Posted: 3/12/2003 7:40:24 AM EDT
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First, thanks for the replies to my last post re: 92F v. FS. New question: Has anyone ever had a trigger bar pop out/break on their 92F - causing all kinds of nasty internal problems? This happened to me recently after finally getting around to firing a beautiful Italian made F I've had in the attic for years. I'd estimate that it's seen less than 500 rounds total. Appreciate any thoughts on what could have caused this besides just being the gun that got an unlucky defective part. Are there any special maintenance issues that I should know about? Ajax |
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I've seen it once or twice on the 92F but never on the FS. The times I recall, it was either with reloads or with factory jacketed stuff after lead reloads had been fired in the pistol without a good barrel scrubbing afterward. The Beretta does not have the same issues as the Glock and HK with polygon rifling, but lead in the barrel will build up and, literally, make the bore dimensions smaller...thus increasing internal pressures when the weapon is fired. I have also seen split barrels because of this. Due to this fact, Beretta will not warranty the gun if lead reloads have been fired. Yes, they can usually tell if this is the case, and no I won't let the cat out of the bag except to say if you have fired lead bullets, you'd better really know how to clean a barrel! |
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Woah! 1. Split barrels from a little lead!?!? So, the same weapon that survives a tumbling in an empty cement mixer can disintegrate in your hands after a total of a few hundred rounds!?!? (FYI: The cartridges I was using when it happened were UMC/Remington that I use for plinking an indoor ranges.) 2. Why do you suppose it’s only on the F and not the FS? Was there a design change to this part of the gun in addition to the design changes mentioned in the responses to my prior post re: F v. FS? 3. Not much of a warrantee, eh? Ajax |
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Not a "little" lead...quite a bit...you would not believe the abuse some people give their guns. Any machine can break without proper care, and the Beretta is one of the toughest. Split barrels or trigger bars blown out are not "common" by any means, and every other weapon out there has its' strengths and weaknesses too. I suspect that the reason I only saw it happen with 92F's is simple...for years after we began using semi-auto pistols, we used reloaded ammunition for training, and since we shot a LOT of steel, that meant lead bullets...millions of them. By the time the 92FS came along, we had finally convinced the bean counters that it actually "paid" to use factory new ammo for training, and electroplated lead bullets (CCI Blazer)were also available for shooting steel. The 9mmP round generates chamber pressures very close to those of magnum pistol cartridges, so, even though it does not share the unique "time-pressure spike" issues of the .40S&W, it is still able to create lots havoc if the bullet gets set back in the case, or if a case ruptures. Gas venting from a ruptured case will also blow through the trigger assembly of the Beretta, and since the external trigger bar and its' connection with the trigger are not one solid piece, the bar will sometimes pop out as yours did. My guess is that you had such a ruptured case...were you able to recover the brass and look? Rem/UMC ammo, especially the yellow box stuff loaded in Mexico, has more than its' share of QC issues. My preference runs strongly to Federal, WW and CCI/Speer. The Beretta warranty is excellent, but as I recall they say in the instruction book not to shoot lead bullets in the 92 series guns...certainly they say "no reloads". They stand behind their product far better than many companies, for sure. If you are tired of that ol' foreign made 92F of yours, however, I will gladly let you send it to me so it can retire here in sunny FL. LOL :-) |