Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Massad Ayoob
Read between
December 22, 2023 - February 21, 2024
Mitch, who likes to name holsters after their designers – a good thing – dubbed it the Ayoob Rear Guard. This was fine until I realized the initials would spell ARG, which when uttered in one syllable sounds like “Arrgghh!” I was just glad I hadn’t called it Super Holster Inside Trousers. After 9/11, Mitch re-named the holster the American Rear Guard.
Ha ha.
Consider the new SERPA holster from Blackhawk, made of carbon fiber and with clever recessed trigger lock
Rut-Roh, the infamously controversial Serpa…
The LPA appears to be the sight that Beretta is using on their excellent .22 conversion unit for the Model 92 and 96 pistols.
was coaching a tough young Sabra through my LFI-I class. This woman was of average size with average length fingers, and the Beretta being so popular where she came from (Tel Aviv), she had ordered the best available, a Model 92 Inox Elite
Jerry Barnhart offers his Burner grips for the Beretta.
Wow, there’s a name I haven’t seen/heard in quite a few years.
As a general rule, anything that gives you an unfair advantage in a game is something you want to have on your side in a fight.
“‘Fair’ is rhetoric. What is ‘fair’ to me may not be so ‘fair’ to you, and vice versa.”—Dr. Peter Gordon, my Econ professor at USC
I can say that the Blade-Tech makes sense for concealed carry under a substantial covering garment,
I personally see magazines as integral to the gun. Calling them accessories is like saying the tires on your car are “accessories.” But some see it that way, so a few points bear repeating here. There are only two brands worth owning: Beretta and MecGar. That’s not just an opinion, it’s an earnest warning.
Finally, the dummy gun is great for custom-fitting a holster. With leather rigs, this process includes wet-molding, and you can practically hear your pistol rusting as it sits in the holster overnight, no matter how much you’ve greased it. Using the dummy gun for this takes the worry out.
this generic copy of a Beretta made in China is in the author’s opinion too soft for the purpose.
Because FUCK CHINA!!
The Beretta 92 has won national titles in IDPA (stock service pistol class) and IPSC (production class)
I’ve personally shot 1.5-inch groups at 25 yards with hot Pro-Load Tactical 9mm using the standard-grade Model 92 service pistol, and 1.25 inches with a Langdon Custom version.
Beretta makes its big combat autos in three formats. The most common is the “F” series, a traditional double- action (TDA) pistol that is self-cocking after the first shot, and whose slide-mounted decocking lever also functions as a manual safety when left in the down position. Many police departments have gone with the “D” series, which is double-action-only (DAO). The Elite is produced in the third format as a “G” model. The fire control mechanism is TDA, but the ambidextrous lever on the slide functions strictly as a decocking lever and not as a manual “safety catch.”
Okay, Mas, you’re repeating yourself yet again…
Ayoob doesn’t care for the Elite II’s forward slide serrations, but many shooters do.
I ain’t too keen on ‘em myself.
Reliability is the cornerstone of Beretta’s reputation.
Explains Hattrup, who lives in a state that does not yet have the concealed carry option, “I keep a straight-up Beretta 92 for home defense, and just bought a 92 Vertec for the flashlight rail feature. Berettas are known for their reliability, especially in 9mm, and reliability is my prime consideration in a self-defense firearm. The advantage of being able to use full-capacity 15-round military surplus magazines is a nice bonus.” Once he had selected the Beretta 92 for home defense, it seemed logical to shoot with the same system in competition to build his skill.
travel to an out-of-town match, having a gun break or choke can be a financial loss, not to mention killing both the match and the mood for you. My Berettas have never failed me in a match, large or small. From speaking with other Beretta shooters, I believe my experiences are quite common regarding reliability. Plenty of my fellow shooters (with other brands) have spent much more on their guns, only to have them fail or jam in the middle of a shooting string.”
Like I see with so many 1911 shooters!
From coast to coast, I’ve documented stories of cops who are alive because their F-series Beretta was on safe when the bad guy got it away from them, pulled the trigger and was unable to make it fire.
Another repeat there, Mas.
the great majority of Beretta pistols. They are fine machines. They have a good “frequency of repair” ratio, and they are more tolerant than many other guns to a lack of maintenance.
