An Italian firearms manufacturer that loves to advertise the fact that they've been in business since Renaissance times. The quality of their products is somewhat
hit-or-miss. They have made some excellent rifles, like the M1 Garand-derivative BM59. They make pretty good, though overpriced shotguns. Their pistols just
suck.
Their trademark
piece, the 9mm Model 92, is a
study in bad design. It was adopted by the US Military as the M9 in 1985 to replace the superior M1911 .45 as the standard-issue sidearm, despite the fact that it failed the tests at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and caused serious injury to one of the testers. The design is highly susceptible to dirt, and the open-top
slide means it will always get packed with dirt no matter how much you
baby it. Ask anybody who carried one in Iraq, the slightest bit of dirt will make the M9
jam to hell and gone. The magazines
don't feed well and wear out quickly. The trigger pull is too
heavy, which throws off your aim. On top of that, they are made of crappy steel. Beretta 92s will get cracks in the
slide after 2,000-4,000 rounds and need to be completely rebuilt. By comparison, Glocks can last 40,000-50,000 rounds, SIGs last 80,000-100,000 rounds, and 1911s are known to go for a million rounds or more with their original parts.
"My M4 ran
dry just as that hajji came around the corner with an AK. Didn't have
time for a mag change, so I switched to my M9. Fucker jammed on me, and I just cleaned it that
morning. Thank God that hajji couldn't shoot for shit, 'cause I had to bum rush him and stick his ass with my knife! Fuckin' beretta sucks, man!"
