The Beretta 93R Machine Pistol

Since the Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer, the machine pistol was a kind of a sea-serpent among firearms manufacturers. Several have tried to find it, and as an internationally renowned brand of weapons and in particular in the field of the pistols, the Beretta company had to try its luck. After a first inconclusive experiment with the M951R derived from the M1951, the firm from Gardone Val Trompia was going to try anew with an automated version of the model 92.

A Beretta 92… but not quite

Externally, the 93R (R for “Raffica”, term designating the burst in Italian) looks like a slightly hypertrophied Beretta 92 (first of the name): the slide is a little more fleshed out and even the handle has become overweight with a right grip resized to accommodate the burst limiter (we’ll come back to that! – Pics.01 to 03). The barrel is extended by a muzzle device which, depending on the variant, acts as a flame cover or muzzle brake / lifting compensator (Pics.04 and 05). The trigger guard is extended by an ingenious foldable front grip and the bottom of the handle by the attachment point of the removable carbine stock. The Beretta 92 is not already really part of the “compacts” 9×19, let’s immediately say that we are in front of a bulky handgun. Do not forget – as an option of course – to add a 20-round magazine rounds or more, to tune the capacity of the magazine on the burst capabilities of the weapon. Let’s be blunt, the weapon is heavy: with an empty 20-round magazine, 1,131 g to our scale … Enough to tip the jacket! Well, let’s put it into perspective it’s about the weight of a COLT 1911 … but who has never tried to pose as a featherweight!

Operating the weapon is a little different than on the 92: the safety of the 92 (there are many versions of the 92, we are talking here about the first version) turns into a firing mode selector: single in high position (marked by one point), and 3-round burst at the bottom (marked by 3 points in triangle … no, I won’t make that joke – Pic.06). The safety is positioned behind this selector: it is a lever which, when positioned downwards, curbs the stroke of the sear and therefore prohibits the shot. All the while, the weapon loses the double actionThe "double action" is a trigger mechanism where the action ... More capacity: a choice that undoubtedly results from a simplification of the weapon, but which questions. We will come back to that. Like any single-action weapon, it is therefore necessary to cock the firing mechanism before firing. In addition, there is no provision for the carrying of the weapon ammunition chambered / firing mechanism at rest: no decoking lever, no half-cocked notch. The safety can only be engaged if the firing mechanism is armed. Remember, however, that on the Beretta 92 series – 93R included – the percussion is of the “hit and throw” type: so, when the hammer is resting on the firing pin heel, the latter does not protrude in the bolt faceThe bolt face is the part of the bolt which in set place the... More. However, we feel this is not a sufficient safety provision for the carrying of the weapon ammunition chambered / hammer at rest … quite the contrary. It can be added to this that the weapon is devoid of a firing pin block safety, a device that would only be introduced with the 92 SB. No, definitely, the carrying of this weapon with an ammunition in the chamber does not really seem appropriate to us…