BERETTA 92F/M9 HANDBOOK
AN OPERATIONAL GUIDE TO THE BERETTA PISTOL
by
Mike Pannone and Erik Lawrence
BERETTA 92F/M9 HANDBOOK
By Mike Pannone and Erik Lawrence
Copyright ©2014 Erik Lawrence,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by Erik Lawrence Publications
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-9905131-5-5
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-941998-55-7
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the copyright holder. Exceptions to this include reviewers who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Internet.
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21150 Barbour County Highway | Philippi, WV 26416
Although the author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book, errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Portions of this manual are excerpts from outside sources but have been validated and modified as necessary.
WARNING, SAFETY, AND TRAINING
WARNING
Firearms are potentially dangerous and must be handled responsibly by individuals. The technical information presented in this publication on the use of the weapon system reflects the author’s research, beliefs, and experiences. The information in this book is presented for academic study only. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.
SAFETY NOTICE
Before starting an inspection, ensure the weapon is cleared. Do not manipulate the trigger until the weapon has been cleared of all ammunition. Inspect the chamber to ensure that it is empty and no ammunition is present. Keep the weapon oriented in a safe direction when loading and handling.
TRAINING
Training should be received from knowledgeable and experienced operators on this particular weapons system.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To all those armed with M9 pistols who stand in harm’s way every day in support of freedom, law, and order and in defense of the innocent, this book is for you.
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”
Thucydides, 471 B.C.
CHAPTER 1
HANDGUN SAFETY
Safety with handguns is one of the most critical aspects of handgun training. Because of the size and portability of handguns, they are prone to being inadvertently pointed in directions that the possessor does not intentionally desire. Often when an individual is addressed while holding a handgun, he or she will turn to face the person speaking and thereby accidentally point the pistol at that individual or some other unsuspecting person on the range. For that reason, shooters must be aware of the muzzle orientation of their pistol at all times, keep their finger off the trigger unless firing the weapon, and if at all possible, safe the pistol and return it to the holster or render it safe and point it in a safe direction when interacting with others that are not hostile.
There is often confusion between what I will refer to as “administrative protocol” and “weapons safety.” Administrative protocol or a “range-ism” consists of what each range institution has decided it will or will not allow and generally consists of guidelines on how it wants training conducted. Some of these are safety oriented but more often than not, they are designed to limit the range of actions that can be taken by a shooter and thereby not give that shooter the opportunity to make a mistake. The practical downside to most of these restrictions is that they do not coincide with combat-oriented training, and shooters learn to act only if directed to do so and begin to stop thinking independently for fear of being reprimanded. They will wait to be directed and conduct actions that often defy common sense without a second thought, and that action creates a substantial safety risk.
Having witnessed several accidental discharges and shooting incidents, I have heard the three statements you will hear before anything else: “I didn’t think..., I didn’t know..., I didn’t see...” The one that covers it all is “I didn’t think.” When you direct someone not to think on his own, often he stops thinking all together and just follows commands robotically. That is where the safety hazard is hidden.
A perfect example of a “range-ism” is the clearing procedure on most ranges. Often you will see shooters told to drop the magazine from the weapon onto the ground instead of dropping it into their hand and transferring it into a pouch or pocket. This is done for one of two erroneous reasons: 1.) because the institution does not trust the shooter to control a magazine in one hand and a pistol in the other; to that I respond if one can’t safely do that, one shouldn’t have a pistol in the first place. 2.) “If they drop the magazine in their hand, then they’ll do it in a gunfight.”
This is based on the Newhall incident in 1970, where four California Highway Patrol officers were killed by two heavily armed criminals. There have been contradictory stories as to whether or not the officers had been found with empty brass in their pockets. If so, this is very likely attributable to putting the expended cases in the shooter’s pocket to avoid range cleanup, a range habit that in years gone by was all too common when shooting revolvers.
The point is good training does not mean doing all things only one way; it means doing all things the logical way. There is no reason, at the close of a shooting evolution when the line has been administratively directed to go cold, that a shooter must drop a magazine to the ground. There are verbal and physical cues that reinforce the administrative clearing action, and that is distinctly different from an actual tactically oriented shooting drill. Remember, when you go “admin” (administrative), that means there is no constraint of time or tactical necessity; i.e., you’re not on the clock, and nobody is shooting at you. As long as there are distinct cues in your training that are reinforcing situation-appropriate actions, there is no need for protocol-driven range practices that are of no benefit.
Safety, on the other hand, is quite clear and easy to understand.
•Treat all weapons as though they are loaded, regardless of their condition.
•Never 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