Beretta 92fs keeps jamming

[bluemon]

I brought this gun new about 2 months ago. Within my first 10 rounds through it I got my first stove pipe. This was my first time I so I signed up for private lessons. The guy had me hold the gun differently. I did and it only stove piped once every 30 to 50 rounds. About 700 rounds later the stove pipes really began to increase. Now I'm getting them every 3 to 20 rounds. After 1k round it is now every 1 to 6 rounds with more issues. Not only do I have stove piping but I also have failure to eject and failure to load. Sometimes I'd fire a round, only to find the chamber empty despite more bullets being in the mag and the casing ejected. Other times the casing doesn't eject it all or is stuck in the slide. I called the range manager in to look at it. He inspects my gun and said it looked fine to him. So I tried paying extra careful attention to my form and the problem still exist. I've also noticing that the casing is barely ejecting out of the gun. Most of the time falling on the deck right next to me without bouncing off the wall.

So far I've tried 2 types of ammo. Remington was my first one. One of the range officers told that my gun sounded a little weak like the ammo didn't have enough powder in it. I had already brought 1k rounds of it with my new gun because it was highly recommended. I know, stupid of me to buy so much without trying it. A notice quite of few of these rounds seem to have little plastic like stuff coming off the sides of them straight out the pack. I'm not sure if this was my problem but I'll not buy them again.

Second type of ammo was this +p ammo I picked up from Vance. I couldn't find the name of it anywhere. Just saw the label say around 124 grams. This ammo gave me another strange problem where the next bullet would enter the chamber but not fire. I'd wait for about 30 seconds or so before dropping the clip, racking the slide to clear it before trying again. Happened about 7 or 8 times in 100 rounds. This was also the ammo who's casing kept getting stuck in the slide. This ammo also came highly recommended by the store. Even though the price was low I only left with 100 rounds.

Tried returning to the store to take advantage of this insurance I had brought. Was told that my gun looked fine but if I wanted their smith to see it they would have to send it in and I'd have it back in 2 to 3 weeks. Seemed I had made another poor investment. Finally brought it to a gunsmith and he told me it was in need of a good cleaning. He didn't charge me anything to look at it and suggested that next time I'm in the range to get him if I'm having any problems so he could personal see what is happening. Tonight I field stripped my gun for the first time with the help of youtube and my manual. I know I should have did this earlier but I was nervous and everyone kept telling me it didn't look too dirty. Before I'd only clean the borrow with a bore snake that that same store highly recommended over the complete cleaning kit. The whole process was much easier than I imagined and the inside where the mag goes was quite dirty. But the bore was pretty clean.

I went to walmart and brought some federation ammo. They only had 150 rounds of brass left and I was afraid to try the aluminum. Also picked up 100 rounds of Winchester. I'm really hoping to get better results. Plus I've learned that the aluminum ammo is fine at my range so I should be able to buy that too.

If the new ammo plus cleaning doesn't work all I can think of is having someone with more experience fire my gun. If they also have issues I'm sending it back to Beretta under warranty. I really don't know what else to do. I keep reading about limp wristing but I've really worked on my grip and every instructor who's checked it said my grip looks good.

[pirateguy191]

Magazine........and yes, have someone else shoot the gun. Good luck.

[true_pair]

Not familiar with the 92f internals but if it is not you and not the magazine my next guess would be recoil spring or spring assembly if it is a captive spring. Sounds like the slide is not cycling all the way back after a shot is fired.
I would not guess too much and send it back to Beretta for service

[Mr. Glock]

You do need to keep a gun and magazines clean, but this problem did start very early in the shooting process.

A gun like that should be able to digest pretty much any ammo you find at Wal-Mart too, even if your form is not perfect.

If I was in your shoes, I'd send it back to Beretta. They know the gun best, the problem doesn't seem obvious and you are at the point that you need to rule out mechanical function as a problem. They can look at it under warranty, a hassle but you can't trust a gun that fails to function and every maker can make a dud.

[techmike]

Welcome to OFCC. Sorry to hear you are having issues, it can be very frustrating. Here are a few links that may be of assistance.

92 operation

Field strip & clean

Don't forget to apply a quality lubricant after cleaning. If you are shooting outdoors, cold temperature can thicken some lubes, which can cause issues. I have the 84fs (.380) and it is unusual to get a stovepipe due to the open slide. FYI, a new gun should be stripped, inspected and thoroughly cleaned / lubricated before the first trip to the range.

[Brian D.]

Every company turns out a problem child, even if it's rarely. Beretta has an excellent reputation for quality products, and more importantly customer service. Reading your gun's issues my hunch is the magazine(s) but I can't say that with any certainty without seeing for myself. Get a shipping tag from Beretta and send it in. Write up in detail what's happening and follow that up with a phone call after they receive the gun.

Feel free to keep us posted, please.

[sodbuster95]

I would echo the sentiment of this being the recoil spring more than your grip. In my experience, the 92FS is far more tolerant of even very sloppy shooting styles without failures.

A new recoil spring may well correct this issue and should only set you back about $5-$10.

[ArmedAviator]

I think you need to take a range trip and try it out now that it's cleaned and lubricated again. See what that does.

As mentioned above, the lubricant from the factory is not always the best lubricant.... Usually it's there as a protectant until you buy it, take it home, and clean it before using.

If it still gives you issues, change recoil spring. If that doesn't help, send it in to Beretta who will fix the problem.

