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.
More to the point, it is the national military pistol of numerous countries both inside and outside of NATO, including the United States of America, which adopted it as the M9 in the mid-1980s. It remains extremely popular among civilians, too. Even with 10-round magazines that are altogether too stingy for its ample size, the Beretta 92 continues to sell to private citizens on the strength of its accuracy, reliability, and smoothness of action. In the Chicago area, where there is no concealed carry option and, suburbanites buy handguns for sport and home protection only, a veteran gun dealer with a huge stock told me recently that the Beretta 92 is his single best-selling handgun model.
And then, there are the cops. The Beretta 92 9mm remains standard issue at this writing for both LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, two of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies, though both give their members a short list of other optional guns they can buy on their own. These days, even more departments purchase the Beretta 96, the 92’s twin that is chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge. The state troopers of Rhode Island, Indiana, and Florida are among those who adopted the Beretta 96.
The Beretta conversion seamlessly duplicates the functions of the standard 92 and 96 series pistols.
When a gun is that popular, a market develops for conversion kits that will allow training with inexpensive .22 Long Rifle rimfire ammunition. It happened long ago with the 1911. It happened with such exotic auto pistols as the SIG P-210, and HK’s M4 and P7 .380 pistols. It’s happening right now with the GLOCK and Beretta, courtesy of Jonathan Arthur Ciener.
And Beretta is finally on board with a .22 conversion unit of their own.
While it appears on their website, Beretta does not actively advertise their neat little .22 conversion unit. This is a shame. It may be true that if you invent a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door, but first the world needs to know that you have a better mousetrap.
I first learned of this unit from a National Guard pistol team that I’ve had some small input in training. They asked me what I thought of it compared to Jonathan Arthur Ciener’s unit. I told them I was familiar with the Ciener conversion kit and thought very highly of it. My only criticism was that it was a “slick-side.” To keep manufacturing costs down and make the unit affordable. Ciener did not fit it with a safety/decock lever. This required lowering the hammer by hand, as on the very first Beretta 92 and its early Taurus clone way back when.
The unit leader replied that they also had tested the Ciener unit and liked it, but really wanted something with a decocker/safety device as on their issue weapons. They weren’t just looking at something for cheap bulls-eye target practice, he explained. They wanted a unit that would help them fulfill their training commitment to military police, security personnel, and others for whom the M9 pistol would be a primary duty and combat tool. Since the Army and National Guard mandate on-safe carry of the holstered 9mm service pistol, this had to include a system that would allow the troops to drill on releasing the safety and on decocking the pistol during a lull in the firing action.
The unit leader told me that the Beretta conversion
