Slide stamping on Beretta 92/96
I have seen a "PS" inside a shield stamped on the slide of both a Beretta 96D and a 92FS. Any idea of the significance of this marking?
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any chance that it was actually a "PB" for Pietro Beretta instead of "PS"? 0 -
any chance that it was actually a "PB" for Pietro Beretta instead of "PS"? 0 -
Nope. The PB is there, also, in a seperate stamping. 0 -
btt
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
~Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here
"Our enemies...never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
~President George W. Bush0 -
What you are refering to is the "PS" found on the slide. This was the markings on the 92 and 96 series guns that were specifically made for law enforcement. They usually had the "PS" inside of a "shield" shaped design found on the slide.
The PS series as I said were made for law enforcement issue, that translated into several things. Yes they were made for LEO, but there were times that they appeared and were available to dealers for civilian sale when there was an over-run. They came new in a cardboard box rather than a hard case. The card board box had a sleeve with an image of a LEO badge with the Beretta name on it, which sleeved over the brown card board box itself. Additionally, if you look closely at one marked with the "PS" and a standard commercial model, you'll find that they did not finsh the slide as nicely on the PS marked guns. They were intentionally left more rough. You could usually see the machining marks. It wasn't terrible or anything, but if you had a new one of those side by side with a commercial one, you could see the difference. Since they were intented for law enforcement issue, they felt that they didn't need to be as well finished as the commercial guns. The department would get the guns at a slightly reduced price, Beretta didn't have to spend as much time on the finishing of the gun or money on the hard case, and the officer would just put it into a holster and get carry wear on it anyway, so who was going to notice or care.
Ultimatley most people would never notice or care on down the road either. The gun would just be another used police trade-in Beretta. As a rule very few would even know that these would have been a slightly less expensive version of the gun in the first place. That is until you asked and I spelled it out here. Sorry if I spilled the beans, but you did ask the question. I hope this has been helpful.
LRARMSX0 -
I didn't notice that you had originally asked this several years ago, sorry I must not have seen it the first time around. I knew the same info then, just never saw your post. Better late than never.
LRARMSX0 -
No one knew, back then... so I thought I'd ask again, to see if any newer faces had new knowledge.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
~Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here
"Our enemies...never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
~President George W. Bush0 -
PS="Police Special" 0
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