Beretta 93R: The Best Machine Pistol?
Machine Pistols
•
10m
The Beretta 93R ("Raffica") was developed in the 1970s by Beretta engineer Paolo Parola at the request of Italian military special forces. It took the basic Beretta 92 pistol design and added a well-thought-out burst mechanism under the right-side grip panel. It does not have a plain full-auto setting, but only semiauto and 3-round burst. To help keep the gun controllable, it has a heavier slide to reduce cyclic rate, a detachable shoulder stock, and a folding front grip to help control the muzzle. It uses extended 20-round magazines and is actually remarkably controllable (or so I am told; I have not had a chance to shoot one myself).
For a look at a 93R on the range, I suggest this video from James Reeves on TFBTV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M_1r3rHiFk
Many thanks to the Royal Armouries for allowing me to film and disassemble this very famous machine pistol! The NFC collection there - perhaps the best military small arms collection in Western Europe - is available by appointment to researchers:
https://royalarmouries.org/research/national-firearms-centre/
You can browse the various Armouries collections online here:
https://royalarmouries.org/collection/
Up Next in Machine Pistols
-
Full Auto Glock 18 at the Range: Can ...
I've fired a number of different machine pistols, but until today never a Glock 18. So, we're going to give it a try! This is an original factory example, not a conversion.
-
Beretta M93R: Exploring the 'Robocop ...
So often arms designers get automatic pistols wrong. But, there's a lot right about Beretta's M93R Raffica. Despite receiving Jonathan's seal of approval, the M93R never really went anywhere, other than featuring in one of our Keeper of Firearms and Artillery's favourite cult films: RoboCop.
Thi...
-
CZ-75 Automatic: The Czechoslovak Mac...
In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, CZ started exploring more commercial export options for its guns. In addition to resurrecting (well, attempting to) the vz.64 Skorpion in 9x19mm, they also developed a selective fire version of their landmark CZ-75 pistol. Production began in 1995,...
