Beretta had updated their Performance model to the 94X and finally comes with a full length grip and some welcom ergonomic changes to the Vertec frame. Here's some extra details:
* Longer Vertec® Pro frame * Upswept beavertail profile * Raised trigger undercut * 3 mm lower RDO slide-cut * Xtreme-S® trigger for short, fast, and instinctive reset * Cold hammer forged barrel with reinforced steel formulation * 30% wider and deeper, 15° inclined serrations * Redesigned safety levers: flush in the back, wider on the front to improve contact * 1 mm fiber-optic front sight * Blacked-out, serrated, and negatively inclined rear sight * Slide catch lever with thinner and angled profile * Revised longer firing pin geometry * Increased extraction reliability with an integrated elastomer buffer * Graphite Grey finish * Redesigned polymer grip panels with palm swell * Reversible magazine release button * 20-shot capacity flush magazines
Those 20 round magazines will work in regular 92s but 92 mags won't work in the 94X since they're too short. It's still DA/SA, but I'll probably wait and see if they come out with one in an alloy frame instead of steel.
June 15, 2026, 01:11 PM
92fstech
Clearly this is marketed to competition types who are always going to want the bigger mags anyway, but I see not being backwards-compatible with existing 92 mags as a loser in the general consumer market. I also don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the 92 grip being too small before...not sure what's behind the decision to make it bigger.
Any comments made by this poster are my own and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer.
June 15, 2026, 01:32 PM
1KPerDay
quote:
Originally posted by 92fstech: Clearly this is marketed to competition types who are always going to want the bigger mags anyway, but I see not being backwards-compatible with existing 92 mags as a loser in the general consumer market. I also don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the 92 grip being too small before...not sure what's behind the decision to make it bigger.
Longer frame allows flush-fit 20-round mags but I agree this is a very niche product. I'm sure it's a shooter and will attract some buyers from the Shadow 2 crowd. I also think it's silly that the 92 platform currently has TWO good options for a decocker and they chose to leave it off this one and force everyone to do the manual hammer-down dance before each stage. And I think the trigger guard looks goofy. But the new beavertail looks a lot better than the flaccid one on the 92X performance.
--------------------------- My hovercraft is full of eels.
June 15, 2026, 01:36 PM
parabellum
It makes me want to hurl.
Yeah, they marketed the fuck out of it, didn't they?
"Beating off. Together."
June 15, 2026, 01:45 PM
12131
So, they finally admitted they fired the guy who the designed and the guy who approved the ridiculous down sloping beaver tail on the 92X Performance?
And yeah, like the older model’s grip frame is not full length enough already, so they had to stretch it a little more and make older mags incompatible. Clearly they didn’t learn from their own history with the Cougar design fiasco. More
Q
June 15, 2026, 02:39 PM
oddball
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum: Yeah, they marketed the fuck out of it, didn't they?
The yellow colored lettering on both sides of the slide looks marvelous.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
June 15, 2026, 03:50 PM
Chowser
the launch model has the extended vertec frame that only fits the 20 round mags. The standard edition releasing later has the regular vertec frame so all existing mags should work.
Not minority enough!
June 15, 2026, 04:09 PM
DanH
quote:
Originally posted by Chowser: the launch model has the extended vertec frame that only fits the 20 round mags. The standard edition releasing later has the regular vertec frame so all existing mags should work.
Not in the 94. They might be releasing a 92 version of this, but the 94 Launch and Production stay with the longer grip.
June 15, 2026, 04:09 PM
12131
quote:
Originally posted by Chowser: the launch model has the extended vertec frame that only fits the 20 round mags. The standard edition releasing later has the regular vertec frame so all existing mags should work.
We’re talking about the one that is the topic of this thread. Making the grip frame longer is just plain dumb, imo.
Q
June 15, 2026, 04:34 PM
MacGyver
I don’t mind the looks, but I was hoping the next steel-frame 90-series would be another “pretty” one (like the old Steel I/II) instead of another “sporty” one. I don’t know how I feel about the longer grip, but I do like how the frame is modified to have the grips blend/wrap perfectly flush without adding any unwanted thickness.
Regarding the above posts, 94 is what indicates the longer grip. I won’t be surprised if Beretta releases another 92X Performance with this same ergonomic/cosmetic treatment, but everything 94 will have the longer grip, whether Launch Edition or not.
June 15, 2026, 05:24 PM
Voshterkoff
I think a semi auto 93R would sell well given the current nfa environment.
June 15, 2026, 06:59 PM
bac1023
I was looking at it last week. Not being a 92 fan, I think this model will make a good shooter out of the design.
June 15, 2026, 07:05 PM
1KPerDay
quote:
Originally posted by Voshterkoff: I think a semi auto 93R would sell well given the current nfa environment.
What environment would that be? They didn't reopen the registry...
--------------------------- My hovercraft is full of eels.
June 15, 2026, 08:00 PM
12131
What’s the point of a “semi auto” 93R?
Q
June 15, 2026, 08:29 PM
MacGyver
quote:
Originally posted by bac1023: I think this model will make a good shooter out of the design.
What makes you say that?
June 15, 2026, 08:56 PM
Voshterkoff
quote:
Originally posted by 12131: What’s the point of a “semi auto” 93R?
Stock, foregrip, and perhaps frt.
June 15, 2026, 09:13 PM
12131
It’s still a semi-auto, like the 92. All of the things you want can be done on a 92. I honestly don’t see the appeal of the 93R at all. It’s just plain ugly.
Q
June 15, 2026, 09:40 PM
MacGyver
^^^I like the 93R, but I totally agree that it's only appealing if it's a real 93R. Anything neutered and/or requiring extra hoops be jumped through (because of NFA/GCA/ATF silliness) loses its appeal to me almost instantly and completely.
I'm probably in the minority, but I have almost no desire for an SBR, SBS, AOW, nor even a suppressor because of the BS one has to go through, whether it's $200 BS or $0 BS.
June 15, 2026, 09:45 PM
12131
Yep, I don’t care for hoop jumping, either. I had two SBRs that I’ve converted to Title I rifles. No more concern about where my paperwork/stamps are.
Q
June 16, 2026, 01:40 AM
hrcjon
This is or course serious thread drift. But there are so many positives to an actual stock on many/most guns that one would SBR. I can't even imagine the idea that with the current approval times and costs one would choose that. I personally have no issues saying suppressed on pistols is not that big a winner (we are in the pistol section) but the idea that you would forgo suppressors on rifles just boggles the mind IMO.
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”