point a weapon at anything you are not willing to kill or damage.
•Keep your weapon on safe and finger off the trigger until your sights are aligned and you make the conscious decision to fire.
•Know your target, foreground, background, left, and right. Be aware of the ballistic capability of your weapon and the backstop.
“DOWN RANGE”
Down range is an administratively designated area where projectiles are intended to impact. Conditions and range status will identify it is a direction where a weapon may or may not be safely pointed and discharged.
“SAFE DIRECTION”
A safe direction by definition is a direction in which a weapon is pointed where a negligent or accidental discharge cannot harm personnel or equipment.
*DOWN RANGE IS NOT ALWAYS A SAFE DIRECTION!
CHAPTER 2
BERETTA M9/92FS SPECIFICATIONS
TYPE: Semi-automatic double action first shot, single action repetitive shots with decocking safety
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy
DESIGNER: Beretta
MANUFACTURER: Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta
SERVICE LIFE: 1985-Present
FEEDING: detachable box magazine (10, 15, 17, 18, 20rds)
SIGHTS: Fixed post front and notch rear
The Beretta M9/92FS series of pistols use a double/single action trigger mechanism. For those unfamiliar with what that actually means or for those presenting information to students these are the definitions that are easiest to explain and understand:
DOUBLE ACTION-(DA)
The trigger performs the dual action of cocking and then releasing the hammer with a single and usually relatively long pull of the trigger
SINGLE ACTION-(SA)
The trigger performs the single action of releasing the hammer from the fully cocked position.
The Beretta is traditionally fired from the hammer down position for the first shot and then each subsequent shot fired is in the single action mode.
Da/SA Beretta mechanism means the first shot is fired in double action and upon firing the pistol cycles ejecting the round and in the process re-cocking th hammer so each subsequent shot is fired in the single action mode until the safety is applied and the hammer safely lowered.
M9 CARRY OPTIONS:
The DA/SA Beretta hammer drop safety remains on once it is applied unless it is actively disengaged. The pistol has a double action first shot and is completely safe to carry with the hammer safely de-cocked and the safety off. There is often a belief that if there is a safety device present it MUST be applied or the operator of the pistol is being unsafe. That is patently false with the M9. The double action trigger mechanism is an inherent safety because of the requisite amount of pressure that must be exerted over the longest travel of the trigger (DA vs. SA). Safeties are not present on revolvers for that very reason. The long relatively heavy pull is an inherent safety and if a shooter inadvertently pulls the trigger with a double action pistol resulting in a negligent or accidental discharge it is solely the fault of the shooter and not a design flaw. The striker fired double-action only pistols have no external safety’s and have shorter trigger pulls than the double action on an M9 and are deemed safe for 65+% of law enforcement in the United States. I am perfectly comfortable carrying the M9 hammer down and on fire.
You can carry the M9 with the safety on or off but regardless you must train to press through the safety in case it is inadvertently placed or left in the safe position.
CHAPTER 3
M9 INTRODUCTION AND CHARACTERISTICS
Figure 3-1 M9 Pistol
The Beretta M9/92FS was first adopted by the United States military in 1985 after winning the competition to replace the M1911A1. It was controversial at the time because it transitioned from the American .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge to the more common 9x19mm NATO cartridge. The M9 was also a foreign designed and produced pistol which once adopted was produced domestically.
The M9 is a short recoil, semi-automatic, single-action / double-action pistol which uses a 15-round staggered box magazine with a reversible magazine release button.
A modernized version designated the M9A1 in 2006.It added a Picatinny rail for the attachment of lights, lasers, a slightly beveled magazine well to aid rapid reloads, more aggressive front and back-strap checkering. M9A1 pistols are sold with specially coated magazines to enhance reliability based on experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several thousand (approximately 7500) were reported to have been ordered by the United States Marine Corps.
The M9 features multiple internal safeties, including a firing pin block that prevents the firing pin from moving without the trigger being pulled fully to the rear, and a firing pin striker that rotates when the safety lever is engaged preventing the firing pin from being hit even if the hammer falls. The M9 has an ambidextrous external safety lever allowing both left and right handed users to engage the safety mechanism.
AUTHORS NOTE
Having fired literally 100’s of thousands of rounds through multiple M9 platforms; aside from (military OEM) magazine issues I have found the pistol to be extremely accurate, reliable and durable. With minor modifications (hammer spring, trigger spring, recoil buffer and extended magazine release). I have fired over 100,000 rounds through my own personal M9 for training in the last 11 years without parts breakage. I’m sure somewhere along the way I have had some sort of malfunction but honestly I cannot remember any other than magazines.
CHAPTER 4
LOADING AND UNLOADING
LOADING
1.Place the weapon on safe
2.Lock the slide to the rear.
3.Inspect the chamber, magazine well, extractor and ejector for debris and damage.
4.Seat a magazine into the magazine well until it locks securely in place.
5.Release the slide, either with the slide stop (recommended) or by grasping the slide, drawing it slightly to the rear and then releasing it all together.
6.Press check by slightly retracting the slide so as to witness a round in the chamber. The M9 has extractor that is flush with the slide when the chamber is empty and raised with red paint visible when a round is present which can also be used
7.Place pistol back on fire or leave on safe as per SOP..
NOTE
If
