Beretta 92XI SAO Review

The Beretta 92 XI SAO. Let’s check it out. 

 

Beretta 92 was introduced in 1975 and went into production in 1976.

It served with US military from 1985 to 2017 when it was replaced by the SIG M17. It’s had a long history with US military and police all over the world. It’s a double single-action pistol and it shoots extremely smooth and there have been a number of different changes over the past few years with the Beretta 92 series.

Today we’re going to take a look at the 92 XI SAO for single-action pistol and this really competes with your 2011 pistols. It has an 18 plus 1 magazine. The name itself is 92 11 for XI in Roman numerals and it has that Vertec grip which mimics the 1911 grip angle.

I’ll tell you the 92 series has been solid for a long time but Beretta has really upped their game with a number of different models double action and single action only. And one of the big pluses for the new Berettas is they come optics ready. And we want to give a big thank you to Nate over at Guns on Deals and Beretta for sending the 92 XI for this review.

Guys I’ve been in love with the Beretta 92 series for a long time. First started when I saw Lethal Weapon for the first time. Mel Gibson’s carrying around a Beretta 92 and man that gun was just smooth, it was slick, it’s just beautiful.

One of the things that Beretta really kind of excels in in the land of Ferraris and Lamborghinis is their styling. They have a very unique styling to their handguns. Typically different than anything else on the market and Beretta has been in business for right at 500 years.

It’s the oldest gun company still in existence. But once the US military adopted the Beretta 92 or the M9 back in 1985 this served the US military up until 2016-2017 when the Sig M17 or P320 took its place. So it has a rich heritage and one of the things about handguns that have been adopted into the US military or rifles for that matter is that Americans fall in love with it.

I mean it’s been through all the trials, the testing, typically they’re combat proven. There’s just a lot of lore behind these type firearms and we’re seeing it. The Beretta 92 is as popular if not more popular than it’s ever been.

So we’re seeing a lot of different variations from Beretta and a lot of companies like Langdon Tactical that really up the game. So before we get started let’s go ahead and drop our 18 round magazine. You do get two with the pistol.

There are extensions for more round capacity and then we’ll check to make sure the guns unloaded and it is. The one thing about the Beretta in particular is this open slide design. It makes it very reliable.

You’re not going to have stove pipes. You don’t have a hood right here past your chamber. It’s just open and one of the things that’s a huge benefit is that even in adverse conditions with sand, mud, different things it tends to get it out of the way.

And also it makes it super smooth. You have a lighter slide so you have less weight coming back. You have great slide to frame fit which makes this glide very smooth on the action.

Now this is a short recoiling delayed locking block system. So it just has faster cycling rate. The one big difference with the 9211 which this really is designated as is that it’s single action only and that means that with the hammer down and the safety off and I pull the trigger there’s no action.

Just like a 1911 except there’s no grip safety which a lot of people don’t like anyway. To fire this handgun, load our magazine, insert it, rack the slide, drop around in the chamber, bring up our safety and now we’re riding cocked and locked. One of the great things about single action is that it has one of the best triggers on the market because there’s very little between the pull of the trigger, tripping the sear, dropping the hammer compared to double single actions which there’s just a lot more going on in between your trigger and your hammer dropping.

And it’s really the same with your striker fire pistols even though they’re really getting striker fire pistols down to a very manageable level. But here I mean it’s just a straight pull back. Now you’ll notice it is a flat face trigger and we’re gonna really look at the trigger pull in a minute.

Comes to a wall we have a beautiful break and that is somewhat reminiscent of your 1911 which has typically had the best triggers in the world if it’s a really tuned fine trigger. So why would Beretta come out with a single action only model 92? Well one of the big reasons is because the 2011 style pistols have become the rage. So here we have a Bull Armory.

It’s one of the SAS-2 TAC 4.25s. Bull Armory’s making some really quality 1911-2011 handguns. But traditionally all we’ve had is the STI wide bodies and then of course it turned into staccato which those guns are extremely expensive. We’re coming in at about half the price of a staccato and then with the Beretta we’re coming in half the price again.

