What do you say to a friend who casually mentions he wants to sell a Beretta 92XI SAO?

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/product/92xi-sao-FA0050

I've read the SF threads on the pistol. I've watched about six videos on FB extolling the virtues of the pistol. I've even watched one video that has a Beretta hater opinion, trying to add reason to my lust.

I don't need anything. This is just a want. And, I would like to have a service pistol other than a P320.

I have a Trijicon RMR, on the way back from Trijicon warranty service, and that would fit on the 92XI.

The "deal" includes a third magazine and a Black Scorpion Gear holster. 65 rounds fired, so essentially new.

Purposes -- possible private security duty, local competitive pistol matches, CCW, etc.

Size XXL hands. Want to master the 1911 SAO manual of arms. Want hammer fired. Want proven design.

May update with LOK palm swell grips, if purchased. Not a huge fan of black and silver color scheme, but the grey and black LOK grips would tie these together fairly well.

I so wish I could sell my P320 Custom and MAX to return to hammer fired like my P229. Hopefully my friend will make this financially an easy decision.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

Here’s what I would say:
“How much?”
and then
“Deal.”

Thanks friend, I really would rather not have known that the weapon you linked existed. Now I want one.

For the right price I would buy that. I’m not a SAO guy usually. If you like SAO that is a great gun.

Mags are cheap and plentiful. Holsters, grips, sights, are easy to find. Great soft shooter.

If I had anything negative about the 92 platform it is the optics mount. 92’s aren’t great optics platforms. If that means something to you then there you go. I have a bunch of 92’s. I mounted an optic once. It’s an odd thing. It perches there on that rounded slide and just seems off. It worked. Yet I hated it and returned it to iron sights which is fine. That’s it. That my only negative and I don’t even care about that on this gun.

I had one briefly and just didn't love it. The safeties are oddly placed and sized and just not as intuitive as a 1911/2011 safety. The trigger was a lot longer than it seemed like it needed to be. There is an aftermarket trigger out there for them that is supposed to be pretty good.

No. You do not want a Beretta 92XI SAO.

You want two of 'em, but can only find one for sale right now.

Nope, won’t do it. We have a 92X SAO “Midnight Squall” at work and I’m astounded nobody’s bought it yet. If it sits too long, I’m gonna start trying to figure out how to fund taking it home.

After one day of thinking about it, I still am sitting on the roughly hewn split rail fence. Not very comfortable.

Sure it is a nice unit. But, it does not do anything differently than my P320 MAX. Certainly more classic, more interesting, legal in IDPA, etc. But, functionally it is no different.

The stark black and silver is also troubling. The Oakland Raiders fan might find it perfect. I'm more of a monochrome engineer.

But, making the P320 MAX safe is at least $220 for a tabbed trigger or a Sig M18 safety modification. $220 would cover probably 25% of this Beretta.

Maybe I just need to shoot it to help me decide.

Can be bought new online for the low $600 range, and are available in many different color schemes at that price if you're ok with cerakote (the silver on this model is also "paint" not inox).
I listed after one for a while, but heard several people with bigger hands complain about both size and placement of the safeties. Seems there is an odd shape to the grip and safety interface that digs into the thumb web for right handed shooters, varying from discomfort to painful to shoot. Since I haven't seen one locally to try, I have shelved the idea until I can lay hands on one for myself and started modifying a 92a1 instead.

If your buddy will let you range test it to confirm you aren't plagued by the safety and its priced appropriately I'd say go for it. Otherwise, you could have a nice camo paint job in one of several patterns for around $700, depending on transfer cost.

I believe it was honest outlaw on YouTube who posted the most troubling review related to the safety issue, saying something to the effect of it was just not interesting as it was nonlinear fun to shoot because of it. Should be an easy video to find. It was.
Honest outlaw 92xi

IIRC I was not impressed with the triggers on the one's I've held in gun shops. Might have been a lot of take up or too much overtravel or both. Be sure to try it first.

If you put a dot on it, use the DLAH designs plate.

https://www.dlahdesigns.com/sh...l2h8ejxb9klheic2lse9

mounts it as low as the langdon cut.

Also, if you like the standard 92 grip profile, these are a good conversion

https://lokgrips.com/beretta-92xi-veloce-wraparound/

I like mine alot

Thanks for continued personal experience tips.

The Beretta optic plate is $45 but out of stock. So, the dlah at $135 is 200% more expensive but you can actually find it!

I don't know if the Vertec grip works for me, physically, but I dislike its looks almost as much as I dislike the way my Christmas lights never work the next year you drag them out of the box. That veloce wrap around with palm swells looks super for my XXL hands.

The honest outlaw video was telling. To see him just disgustedly hand the pistol to his wife points to the need to try the pistol out before purchasing. My friend normally allows this.

Glad to learn of the online pricing. At MSRP, nearly a grand, a nearly new used pistol might be priced higher than I want. If he paid $600, throws in the unused $64 holster and a $40 Mecgar magazine, then prices it as used, it might be affordable.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

I am picking up a new 92XI here in about an hour. Scratching that itch will be interesting, as I have always shied away from the 92s due to just not liking DA/SA.
Am committed to shooting a couple Steel Challenge matches with it in the coming months. Lots to learn.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Thanks for continued personal experience tips.

The Beretta optic plate is $45 but out of stock. So, the dlah at $135 is 200% more expensive but you can actually find it!

I don't know if the Vertec grip works for me, physically, but I dislike its looks almost as much as I dislike the way my Christmas lights never work the next year you drag them out of the box. That veloce wrap around with palm swells looks super for my XXL hands.

