Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

Taking the proven reliability of the venerable M9 Family to the next level, the Beretta® 92X Full-Size Semi-Auto Pistol delivers the performance that modern shooters demand. Offering shooters a high performing, do-it-all pistol, the 92X features the same short recoil, delayed blowback system as the battle-proven M9 for reliable cycling you can count on. Made of an extremely strong, lightweight, forged aircraft-quality aluminum alloy, the 92X’s versatile Vertec-profile frame is built to fit a majority of shooters right out of the box. Featuring a more vertical grip angle modeled after the 1911, the 92X’s frame features a straight backstrap and comes with thin, Vertec-style grip panels or more traditional, heavily-checkered, wraparound polymer grip panels. Covered with an easily convertible, universal-design, top slide, the gun’s 4.7″ barrel features a recessed target crown and corrosion-resistant chrome lining. A built-in 3-slot Picatinny rail in front of the round trigger guard makes it easy for you to add your preferred tactical light, laser, or other accessory. High visibility sights combine a high-visibility orange front sight on a Vertec dovetail with blacked-out combat rears. The 92X’s oversized steel magazine release and the generously beveled magazine well make reloading fast and simple when seconds count. Low-maintenance design includes a Gen 3 locking block on the barrel and intuitive tool-free disassembly for easy field stripping. A Bruniton™ non-reflective black coating provides superior corrosion and wear resistance.

High performing, do-it-all pistol based on the proven M9
Short recoil, delayed blowback system for reliable cycling
Versatile Vertec-profile frame – made of strong forged aircraft-quality aluminum alloy
More vertical grip angle – modeled after the 1911
Comes with thin, Vertec-style grip panels or wraparound polymer grip panels
Universal-design top slide
4.7″ barrel with recessed target crown and corrosion–resistant chrome lining
Built-in 3-slot Picatinny rail for gun light or laser sight
High visibility sights
Extreme-S steel trigger system
Oversized steel magazine release
Generously beveled magazine well
Intuitive tool-free disassembly
Durable, non-reflective Bruniton black coating
Everything You need to know About Beretta’s New 92X Full Size, Centurion, Compact and Performance Models

Review:Beretta’s New 92X Full Size
RELIABILITY
Duncan Jones from gunspatrol.com

The pistol I shoot the best is a Beretta 92 series. It was the first pistol I ever hated.
When I was first issued the gun, I was horrible with it. I resigned myself to it and didn’t practice with the weapon I would deploy with and depend on.
Under the wise instruction of an SF NCO, I got smart and spent countless hours turning your taxpayer dollars into noise and brass. After a couple deployments and a few years, I got a little better and realized that any shortcoming in performance was certainly due to the shooter. The gun was fantastic.
I put thousands and thousands of rounds through the 92 in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. It ran flawlessly.
When I got home, I logged 30,000 rounds through a single 92FS. I don’t think I changed the recoil spring for the first 10,000 at least. It was the first gun I ever ran the Bill Wilson 5×5 drill with in under 20 seconds.
There’s no pistol I’d rather go back to war with than a Beretta 92 series. And there’s no more proven combat and duty pistol than the 92.
Like many shooters, there are some changes I had made to my personal 92 series guns. Different grips, different sights, barrels re-crowned, barrels threaded, G-model conversions, Wilson Combat trigger jobs, Ernest Langdon “Trigger job in a bag” etc., etc., etc.
I wasn’t the only one who loved the gun, but wanted changes.
Beretta, it seems, was paying attention.
Available beginning today, Beretta has released a full suite of new 92X guns. Each of one of them maintains the key features loved by thousands of shooters, but updates them all with options we’ve been looking for on a stock gun for decades.
At the invite of Beretta, I spent a day at Elite Shooting Sports putting a few hundred rounds through each of the new 92X series of pistols. There are more than a couple changes to the guns, and all for the better.
Starting at the front, each of the 92X Full Size Centurion, and Compact pistols now include a dovetailed M9A3 compatible front sight. That means not only easy adjustment, but tons of options are available. Getting a Tritium front sight installed ON A 92FS was possible, but not simple. With the 92X series it’s just out with the old and in with the new. The pistols ship with a bright orange front sight right out of the box.
I had a recessed target crown put on my 92FS from Wilson Combat a few years ago. The 92X series features a chrome-lined barrel with the recessed target crown standard. Suppressor-ready barrels can be ordered directly from Beretta.
Every version of new 92X series comes with a three-slot Picatinny rail. However, the 92X Compact comes in a version with the Pic rail as well as another one with the traditional featureless dust cover. For those of us who carry IWB, the smooth dust cover is often preferred.

