Beretta 92 FTE problem solved by AndyC

[rotor]

Here is the story. I have a rather old Beretta 92FS probably made in the 70's that has done well with using Winchester Q4318 Nato ammo, 9 mm supposedly not +p but higher pressure than standard factory ammo and never had any problems. Was showing the gun to a friend and every commercial ammo we shot caused stovepiping and jamming, not very reliable. Switched back to Q4318 and no problem. Bought a new spring from Beretta (which I found out is a 13# spring) and same problem. Worked well with higher power ammo but not standard. Just started reloading and tried out some reloads with low pressure building up to higher pressue and of course no FTE or stovepiping with higher pressure. In the meantime my Glock 26 didn't care what I fed it, always went bang and extracted. Been to a gunsmith, new spring and was getting fed up and ready to dump the Beretta. Everyone always raves about how reliable Beretta is too. Should be able to shoot factory ammo, whatever one can find now. So, I posted my story on the forum where another poster was having somewhat of a problem and here is where AndyC came in. The solution was simple and the gunsmith I went to should have known this as I didn't, Wolff springs! They make custom springs for many brands of guns and they have calibration packs that they sell. I bought the 12#,11#,10#,9# reduced recoil calibration pack ( they make stronger sets also). Very reasonable price. So, I took out the stock 13# spring (new from Beretta), put in the 12# spring and took a bunch of different ammo out to the range and voila, just going down from 13# to 12# solved all of my problems. Did not have to try any lower strength springs. Now I will just buy a spare 12# spring which should last (?) 5000 rounds or so. So, thank you AndyC for steering me to the solution that my local gunsmith couldn't handle, and saving me a lot of money as well as I would have had to sell the Beretta at a reduced price with the original limitation. On the other hand a savy buyer might have gotten a very good deal and easily fixed the problem. Hope this helps others with similar FTE, stovepipe problems. Thank you forum members, especially AndyC. Being able to make some custom rounds now that I have started reloading proved very helpful too ( and is fun).

[PBratton]

Heck, I'll take that piece of junk off your hands and reimburse you for the Wolff springs.

Glad you got it going, 92's are the best.

[AdioSS]

I wonder if just switching to the D hammer spring might've been enough to get it to work while making it easier to shoot?

[v-rog]

Here is the story. I have a rather old Beretta 92FS probably made in the 70's that has done well with using Winchester Q4318 Nato ammo, 9 mm supposedly not +p but higher pressure than standard factory ammo and never had any problems. Was showing the gun to a friend and every commercial ammo we shot caused stovepiping and jamming, not very reliable. Switched back to Q4318 and no problem. Bought a new spring from Beretta (which I found out is a 13# spring) and same problem. Worked well with higher power ammo but not standard. Just started reloading and tried out some reloads with low pressure building up to higher pressue and of course no FTE or stovepiping with higher pressure. In the meantime my Glock 26 didn't care what I fed it, always went bang and extracted. Been to a gunsmith, new spring and was getting fed up and ready to dump the Beretta. Everyone always raves about how reliable Beretta is too. Should be able to shoot factory ammo, whatever one can find now. So, I posted my story on the forum where another poster was having somewhat of a problem and here is where AndyC came in. The solution was simple and the gunsmith I went to should have known this as I didn't, Wolff springs! They make custom springs for many brands of guns and they have calibration packs that they sell. I bought the 12#,11#,10#,9# reduced recoil calibration pack ( they make stronger sets also). Very reasonable price. So, I took out the stock 13# spring (new from Beretta), put in the 12# spring and took a bunch of different ammo out to the range and voila, just going down from 13# to 12# solved all of my problems. Did not have to try any lower strength springs. Now I will just buy a spare 12# spring which should last (?) 5000 rounds or so. So, thank you AndyC for steering me to the solution that my local gunsmith couldn't handle, and saving me a lot of money as well as I would have had to sell the Beretta at a reduced price with the original limitation. On the other hand a savy buyer might have gotten a very good deal and easily fixed the problem. Hope this helps others with similar FTE, stovepipe problems. Thank you forum members, especially AndyC. Being able to make some custom rounds now that I have started reloading proved very helpful too ( and is fun).

Andy, Andy, Andy.......that is all I hear these days. Well, I kind of like the fellow too. Glad you were able to get your pistol working.

[rotor]

I wonder if just switching to the D hammer spring might've been enough to get it to work while making it easier to shoot?

Not sure I understand why changing the hammer spring would help. Can you explain?

[AdioSS]

Not sure I understand why changing the hammer spring would help. Can you explain?

Sure, the gun started working right with just 1 pound less in the recoil spring, right? The D hammer spring reduces Double Action trigger pull weight by at least 3 pounds & Single Action trigger pull weight by a bit less. Well, think of what happens after the hammer drops onto the firing pin. The barrel starts to move back a bit with the slide, the barrel stops and the slide keeps going. The slide then cocks the hammer back. So then some of the force needed to cycle the slide is used to cock the hammer. Reducing the hammer spring weight means less force is needed to cycle the action. Basically, the same as reducing the recoil spring weight

[rotor]

Not sure I understand why changing the hammer spring would help. Can you explain?

