American Rifleman Gun of the Week- Beretta Corsa and Gara

American Rifleman has selected the Gallery of Gun Exclusive Beretta Corsa and Gara as the Guns of the Week!

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First up, we have the Gara, which means “Competition” in Italian, a clear nod to this gun’s design intent. Aside from the gun’s striking red accents, there are several features that are geared toward competitive shooting. One of the most obvious is the Toni System single-port compensator, which directs excess propellant gases upward, cutting down on muzzle rise and recoil and ensuring that you can be on target faster for that next follow-up shot.

The red-accented X-Treme S aluminum trigger has been DLC-coated and paired with Beretta’s 92X Performance hammer spring for a clean, crisp pull. A set of red-and-black G10 stocks pairs well with the red-anodized trigger and also provides a solid grip, thanks to the full-coverage checkering. Red-anodized magazine basepads complete the gun’s look, and they add space for four extra rounds in each magazine, providing a total capacity of 22 +1.

Next up, there’s the Corsa, which means “Race” in Italian, yet another nod to the gun’s competition-oriented design. The Corsa, like the Gara, includes many of the same features, such as the single-port compensator, X-Treme S trigger and extended magazines. However, in this package, the trigger and magazine basepads have an attractive, gold-anodized finish that fit well with a clean-looking pair of carbon-fiber stocks from LOK Grips, accented with a gold outline.

On the range, this single-action Beretta was a joy to shoot. The gun’s 36-oz. weight, combined with its relatively soft-shooting 9 mm Luger chambering and the addition of that single-port compensator meant that it basically didn’t move from shot to shot. The LOK Grips did their job well, too, and we appreciated the addition of Beretta’s Toni System flared magazine well, which made inserting fresh magazines easy. Controls were crisp and easy to reach, and the fiber-optic front sight showed up easily in daylight. It’s worth noting that these two Berettas also have milled cuts in the slide that allow for easy red-dot mounting. For a finely tuned firearm that comes out of the box ready to race, it’s hard to go wrong with either the Gara or the Corsa.

Beretta 92XI SAO Corsa & Gara

Specifications:

‍Action Type: single-action, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol

Chambering: 9 mm Luger

Barrel: 5.1"

Frame: Vertec-style, aluminum

Slide: steel

Finish: Gray Cerakote

Magazine: 22-round, detachable box

Sights: drift adjustable; square notch rear, fiber-optic post front

Stocks: LOK Grips; G10 (Gara), carbon fiber (Corsa)

Trigger: X-treme S

Overall Length: 9"

Width: 1.5"

Weight: 36.2 ozs.