Help measuring guide rod on 92A1 or M9A1 Beretta

[EngineerEli]

I just got a rimfire Beretta, 92FSR, and for fun, I'm seeing what other real steel Beretta parts will fit on it to improve it. It is said to be a full size replica of the 92, and I've already put a "D"  main spring in it, and put some aftermarket G10 grips on it.  My rimfire one has a captured guide rod/recoil spring, and the 92A1 and m9A1 have one that looks very similar, before I spend the money on one, I was hoping someone out there with either of these guns could go and measure the diameter where the spring rides and the head diameter that seats in the frame against the take down lever.

 

Aftermarket steel captured guide rod for the 92A1 I'm hoping to try out in my rimfire gun:

 

 

Thanks,

-Eli

Edited March 24, 2020 by EngineerEli

[EngineerEli]

Just for fun, this is what I'm talking about

[EngineerEli]

As I should have known, I got impatient and ordered the Steel captured guide rod from Beretta, it was only $18 shipped so it will be fun to mess with while I'm stuck at home, but I just got a response from Brownells today saying the dimensions of the part are:

OD Major: 0.410”

OD Minor: 0.292”

The 92-22 dimensions I measured are:

OD Major (Head that sits against take down leaver): 0.372"

OD Minor (Shaft Diameter): 0.236"
               (ID of recoil spring): 0.290"

I can potentially reduce the head diameter. But I doubt I'm going to be able to reduce the minor OD without a lathe... I wonder if I could get a low weight 9mm recoil spring, like a 9lb, and clip a few coils to get the .22 to cycle with it?

[MemphisMechanic]

If it’s mild steel, mail it to me. I’ll get it turned to the OD you need.

[EngineerEli]

Well it can be made to fit...

 

Turns out the guide rod is aluminum. They do advertise it as 'metal'. The cup at the end that captures the spring is just retained with a little c shaped clip that goes in a groove on the guide rod, but with the clip in place it would not fit through the hole on my .22 slide, so I'm not using it captured. The dia of the head was too big, so I reduced it a bit so it would fit. The shaft dia is too big for the .22 spring, so I started cutting coils off the one that came with the captured guide rod and was actually able to get it to cycle pretty well!

 

Pics to come...

[EngineerEli]

Another interesting development, I've found that an Wolf 8 lb recoil spring from a Tanfoglio / EAA Stock II (Full Size, not long slide) fits and cycles very similarly to the original one. It gives the same occasional failure to lock back but never has FTE's with the relatively weak CCI Quiet SA ammo I'm using, it may also break in... The cut down because of the thick wire, and reduced number of coils had a very steep tension curve, but this new 8 lb one, is much more linear.

 

I do disclose that other recoil springs from the same gun, with higher weight ratings, fit too tightly on the guide rod, so I can't make any guarantees...

[EngineerEli]

Its becoming apparent that no one really cares about this, but I don't care, LOL.

 

I realized that once changing over to the larger spring either actual Beretta or in my case Tanfoglio (EAA) there is no reason not to just use the plain old steel option guide rod for the 92. I picked up a cheap one for $10 off eBay, and reduced the head diameter so it would fit into the 92FSR frame. I found that the end still stuck out the end of the slide a little more than I liked so I shortened it from the head end to maintain the black finish on the end and to increase the the effective locked breech spring length, it took the removal of about 1mm of thickness. I also ended up trimming off 1.5 coils from the Tanfoglio (EAA) spring I mentioned above and the gun seems to lock back on empty reliably with the CCI Quiet-22 Semi-Auto ammo I've been using, its pretty weak stuff. It fits perfect, cycles great, adds a little weight, and I'm happy. I'll probably keep it like this going foreword.

Edited April 21, 2020 by EngineerEli