Beretta M9 Service Handgun Inspection

The M9 has been serving our United States military since 1985, formally adopting the Beretta 92 SB-Fas Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9. Nearly four decades later, it is still a reliable handgun when taken care of. So many are quick to judge the pistol for reasoning of "it’s past its prime, they constantly break, stick with the 1911, etc." When dealing with firearms that have been in service along time, like anything, there will be parts that have finally met their life span.

When going after the contract in the 1980s, this service pistol met all criteria and beat out many other reputable companies such as Smith & Wesson, Heckler and Koch, and Walther. Mind you, Beretta won it twice due to allegations that the first test was done under bias. The Beretta showed its durability during testing by lasting through severe temperature change, water, sand, mud, and snow testing, drop tests, and the often-popular mean rounds before failure (MRBF).

The Beretta showed a MRBF of 35,000 rounds; the criteria was to get through 5,000 rounds before failure. The testing criteria that these pistols go through when attempting to be chosen as anew service pistol is truly remarkable. Testing goes so far as measuring the indent of the firing pin on the primers throughout testing. Durability, accuracy, and reliability all go into criteria to be passed. When an issue is found with the winning pistol it is then determined by the branch of service how to proceed.

For instance, it was found that the Beretta had issues of slides cracking. During testing, the round count that both the crack was seen or shown through metallurgy testing was noted. The U. S. Army releases guidance. For

example, "for safety standards we will now advise that after 4,500 rounds on each pistol the slide is to be replaced." This will be advised in 23&P Technical Manuals or, if found later, a Maintenance Action Message will go out. A fun fact about the Beretta M9 slide and Maintenance Messages is that some of these that were put out in the 1990s are still being checked today. For example, a Modification Work Order (MWO) was put out back then about the headless hammer pin on the M9.

In the beginning the M9 was designed with a headless pin that held the hammer, strut, and spring in. It was found that if there was a malfunction This is what you will need to push down on from the top of the slide if it breaks during firing. with locking, the slide would come back to the rear and have no way to be stopped, thus potentially hitting the operator. When I say potentially I mean, well… it happened.

To fix this it was decided that the hammer pin would now be headed as away to stop the slide from flying off the rear of the frame. Fast forward to 2021. U. S. Army Small Arms Repairers are still checking every M9 they touch for this headed hammer pin. Every MWO that comes out within a weapons service life is to be checked for the entirety of the weapon’s time in service for both functionality and safety. Things can be missed when dealing with thousands and thousands of parts replacements.

Frankly, no branch of service wants to be responsible for another serviceman getting hurt due to a MWO being missed. When a weapon is as reliable as the M9 it is also thought that nothing should break. As we all know, that is just not an obtainable standard. The M9 needs inspections and part replacements just like any other firearm. To find those potential issues the inspection takes about five minutes or less and should be done annually at the very least.

The inspection will require a ruler, two punches, and a magazine. This five minute inspection can be the difference between a weapon firing when needed or malfunctioning. Note, some of this inspection is Army specific as the Army has now been receiving certain parts in polymer instead of metal.

To begin the inspection of the Beretta M9, clear the weapon of all ammunition with proper safety procedures. When field stripping and removing the slide it is important to strip the slide with your palm down ensuring your hand cups the recoil spring just in case the recoil rod slips off the locking block during removal. Base Components We’ll start with the Barrel, Locking Block, Recoil Rod, and Recoil Spring. Recently, the Army has been receiving their recoil rods in polymer instead of metal.

The metal rod is still allowed until breakage. Ensure that the recoil rod isn’t bent by rolling it across the table. Check for any burrs as well. Inspect the recoil spring for bends in the same manner. Measure the recoil spring to ensure the minimum five-inch criteria is met. If it is under five inches, replace it. Do NOT stretch the spring to make length. Remove the locking block from the barrel. The locking block is the most important piece to inspect in this group.

We have seen it fail during a lot of competitions and high round count events. With high round counts the blocks have seen to be developing hairline cracks. If the crack goes unnoticed the block can break during firing and lock the gun up. If this happens, point the gun in a safe direction, take a punch or pliers, and push down from the top of the slide onto one side of the ears on the block. This will (hopefully) release the broken locking block on one side, allowing the gun to free up.

