Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta

[Black Blade]

Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta

Beretta is one of the world's oldest corporations, and it has been owned by the same family for some five hundred years. The Beretta company was established in 1526, when gunsmith Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone Val Trompia (Brescia, Lombardy, Italy) was paid 296 ducats in payment for 185 arquebus barrels by the Arsenal of Venice. The bills of sale for the order of those firearms are in the firm's archives.

Beretta 92FS Centurion



The model 92 was designed in 1972 and production of many variants in different calibers continues today. I picked up a few police trade ins of the 92FS Centurion in 9x19mm (Lugar). They are cosmetically good condition and funtional. As these are police issued firearms they likely were only fired for annual qualification and certification. These were quite dirty and required some cleaning. Apparently they may never have been cleaned while in service. At least I didn't notice any donut crumbs.

The Beretta 92's open slide design ensures smooth feeding and ejection of ammunition and allows easy clearing of obstructions. The hard-chromed barrel bore reduces barrel wear and protects it from corrosion. The locking block barrel lockup provides good accuracy and operability with suppressors due to the in-line travel of the barrel. This is in contrast to the complex travel of Browning designed barrels. The magazine release button is reversible with simple field tools.



I added a gun glove to this Centurion but others already had the rubber grips attached.



I took a couple Centurions to the range for testing along with some aftermarket magazines I got from CDNN as the guns I got came with only one 15-round magazine. It was partly cloudy, 71F with a slight crosswind - basically just a light breeze.







At 30 ft they are fairly accurate. They are a little hefty and although smaller than the 92 FS used by the military, they are not as concealable as other firearms for permit holders. I do like them though as the open top allows shell casings to fall close by (great for those who save brass for reloading). One thing I really like is that it is very easy to rack the slide. Since I have occasional bad shoulder pain this is especially nice. I give the Beretta Centurion two thumbs up even though some may find them cumbersome as CCW weapons due to weight and size.

Beretta PX4 SC (Sub-Compact)



Another nice Beretta is the PX4 Storm.It should work well as a CCW weapon, however, it is a little wide as it accomodates a 13-round double-stacked magazine. The Px4sc uses a tilt barrel system. Light-weight polymer construction with steel inserts, a modular trigger group, Picatinny rail on the chin, a plastic magazine loader and changeable backstrap options for the grip. It is intended for personal defense and law enforcement use with a focus on concealed carry.

Beretta is marketing the PX4sc as the most advanced subcompact sidearm in existence. It is lightweight and small. The barrel is stainless steel, to help prevent corrosion from perspiration. The magazine release button is both changeable (two sizes included) and reversible. Finally Beretta’s patented SnapGrip Magazine Extender, extends the grip size down for a more secure grip.



I took this gun to the range for testing. It is a nice shooter and I do like the snap grips on the magazines for my wide hands making it much more comfortable.





At 30 ft it is an accurate gun. It is a good shooter and should be a very good CCW or BUG weapon.

Beretta Px4 Storm

The Px4 uses the same short-recoil, rotating barrel lock as the Beretta 8000 Models and uses exactly the same operating system as the 92 series, while being completely different in design from either. Light-weight polymer construction with steel inserts, a modular trigger group, fully enclosing slide, picatinny rail on the chin, and changeable backstrap options for the grip are a radical departure from previous Beretta designs.



I was fortunate enough to find a deal on one to add to the collection. They are light weight and accurate. They make a decent CCW weapon and I would have no problem swapping this out for my Glock 19 CCW gun. This one is in 9x19mm with a 20-round magazine. The gun also comes in .40 S&W and 45 acp calibres. I give this gun two thumbs up and may even get one in 45 acp at some point.

[wildcard]

It's too bad the peasants aren't allowed to buy the 93Raffica.

3 round burst in a pistol would rock.

[Libertarian_Guard]

It's too bad the peasants aren't allowed to buy the 93Raffica.

3 round burst in a pistol would rock.

Based on what we've been discussing here tonight, it would only result in someone (if other than working for the official government) dieing three times faster.

The ante can always be raised, and neither you nor I can match the pot.

[wildcard]

ROFL, quit stalking me. We're talking about firearms. FUD.

*until they come up with invincible soldiers there is always a way.

[Libertarian_Guard]

Now I'm a stalker?

I was just following whatever was most current, and staying w/the same train of thought.

[wildcard]

You've got something to say about beretta firearms?

*I see you're still reading this. If you want to f*ck with me that's fine, but Black Blade puts a lot of effort into these reviews(and doesn't deserve to have it trashed). I hope you will ask the mods to delete your trolling spam.

[Libertarian_Guard]

You've got something to say about beretta firearms?

Sure.

Before a fired a friend's Beretta 9 mm around about 1984, the only other automatic pistol I ever shot was a .45, and that was in Parris Island 1978. As you know, that .45 sucked, including maximum recoil.

But the Beretta was sweet. All shots were dead on, with little recoil.

Again it was my miscue for having 'stalked' you.

[Black Blade]

Police Trade Ins

It's that time again when police departments buy sell off their "old" guns. I got a few more Police Department 9mm Beretta Centurion trade-ins late yesterday. Police tend to fire their weapons maybe once or twice a year for their qualifications and most of the use is purely cosmetic with holster wear. Functionally they tend to be very good and inexpensive.





An armed man is a Citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

[hoarder]

It's been over 15 years since I had a Beretta in my hand, but as I recall the decockers have a major flaw. After decocking, they do not automatically return to the ready to fire position. All my hanguns (except Ruger MarkII) go bang when I pull the trigger....no matter what. Otherwise excellent handguns.

[mightymanx]

The 92F and it's taurus clone are the only pistol(s) I have ever broken.

Locking block cracked X2 one Taurus, one Beretta

Cracked Frame Beretta.

They only last about 20k rounds then they start breaking in my experience. On the firing line at work we have about 1 break a week but these are all high round guns.