SI Profile: Beretta U.S.A

Shooting Industry, Dec, 1989 by Bill Clede

SI Profile: Beretta U.S.A.

What does "Beretta" mean to you? Well, that depends on where you live and perhaps also on your field of interest.

Here in the United States, "Beretta" is the new military sidearm and the name conjures up images of semiautomatic pistols. To many in the U.S., the name might mean a variety of medium and small frame pistols from a double action .380 to a tiny .22 that hides in the palm of your hand.

Among medium frame pistols are the 84 and 85 series double action .380s with 13 or 8-round magazines respectively, and the 86tip-up barrel .380 with an eight-round magazine. The Model 87 is the same pistol in .22 caliber and there's a long barrel version. The Model 89 Target Pistol takes full advantage of the six-inch barrel's sight radius, weighs 41 ounces and comes with thumbrest target stocks.

Small frame pistols include the 950 series of single action semi-autos in .25 Auto or .22 Short with tip-up barrel, and the 21A double-action tip-ups in .25 Auto or .22 Long Rifle.

In Europe, mention "Beretta" and thoughts turn to hunting rifles and fine shotguns.

The S689 and SSO are high-powered, double barrel O/U Express rifles in .30-06 and 9.3 x 74R and .375 H&H Mag. and .458 Win. Mag. respectively.

There's the .303 self-loader shotgun with all versions featuring the unique Mag-Action(TM) that handles both 2-3/4 and 3-inch Magnum barrels. A one-piece, stainless steel piston meters gas; no seals, rings, springs, or valves. The piston is split at one end so it expands. Higher pressure expands it more so it hugs the cylinder walls. The greater the pressure, the tighter the grip so the piston works harder to move the action. With low brass shells, the piston moves freely.

The more traditional sportsman may think of classic over/under or side-by-side shotguns when he hears "Beretta."

Yet the Onyx series was designed for American tastes and preferences, in both over/under and side-by-side models. They feature the patented monobloc construction for strength and perfect barrel alignment. Stocks and forends are American walnut. Special steel capable Mobilchoke(R) screw-in choke tubes are included.

If you're a competition shotgunner, "Beretta" means special models for trap, skeet and sporting clays in your choice of an autoloader or over/under. The Trap Combo includes a second barrel assembly with just one barrel where the lower barrel would be. A high ventilated rib maintains the sighting plane. Or you can have the single barrel on the top.

If you're a military or police man, the imagery is quite different. You might think of the 1200FP, 12-gauge, semiautomatic shotgun with six-round magazine, matte black finish and a 20-inch barrel. Beretta even manufactures machine pistols and machine guns to round out their involvement in all areas of manufacturing.

"The Beretta family is dedicated and devoted to the gun business," says Bob Bonaventure, vice president and general manager of Beretta USA. "We're in every aspect of it, and will be in it for the long run."

Beretta USA was formed in 1977 to meet increasing demand by U.S. consumers, according to the company. They began producing the small semiautomatic pistols in 1978. Of course, they were also hoping for the contract to build the U.S. Armed Forces new standard issue 9mm sidearm. That XM-9 contract required stateside production capability.

The military contract was awarded to Beretta in 1985, and the Accokeek, Maryland plant was doubled in size to some 86,000 square feet. The number of employees has increased from 100 to 475. More than $15 million has been invested in capital improvements from 1985 to today.

We cannot ignore the controversy over this military contract. Smith & Wesson was bidding, along with Heckler & Koch. SIG/Sauer and Ruger, for this lucrative business and they weren't happy about the award to Beretta. They all protested Accusations of improper evaluations apparent bias, and contract improprieties has led to five years of argument, interservice disagreements, and involved the House Committee on Government Operations and General Accounting Office (GAO). The latest is the sixth pistol selection competition since 1953, the third in the past five years.

The first stage military requirements is some 300,000 Model 192F pistols by 1990. The Department of Defense had planned to award the second "follow-on" contract for some 142,000 pistols to Beretta automatically. But Congress decreed that the Pentagon had to re-bid the $30 million second stage order.

The new XM-10 competition's product specifications are not the same as before. When the Army exempted Beretta because their product had already passed evaluation, S&W and SIGARMS refused to enter a retesting program unless Beretta was included. Beretta protested to the GAO. It seems they did not submit new pistols for evaluation because the Army said it "would select the M9 from its own resources." Then, after the deadline had passed, the Army "changed the rules" by saying it would not exercise that option.

This meant a randomly selected sampling of Berettas would be competing against guns prepared expressly for evaluation. Beretta proposes that evaluation guns from all manufacturers be randomly selected. Even with these obstacles, the Army again selected Beretta as the "new" service pistol of the military. Beretta's current reign as the winner is expected to last for some time before new trials rear their ugly head again. The "M-10" as it is now known, is just as popular as before and is assured a place in small arms history.