Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Developed in the late 1970s, the Beretta 93R was a selective-fire variant of the Model 92 designed for Italian counter-terrorism units. Created by engineer Paulo Parola, it featured an innovative three-round burst mechanism that fit within the standard 92’s frame dimensions. The 93R introduced three key modifications: a selector switch for semi-auto or three-round burst fire, a folding foregrip that allowed holstering, and a detachable shoulder stock. Its relatively low 700 rpm rate of fire and compensated barrel made it more controllable than typical machine pistols. The burst mechanism used a unique resetting system that avoided the partial-burst issues found in early M16s. Produced from 1979-1993, the 93R was adopted by police and military special units requiring concealable firepower. It accepted various magazine capacities from 15 to 50 rounds. While limited in military application, it found its niche in law enforcement and gained pop culture fame as the basis for RoboCop’s Auto-9.
“Very highly sought Beretta Model 93R select fire (burst selector) pistol with shoulder stock and three 20 round magazines. Designed and produced from the 1970’s until 1993 for military and police use, this is a very fast firing 1100 rounds per minute machine gun based upon the Beretta model 92 series design. The “R” in the model stands for “Raffica” which describes the rapid spray of projectiles. This pistol incorporates a folding forward grip at the front of the trigger guard and an effective folding detachable stock. Selector switch at left rear of slide. Very few of these guns are available as Pre-86 dealer samples and this one is in especially nice condition. “
Lot #1136: (N) VERY RARE AND HIGHLY SOUGHT BERETTA 93R SELECT FIRE MACHINE GUN PISTOL (PRE-86 DEALER SAMPLE). (n.d.). Morphy Auctions. photograph. Retrieved February 4, 2024, from https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/lot-473519.aspx.
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