The Beretta tinkering went well, learned some things.

Yesterday I completed the install of the Wilson short trigger and a new set of G10 material grips on my Beretta M96. It goes for all G-series guns as they are all the same on the inside. It was not expensive but some interesting mods to help me with my shorter reach. There is no denying that the Beretta is a fat grip piece. Late magazines hold 18 rnds. flush fit. There were some minor fitment issues with the $25 G10 grips. The G10 material is basically "cloth" impregnated with some type of epoxy or resin. When I used the dremel to "sand" the material to fit over the large hammer pin stud it sort of feathered. Not a problem but FYI. They were not as "ultra-thin" as I had thought but they were thinner than the very fat faux-stag factory grips I had on it.

I'd not call this gunsmithing, the trigger install. It's just taking something apart and putting it back together. No fitting, drilling, milling, grinding, honing, involved. BUT you need to school yourself on the order of disassembly and have a good exploded diagram available. Some good quality Youtube education is beneficial too. I found one with a factory Beretta technician (he made it look so easy) and another tinkerer like me who used flat dental floss in one operation to position a spring. I laughed at him, AT FIRST. It's actually a pretty clever trick. But I have some pics and notes to share.

In order of PITA.

The short trigger is basically just 1/8" thinner by design. I first thought my factory trigger was plastic, but is is not. Seemingly it is aluminum but polymer coated. It is not attracted to a magnet. That small difference really feels big when coupled with the smaller diameter grip with thinner stocks. The Beretta seems to have hair-type springs for every part! These three are the ones involved with this work, and from the top, are in order of PITA. Trigger bar, Slide release, and Trigger return spring. The little wire sticking in front of the trigger pin is held captive, it's part of the slide release spring and must be removed before the pin can be slid out. But the first pin to be removed is the trigger bar. Of course removing springs is easy, getting them back is the trick. Mostly it's a matter of going slow, thinking a bit, and holding your mouth just right. The trigger return spring has one little foot that is kicked up over the trigger par pin above the trigger pin that goes through the middle of the spring itself. Trying to fit it in there that little foot wants to poke thorough an opening under the trigger guard. It's such a little bitch! I used some dental picks and finally had victory. Good lighting is a big help. The dental floss might not be such a bad idea, if it works, it's right.

The final results were a much better grip and trigger reach. This makes the gun much more enjoyable and inspires confidence. My only note of consideration is the rough texture cuts of the G10 material. One fusses with not enough grip then you may find you can have too much friction. Even in .40 the Beretta does not recoil much but if you have office hands it could be a little rough, just think about it. If I find some grips that claim to be even thinner I might try them, otherwise I'm very pleased with my modifications.