The rear dovetailed sight includes a serrated back surface and a short ledge on the front. The rear is slightly angled and provides an ideal window to view whatever front sight you choose to put on the pistol. The flat surface of the front also meant that I had no issues racking the slide on my belt, pocket, or heel.
One of the biggest complaints with the Beretta 92 series has always been its slide-mounted safety. I share a deep and abiding hatred of it as well and consider it entirely unsafe on a duty or carry weapon. I’ve seen people rack the slide and accidentally turn the safety on many times, and I’ve certainly done it myself. In a self defense or combat situation, that error can be a deadly one.
That’s why just about everyone wants not a safety, but a “de-cock only” G model lever. With each of the slide-mounted action lever models of the 92X series, the user can swap between the F/S and G models easily, all on their own.
The big change on all of the aluminum-framed models is the grip. The straight drop thin Vertec/M9A3 grip is instantly recognizable by any 92 enthusiast. For all of you pequeno-palmed pistoleros, the Vertec grip is likely to be a much better fit than the traditional large grip style.
But that same old grip that’s been a gripe for so many small palms worked great for those of us who prefer a healthy handful. For us, Beretta has included a wraparound grip that more closely resembles the traditional arched mainspring housing.

I shoot both the Beretta 92s and my 1911 noticeably faster and with less fatigue when using the arched grip vs. the straight version, and the well thought out inclusion of the wraparound style is much appreciated.
The front strap comes textured from the factory. The grip panel texture itself, on both the naked grip and the wraparound, is absolutely ideal. It’s hard to describe. It’s not sharp, but it’s rough. It’s not squishy, but it has some give. Imagine getting licked by a dehydrated house cat. Kinda like that, but in a good way.

Each member of the Beretta 92X family also includes a beveled magazine well and a reduced power hammer spring straight from Beretta.
Magazine capacity is outstanding in every size. For the Full Size and Centurion 92X, Beretta ships three 17-round magazines with each gun. Fifteen and 10-rounders are also available. The Compact model ships standard with three 13-round magazines, and 10’s can be had as well. The 17-round magazines (or larger) will fit in any of the guns. I ran each model with a full magazine +1 without issue.
Most of the parts, including the trigger, on the 92X series are backwards-compatible with the 92FS and later models. So are the magazines.

The 92X Performance model is a different animal altogether. The 92X Performance is a steel framed burning-fast beast of an IPSC gun, with a frame-mounted safety, weighing in at just under 48 oz. unloaded. I’d say it was a shoulder workout as well as a pistol, but the rounds pour out of the pistol so fast you don’t have to hold it up for long.
The 92X Compact, with the classic round dust cover (my favorite of the group), has a MSRP of $800. All of the aluminum-framed railed models have an MSRP of $899. The race-ready 92X Performance ups not just the weight, but also the price, at $1,399.
The oldest firearms company in the world tends to improve their products in a slow, iterative process. In releasing the 92X series, it’s clear that Beretta has looked at the market and listened to their customers. They’re providing not just lots of options, but giving their customers factory features the rest of us have been paying gunsmiths to do for years.
As a hardcore 92 fan, I’m stoked.