The honest outlaw video was telling. To see him just disgustedly hand the pistol to his wife points to the need to try the pistol out before purchasing. My friend normally allows this.

Glad to learn of the online pricing. At MSRP, nearly a grand, a nearly new used pistol might be priced higher than I want. If he paid $600, throws in the unused $64 holster and a $40 Mecgar magazine, then prices it as used, it might be affordable.

Optic plates are a problem for Beretta. So is customer service.

A couple of years ago I picked up a 92x Compact. I liked the gun, and Beretta was supposed to be offering a free optic plate with purchase. I filled out the form on their website but never received it. I tried contacting them several times with no response. I also tried contacting them about a visible blemish inside the barrel that I believed was affecting accuracy, but got no response.

I looked at dlah optic plates, and honestly think they are a better solution than the Beretta plates t(which may or may not actually exist). The DLH plate mounts lower so it doesn't require such huge irons for co-witness (although they've still gotta be pretty big), and it conforms better to the slide. But it's expensive. I almost sprang for it, but ultimately ended up selling that gun back to the shop I bought it from at a huge loss, and went with a P229 instead, partially because I was pissed at Beretta for their poor CS, but also for some unrelated practical reasons.

If you get a good one, the 92x series are great guns. They give you the option of the vertec (which feels better than I thought it would) or standard grip, and the trigger pull and reset are improved over the older guns (I can't prove it, but it wouldn't surprise me if they took some tips from Langdon on the x-series trigger bar, because it feels very similar to my old 92FS after I installed the LTT optimized trigger bar).

Provided the gun is good to go right now I think you'll be very happy with it. But realize that if you have to rely on Beretta support for anything it's likely to be an exercise in frustration.

Medium sized hands here.

2 points. 92X guns have better out of box triggers than any standard config 92, American or Italian. It isn’t even close. I think it’s because the X’s come straight from factory with a D spring. Second, the Vertec grip isn’t as pretty but for medium and smaller hands it’s a blessing. I love my LTT’s but the Vertec get most of the shooting now. And as 92 said, they all come with the wraparound grip that mimics the classic shape.

Check the beaver tail area and the safties for hot spots. Some guns have very sharp areas that can tear up your hand in short order.

Of course with Beretta ownership I will be faced with all the possible accoutrements…like this limited edition watch…

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/...a-500-marq-commander

Beretta has the optic plates for C-More in stock. I ordered one last week, and it was on my doorstep the very next day. Apparently their accessories are shipped from the Richmond, VA area.
The factory plates are tall, yes. But I think the height will be easy to adjust to via some dry fire draw practice.
Put 50 rounds through the 92XI last night. The SAO trigger has a fair amount of take up. The reset is fantastic, however.

I took my friend's pistol to the range yesterday. I was so pumped. Ready. After reading all the reviews, I was looking for a simple confirmation that this was an obvious good decision. I could see the bride at the far end of the church, with sunlight streaming down on her through the stained glass windows. My knees were weak. My hands were shaking....



I checked into the range, and while there, I thought...you know what...I have been curious about the H&K VP9 all these years. I have plenty of ammo. I'll just rent one and see what I think.

I know, I know. The bride has her dress on. I'm looking at the maid of honor. I'm violating a few commandments. But, I am about to be married...

I came to shoot the Beretta, and it was finally time. I loaded up five rounds and sent the target out to 21 feet. The sight picture? Interesting. The slide profile, from the rear, is a triangle of sorts, with the sides bringing your eye to the sights. Let's say that for these eyes (cue the song), that tiny fiberoptic blade between an equally tiny notched plate of black steel was a challenge. The safety, which I expected to be easy to find, reminded me of a delicate china coffee cup handle. Yes, I could snick it off, but it did take some intent to do it just right.

The first five shots were scattered. Hmmm. I tried again. Same result. I tried a third quintet. Same result. All on target, but all very scattered. The overall pattern diameters were about five inches.

With the VP9 right there, I carefully put the Beretta down on a microfiber towel, so as not to mess up her dress. In the 21-round extended magazine I put five WWB. I felt the VP9 grip, so absolutely curvaceous, so form-fitting, so ergonomic. Wow. Looking downrange, I saw a sight picture of simple geometric shapes. Big rear sight, big notch, wide front blade, all easy to see. Dots were easy to see. Bang. Five shots in a small group. Again. Same result. Again. Now I'm amazed. Four of five are in one cloverleaf hole, and the other is just outside. Wow.

I felt something then. I felt relief. I felt a huge sense of relief. I had raised the veil before I said "I do" and clearly seeing the bride made a big decision easy.


Needless to say, I jilted her. Took her back to her dad, and asked him politely to put away the shotgun. We had a good talk. Turns out he doesn't think much of his daughter either.

Shows to go you that trying a pistol before purchase is really important. It's not the pistol, it's the pistol and you.

Beretta missed the mark on the 92xi. I was torn between that and a bone stock 92fs. Well the 92xi was cheaper with more options. It's optic ready and came with factory suppressor sights and threaded barrel.

Shoots ok, groups ok. I chalked it up to shooter not gun. The trigger to me feels nothing like a 1911.

There is more take up in the initial trigger pull than I expected. The optics ready concept is trash, specifically the Beretta plate options. The factory plates mount way to high. Nothing near as modular as a Glock mos or sig p320. I have a dlah mid mount plate on order for a dot.

If you get the itch again I'm sure they will be discounted again. I think 600 is a good deal, no way in hell I'm paying 900+.