Beretta 96 Issues?

[Kumora]

Hey all, I am considering buying a Beretta 96. I love Beretta and .40 cal so it fits both. I have heard of some possible issues with slide cracking? Can anyone shed some light to this issue or any other issues they might have? I dont think they are bad pistols, I just want to make sure it is a worthy buy before I commit.

Thanks

[bripro]

Most of what you have heard about slide cracking probably happened during the military's testing of the M9. You can get more specific responses at Berettaforum.net but I think they had issues around the thirty thousand round mark. I have a 96 which happens to have the heavier Brigadier slide. If you are worried you could go that route but I honestly wouldn't worry about it. The 96 is a great .40 cal platform. Let us know when you get it. Brian

[knight0334]

The slide cracking was on the exhibit samples for the military trials, and after several thousand rounds.

The slides were beefed up on production Brigadier models thereafter and a block added to the receiver of all models to keep the slide from coming back should it break.

I wouldn't be worried about it. You're more likely to have your barrel blown off a S&W or Ruger revolver because it was over torqued than have the slide break on a 92/96.

The only things I don't like about my 92 are:

1. Heavier than it needs to be.
2. Single action trigger stroke is longer than it needs to be and has too much slack in it.

[bripro]

Just pulled this off Beretta Forum.... The 92 model was introduced in 1976. The 92S was introduced in 1979. The 92SB was introduced in 1980 - or thereabouts (and discontinued in 1985).

The 92SB is the model that the Navy Special Warefare Group (SEALS) adopted. This was done before the military trials were conducted – looking for an M1911 replacement.

The 92SB evolved into the 92F as a result of 3 separate incidents. During these incidents the slides broke off and caused facial injuries to the SEALS that were using the pistol in training exercises. The area the locking block mated with the frame had cracked causing the slide to fly back into the shooters face. The military replicated the failure and found the issue was caused by poor metallurgy.

Beretta claimed using hot ammo caused the issue, but the military demonstrated that using low-pressure ammo also caused the cracking.

There are anecdotal reports that an analysis of the cracked slides could be traced to the use of Tellurium in the manufacturing process. It’s added to the steel to make the slide more machinable but it’s also known to make the product more brittle. There are other anecdotal reports that say the cracked slides were either part of a French contract that Beretta used to deliver the M9 contract guns or were made with steel supplied by the French. I am not aware of any proof that these reports were true or not but they are certainly spread around the ‘net as gospel.

The 92F is the model that was used for the military trials. Beretta ended up fixing the metallurgy issues (not sure what the change was) and incorporating additional safety features into the design (an oversized hammer pin with an oversized head which fits into a groove machined into the slide) that kept the slide from launching back at the shooter if there was a failure. This model became the 92FS/M9 and adopted by the military.

I guess at the end of the day, if you aren’t comfortable with shooting it because you can’t nail down exact specifics about the gun you have in your possession, don’t shoot it. Buy a newer model and go have fun with your son and pass the 92S on as a keepsake

[TTgunner]

Slide cracking is an issue with any pistol with high round counts but the Beretta hype goes back to a number of pistols that fired very high pressure 9mm rounds well beyond SAAMI standards. Those pistols survived thousands of rounds before stress fractures showed up. Unless you plan to reload a few thousand smoking loads I wouldn't worry about it.