Greetings fellow members. A middle aged member here needs a little advice. I have always wanted another Beretta 92 of some type. I sold my 92FS years ago. And never replaced it. To the members that have experienced both or one of the other? What are thoughts on both of these Berettas? My primary use will be just going to the range and maybe it will enter the home defense rotation. After many weeks of YouTube I have narrowed it down to a Langdon LTT 92g Centurion or a Italian made M9A3

If you’ve handled both, Which of the two feels and balances best for you? The most notable differences of the M9A3 and the 92G Elite LTT is the barrel with the M9A3 coming with a threaded barrel and the LTT with a shorter target crown stainless barrel. The M9A3 is built on a Vertec frame and the LTT is built on a legacy 92 frame. Both guns have similar undercuts and extended magazine release. The M9A3 comes with high visibility Night Sights and the LTT has serrated fiber optic front sights with serrated black rears. The M9A3 has better grip ergonomics due to the Vertec grip but the LTT comes with thin grips and has a subjectively better action. The rounding on the underside of the slide and trigger guard of the LTT was done to limit pressure spots and reduce slide bite. The LTT comes with a stainless-steel guide rod versus the plastic guide rod on the M9A3. The LTT had no lanyard loop & It’s also a G model so decock only. The M9A3 action can easily be made a comparable shooter with the addition of the Langdon “trigger job in a bag” which replaces the hammer spring & trigger bar and adds an elite II hammer.

To me, it would come down to price between the two with the cost of adding the Langdon TJIAB. I had a similar conundrum with a LTT 92G and Wilson Combat 92G-SD some years back. I got both

Either will serve you well but you can find many deals on used M9A3 pistols now,especially on gunbroker. The standard 92fs model is an amazing gun and seems like it runs on ball bearings,especially if you put the "D" hammer spring in it. The "D" offers a lighter double action pull but does not cause any issues with the gun and reliability. With the M9A3 you have options with different grip/frame sizes- Vertec style with no rounded hump on the rear of the gun or swap the grips and have it. You also have a threaded barrel if getting/having a suppressed gun is an option for you.

If the threaded barrel doesn't mean much to you, there is always the 92X or 92X RDO if you want an optic on it. It has many of the same features as the M9A3,except the threaded barrel and is quite a bit cheaper. If I were getting one of the two you are looking at, it would be the M9A3 without a doubt as it has more options.

Thanks for the replies. My local fun store has an M9A3 but there are no Langdon Centurions around. The M9A3 is a good sized pistol. But for some reason it feels good in my medium sized hands. I would love to get my hands on either a Langdon or Wilson Combat Beretta Centurion for comparison.

I sold my first ever handgun, a Beretta 96F in 40 (got out of that caliber). Always wanted to replace it so I did with a minty Beretta 92FS Centurion. Like a normal 92FS but barrel is 3/4" shorter. Superb.

Then I upgraded the heck out of it. Put in WC super slim grips, installed a Landgon TJIAB (myself; bit of a bitch but trigger is SWEET), upgraded recoil spring and guide rod, added WC sights, including having the front fixed sight drilled out for an LED, upgraded the mag release, and lastly, had the fine folks of CCR refinish it.

No rails, maxed-out/upgraded, early 90s Beretta goodness. I do like the Langdon Centurion though. Good luck scratching that itch.

I have a couple of his early LTT Elites. They are fantastic. That being said the 92X was my first foray into the Vertec frame. Slim grips and undercuts are great but they don’t hold a candle to the Vertec frame. I will never buy another 92 that isn’t Vertec unless it’s an amazing deal.

Also, the 92X’s all seem to have significantly better factory triggers out of the box. My 2 were so good that I almost didn’t add Langdon parts. Almost. Now with TJIAB in my 92X Compact the trigger is better than the one one the gun Ernest did himself (my first LTT). It is wicked good. Maybe just luck, maybe the stars lined up.

The M9A3 does nothing for me. Unless you are suppressing it get the Langdon or the X and add the TJIAB if necessary. Even if you do suppress it’s not hard to get a barrel.

I bought a M9A3 a few months back. I love the grip and though I am not a fan of 3 dot sights I do like these. I changed this one to decocker. It is a soft shooter. I shot it pretty well.

I’ll be honest, I never quite understood the M9A3. I get it, it was the upgraded contender for the new contract. They lost though so playing off the M9 terminology doesn’t make sense since it’s not an M9 and it isn’t the successor. It also holds no special place in the 92 lineup either. It incorporates improvements and a threaded barrel. That’s it. The 92X’s have the same improvements, rounded the trigger guard for sone reason, and threaded barrels can’t be a big deal so why keep this line open at all? Plus it’s like Beretta didn’t even attempt to get the colors right. Fuck it, they are all kinda brown so close enough? I do love the ammo can though.

^ FWIW, the coloring of the anodizing on the lowers of the 92X don't match the uppers well, either. Doesn't bother me as the gun shoots great, but Beretta doesn't seem too motivated to accomplish that an any of their product lines.

I agree about the M9A3...perfectly fine gun but it really does seem like a stepping stone to the 92X, and now that those are released, why continue the product line? Is it purely a marketing thing, to snare those buyers who must have the military designation (like people who must have an M17 instead of a P320)? But like you said, it wasn't adopted, so is that really an incentive for people?

I am curious as I've not shot one...does the M9A3 come from the factory with the same "Langdonesque" short-reset trigger as the 92X, or is it set up more like a Legacy 92?

No idea. We have discussed the anodizing before and you are right. I have a grayish one and a blueish one. Neither matches the other and neither is black. I kinda like the grey though I like the retarded browns of that one. Actually, I could like the anodized brown, it’s the slide brown that makes it horrendous to me.

Stepping stone is a good way to put it. Yet it still lingers about for some reason.