Beretta 92 finishes and sights

Anybody have any comments or thoughts regarding the Inox finish available on Berettas vs. their bluing?

Also, on the current new guns, is the front sight post easily replaceable?

Might all be moot points if I find a used one. GF would like to save a few ducats.

gmhowell said:

Anybody have any comments or thoughts regarding the Inox finish available on Berettas vs. their bluing?

Also, on the current new guns, is the front sight post easily replaceable?

Might all be moot points if I find a used one. GF would like to save a few ducats.

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I may be slightly more qualified than most people here to answer that...

INOX is simply stainless steel. The INOX 90-series guns (90 series includes: 92/96/90-Two/M9/M9A1/92A1/96A1/Vertec/Brigadier/Centurion/Compact) made in Italy have a frame that is painted silver over the aluminum frame. The US INOX frames are clear anodized over top of the aluminum to match the stainless steel parts.

The Bruniton finish is not blued. The steel is coated with a corrosion-resistant finish called Bruniton. It can scratch/flake under hard use but I very rarely see rust form even on spots where the Bruniton has rubbed off. Keep in mind the INOX slides/barrels can rust as well... if you abuse it enough. REALLY OLD (Pre 92F) Beretta 92 pistols are blued, with a gloss anodized frame. There have been some special anniversary and other editions that come with a high-polished blue from time to time, and are available on the used market.

You cannot change the front sight on most 90-series guns, and with a Bruniton finish you'll get white dots, INOX you'll get red dots. The exceptions to this are if you are lucky to find a Brigadier slide such as the Brigadier/Vertec/Elite models. The current 92A1/96A1 have dovetailed-in sights. Now keep in mind because the dovetailed slides are more rare, there are limited options for what you can install.

A used 90-series gun is fine. Field strip it and make sure the frame has not been peened by the locking block and shows no signs of excess wear (anodizing rubbing off is normal). The only maintenance these really require is the replacement of the recoil spring every 3000-5000 rounds, and the locking block if it begins to show peening damage.

The current 90-series Inox pistols have black-colored parts (trigger, hammer, safety, magazine release, etc.). I say "black-colored" because I don't know if they're blued, black plastic, Bruniton or what. I think they look stupid, to be frank.

On older Inox pistols, all these hardware bits matched the slide and frame color. These older pistols, inmy opinion, looked much nicer than the current crop.

Older Inox pistols also had rubber grips, whereas the standard ones (black colored) had plastic grips. Imnot sure if that's still true for the current models, but to me, the rubber grips had a slightly nicer feel.

I'm currently keeping an eye open for a 96 Inox with all silver hardware and Beretta rubber grips (not aftermarket). I'd prefer a NIB or nearly-new gun.

AZ Shooter said:

The current 90-series Inox pistols have black-colored parts (trigger, hammer, safety, magazine release, etc.). I say "black-colored" because I don't know if they're blued, black plastic, Bruniton or what. I think they look stupid, to be frank.

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Correct. These parts are steel-reinforced polymer. Part of the reason this was done was to reduce the cost of the parts, but a benefit is as these parts wear they do not turn silver-colored and are somewhat self-lubricious. However staying black is a moot point because you end up with a worn slide/frame barrel with pitch black controls.

AZ Shooter said:

On older Inox pistols, all these hardware bits matched the slide and frame color. These older pistols, inmy opinion, looked much nicer than the current crop.

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Also correct. Some of these parts are still floating around, and you may be able to find them through Brownells or other parts dealers and replace the black plastic parts, but that's purely cosmetic. I agree it does look nicer.

AZ Shooter said:

Older Inox pistols also had rubber grips, whereas the standard ones (black colored) had plastic grips. Imnot sure if that's still true for the current models, but to me, the rubber grips had a slightly nicer feel.

I'm currently keeping an eye open for a 96 Inox with all silver hardware and Beretta rubber grips (not aftermarket). I'd prefer a NIB or nearly-new gun.

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The OLD rubber grips were hard and had an almost alligator-like pattern, but the Hogue panels were great and are still available (and cheap) - http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum8587.php

Hogue also makes dozens of variations of Beretta grips including aluminum, G10 and other materials and are VERY nice.

smores said:

I may be slightly more qualified than most people here to answer that...

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You work in Accokeek?

smores said:

A used 90-series gun is fine. Field strip it and make sure the frame has not been peened by the locking block and shows no signs of excess wear (anodizing rubbing off is normal).

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Is this something that happens through use, or via 'helpful' smiths? I'll take a peek at my brother's 96 and see if I can see what the locking block looks like.

Thanks for the helpful info. I tried reading some online faq's, wikipedia entry, and Beretta's site without getting this straight to the point info. I asked my brother a few questions, but it seems he's got one of the special model 96's. That's where the front sight question came from, as his is replaceable, iirc. Also Inox and yeah, with all of the silver colored goodies. (No, AZ Shooter, it's not for sale )

GF likes the rubber grips but would prefer them in purple

gmhowell said:

You work in Accokeek?

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Yes sir.

gmhowell said:

Is this something that happens through use, or via 'helpful' smiths? I'll take a peek at my brother's 96 and see if I can see what the locking block looks like.

Thanks for the helpful info. I tried reading some online faq's, wikipedia entry, and Beretta's site without getting this straight to the point info. I asked my brother a few questions, but it seems he's got one of the special model 96's. That's where the front sight question came from, as his is replaceable, iirc. Also Inox and yeah, with all of the silver colored goodies. (No, AZ Shooter, it's not for sale )

GF likes the rubber grips but would prefer them in purple

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The peening of the frame is very common in guns I see coming back from shooting ranges, which typically clean their guns rarely (if ever), and are not mindful of replacing the recoil springs. Many of these guns see 30k+ rounds in six months or less. The VAST majority of 90-series guns I get back are for cosmetic issues during shipping from the factory (which are refinished or replaced) and breakage from abuse.

This is why even in Glock threads (I recently completed the Glock Armorer's Course as well) I make a point to recommend replacing the recoil spring assembly frequently. Replacing a spring that costs $5-15 6 times over 30,000 rounds is much cheaper than having to buy a new slide/frame/pistol if you wear it out.

And about the purple grips... check out Hogue's site they literally have dozens and dozens of colors/materials to choose from.