u/SeaButterscotch1618

My first handgun was supposed to be a 92FS many years ago, but during the ban era all I could find were 10-round magazine versions, so I ended up going in a different direction.

Fast forward to today — my son recently picked up this 92FS in near-new condition from a local shop. I called Beretta and learned it was manufactured on 9/20/1995: Italian-made frame, U.S. assembled, all steel internals, and barely fired.

The moment I handled it, I understood why the platform has such a loyal following. The balance, the smoothness, the mechanical feel — it has a kind of personality that many modern pistols lack.

I liked it so much that I ended up ordering a Wilson Combat 92G Brigadier Tactical with the Action Tune package. Looking forward to finally spending serious time with the platform after all these years.

Funny how some guns come back into your life decades later and immediately feel familiar.

Picked up this extremely clean Beretta 92FS with original blue clamshell case and matching serial sticker (BERXXXXXXZ).
What’s confusing me:
Beretta serial lookup only works if I remove the trailing “Z”
then it comes back as SKU J92F300M with a 2005 born-on date
but the gun itself looks much older
Things that make me think this is earlier production:
old Accokeek MD markings
“PATENTED” slide marking
straight dust cover
steel guide rod
steel trigger
old-style finish and rollmarks
older style grip texture
came in older blue Beretta case
Internally the gun looks almost unfired:
locking block barely has any wear
rails still matte
barrel/ramp look mint
still smells factory oiled
Does this look like an early 90s gun to you guys, or is this actually a 2005 production pistol with older features? Also, is the trailing “Z” significant on these serials?

Yeah, I know, it’s not practical. But I can’t help it.

My weekend special…

My birthday is coming up, and I’m thinking about adding another firearm to the collection.

Right now I have a Benelli SuperNova, a Colt LE6920, and a pretty streamlined handgun setup consisting of the two guns I actually carry (Glock 19 and Glock 43X), a Glock 44 in .22LR for cheap practice, and a Walther PDP Pro Compact as a dedicated nightstand/range gun.

At one point I seriously considered getting into long-range shooting with either a bolt gun or maybe an AR-10, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I probably wouldn’t use it much. I don’t hunt, my AR is honestly more fun at normal distances, and any realistic defensive scenario involving a true long-range rifle probably means things have already gone catastrophically wrong.

I still like the idea of owning a “real” long-range rifle just for the experience and capability. Part of me wants to be able to confidently say “sure, every man should be able to hit a silhouette at 1,000 yards,” but once you factor in the rifle, optic, ammo, and range access, the price of doing that properly gets pretty serious.

So lately I’ve been leaning in a different direction and thinking about adding a classic all-metal 9mm instead. Right now I’m mainly looking at the Mk25 or the M11-A1.

As I get older, I find myself appreciating guns that have a little more character and mechanical feel compared to polymer striker guns, even if the practical side of me still admits the Glock ecosystem is hard to beat.

For those of you who already went down this road, what addition actually stayed fun long term and made sense alongside a collection like this?