So I'm close to 25K on this pistol which isn't too much, but this gun has allowed me to learn way more than I've ever known about the 92 platform.
After the initial purchase, my original plan was to keep it stock, but there were some things I needed added. It kinda snowballed from there.
Sights - Checkering - beveled mag well.
So it went to Wilson and I also had them cut and crown the barrel, G conversion and perform an action tune. Once the gun came back the action was decent. Please understand the Wilson trigger bar wasn't on the market at the time and in my personal opinion the "D" spring was good, the action tune made it a tad better. For 100 bucks, it was okay.
This kinda sparked my interest into seeing what I could do and not have to ship a gun or pay someone to give me a good trigger. Also I'm an armorer for my agency and I have serviced thousands of pistols, but I'm not a gunsmith.

Recently I started having some issues with extraction and under magnification noticed the extractor was worn and I replaced it. *Buy a new extractor fellas, you can easily remove/replace and compare the hook to a new one.

I used this particular gun though competition, classes as a student and instructor. It's had grease applied to the rails and a bore snake ran through it. No detail strip at the time reaching about 9K without much maintenance other than the trigger return spring at 4K live and recoil springs every 3K. I say 4K live cause the reality is I probably dry fire twice that and they do break.


I won't bore you with all the other changes this pistol had. I basically experimented with many modifications. Here's my spare/replacement parts with some hammers I modified on top, I settled with the PX4 hammer eventually and was the perfect weight and only required minor fitting.

Heres what I always lug around with the gun (minus the clear parts bin pictured above)

A multitasker tool, A few recoil springs (only one pictured here) and some emergency spare parts in the small pelican box.

In the small pelican box is - a firing pin, locking block, couple of grip screws, trigger return spring, extractor and spring, trigger bar spring, allen key for grips and some spare fiber optic rods. I'll probably throw in a firing pin spring too. Although I try to stay on top of maintenance, In the rare occasion that something should fail, I could service the gun anywhere if needed. I keep punches and a small hammer in my truck.



It sits today with a PX4 hammer (2 grams lighter than an Elite II hammer) with a #12 hammer spring. Fit a WC trigger bar and removed the overtravel stop on the bar, it just wasn't setting the overtravel to my liking and for some pistols it just won't. I use the hated plastic coated trigger and build up my own overtravel stop on it. All the fire control parts have been polished, actually every moving part that could create friction on the fire control parts are highly polished. I opened up the front mag bevel with a file to my liking. All springs replaced with chrome silicon (where applicable), especially the firing pin spring! The G conversion has begun to stick on safe more frequently even after a new polished lever installed. I see where I can modify the slide to eliminate this but I'll wait for now.
Barrel was just replaced to a stainless which I cut and crowned at 45 degrees. I use a Dawson front and Wilson square notch in the rear. 12.5 recoil spring for factory ammo and 11.5 when I'm running my game loads in competition.

I guess what's baffling to me is why Beretta decided to add the buffer and automatic take down lever. Probably a carry over from the 90-Two, but damn it, holster options are a pain with the added height.

Anyway, I own a Brig Tac, Elite II and Vertec G but I keep coming back to the 92A1. I just think the Brig heavy slide is over kill for a 9mm. Plus the way I have this pistol set up the sights return faster than a Brig slide without the added dip on the return of the slide.






Also the pictures make the gun look great, but if you want to know about the WC armor tuff finish....
It holds up well, but it is starting to flake off everywhere. You can tell how bad the finish is in the sun here, but through dirt, mud, rain and dusty conditions I wouldn't expect any spray on finish to survive long.



Also in my experience, the 17 round factory mags are the way to go if you are looking at buying new factory mags. For aftermarket mags the MecGar 18's are freaking sweet!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: piedrarc,

Very nice gun. Love me some Berettas

Very cool!! Thanks for sharing this!

This is very sweet! Thanks for sharing the story!

Nice story, Thanks for the perspective. I prefer the rounded trigger guard on the 92A1 myself..

Awesome post!

Thanks for the write up! Love the 92 platform.

Honest wear on that thing makes it even more classy. Great debrief.

Loved reading that. I had shot the 92 platform, but I never really got the bug until my Wilson/Beretta Con Tac.

I've run it in a couple of classes and it's just so smooth, it's almost cheating to make hard shots with it.

Piedrarc, looking at the Langdon trigger in a bag, it looks like it uses a bunch of WC parts. You mentioned it was much better than the WC action tune. Is that because you worked the kit a bit with your magic or do you just feel its a better trigger system?

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
Piedrarc, looking at the Langdon trigger in a bag, it looks like it uses a bunch of WC parts. You mentioned it was much better than the WC action tune. Is that because you worked the kit a bit with your magic or do you just feel its a better trigger system?

I've never had work done by Langdon or used the TJIAB, but I have dry fired his personal pistol and it was sweet. I also purchased some parts from him when he offered them back in 2001 or 2002 which was when I started really taking the 92 seriously. No doubt that he really is the source when it comes to making the 92 sing. I know Wilson was advised by him on what to do when it came to action work on the 92. Interesting thing is when I purchased my Brig Tac, Wilson would not do the action tune with their trigger bar. Some law prevented them from performing that work, or at least thats what they told me. They did say I could take possession of it, then ship it back to them.... That was part of the push for me, cause the shipping was not worth it.

I think that LTT's TJIAB which includes the Wilson trigger bar is a great way to get tuned parts at a really reasonable price, the Wilson bar increase in hammer arc alone is superb. I say that because the work is something people often overlook. It takes time and a steady hand. I'm hoping to get a chance to try out his TJIAB, it may be the better option for me, rather than spending hours at the bench.

Very nice! It is serving you well.

Thanks for sharing. It's always nice to hear from other fans of the 92.

While not a completely fair comparison, I have several GGI tuned HKs - they are all light LEM version, however the TJIAB seems every bit as ‘high end’ as my HKs.

Again, not a true apples to oranges, being different brands / actions but the TJIAB is no joke. You could tell someone it was a custom in house gunsmith job and people would have no reason to doubt you. And I’m even using a 14# hammer spring, not a 12 or 13#. I just can’t abide light strikes.

All for $165 bones.

Cool story, bro

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:


All for $165 bones.

That price is a steal.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Cool story, bro

I know the second part of that.......... what chapter do you Shoot The Freakin Unicorn?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: piedrarc,

Definitely thanks for sharing, great story and pics. The Beretta 92 series are sexy guns and your well used gun has character.

Piedrarc,
Awesome post! There is so much crap posted online that one has to sort through loads of BS just to get a single pearl of useful info. Your Beretta shooting vids and posts like this are sticky worthy. Keep up the great posts. I’ll be saving this one to work on my own 92A1. I’m going to do more research on installing the PX-4 trigger!
Thanks!
SB

What’s your take & perspective on the 92 Vertec? I have a lead on one at a very good price.

quote:

Originally posted by piedrarc:

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Cool story, bro

I know the second part of that.......... what chapter do you Shoot The Freakin Unicorn?