I used to be a gun purist. I never made any changes to a factory gun. If I did tweak it, swap out parts or add things, then it wouldn’t be original any more, now would it? And that would be… wrong? For some reason, having a perfect, factory-configured gun was important to me. Perhaps for the same reason I’m reluctant to pull that tag off of new mattresses.
A lightly personalized Beretta 3032 Tomcat (left) and a Beretta 92FS customization in progress (right.) Note the stainless steel guide rod and Hogue wrap-around grips.
To be honest, part of the reason for my attitude change was that I, umm, dropped my Beretta 3032 Tomcat .32ACP. Hard. So hard, it broke the grips. Oops. As I started to order a factory replacement set, I got a sudden urge to do a little Googling just to see what other options were out there. Just in case.
To make a long story short, I found a beautiful set of wooden grips. I took the plunge and decided it was time to consider going custom.
After all, we’re talking about my handguns. Why not make them my own?
When it comes to customizing, you can make cosmetic changes, performance changes, or both! Your customizations can be internal, external or both!
Just for fun, I’ll share some of the things I’ve done on my Beretta 92FS – and some of my future customization plans.
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