In one episode of the old, cult-hit British TV show, “The Avengers,” the male character, Steed, faces off with a thuggish European counterpart. The latter snarls that the next time they meet, he will face Steed with “a well-oiled Beretta.” Steed, a clubby upper crust type who affects a bowler hat and walking stick, replies, “I prefer a Smith & Wesson, myself. Magnum.” Now, let’s set aside for a moment the incongruity of the suave, urbane Steed, a man of Continental tastes, preferring an American revolver to a fine European automatic. What the bad guy had right was the “well-oiled Beretta”
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Right-o, mate!
If you are going to be in a high-sand environment, then a dry lube, something graphite-based perhaps, might make enormous sense for you.
In non-hostile environments, I just use Firepower FP-10, or Break-Free CLP. I don’t use WD-40, which seems to be more of a cleanser than a lubricant and tends to set up on the gun and get sticky after a long period of time.
It’s amazing how many people clean their guns, but don’t clean their magazines.
The magazine brushes available from sources like Brownell’s are extremely handy for this, worth their weight in gold as it were.
If you shoot a lot, any gun that you trust for defense of life should have such a detail-stripping overhaul once a year, minimum.
It’s a good idea with any auto pistol to change out the recoil spring every 3,000 to 5,000 rounds.
I wouldn’t use ammunition with steel cartridge casings in any Beretta. Unless you have a weapon designed for steel case ammo, like the Russian Makarov, it will tend to break extractors.
Da, tovarish!
Some advise against aluminum-cased Blazer ammunition. Personally, I haven’t had any problems with it in Beretta
Keep a fresh box of your duty ammo handy. Change out the round in the chamber every month or so. Every time you unload and reload, the extractor takes another bite at the rim and the ejector takes another kick at it. Dinged up brass is one reason reloaded ammo tends to be less reliable than virgin factory ammunition. Moreover, each time the cartridge is rammed into the chamber is another chance to weaken the watertight seal between case mouth and bullet, which down the road can at least theoretically compromise the integrity of the powder charge. With some ammo, repeated chamberings can push
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drop of oil goes on the safety/decock lever as shown, lubricating the plunger and plunger spring …
one drop in the rear of the firing pin channel
one drop behind the extractor…
one drop each in the front and back of firing pin catch …
… one drop in the front of the firing pin channel …
… and a few drops in both left and right slide rails. Slide lube is completed, and it’s time to go to the frame …
it won’t hurt to put a drop on the trigger bar spring, a spot you have to be careful of while cleaning the magazine well
… put a drop of oil on each side of the firing pin block lever …
… a drop on the hammer release lever …
… a drop of oil between hammer and frame on both left and right side …
… a drop on the disassembly latch, a.k.a. takedown lever …
a drop on the trigger pin …
drop on the trigger pivot pin …
a couple of drops behind the trigger bar
and a drop or two on the sear, and the frame is lubed. Now to the barrel …
where you want a drop of oil on the locking block plunger …
where you want to lube all bearing surfaces of the locking block area.
Thanks for all the detailed lubrication pointers, Mas!
Ernest Langdon, widely considered the gold standard for combat pistolsmithing of the Beretta 92 and 96.
I had been hearing about Ernie Langdon being the guy to beat in IDPA, and first saw him in action at the 1998 MidWinter National Championships. The guy was awesome. He won not only the Stock Service Pistol category, but the overall match, shooting what appeared to be a bone-stock Beretta 92. Today, Langdon is still the guy to beat in IDPA, and he continues to shoot the double-action 9mm. I’ve seen him take the overall from World Champ Rob Leatham and Bianchi Cup ruler Doug Koenig, who were shooting light-triggered 1911s at the time.
He remains convinced that the Beretta is unbeatable as a functional real-world defensive handgun, and he knows that with the right ammo, a 9mm is powerful enough to solve your problems. This is especially true of an accurate 9mm that holds 16 rounds and never jams.
Since I never hand-cock a double-action auto, a spurless hammer was desirable.
Really, “never??” Not even for, say, a shot of 25 yards or more??
