And finally, thanks to my editorial assistants: Herman Gunter III, Anna Gunter, and Gail Pepin. Without their efforts, the unforgiving deadline never would have been met.
It is a monumental task to review all the modern Beretta pistols and not one that can be undertaken in short order. To that end, portions of a number of the reviews that appear within this book were first published as magazine articles when those guns were first brought to market. In all cases, my assessments of the pistols in question still stand as they did when I wrote the original reviews. We gratefully acknowledge and thank the publishers of American Handgunner, Shotgun News, Combat Handguns, Gun World, Guns, and Guns and Weapons For Law Enforcement for their permission to use that important material in this book.
Introduction
It is a good-shooting pistol, and I still have it. The previous owner had gotten tired of its awkward 180-degree safety and removed it. He replaced the safety with a plug of brass and apparently just used the half-cock notch for safety. Beretta ergonomics got a lot better later.
When my first-born was ready for pistol shooting at age 8, I started her with the littlest Beretta; the Minx .22 Short. With that gun, she learned the fundamentals of good handgunning. Eleven years later, she used another Beretta at the National Tactical Invitational, and her skillful use of that Model 92FC 9mm won her the women’s championship. She still owns those guns. The 92FC is one of the carry pistols on her license.
This is the author’s first Beretta. He received it from his dad for his 12th birthday. Ayoob has appreciated Beretta quality ever since.
It was a pleasure and an honor to be asked to write The Gun Digest Book of Beretta Pistols. I go back a ways with these fine handguns.
I got my first centerfire handgun “of my very own,” when I was 12 years old. It was a Beretta Model 34. The gun was a World War II veteran and so was the man who gave it to my dad. The first owner had retrieved it from an Axis soldier who, in the words of the day, “… didn’t need it any more.” The day came when the vet wanted to avoid the memories the gun brought with it and he traded it to my dad who gave it to me for my birthday.
Cat Ayoob fondly reminisces with the Beretta 92FC she used to win her class at the National Tactical Invitational at the age of 19.
Over the years, I’ve tested a lot of Berettas for various gun magazines including American Handgunner, Guns, Combat Handguns and others. Seventeen years as head of the firearms committee for the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers put me in touch with senior weapons instructors of many police departments that had adopted Berettas. In the late 1980s, I experienced the humbling honor of being asked to teach for the U.S. Army’s Marksmanship Training Unit. Networking at various pistol championships has given me a chance to talk shop with the leading armorers of the Army and the Marine Corps, and over the years, I’ve also made the acquaintance of a number of Beretta’s staff. This put me in a splendid position in terms of resources to put this book together. The source material is everything.
In the pages that follow, you’ll meet many pistol champions who swear by the Beretta and use it by choice. You’ll see for yourself the pros and the cons of the three primary fire control mechanisms Beretta offers on its modern fighting pistols: the F series with manual safety, the D series with decocker only, and the slick-slide, double-action-only D series that “shoots like a revolver.”
Far more important than those who’ve won pistol championships with Berettas are those who have used them to win gunfights and cheat death. They’ve used all three types, including Model F pistols both on and off safe. Let me introduce you to a few of them now.
Greg Lee serves with the Nashville Metropolitan Police. He was carrying a privately owned, department-approved 9mm Beretta, on safe, when a suspect drew a revolver and brought it up on Greg and his partner. In one smooth, practiced movement, Greg cleared his 92F from his SS-III security holster, popped off the safety, and lit up the would-be cop-killer with a stream of 124-grain Federal HydraShok bullets. The bad guy went down dead, before he could hurt either Greg or his partner. Greg proved, among other things, that a Beretta carried on safe in a security holster could be operated fast enough and reflexively enough to win a quick-draw contest for the ultimate stakes.
Stacy Lim is a member of the LAPD. She was off duty and carrying her department-issue 92F when she experienced a carjacking by gang-bangers. When she identified herself, the point man of the bad guys shot her through the chest with a .357 Magnum. The bullet tore her spleen apart, pierced her heart, and punched a massive exit wound in her back. Her 92F had already been off safe, carried that way per department edict, and she brought it up and shot him a couple of times, chased him when he ran, and shot him twice more. All four of the 115-grain Remington hollowpoints she unleashed found vital flesh. He died. Stacy survived. She is, to my knowledge, the world’s only known survivor of a .357 Magnum gunshot wound to the heart. Eight months later she returned to full patrol duty. Last I knew she still wore at her hip the trusty Beretta that had kept her assailant from finishing her off. The gun had saved her life.
Sgt. Marcus Young serves with Ukiah, Calif. Police. A man armed with a knife and a five-shot .38 Special ambushed him. He was shot in the face, chest, back and one arm, and had the other arm torn open. While the homicidal attacker was trying to get at an HK machine gun in the patrol car, Marcus managed to aim with his badly damaged weak hand, the other arm being paralyzed, and trigger four careful shots. Each of the .40 caliber bullets went exactly where he aimed his privately owned, department-approved Beretta 96G and the suspect slumped dying in the front seat, his orgy of violence permanently ended. Marcus at this writing is still recovering from multiple surgeries, working light duty at the department, and very glad that he chose to carry a Beretta pistol that allowed him to shoot straight under some of the worst circumstances imaginable.
Author, left, with Sgt. Marcus Young, who won the NRA’s Police Officer of the Year award and saved many lives when, despite multiple severe wounds, he killed a heavily armed criminal with his privately owned, department-approved Beretta 96 service pistol.
Then there is the armed citizen I don’t have permission to name. This man got a permit and chose to carry concealed a Beretta 96D Centurion. In a road rage incident a man attacked and injured him severely. Realizing he was about to be beaten to death, he drew the Beretta and fired a single, accurate .40 caliber bullet into his antagonist’s chest. The assailant reeled back, mortally wounded, and the fight was over. The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
The Shape Of Pages To Come
Don’t expect a puff piece. I don’t work for Beretta, I work for you, and my job is to tell you the truth that I’ve investigated and experienced. You’ll see why CCI may not be the best ammo for a customized 9mm Beretta, but why it is the best ammo you can put in your little Beretta Minx. I will point out where there were weaknesses with some of the guns and how to fix them if they haven’t already been fixed. I will show you how and why the Model 92 has earned a reputation as one of the all-time great handguns and why the Model 9000 was the worst piece of crap that ever left a Beretta factory.