So it makes it a very affordable option with a 1911 grip angle and we have our single action trigger. But we also are optics ready and that’s a big plus for the 92xi. Which guys a lot of the 2011 pistols were designed for competitive shooting or sports shooting.

But there’s a lot to be gained for home defense, self-defense with these handguns. Again the one big thing about single action is it’s consistent from the first trigger pull to the last. With the traditional Beretta double single actions you have a long heavy trigger pull and then subsequent shots the hammers in the rear position and then it’s a very short crisp single action trigger pull.

So it’s not a consistent trigger pull all the way through. A lot of the components that go from single to double action make it just more complicated. But then Kimber came out with their KDS 9C and this is a more of a original kind of single action only and then it’s but it’s got that look of a double single action.

But it has a little bit of a modified 1911 grip. It’s got your beaver tail that’s pinned and you have your standard 1911 controls. This is just an excellent handgun.

And again it competes in that 2011 realm and it is optics ready. So I feel like the 9211 name really suits this handgun. Now let’s take a look at the gun itself.

One of the things I love though about the Beretta is it is an all aluminum frame. So it gives you a good solid platform, relieves weight, makes it less than an all steel frame. But it’s not the polymer of your 2011’s which really is an excellent option.

Polymer definitely has a lot of advantages. But it also has an aluminum frame up here at the top on most of your 2011’s. And there have been some 2011’s that have come down in price.

Some of the new offerings and so it’s really bringing them into a more reasonable place. With the aluminum frame on the Beretta it is a Beretta 92. I mean all the controls are pretty much the same except for your frame safety, your slide stop, your takedown lever.

We have three slot Picatinny rail. We have an extended mag release which makes that nice and it’s checkered. And of course that can be switched to the other side.

The grips are polymer and they are placed inside the aluminum which makes this a very comfortable, very aggressive texturing all the way throughout. But then we have aggressive texturing here at the back on the back strap and right here on the front strap. And so when you’ve got this in your hand it is a very locked in feel.

I mean you really feel like you’ve got a good grip on the handgun. Now we have a standard 1911 style frame safety. It has a little bit of a ledge but it is a lot like some of the original 1911’s.

And of course you can see that you have down for fire, up for safe. And it is ambidextrous which these can be used as a gas pedal just to place your thumb just to help control recoil a little more. Nice little beaver tail area that comes up.

We have an undercut right here under your trigger guard and it comes around and there is a step down right here. So it gives you a little bit of some texturing right here but yet there is pretty smooth as far as the finish. The slide has front cocking serrations and we have rear serrations.

But you also have this little step at the back so you can actually do press checks. Now we have an anodized finish on the aluminum but on the steel slide. This is actually a what they call their H series Cerakote.

This is corrosion and chemical resistant and it’s a ceramic type technology that really makes this strong. This is not an Enox model which is typically stainless steel. So this is your carbon steel slide but it has that Cerakote finish and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It’s kind of a matte type finish to it and to me it really accents the black. Now one of the things about Beretta and their 92 series single action or double single action. They have a ton of different models and so it gives you just a lot of choices.

They do have their 92xi tactical model which has a threaded barrel and it has suppressor height sights. And they have models with or without the accessory rail. I’m telling you guys because this did serve the US military and the popularity that the 92 has, Beretta has really put forth a lot of different options.

We do have optics ready and this is a big plus. One of the things though that’s been a problem for Beretta. I’m just going to pull the trigger.

You’ll notice that that little bar comes up and that is your firing pin safety. So that keeps the firing pin from going off without pulling the trigger. So that has been an issue.

Now we have two blocks inside the top of the slide. You remove these two blocks. You order your adapter plate directly from Beretta.

And it’s according to the optic that you have. Then we have cutouts in the underneath that actually fit into those blocks. But it still has a cutout for your firing pin safety.

