Gun Digest Book of Beretta Pistols. Massad Ayoob
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to do with the less than stellar performance.
The side of the conversion unit’s slide is distinctly marked.
This is Beretta’s own .22 conversion unit for full-length Model 92 and 96 traditional double-action pistols. It includes a magazine.
Earlier, a friend and fellow firearms instructor in Michigan, Jeff Brooks, had bought a Model 87 Target for his young son. He was not any happier with the backlash than I was, or with the heavy (for a bull’s-eye pistol) trigger pull weight that left Fortier dissatisfied. Jeff told me of his specimen, “Trigger overtravel is absolutely horrible and very excessive.” He asked me to recommend a pistolsmith.
I told him to try Ernest Langdon, who specializes in Berettas, and that if Langdon didn’t handle that model, to try Teddy Jacobson at Actions by T in Sugarland, Texas. It turned out that Langdon preferred to do major work only on Model 92 and 96 pistols, and light action hones on Cougars, and didn’t work on 80-Series Berettas at all. Jacobson, on the other hand, took on the job. Jeff reported after he got the gun back from the masterful Texas pistolsmith, “We love the 87 Target. Teddy Jacobson did an outstanding job on trigger pull weight, smoothness, and travel.” He sent me some pictures of young Jonathan and some of his targets, and it’s clear, both shooter and pistol are doing fine.
The test gun I had belonged to Beretta, not to me. I’m used to heavy triggers, generally specifying around 4.5 pounds single-action in my pistols, so that didn’t bother me. My test Model 87 Target’s trigger was also quite smooth out of the box. It was the backlash I wanted to fix, and I wasn’t about to drill a hole through the frame of a pistol that belonged to Beretta, to install a set screw to act as a trigger stop. I joked with my buddy Jon Strayer, “I oughta take a piece of pencil eraser and duct tape it to the inside back of the trigger guard.”
The conversion unit, in place, duplicates all functions of the M9 barrel/slide assembly it has just replaced.
The rear sight of the Beretta .22 conversion unit appears to be the Italian LPA. It works extremely well.
Jon said, “I can do better. Be right back.” A short time later he returned with the test gun. He had taken a small piece of floor protector – the heavy fiber pads that adhere to the bottoms of things like table legs to keep them from scarring the floors they stand on – and applied it to the inside rear of the trigger guard.
What a difference! The makeshift trigger stop worked. All of a sudden, the sights did not move off target when the hammer fell. Groups shrank immediately. My first five shots with CCI Pistol Match with the trigger stop installed, off an MTM pistol rest at 25 yards, landed in a group measuring just 0.95 inches. The best three shots, probably the best indicator of the gun’s mechanical accuracy potential without putting it in a machine rest, were all touching and center-to-center measured 0.35 inches. And this was still with iron sights.
I’ve had better luck in terms of reliability than Fortier, who wrote, “Reliability during testing was very good but not flawless. Occasionally (perhaps eight times total during testing) the pistol failed to eject. Habitually, though, it would fail to chamber a round from slide lock. Simply hitting the slide release would cause the bullet nose to stop on the feedramp. Pulling the slide to the rear and releasing it, though, and I was good to go. No other problems of any kind were experienced.” (2)
Now, I oughta be jealous of David because he got to test a primo Model 87 Target with no backlash, and I got stuck with one that seemed to backlash from Terni to Brescia. I should grind my teeth because my 0.35 inches group was only the best three shots, and his 0.35 inches group was for all five. However, I’m about 20 years older than David and can forgive him his sharper eyes and steadier hand. Moreover, that old thing about nature compensating seemed to be in play here … because my test Model 87 Target did not malfunction once. My friends and I all liked the way this little pistol was set up, and a bunch of us have put a bunch of ammo through it. Not enough bricks to build a house, but enough bricks of .22 ammo to know that Beretta Model 87 Target serial number C403120 is an extraordinarily reliable little pistol.
There is no reason this otherwise excellent little sporting .22 should not be coming out of the factory with a better trigger. There was even a very tiny contact point where the toe of the trigger touched the bottom edge of the trigger guard. Not enough to palpably drag, but enough to have left a tiny drag line on the finish inside the guard. Maybe my trigger finger is just getting numb. That minor drag point didn’t get in the way of shooting, but it shouldn’t have been there.
The conversion unit gave this good five-shot group at 25 yards with inexpensive Blazer ammo.
The first shot went out of the group, but the next four CCI Pistol Match rounds landed in a pleasingly tight cluster at 25 yards.
These Federal .22 LR rounds exhibited good grouping potential, but fell victim to the unit’s “4+1 syndrome.”
The gun comes with a vestigial little stop on the back of the trigger that does absolutely nothing. I know that Beretta can do these triggers better. I know it because I own a Beretta .380 of this series with an excellent trigger stop attached at the factory. You see the same neat little trigger stop on the picture of the Beretta 85 that appears in the owner’s manual. It belongs, properly adjusted, on this neat little single-action .22 pistol.
In summary, the Model 87 is an endearing little gun. I like its feel. I like its balance, and I love its splendid inherent accuracy in a slim and compact package. It is a little more than twice the price of a U22 Neos, but in my eyes (and in my hands) it seems like more than twice the gun. I don’t think it’s overpriced. I would like to see Beretta bring back the Model 89 Gold Match, but in the meantime, this will do.
I intend to buy this sample pistol from Beretta. And as soon as I do, I’m going to install a proper trigger stop in it.
Beretta 92/96 Conversion Unit
There are multiple .22 LR conversion units out there for the full-size Beretta service pistol. Some of them are quite good. But, from what I’ve seen, the very best is made by a little known source, and is a very well kept secret. That maker of the best .22 conversion unit for the Beretta is … Beretta.
For the military man or woman whose MOS may include the need for a pistol … for the cop who carries a Model 92 or a Model 96 on duty … or for the armed citizen who has chosen one of those models, the Beretta .22 is a hugely practical adjunct to the system.
Surprising accuracy and full functionality make it a perfect practice companion!
The Beretta 92 series pistol is a modern classic. Bill Wilson has called it the most reliable out-ofthe-box double-action auto on the market, and he has frequently made a point of shooting one in the competition he started, IDPA, the International Defensive Pistol Association. IDPA’s national championship has been won more than once with a Beretta 92, with the double-action 9mm outshooting supposedly more “shootable” single-action autos like the ones Wilson himself is famous for building and customizing. The Beretta is the preferred DA auto of former World Champion Ray Chapman.