So Beretta *finally* made another SAO 92
“Did you see the Single Action?” he asked in lieu of a greeting. The man posing the question was a friend of mine, long involved in the behind-the-scenes R&D and market research at Beretta and now with another similarly large and distinguished European gun maker in whose booth we were standing at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
In fact, I had not seen the new Beretta 92 XI, or “9211” first-hand but I had heard of its existence from a fellow gun writer who had gone to the media day for the gun the day prior. It was a small community and news always traveled fast, especially in the digital age.
“So I take it you had a hand in that?” I asked.
“Oh yeah.”
“Why did it take so long to do that? Folks loved the Billennium,” I said, speaking of the limited run of SAO Beretta 92s released in 2001. These guns are often described as the best 92 ever made.
Heading over to Beretta shortly after speaking to my friend about everything his new company was working on, I encountered the 92XI and was impressed.
Using all the “X” series features that the company had previously introduced in the 92X Performance model– optics ready slide, slim Vertec frame, DLC coated trigger internals– the new 92XI runs a crisp single-action-only trigger with a flat bow and a manual frame-mounted safety lever, ideal for carrying “cocked and locked.”
More in my column at Guns.com.
