The Beretta 92S is mostly like the 92FS, except the magazine release button is at the left heel of the grip instead of up where it’s easily accessible. The 92S were made in the late 70’s to early 80’s, replaced by the upgraded 92F, and then replaced with the slide-strengthened 92FS (aka as the M9 in the US military). But, who cares which army picks which lowest viable bidder, how does the 92S stack up as a surplus 9mm pistol at around $300 USD or $400 Canadian in 2021?
Is police surplus ok?
The 92S wasn’t available for super long. Most of the police or military surplus 92S pistols in Canada and the US will be late 70’s or early 80’s pistols. These guns could have up to 40 years of police service, but most probably have less and were retired a while ago.
Personally, I was OK with the use. It just meant that the surfaces are nicely polished against each other as it would have to be loaded and unloaded for each shift. If you care about the crappy grips, you can order replacements.
Beretta 92S Specifications
- 15 round magazine of 9mm (or 10 if you’re in Canada)
- Weight with empty mag: 2.1 lbs or 964 grams
- DA/SA action with decocker+manual safety
- Automatic safeties: Firing pin plunger, hammer half-cock
- 4.9″ barrel, 6.2″ sight radius
- I got a 9lb double action and 3.75lb single action trigger pull on this one
Pros
- Name brand pistol at a super affordable price
- Reliable
- Real decent single action trigger pull: the lightest of the cheap $300-400 pistols in Canada.
- Real smooth double action pull and ok weight at ~9 lbs.
- Big, full size 9mm pistols like this are very comfortable to shoot.
- Controls aren’t as crowded as pistols like the P226
- Lots of aftermarket parts available
- Fast takedown for cleaning
- Open top means no stovepipes
Cons
- Awful sights: they’re so low profile and tiny
- Heel release magazines suck for go-fast sports like IPSC and they’re harder to find
- Frame mounted safeties are dumb, safeties that kill the trigger are dumb too, why’d they even include a safety on this pistol when the decocker was fine?
- Open top means easy ingress of dirt & mud (if you care)