Sure, the gun started working right with just 1 pound less in the recoil spring, right? The D hammer spring reduces Double Action trigger pull weight by at least 3 pounds & Single Action trigger pull weight by a bit less. Well, think of what happens after the hammer drops onto the firing pin. The barrel starts to move back a bit with the slide, the barrel stops and the slide keeps going. The slide then cocks the hammer back. So then some of the force needed to cycle the slide is used to cock the hammer. Reducing the hammer spring weight means less force is needed to cycle the action. Basically, the same as reducing the recoil spring weight

Checked out this on Wolff. They do have factory standard (20#) and reduced and extra hammer springs. But since the 92 is working well now I am not going to change anything. Thanks all for the help and wisdom.

[AdioSS]

So then some of the force needed to cycle the slide is used to cock the hammer. Reducing the hammer spring weight means less force is needed to cycle the action.

This is true, however....

1. Reducing a hammer-spring in weight too much will lead to misfires.

2. It's much easier to replace a recoil-spring than a hammer-spring.

No doubt about either of those. But the D spring is a factory part for the DAO & Elite II models. It is a VERY common modification in the Beretta world. The only time it has been known to be related to light strikes is when used in combination with a lighter hammer with the .22LR conversion kits.

It is really very easy to change. 2 screws per grip panel, apply a bit of pressure to the lanyard loop & push the retaining "dogbone" pin out, the hammer spring will fall out, put the new spring in around the hammer strut, & reassemble in the opposite order. Literally less than a 5 minute job with a less than $10 part that will make it feel like you've done a trigger job, especially during that critical first DA shot.

[AdioSS]

5 minutes is on the very long end, like in case your particular gun were made in Italy or Brazil & had a rollpin instead of the dogbone pin that the American guns have. Those require a punch to remove. I still say it is definitely worth doing & have done it to most of my guns. Some came with the D spring, & my Series 1 Brazilian Frame safety 92 is a bit more complicated to disassemble due to the European heel mag release.

As for the weights? I really don't know. But here is the link to the Beretta part from Brownells: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/ ... 27930.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If you happen to be ordering parts for something else, then do yourself a favor & spend the extra $6 for this.

[shipwreck]

I would not go 5000 rounds before changing out the recoil spring - especially one that is lighter than stock.

I usually change mine between 3-4k. They are noticeably shorter by the 3k mark. Also, with the locking block design of the 92, its better to go the extra mile to eliminate any possible locking block issues.

You are probably way overdue to change the locking block too. They are on the 3rd generation block now.

[wil]

Here is the story. I have a rather old Beretta 92FS probably made in the 70's that has done well with using Winchester Q4318 Nato ammo, 9 mm supposedly not +p but higher pressure than standard factory ammo and never had any problems. Was showing the gun to a friend and every commercial ammo we shot caused stovepiping and jamming, not very reliable. Switched back to Q4318 and no problem. Bought a new spring from Beretta (which I found out is a 13# spring) and same problem. Worked well with higher power ammo but not standard. Just started reloading and tried out some reloads with low pressure building up to higher pressue and of course no FTE or stovepiping with higher pressure. In the meantime my Glock 26 didn't care what I fed it, always went bang and extracted. Been to a gunsmith, new spring and was getting fed up and ready to dump the Beretta. Everyone always raves about how reliable Beretta is too. Should be able to shoot factory ammo, whatever one can find now. So, I posted my story on the forum where another poster was having somewhat of a problem and here is where AndyC came in. The solution was simple and the gunsmith I went to should have known this as I didn't, Wolff springs! They make custom springs for many brands of guns and they have calibration packs that they sell. I bought the 12#,11#,10#,9# reduced recoil calibration pack ( they make stronger sets also). Very reasonable price. So, I took out the stock 13# spring (new from Beretta), put in the 12# spring and took a bunch of different ammo out to the range and voila, just going down from 13# to 12# solved all of my problems. Did not have to try any lower strength springs. Now I will just buy a spare 12# spring which should last (?) 5000 rounds or so. So, thank you AndyC for steering me to the solution that my local gunsmith couldn't handle, and saving me a lot of money as well as I would have had to sell the Beretta at a reduced price with the original limitation. On the other hand a savy buyer might have gotten a very good deal and easily fixed the problem. Hope this helps others with similar FTE, stovepipe problems. Thank you forum members, especially AndyC. Being able to make some custom rounds now that I have started reloading proved very helpful too ( and is fun).

Par for the course for Andy, same type of actions on his part with my 1911. "Here, try holding it this way & see how that works".......a world of difference in how I shot.