Ask the Community

Charles, The "L" and "M" both refer to design characteristics of the 92 series, but they refer to different aspects. L" = Long (or, if you want to be really correct and use the original Italian, "Lungo") for "long slide travel". The shorter, lighter slides on the Compact and Centurion models require longer slide travel to function optimally and to avoid battering the frames, so the frames have slightly different internal dimensions, particularly the rail lengths. ---- Type M = Type Monofilare (Italian for single-file/single-column). The Compacts with single-stack magazines are thus Type M. This is also how we get the somewhat rare "Centurion Type M", a single-stack "Centurion" that seems to really be just a Compact L Type M with a Centurion-marked slide. (This is not an L model).