[Tru-Heathen]

... Finally brought it to a gunsmith and he told me it was in need of a good cleaning. He didn't charge me anything to look at it and suggested that next time I'm in the range to get him if I'm having any problems so he could personal see what is happening. Tonight I field stripped my gun for the first time with the help of youtube and my manual. I know I should have did this earlier but I was nervous and everyone kept telling me it didn't look too dirty. Before I'd only clean the borrow with a bore snake that that same store highly recommended over the complete cleaning kit. The whole process was much easier than I imagined and the inside where the mag goes was quite dirty. But the bore was pretty clean...

Not to discount any of the solutions already offered. But according to your post, you ran over 1000 rounds through the pistol but didn't clean the shipping "gunk" from the gun before shooting it for the first time ? That leads me to believe the problem may lie there.

Clean it well, and apply the lube of your choice following the directions in your manual. Too much is not necessarily better. A bore snake is convenient but IMO doesn't replace a thorough cleaning .

[Bama.45]

I second Tru's opinion.. I bought a new 92A1, basically a 92FS but has a rail.. It had a bunch of gunk on it when I brought it home I field stripped it and cleaned it really good.. I havent had any problems with mine, I guess I have 2K rounds through it now.. Beretta's have pretty tough springs in their magazines. I guess it could be a mag problem, but I highly doubt it. My 92 will eat anything. That being said, a $700 gun should eat anything.


Oh, 92FS doesnt have a captive spring.. The M9 and 92A1's do though.

[CCIman]

This is a new berretta out of the box, not an old 1980's gun.

Send it back to the factory and have them test it and fix it with the history you just told.

This is a combat grade weapon. You should not to have to clean it nor lube it, for it to work out of the box (it was not buried in mud and sand)-- that is a gun buyers ritual that harkens back to the 80's guns, where every gun needed TLC and a ritual shaman blessing before it could be trusted. Unacceptable, for today's off the shelf handguns...especially a Beretta.... Return it to the store or send it back and demand that they fire it enough to test it.

[bluemon]

She worked today. Not a single jam. I even purposely used a poor hold and it still would not jam. 150 shots fired.

It might have just been me but it felt like the recoil was way smoother. This made it easy to stay on target during group shots. It even felt as if the next bullet went into the chamber a little quicker. Not much, but enough for me to notice a difference. Used two different types of ammo. Winchester and federal.

I had thought the gun to be ready to go out the package. Guess I was wrong. It had a lot of thick black stuff on it that I thought was oil. I had taking the remaining off when I field stripped it adding clp to replace it. I did try wipe off all the excess.

How often do I need to field strip it? I plan to use it again on Tuesday after that it might be a week or so before I use it again.

[ArmedAviator]

I clean every gun after each range session. For the gun's that i don't shoot often, I'll wipe down and re-lube every 3-6 months, depending on how I'm feeling. Cheap insurance and is, atleast for me, therapeutic.

This goes to show you (as in everyone) that the initial cleaning isn't just for those 80s guns. The thick pulls they put in guns from the factory are for protection, not use and should be removed before initial use.

[techmike]

I clean every gun after each range session. For the gun's that i don't shoot often, I'll wipe down and re-lube every 3-6 months, depending on how I'm feeling. Cheap insurance and is, atleast for me, therapeutic.

This goes to show you (as in everyone) that the initial cleaning isn't just for those 80s guns. The thick pulls they put in guns from the factory are for protection, not use and should be removed before initial use.

+1

[Bruenor]

I had thought the gun to be ready to go out the package. Guess I was wrong. It had a lot of thick black stuff on it that I thought was oil. I had taking the remaining off when I field stripped it adding clp to replace it. I did try wipe off all the excess.

How often do I need to field strip it? I plan to use it again on Tuesday after that it might be a week or so before I use it again.

Many manufacturers put an anti-rust coating on the firearm when shipping it, could be anything from a grease, to a clear thin coating you can 't see (think Birchwood Casey Barricade) this product may not be a lubricant, but just a thin coating to prevent corrosion. there is no telling how long a new firearm may sit in someones inventory before it's sold so a protective coating rather than a lubricant makes sense. I ALWAYS field strip, clean and lube a new firearm before use, cleaning and lubricating a firearm is never really a bad thing. Shooting a firearm with no lubrication on the other hand can be bad. Usually if you consult the owners manual it will instruct you to clean and lubricate the firearm before it's first use.

I used to field strip and clean every range trip, but that was when I shot infrequently. Now I only field strip clean immediately after a range trip if I will not be using the firearm again in the near future and it's going to sit in the safe. For my normal use firearms, I use a bore snake, and maybe wipe the outside before putting it away. They only get field stripped if they get extremely filthy, start to malfunction, or the mood strikes me. Could easily be a thousand rounds or so and several months between cleanings for the pistol I use for USPSA matches. Keeping a firearm regularly cleaned and lubricated, certainly isn't a bad thing so I'm not going to say you should skip cleaning it until you have X rounds through it.

The Baretta 92fs manual says the following.

Every time the Pistol is fired, or at least Once a month, cleaning and lubrication is recommended.

The Troubleshooting section of your user manual goes on to cover Failure to Feed, and Failure To Eject, and other malfunctions recommending cleaning and Lubrication if these issues occur.

I also try to remember to pull everything from the safe and wipe it down at least twice a year to ensure that none of the firearms being stored has developing any rust or corrosion. a rusty fingerprint on the barrel of my .22 drove that point home a few years back.

Enjoy your new Firearm !