And so that’s the reason why it’s a little bit thicker. But it rides right on top and of course this is for a Trijicon RMR. But it fits really well on top of the slide.

Now this has the Trijicon SRO which we got this from Optics Planet. They sent it. They give a 7% discount using suit zero zero for anything on the site.

So we really appreciate Optics Planet for sending different optics for us to be able to test out. But this is just a great little setup. And this SRO is built like a tank.

And so I felt like it was a good complement to this handgun. But here I wanted to show it mounted to the pistol. And it just replaces those two discs.

And it’s really a secure fit. But I’m already a big fan of the RMR. And so the SRO was definitely something that I’ve really been wanting to check out.

But to be honest even with suppressor height sights. Because the way this sits up you’re not going to be able to co-witness. You can also go without optics.

And you have a serrated black rear sight. And then here at the front we have a dovetailed fiber optic sight. And you can change those out if you want something different like night sights.

The hammer easy to grab and to pull back. Especially with single action that’s a little more important. And it is skeletonized.

There’s a little bit of texturing here at the top. So you can thumb cock it. We have a flat face trigger.

And we’re going to take a good look. It has serrations right here. And one of the things about a flat face trigger is the geometry of it.

It really optimizes your trigger pull. But one thing you’ll notice is the vertex angled grip. You see here with the original Beretta 92.

It has more of a hump down here at the end. With the new vertex grip it’s just a straight shot. And this mimics the 1911.

The magazine base pad just fits flush with the end of the grip. We also have beveling right here on the mag well. But to be honest with you, you have beveling on your magazine.

So it makes it really easy to be able to insert mags and drop them out. And speaking of mags, this also comes with a 10 round magazine option or a 15 round magazine option. But 18 rounds is for the free states.

Now the barrel is 4.7 inches in length. But I want you to look at the crown. It has a recessed crown.

That’s really going to preserve your accuracy. So it has this lip that surrounds it. And I thought that was a really nice touch.

A number of the Beretta models coming out now have that recessed crown. Now here we have the flat face trigger. And this is actually called their X-Extreme S action only flat face trigger.

It’s got a long name. But it is a flat face design. Which the geometry of the flat face allows you to bring it straight back.

And it just allows for a really crisp trigger pull. So we have a little bit of take up to right here. Hit a wall.

And a nice crisp break. And reset. Right there.

Very fast reset. All the internal parts of your trigger are DLC coated. And that allows for it to be very slick.

And it makes the action very smooth. And the trigger pull very smooth. Alright let’s check our trigger pull weight.

With our Lyman trigger gauge. 3 pounds 0.9 ounces. 3 pounds 0.07 ounces.

That’s pretty consistent. And weight on the Beretta 92 XI SAO. 32.23 ounces.

I want to give a big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring the ammo. All made right here in the USA. One of the number one suppliers of ammunition in the country.

And also we really do appreciate Lula loaders. Loading these magazines just makes life easier. Beretta 92 X. This is the SAO or single action only.

So we’re getting into the realm of double stack 1911s or 2311s. With that single action trigger pull it is super sweet. And we’ve got optics ready.

We have the Trijicon SRO on here. Man it’s got a beautiful window. But nice aluminum frame.

I mean it’s not too heavy. And it just shoots really sweet. One of the things I love about 1911 is that slide to frame fit.

Same thing with the Beretta. Very slick action. 18 plus 1 in the magazine.

I’ll tell you what that Trijicon SRO man the window is so beautiful on it. But it does change the dynamics when you put an optic on your firearm. So you want to practice with it.

But without the optic this shoots beautifully as well. I love that fiber optic front sight. And with the regular sights this has a great sight picture.

Front cocking serrations with that Langdon tactical type grip or Vertec grip really does mimic the 1911. Super smooth. Just that slide to frame fit.

Of course you’ve got your standard safety just like you would on your 1911. You can use that as a gas pedal. I mean I love it.

Served with the US military for many years and so did the 1911. So these have really moved into the icon status. It’s just slick man.

