't a problem. (Try telling that one to my
wife and kids!)
Thanks for any insight you can give me.
Craig
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please find out about rec.guns at http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/rec.guns
Lone_Wolf
#I went shooting with a friend on Monday, and I shot his Beretta 92F.
#After 4 or 5 rounds, the slide broke and decided to remove some of my teeth and
#part of my face in the process. (I wore eye protection but forgot the face
#mask...)
#I went with this friend because he is *meticulous*. He maintains everything in
#perfect condition -- his car, his computer, and, especially, his guns. His
#equipment is always top-notch and in perfect condition. (This was one of eight
#of his guns.)
#The police officer who filed the report said the ammunition looked good (my
#friend kept the boxes), and the gun is now undergoing forensic testing.
#What's the deal with Beretta slides? Has anyone else experienced this? I know
#there are stories about the M9 having problems, but Beretta claims the
#well-documented problem really isn't a problem. (Try telling that one to my
#wife and kids!)
#Thanks for any insight you can give me.
#Craig
Sorry to hear of your problems. This is why my handguns are mostly SIG,
Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, etc... I've heard the 'oh, that was
just because the SEAL's were trying to shoot subgun ammo' line several
times, but my uncle used to shoot competition handgun and met some members
of the Navy pistol team who reported that THEY had problems with the
Beretta's, and used only standard loads. At least when a Glock has a kaboom,
all the damage goes down the mag well (from the reports I've heard, including
a former roommate's experience).
James
Scott Craig
#What's the deal with Beretta slides? Has anyone else experienced this? I know
#there are stories about the M9 having problems, but Beretta claims the
#well-documented problem really isn't a problem. (Try telling that one to my
#wife and kids!)
#
Ouch, that's rough. I hate that it happened, and I'm sorry for
your problems.
I'd be interested in hearing the end of the story when you find
out. Current production Berettas have a lock on the slide that is
supposed to prevent that from happening. The pivot pin for the
hammer has a large head on the left side (if you take the slide
off you can see it peeking up from under the grip on the left
side). This head fits in a slot on the slide, and unless the head
was sheared off or the slide completely pulled itself UP (not back
but UP) off the slied rails, it provide a pretty secure mechanism
for preventing that from happening.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not saying it didn't happen, but
I'd like to know how it turns out.
Scott C
Aimless
I am sorry to hear about this. Is this problem found with the 96
(40 cal ?)
I just purchased one......and hate to hear someone has been injured.
Hope you feel better...craig.
Paul.
On 30 Dec 1999 21:40:24 -0500, "Craig Isaacs" <craig_...@dantz.com>
wrote:
> ...
Spike43
#from
#flying into your face when it broke. Last I heard, the Army considers the
#service life of the slide to be 1,000 rds. Of course, M882 ball ammo is
#considerably hotter than even +P commercial ammo.
#
Even when I used to believe the story that it was limited to just the SEALS, a
close look at the M92/M9 slide would indicate to anyone with mechanical
aptitude that this design was a failure waiting to happen.
The slide's long rails caused by the open top would surely be no problem if not
for the weakening cuts for the locking block's tenons.
The last *I* heard, the Military concidered the service life of the slide to be
5000 rounds. Even with hot ammo, that's more than unacceptable, it's a joke.
I might hope for that much with a Lorcin if I was lucky.
If it has indeed sunk to 1000 rounds, I can't even find words to express how
rediculous that is.
The military made a serious mistake in adopting the M9, and I think any person
looking for a full-sized pistol for target of home defense might be better
served by looking at a Beretta Cougar if they like the brand, otherwise
something from any other quality manufacturer like SIG, S&W, et.al.
SGALCZYN
#service life of the slide to be 1,000 rds.
Talk about DIS-information, 1000 rds is just broken in-not broken.
Get your facts meticulously straight before you pass on bad info-OK
regards,
STAN G.
SGALCZYN at AOL
Alan
Scott J. Sample wrote in message <84meq7$1gn$1...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
#According to the authorization to ship for repair (per US Army, circa
1991),
#the pistol is only authorized for return after it has fired 1000rnds. This
#is for the original 92F-series pistols. After the conversion to the 92FS
#standard, I haven't seen any statements on slide life. However, at least
#10% of the 92FS models I've received into reserve units had some defect or
#another (missing rear sights, grip panels, etc.). Personally, I sold my
#92FS in 93 after numerous problems (two broken firing pins, finish coming
#off, et al).
#SJSAMPLE
Are the Berettas you are referring to, marked as "92F" and "92FS" or are
they "M9"? I didn't understand whether the reserve units are actually
getting Berettas with civilian markings or you are just using the civilian
model numbers for clarity here.
Alan
Scott J. Sample
got it before). However, since there is no designation for the retrofitted
M9's (like M9A,M9A1, etc.), I was using the civilian nomenclature. Same
gun.
SJSAMPLE
Isaac B Wilder
: # Last I heard, the Army considers the
: #service life of the slide to be 1,000 rds.
: Talk about DIS-information, 1000 rds is just broken in-not broken.
: Get your facts meticulously straight before you pass on bad info-OK
: regards,
Sorry Stan
The 1000 rounds was the useful life span of the slides.. This was set for safety reasons.
As far as I know the 1000 round limit was lifted quite some time ago following the replacement
of all the M9 slides. It appears you have been listening to too many Beretta commercials.
There good but not perfect. have you heard about the Desert Storm problems? The Navy and
Marines partitioned the Secretary of the Navy to replace the M9 because ofseveral problems the
worst being magazine malfunctions. The source for most of this info is Gene Gangarosa's book
and Chuck Karwan.
--
Isaac(Ike) B. Wilder
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
James Bergman
You have the sympathy of every reader of this group!
One question: Were you shooting factory ammo or reloads?
Please provide some details of the ammunition you were
using.
-thanks,
Jimbo
Craig Isaacs wrote:
> ...
craig_...@dantz.com
James Bergman <jber...@slip.net> wrote:
# Craig,
#
# You have the sympathy of every reader of this group!
Thank you!
# One question: Were you shooting factory ammo or reloads?
This is from the gun owner:
---
The rounds being fired at the time were HSM brand 115-grain FMJ. These
were factory reloads (not handloads), with light recoil. A
louder "bang" did not occur during the failure; I was standing next to
Craig when the failure occurred.
---
Craig
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.