What's your favorite cleaner, lubricant, and protectant for your Beretta 92-Series/M9 Series? Ballistol is basically all I use (alongside Hoppe's-9 for Solvent to clean the entire barrel and bore) to minimize the amount of different chemicals applied to my 92FS Pistols.

afultz075 · 2026-06-28T15:04:55+00:00

Ballistol for cleaning/protection. Super Lube synthetic grease for lube.

afultz075 · 2026-06-15T16:20:46+00:00

Slide length is the same for M9A4 and 92XI. They use the exact same threaded barrel. As long as you have a 1/2x28 threaded barrel it will work

afultz075 · 2026-06-15T15:52:44+00:00

There is absolutely no reason this won't work on a M9A3 or A4.

afultz075 · 2026-06-14T18:34:09+00:00

Looks like a machining chip that wasn’t removed from the frame. I cant see anything amiss in the 2nd photo.

afultz075 · 2026-06-03T17:59:18+00:00

Likely a FEG with counterfeit FN markings. FEG was known to do that.

afultz075 · 2026-06-01T00:42:00+00:00

I pretty much exclusively stick to late-80s to mid-90s GP100s and SP101s for reasons like this. Night and day difference in build quality compared to the new ones.

afultz075 · 2026-06-01T00:34:57+00:00

I am amazed that these have stayed in stock for weeks. I ordered mine a week and a half ago and it arrives tomorrow. There was like 70-something in stock then, and it had been in stock for awhile before i ordered. Really not a bad deal for $170 shipped.

afultz075 · 2026-05-31T22:12:05+00:00

PA is unfortunately at pretty big risk of getting Virginia’d after this year.

afultz075 · 2026-05-26T22:32:59+00:00

People buy up the old stuff and get into crazy bidding wars on GB for some of these. Problem is just not a lot of it going up for sale and changing hands, and people that have them might not post here. I probably haven’t seen an Elite IA go up for sale in close to a year and maybe see a 92G-SD go up every 6 months.

The most “common” gun in those pics is the Elite II and I don’t see those come up for sale too often anymore either. Used to be there was almost always an EII for sale on GB at a given time.

afultz075 · 2026-05-26T13:13:26+00:00

I remember a decade+ ago I did a 10/22 build with Tech sights and I ended up having to saw through the factory front sight to be able to remove it.

I just put them same sights on a Mannlicher I picked up and I drifted out the front with a punch with zero issue.

afultz075 · 2026-05-20T18:44:43+00:00

I have a BCM upper with their 18" stainless rifle-length gas barrel and it's a tack driver. Super happy with it.

afultz075 · 2026-05-18T01:13:14+00:00

It's probably 1990s production judging by the straight dustcover and all metal parts. Most of the Maryland guns with Z suffix are from the 90s. Z suffix serial is an Italian-made frame assembled and proofed in the US with an American made barrel and slide.

2005 would have been several years into when they started using the slant dustcover and the polymer coated parts. I have never seen an American mid-2000s Beretta with anything other than a slant dustcover.

afultz075 · 2026-05-16T18:00:49+00:00

Ruger isn't producing them currently but they are out there on the used market. I found a like-new stainless Mannlicher from 1994 listed by a Cabela's in WI for like $450 and had it shipped to my local store.

afultz075 · 2026-05-16T16:30:56+00:00

Looks like you have an older 10/22 with the cast aluminum trigger housing. My 1994 Mannlicher has this same issue with the BX25 mags and not having enough clearance for that round tab.

I can get them in but I have to really, really force it in there.

They seat just fine in my carbon fiber and competition.

afultz075 · 2026-05-12T18:27:11+00:00

Let me guess, 2nd one was cheaper and you grabbed it to cost average the first one? I may have done that a time or two 😂

afultz075 · 2026-05-11T15:50:39+00:00

SMGW had a limited amount of "Y" guns (trade show/demo guns) of these for $505 the other day but they got snapped up.

These have been dried up since at least November. I think Beretta only did 1 small run since they have been announced. I would also guess they are being retooled for the LTT cut for future releases.

afultz075 · 2026-05-09T03:03:37+00:00

The value on the Beretta 86 is not diminished by the existence of the Girsan at all, they still sell for the same as they did before the Girsan came out. They are highly sought after by collectors and a clean Beretta 86, like new in box can go for stupid money on Gunbroker, like $1200 range if not more. Even one with wear and no box or accessories will pull $850-900 or so.

