Beretta 93R
Beretta 93R: A compact Italian selective-fire pistol
The Beretta 93R is a small, semi-automatic pistol made by Beretta in the late 1970s for police use, designed to fire in controlled bursts rather than full automatic mode. The “R” in 93R stands for Raffica, meaning burst or volley in Italian. It’s based on the Beretta 92 but was built to be easier to control with a three-round burst.
Key features
- Firing modes: Three-round burst or single shot, selected by a switch. It is single-action only and does not have a decocker.
- Handling: Includes a collapsible angled foregrip under the trigger guard for stability and an optional folding stock at the heel.
- Design: Aims to be more controllable than other machine pistols thanks to the burst-fire setup and a ported barrel.
Specifications
- Caliber: 9×19 mm Parabellum
- Weight: 1.17 kg (empty)
- Length: 240 mm
- Barrel length: 125 mm (156 mm with compensator)
- Rate of fire: about 700 rounds per minute in burst
- Muzzle velocity: about 380 m/s
- Effective range: about 50 m
- Sights: Iron sights
Ammunition and magazines
- Detachable box magazines: capacities include 10, 15, 17, 18, 20, 30, 32, and 35 rounds
- Detachable drum magazine: 50 rounds
Production and users
- Designed 1977–1979; produced 1979–1993
- Used by Italian police and security forces, with other police and military groups adopting it where rapid-fire control in a compact weapon was desired
In popular culture
- The 93R inspired the RoboCop Auto 9 gun prop
- Appears in various video games and films, including Parasite Eve 2, Uncharted series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Resident Evil games, Battlefield 3, and more
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:34 (CET).