Review:Beretta’s New 92X Full Size
PERFORMANCE
Emilia Kush from gunsdiscreetsupplies.com

Beretta’s new 92X Performance 9 mm pistol ($600, gunsdiscreetsupplies.com) is a nice-looking handgun with the kind of eye appeal that demands it be picked up and handled. When you first pick it up out of the case you cannot help but notice its heft. This is no wonder nine polymer pistol; it is a steel-frame handgun with a little bit of heft that lends to its durable and rugged feel. This isn’t your ordinary 92, but a race-ready-built model packed with features. Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

I owned a Beretta 92 back in the mid-1990s, and I liked the pistol. It was reliable and it was accurate. During my days as a reserve officer, the Beretta 92 was my duty gun, so I have a little experience with Beretta pistols—just not lately. The Beretta 92X Performance is a well-designed and engineered handgun, and it is an enhanced pistol from the one I previously owned. The features that come standard on this gun will make it ready to run right out the box. It comes with all the features that are common for a competition pistol, but it also fits the bill for a carry gun or home defense pistol. Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

The 92X Performance pistol comes in a fine case that includes two 15-round magazines with a nice rubber base pad. In the case are the owner’s manual, cable lock and sight adjustment tool. The gun comes equipped with a thin pair of grips, moderately tacky in feel, but if you need a thicker pair to fill your hands better there is a pair supplied.
The 92X Performance blends parts of other 92 variants to build the ultimate race-ready firearm. The dual tone look of the gun is achieved, according to the Beretta website, by using a Nistan finish to treat the frame and slide surfaces, with the contrast provided by the black burnished barrel, black grips and small parts. It starts with the Vertec steel frame and the Brigadier slide, which take the weight of this hefty beast to 48.4 ounces including magazine. The weight increases pistol stability and reduces muzzle flip. Also found on the frame are the oversized magazine release button as well as nicely machined checkered front and rear that grab the hand when firing. The trigger guard is relieved and the beavertail is extended, allowing for a very high grip. The fiber-optic front sight is a proven performer in daylight conditions. The black rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation. The sights on this handgun are fine right out of the box. Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

The slide has the traditional Beretta look of being very light and exposing most of the barrel of the gun. The Brigadier slide with barrel and the steel recoil rod system weighs 19.3 ounces. There are front and rear cocking serrations that Beretta refers to as a saw-tooth pattern on the slide, allowing for a good purchase by the hand on the slide for cocking the gun. The front end of the slide is beveled in front of the cocking serrations, as is standard with Beretta pistols, which also makes racking the slide easy. The 92X comes with an ambidextrous thumb safety, which allows the pistol to be carried cocked and locked. There is no decocker on this handgun. The supplied safeties on the gun out of the box are too wide for the gun to be able to fit the Production division box, so you will need to replace at least one side or modify it.

As of this writing, Beretta is aware of this and is working on offering a solution. The ability to have this pistol in a cocked and locked ready condition is a big deal and a departure from the days of old. While not something that is legal in USPSA Production division, you can do this safely without having to fire the first-round double action only in Limited or L10 divisions. If this doubles as a carry or home defense gun, the ability to have the single action first shot is a welcome improvement.
The frame of the gun is another place where improvement is observed. The grips of Beretta pistols were great if you had large hands. Beretta pistols tend to have a grip with plenty of girth, which can be problematic. The 92X has slim Vertec grips that allow for any size hand to use this pistol well. There is a thicker set of grips supplied if needed. The frame features a rail for accessories, which is nice for any handgun that is going to serve in the self-defense role. The magazine release is oversized, which provides for the thumb to cleanly hit the release. It is also reversible, and there is an adjustable version available from the aftermarket. I was able to hit the magazine release without breaking my firing grip on the gun. During live-fire testing, there was not a single inadvertent release of the magazine, so the size seems to be just right. Thus, I can say without fear of being wrong this magazine release is the proper size. However, the 92X will fire the round in the chamber without having a magazine in the gun, so do not be complacent and rely on a magazine safety to keep you safe.

