The Beretta 92 has been effectively serving in the United States Military since 1985 when it was officially adopted. It has also been serving in our nation’s law enforcement duty holsters even before that time. Without a doubt, it has to be the most controversial service pistol ever adopted, with the possible exception of the 1892 Colt double action .38 Long Colt revolver that replaced the previously issued .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army.
That’s right, I said it—An American icon. Officially adopted in 1985 and in general issue since 1990, the Beretta M9 pistol has served all branches of the US military with distinction for over 20 years now. Over that time, the Pentagon has funded several different programs to decide on a suitable replacement for it, but all have failed. In 2009, Beretta received a $220 million contract to deliver another 450,000 M9 pistols to our military through 2014. All other gunmakers went home disappointed, again. The big Beretta has gotten knocked around and disrespected for too long. It is time to set the record straight and give this pistol the recognition it deserves.
I’m not an expert and I don’t claim to be. I’m not an “Operator” either. I’m a police officer who has been fortunate enough to get a lot of range time at my department and some others and have gotten to see a lot of what works and what doesn’t. I’ve also been fortunate enough to shoot a lot of guns and get a lot of free ammo.