Beretta’s new handgun comes with all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect from a competition-ready firearm. (Photo: Beretta)
Beretta unveiled this week the latest edition to their legendary Model 92 family – the 92X Performance. Billed as an out-of-the-box competition-ready handgun, the 92X features a heavy Vertec steel frame, a Brigadier slide, and a new trigger mechanism.
Designed to increase speed and accuracy, the handgun features a hefty 47.61oz overall weight that, according to the company, helps “increase the pistol’s stability and reduce muzzle rise when shooting.” In single-action mode, the 3.3-pound Extreme-S trigger also deceases reset by “up to” 40 percent and includes adjustments to regulate pre-travel and over-travel. In double-action, the trigger weight increases to 6.6 pounds.
Competition shooters will recognize many of the 92X’s additional enhancements, including slide serrations, front and rear grip checkering, oversized and reversible magazine button, skeletonized hammer, beveled magazine well, “match” takedown lever, and ambidextrous thumb safety.
The thumb safety comes in three different size profiles and can be adapted to various hand types and different IPSC divisions. The takedown lever is notable not so much for its functionality disassembling the handgun as for its use as a reference point for the shooter’s off-hand thumb.
(Photo: Beretta)
(Photo: Beretta)
(Photo: Beretta)
The lowered hold open lever is “of the ‘stealth lever’ type,” according to Beretta, which keeps it from interfering with the finger resting on the safety lever during the out-of-ammunition warning.
The front sight uses a red fiber optic rod and the rear sight is a simple black notched bar that can be adjusted for elevation and windage to the micrometer.
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The handgun comes with two 15-round magazines featuring oversized rubber pads that protect the magazine during reloads and provide extra grip for the dominant hand.
The Beretta 92 became famous in the United States when a variant (the 92 SB-F, later 92FS) replaced the M1911A1 as the official sidearm for the United States Armed Forces. Designated by the military as the M9, the Beretta began service in 1985 and was only recently replaced by the U.S. Army with the SIG Sauer P320 (M17).
In popular culture, the handgun is perhaps most famous for its prominent appearance as Bruce Willis’s sidearm of choice in the Die Hard film series.
The 92X Performance is available in 9×19 (PARA) and 9×21 (for European markets). The MSRP has not been announced.
Never had a need for a rail on a handgun in competition. However, it does look interesting.
Where was this Beretta design team during the last Army trials. It’s as if that wake-up call was what it took to get them to get serious about upgrading a good platform.
They did step up. It’s called the M9A3. A beautiful weapon that was completely ignored by the military during the trials. They didn’t accept it for consideration. The minds in charge had already decided against Beretta by the time they even announced the trials.
Anyway, look up the M9A3. It’s a fine piece of kit. I own the G version and went with black instead of FDE.