#NOTES
The trigger on the 92X Performance is wide compared to most pistols; it is metal and has grooves placed vertically along the trigger surface, permitting the trigger finger to stay in place without any slippage. It is easy to reach, and I believe sits at rest closer to the grip than the old 92 pistols; the thinner Vertec grip makes reaching the trigger easy and comfortable. The trigger is smooth as butter on this model and breaks crisply and the reset is short and sweet. The pistol is accurate, and a great trigger is a big reason why. Ten pulls on the Wheeler Engineering trigger pull gauge in double-action average four pounds, 15.4 ounces, and three pounds 13.6 ounces in single-action.
Part of this trigger comes from the skeletonized hammer with a competition standard hammer spring. According to Beretta, the faster cycle time of the gun is a result of the new hammer and the new Extreme-S trigger mechanism that keeps the striker automatic latch active, ensuring the safety of the pistol in case of a drop but decreases trigger rest up to 40 percent.
To summarize the features, the 92X Performance has everything the competitive shooter and the defensive shooter needs right out of the box. It is a fine-looking pistol and it has great ergonomics. The trigger is good to go as well. This is not just a new model of Beretta, it is an enhanced and improved Beretta pistol designed to take the podium in competitive pistol matches. Beretta 92X Full Size Semi-Auto Pistol

At the range
The range session with the 92X Performance was a hybrid session, hybrid meaning that Jake Martens completed the drills from the holster and I completed the drills from a loaded table start. The ready condition of the gun was hammer down with the first shot being double-action. The first drill was a 1×6 drill. The targets were a mixture of 10- and 12-inch plates at 14 yards spread out across a large bay roughly 20 yards wide. We were standing in the middle of the array. Jake’s times on this drill were 4.16, 3.94 and 3.61 seconds total time; he achieved all of his hits on the middle run but not so much on the first and last attempt. The draw times on these runs were 1.72, 1.76 and 1.59 seconds with a double-action first shot. My times with the tabletop start were 4.79, 4.26 and 3.99 seconds with no recorded misses. My times for the first shot were 1.43, 1.52 and 1.39 seconds. The trigger pull on the first shot even in double-action mode was smooth and broke nicely. Accuracy was not a problem on the first shot for either of us.
The second drill was a front sight forward drill with four steel USPSA targets with the delta zone removed. The targets were also 14-yards distant, with one yard between each target. We shot each target with two rounds each for a total of eight rounds. Jake’s times were 3.72, 3.55 and 3.43 seconds from the holster. His best draw among these three runs was 1.59 seconds—with no misses. My times were 4.35, 3.90 and 3.95 seconds on the drill. My best draw time was 1.40 seconds coming off the table—securing all the hits.

The third drill was a 6×2 array. The first target at 10 yards was shot six times and the second target at 14 yards was shot twice. We used the no-delta-zone targets for this drill as well. Jake went first with times of 3.35, 3.15 and 3.10 seconds without a miss. His draw times were 1.58, 1.51 and 1.48 seconds respectively. My times on the drill were 3.43, 3.14 and 3.19 seconds from the table; my draw times were 1.32, 1.24 and 1.24 seconds. We were impressed with the gun’s performance.
The fourth drill was a Near to Far array. The target distances used were nine, 10, 14 and 20 yards. Jake’s times were 3.93, 3.85 and 3.60 seconds; the draw times were 1.71, 1.70 and 1.71 seconds. My times were 4.21, 3.98 and 3.74 seconds, and my draw times were 1.50, 1.45 and 1.40 seconds. Both Jake and I had all of the hits on this drill. The Beretta 92X Performance is certainly accurate enough for the distances frequently encountered in USPSA shooting.
The range session proved that the 92X Performance is a very nice-shooting pistol that is capable of competing with any pistol out there on the USPSA circuit. We shot a couple of other pistols on this particular day and were pleased to find the Beretta was their equal. Being a heavy gun made it soft-shooting and allowed for really rapid splits. The weight of the gun did not seem to detract in any way on transitions.