Love Berettas. Love Beretta 92s. I mean they’re just legendary.

I love this gun. That is freaking sweet. All right for disassembly.

We’re gonna drop our magazine. Go ahead and we’re gonna check the chamber and the gun’s empty. On the back here is a little button.

And when you push it you can bring down this lever and then your slide just comes right off. Here we have your recoil spring and guide rod. It is polymer.

And then we have our barrel system. Now you can see the short recoiling delayed locking block. So here it gives you just a little bit of delay once the gun’s fired for this to come down and unlock.

And that does aid in recoil management and makes it just a little bit more soft shooting. And this was actually first designed by Walther for their P38. And so Beretta was inspired by that locking system and it’s been working good ever since.

Now it’s a little bit dirty but you can see it’s a very lightweight slide compared to other nine millimeter pistols just because of this cutout at the top. But it’s also very simple. Then here with your frame of course your locking blocks are pretty large.

We do have ample slide rails here, here, and toward the back. So it gives you a lot more stability than just the little steel sections that typically come with most of your polymer striker fire pistols. And that’s really all you need to do for field strip and maintenance.

For reassembly we’re going to drop in our barrel. Get our recoil spring and guide rod into place. Because it’s not captive it takes a little bit more to get this lined up.

There we go. Now take your slide and put it right back over your frame. And we’re going to put it in the slide lock, bring our lever up, drop our slide stop, and we’re back in business.

Now you get a hard case with Beretta on top. We have compartments set out with foam for your gun, extra magazine, federally mandated lock, and various paperwork. Now as far as price, MSRP is $969.

From guns on deals it’s $737.99. So that’s a considerable difference. As far as pros and cons, if you’re looking for a 2011 you might want to take a look at the Beretta 9211. That gives you the 18 round magazine.

It is a full aluminum frame. You got that open slide design. You do have your optics ready, ready to go.

We’ve got really good sights with the fiber optic front, the blacked out rear, accessory rail, that Vertec grip, that super crisp three pound trigger pull. And again it is single action. You can carry this cocked and locked.

And the texturing and the grip are excellent. And really the big plus for this particular handgun is the single action mode. I mean you’re firing this single action.

It’s very crisp trigger pull and it’s consistent with every trigger pull. This just makes an excellent competition gun, but it also makes a great self-defense gun or just a firearm at the range. Again there’s a number of different options.

So what are some cons? Definitely the optics plate. Having to order it is just a little bit of a ding, but you know you’re ordering the one to match whatever optic you’re using. Another ding, honestly I mean I would say price compared to your polymer frame striker fire pistols, but it’s not really that much out of the ballpark and these take a lot more to produce.

So while price could be considered versus a polymer frame a ding as far as your 1911 style pistols, it’s a plus because you’re going to get this considerably less than you are a standard 1911, much less a 2011. And this gives you that extra capacity. And with your 2011s you do have the polymer at the bottom, which is fine.

I love this gun in particular. This Bull Armory makes some excellent guns. But with this it’s all aluminum, it has some rigidity and some strength to it, and it just allows for that slide to ride very smoothly on the frame.

The open slide design is definitely a plus. You’re going to have less malfunctions, any kind of stove pipes are eliminated, and it just makes it great, especially if this is a go-to-war gun. And we have our recessed crown, which I really like the way they’ve done that.

Fits any of your standard Beretta 92 magazines and your different sights that are available. And again guys, there’s a lot of different models of the Beretta 92, so you have a lot of different choices. This being the single action, if you want something more tactical or you want to put a can on it, you want to order the tactical model.

But overall, a beautifully shooting handgun, very smooth action, the Beretta 92, legendary feel to it, and again, been used by the US military for over 30 years. Guys, the 2011 pistols have been the rage for the past few years. It’s really great to see a Beretta 92 that takes care of all the details of your 2011 and is still a Beretta.

And again, a big thank you to Nate over at Guns On Deals and Beretta for sending the 92 XI for this review.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic

 

-Don