Many of these cracks are hairline, so it is easy to miss them. Just do your best. When inspecting the barrel, look for rust, pitting, and burrs. Also look inside the barrel and ensure that there are no obstructions or burrs. Install the locking block back onto the barrel. Ensure that there is free movement between the plunger and locking block. It is okay if the locking block slips, it just means it is more worn in. There have been two types of locking blocks and plungers.

The upgraded style is the thin plunger and thin opening on the block. However the old style of wider plunger and wider block is still reliable. When ordering or replacing parts I do recommend that both the block and barrel/plunger mate up as far as style for maximum reliability. The Slide Inspect the slide for burrs on the inner rails by dragging your finger across the rails. Push the extractor/loaded chamber indicator out with a punch or your finger and ensure that there is still red paint on it.

If not, reapply with a paint pen. Check under the extractor for built up carbon, removing carefully if build up is present. Check for a severe amount of wear on the extractor piece housing in the slide. It has been seen that if the extractor spring is worn it will cause the extractor to move up and down, thus wearing down the housing on the slide. Oftentimes this isn’t bad enough to warrant replacement, Also, push on the extractor pin pictured on the lower right of the photo. American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.

just keep an eye on it to make sure enough material is there as to not cause a spring to be lost or continuous wear that will lead to requiring replacing the slide. An extractor is cheaper to replace than a slide. Inspect the firing pin hole and breech face for obstructions, cracks, out of round, or rust. Inspect the firing pin tip and function. With the safety/decocker on fire, use two punches to simultaneously press on the back of the striker and the firing pin block.

This will allow the firing pin to be pushed out and able to be inspected. Ensure the front and rear sight is not loose; repaint the sight as nec- Check that bushings are present and seated correctly. essary. There are two styles of rear sights. One style has a dot in the center and the other style has two dots on the left and right sides. Verify there are two spring pins and detent present on the safety/decocker. They are tiny so verify that they have not fallen out or are becoming loose.

Using a punch, push on the extractor pin from the inside of the slide ensuring that the staking on top of the slide is still holding the pin in. Verify that the pin for the firing pin block is there and not walking out. The Frame Inspect the slide stop lever spring for bends. You will know that it is bent if the leg is not present, not long enough to hold the pin in for the slide stop, and/or the leg on top of the slide lock is not straight. Verify that staking is present on the firing pin block lever pin.

Ensure that the hammer pin is a headed hammer pin inline with the MWO. Ensure that the trigger spring is installed correctly. Falls Church VA 22041 To check for tension on the hammer spring, press the lanyard loop onto a table and push down; if no movement is felt, the hammer strut spring could be dirty. The Army has been receiving polymer lanyard loop pins instead of the metal roll pin. The polymer straight pins have a small cutout that allows more room for the hammer spring to move.

If a nonmoving hammer spring was found the roll pin would be replaced with a polymer pin and the hammer spring and channel would be cleaned. Verify the trigger bar spring is present. Remove both grips and ensure that all four screws, washers, and bushings are present. If washers and bushings are not present the screws could protrude into the magazine well, not allowing the magazine to be seated or released properly. Paint pen or chalk in the serial number makes for easy reading if wanted.

The Army has been receiving polymer triggers instead of metal now as well. Function Check Now that the individual pieces of the M9 are inspected, fully assemble the handgun. Your function check should be checking the function of the safety, the decocker, firing on both single action and double, seating and dropping of the magazine, locking back on an empty mag, and reset of the trigger. The trigger weight should be checked.

A factory M9 trigger should fire on single action at a minimum of 5.5 pounds and double action should fire at a minimum of 12.3 pounds. Ensure that each piece is of crisp movement and not sluggishly moving due to gummed up lubricant or burrs. Finally, check for overall appearance. Ensure that your handgun doesn’t show signs of rust or pitting and that finish is still present. This inspection is meant for both brand new and already-inservice M9s.

In the United States Army it is done on receipt, annually, or before a deployment. AG