"Field Tested and Reviewed Gear"
Beretta M9A1
From Wikipedia:
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 that can be positioned for either right- or left-handed shooters.
The M9 is used with the Bianchi M12 Holster, though other holsters are often used. The specific modifications made from the Beretta 92 includes:
Design of all the parts to make them 100% interchangeable to simplify maintenance for large government organizations.
Modified the front of the trigger guard so that one could use finger support for easier aiming.
Recurved the forward base of the grip to aid aiming.
Hard chromed the barrel bore to protect it from corrosion and to reduce wear.
New surface coating on the slide called Bruniton, which allegedly provides better corrosion resistance than the previous plain blued finish.
It also has an enlarged hammer pin that fits into a groove on the underside of the slide. The main purpose is to stop the slide from flying off the frame to the rear if it cracks. This was in response to reported defective slides during U.S. Military testing.
The M9 was updated to the M9A1 in 2006.[7] It added—among other things—a Picatinny rail for the attachment of lights, lasers, and other accessories to the weapon. The M9A1 has more aggressive front and backstrap checkering and a beveled magazine well for easier reloading of the weapon.
M9A1 pistols are sold with physical vapor deposition (PVD) coated magazines developed to better withstand the conditions in the sandy environments in Iraq and Afghanistan.[8]
The M9 features multiple internal safeties, including a firing pin block that prevents the firing pin from moving without the trigger being pulled, 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 also has an ambidextrous external safety lever allowing both left and right handed people to comfortably engage the safety mechanism.
Well this is as close as you are going to get to a military M9A1 in the civilian world. I have always been a fan of the Beretta 92FS, for some reason this gun feels very natural in my hand. In school it was the issued gun for training and perhaps that’s why I have such a fondness for it.
On this M9A1 we installed a Surefire X300 light and that was it. Beretta’s are great guns right out of the box so we didn’t do any modifications. However, there are a few mods that many people will recommend for the 92 series and we will list them here as soon as we have them done to this gun.
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