Beretta M9 Overview

The Beretta M9 is a compact, lightweight, semi-automatic pistol produced by Beretta and adopted by the United States military in 1985. The M9 intended purpose was to replace the standard issue M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol and all remaining .38 Spl caliber revolvers that the U.S. military had in service. The Beretta M9 has many automatic safety features to help prevent accidental firing.

The Beretta M9 can be fired in single or double action mode and can be decocked without using the trigger, a real safety advantage. To lower the hammer from the cocked (\"ready to fire\") position to the uncocked position, without initiating the trigger, simply position the thumb safety to the \"on\" position and the M9 will decock itself. The M9 pistol contains a 15-round magazine, and can still be fired without a magazine in place.



Specifications

Primary function: Semi-automatic pistol

Manufacturer: Beretta and Beretta USA

Length: 8.54 inches (21.69 centimeters)

Width: 1.50 inches (3.81 centimeters)

Height: 5.51 inches (14 centimeters)

Barrel length: 4.92 inches (12.5 centimeters)

Weight fully loaded: 2.55 pounds (1.16 kilograms)

Bore diameter: 9mm (approximately .355 inches)



The newest M9A1 features a Picatinny rail, forward of the trigger guard, to permit the attachment of lights and lasers.



The Beretta 9mm Pistol Program was a Congressionally directed, non-developmental initiative, to standardize DOD (Department of Defense) with NATO, and standardize one handgun for all United States armed services. Beretta of Italy was awarded a multi-year contract, and delivered over 500,000 pistols. The contract award stipulated that manufacturing of the weapon must shift from Italian to US manufacturing after two years. The US Army is the lead service in this program, and the M9 did in fact replace the M1911 .45 cal handgun………..but some will argue that they miss the old “big bore” sidearm.