Beretta Fabbrica d ' Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearm s manufacturer . Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian , law enforcement , and military purposes . It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories . Beretta is one of the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world . Their original products were not firearms . History . Beretta has been owned by the same family for some five hundred years . The Beretta company was established in 1526 , when gunsmith Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone Val Trompia ( Brescia , Lombardy , Italy ) was paid 296 ducats for 185 arquebus barrels by the Arsenal of Venice . The bills of sale for the order of those barrels are in the firm ' s archive . In 1918 , the Beretta Model 1918 was the second submachine gun the Italian army fielded . Beretta manufactured rifle s and pistol s for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during World War II . With the Wehrmacht ' s control of northern Italy , the Germans seized Beretta and continued producing arms until the 1945 German surrender in Italy . In that time , the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished and was much inferior to both the pre - war and mid - war weapons , but their operation remained excellent . The last shipment of Type I rifles left Venice for Japan in a U - boat in 1942 . After World War II , Beretta was actively involved in repairing the American M1 Garand s given to Italy by the U . S . Beretta modified the M1 into the Beretta BM - 59 rifle , which is similar to the M14 battle rifle ; armourers consider the BM - 59 rifle to be superior to the M14 rifle in some ways , because it is more accurate under certain conditions . After the war , Beretta continued to develop firearms for the Italian army and police , as well as the civilian market . In the eighties , Beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in North America after its Beretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for the United States Army under the designation of " M9 pistol " . Beretta acquired several domestic competitors ( notably Benelli and Franchi ) and some foreign companies ( notably in Finland ) in the late eighties . Overview . Today , the company is owned and is run by Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his sons , Franco and Pietro . The traditional father - to - son Beretta dynasty was interrupted when Ugo Gussalli Beretta assumed the firm ' s control ; uncles Carlo and Giuseppe Beretta were childless ; Ugo married into the Beretta family and adopted the last name Beretta . His sons are now direct descendents through their Mother ' s side of the family . Beretta is known for its broad range of firearms : side - by - side shotguns , over - and - under shotguns , hunting rifles , express rifle s , assault rifles , submachine guns , lever and bolt - action rifles , single and double action revolvers and semi - automatic pistols . The parent company , Beretta Holding , also owns Beretta USA , Benelli , Franchi , SAKO , Stoeger , Tikka , Uberti , and the Burris Optics company . The model Beretta 92FS is the primary side arm of the United States Army , Marine Corps and Air Force , designated the M9 pistol . In 1985 , Beretta was chosen after a controversial competition to produce the M9 , winning a contract for 500 , 000 pistols . A condition of the original agreement was domestic fabrication of the M9 . The Beretta USA factory , in Accokeek , Maryland , manufactures military , police , and civilian pistols . Beretta announced on May 24 that , despite disagreements with the State of Maryland over recently enacted changes to MD gun control laws , it will not be relocating its Accokeek , MD production facility .