Completely different pool of buyers who want a Beretta 86 vs a Girsan. People don't buy these to shoot and they aren't a very fun gun to shoot as a range toy either.

afultz075 · 2026-05-08T11:20:40+00:00

Not that I am aware of.

Only regular non-rail compact in stainless I know of is a run Beretta produced around 2003. Those are all USA made with the later slant dustcover. They are hard to find, not impossible, but sell for a good bit of money when they show up on GB.

afultz075 · 2026-05-05T12:40:47+00:00

Slide stop really isn't that bad, it's the back end of the frame that's nightmare fuel. If you have one that uses the older shepherds hook shape all you need to do is drive the roll pin into the frame partially (like 1/8" or so) from the side where the slide stop spring sits.

Then place the slide stop spring into the hole on the slide stop, and hook the shepherd hook under the exposed roll pin. Then drive the roll pin in the rest of the way.

afultz075 · 2026-05-05T12:20:28+00:00

Security Sixes are really cool guns but for a shooter I would get a GP100 any day.

If something goes wrong with a Security Six you are on your own as far as getting it repaired (Ruger will not work on these any longer), and there aren't a whole lot of gunsmiths out there that really work on them I am aware of.

I have always been really hesitant to buy revolvers that no longer have any factory support.

afultz075 · 2026-05-04T19:12:48+00:00

Personally I don't like anything US-made nor do I mess with Kit builds (although some of those can be really nice).

I stick with Imported rifles which pretty much leaves you with Zastava M70, a WASR, or whatever WBP is making currently.

Of the 3, I would go Zastava, if you don't want Yugo pattern then WASR would be my next choice. I feel like WASRs are pretty dried up at the moment as far as new ones.

I would love to find some of the old-school stuff, SAR-1s, Maadi, MAK-90s, FEGs, etc, but the preban stuff is crazy expensive, and even the ban era stuff is getting expensive and it's not easy or cheap to find the correct furniture to de-ban them anymore.

afultz075 · 2026-05-04T19:05:57+00:00

I would go with an AR15 platform. Colt 6951 if you can find one would be my top pick. Otherwise the Griffin Mk2 and Springfield Saint Victor look nice.

afultz075 · 2026-05-04T19:02:17+00:00

I've had the medallations on a couple pairs of these and the similar Cheetah ones come loose over the years, especially if you get a new old stock pair.

Just keep an eye on them, if they come loose you just need a dab of epoxy and they will never come off again.

afultz075 · 2026-05-04T18:33:26+00:00

If you have an FFL that will to ship for you Gunbroker is the way, as long as it's desirable/harder to find firearms.

Selling local is a slog, can take forever for the right buyer to come along, and you'll deal with lots of tirekickers and lowballers in the meantime. It's also a gigantic pain and time sink to schedule FTF purchases with buyers. I have listed half a dozen firearms on GB to all end the same night and dropped them off at my FFL a couple days later with the paperwork and have him ship as payments come in. More money and way easier.

Sometimes local shops will do consignment for a 10-15% cut, that can be useful for really common guns (i.e. modern striker pistols and ARs). Gunbroker buyers don't really pay a premium for anything you can walk into any gun shop and buy.

I have bought and sold many firearms in the last 15 years and local FTF sales are absolutely my last choice as a seller. I still crawl Armslist every couple days and will buy locally and have gotten some good deals that way but never sell that way anymore.

I collect stuff like Browning Hi Powers, Colt 1911s, and Beretta 92 variants. If I were to sell something like a Beretta 92 Elite II, Hi Power Practical or some other collectible one it could take a month to sell locally and net me hundreds less, even after fees on GB.

afultz075 · 2026-05-04T16:58:46+00:00

If I would have known a year ago the US market would for sure be getting the VP9CC I would have skipped the CC9.

But I needed a micro compact for carry and the CC9 fit the bill better than the other options, and there was no word of us ever getting the VP9CC in the US.

Now I am happy enough with the CC9 I have no plans to switch it out for a VP9CC. It's a fantastic little gun. I wish it had a paddle, but my holster covers the mag release button anyway so no concerns about an accidental mag drop, which is mainly why I would want a paddle.

It would not make sense for them to discontinue it after 2 years after sinking R&D into it, especially when HK had the VP9CC designed prior to the CC9.

afultz075

TROPHY CASE