beretta 92 User Guide

ENGLISH

Illustrations on pages 3 and 22

WARNING

Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. assumes no responsibility for product
malfunction or for physical injury or property damage resulting in whole or in part
from criminal or negligent use of the product, improper or careless handling,
unauthorized modifications, use of defective, improper, hand-loaded or reloaded
ammunition, customer abuse or neglect of the product, or other influences beyond
Beretta’s direct and immediate control.

CAUTION: Always ensure that the safety is fully engaged until ready to fire.
A safety is fully engaged only when the safety can move no further into the
safe position. A safety which is not fully engaged will not prevent weapon
discharge.

BASIC SAFETY

• A loaded firearm has the potential to kill. Intelligently handled it is safe.

• An accident is always the result of basic safety rules neglect.

• Accident prevention is user responsibility.

• Always treat a firearm as if it were loaded.

• Never point a firearm at anything you don’t want to shoot.

• Before handling and loading a firearm, be sure you know how it functions.

• Be sure to use correct and undamaged ammunition.

• Be sure your firearm is clean - before loading inspect the barrel to insure it is

perfectly clean and free of foreign objects. Shooting with an obstruction in the
barrel such as dirt, mud, grease, lodged bullet or jacket residues, etc., can cause
barrel bulging and/or rupture.

• Never shoot at a flat surface or water.

• Avoid alcoholic beverages before and during shooting.

• Store firearms and ammunition separately, beyond the reach of children. Be sure

cartridge chamber is empty.

• To avoid corrosion during storage, thoroughly clean the firearm and all metal

surfaces with a light film of good grade gun oil. Store ammunition in a separate
container placed in a cool ventilated area.

Shooting glasses and earplugs: shooting glasses are a must; chances of gas,
gunpowder and dirt particle blow-back are remote but do exist. Earplugs reduce the
chance of temporary or permanent loss of hearing when shooting.

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Caution: read this manual carefully before handling and loading the pistol.

Firearms Safety Course: To familiarize yourself with the proper use of firearms,

attend a Firearms Safety Course in your area. Remember: only YOU are responsible
for the firearm in your hands. Prevent accidents by knowing its functioning. HANDLE
IT WITH RESPECT NOT FEAR.
Safety devices on firearms are EXTRAS and are not substitutes for safe handling.

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CONTENTS

Page

BASIC SAFETY 4
DESCRIPTION AND MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS 6

DESCRIPTION

The Beretta 92 Series semi-automatic pistols are primarily designed for military and
police use. Due to excellent performance in competitive testings, 92 Series pistols
are the choice of Military and Police Forces.
The characteristics of flawless reliability, complete handling safety, great fire capacity
and high accuracy, proper of the basic model, have been maintained on the 98 FS
versions (cal. 9 mm x 21 IMI) and on the new models 96 cal. .40 S & W.
Other recent additions to the 92 series are the special versions developped with the
needs of some U.S. Police Forces in mind.

TECHNICAL FEATURES AND DATA 10
LOADING AND FIRING 10

LOADING THE MAGAZINE

•

LOADING THE PISTOL AND THE CARTRIDGE

•

CHAMBER
FIRING

•

UNLOADING THE PISTOL AND THE CARTRIDGE

•

CHAMBER
UNLOADING THE MAGAZINE

•

MAINTENANCE 15

FIELD STRIPPING

•

CLEANING AND LUBRICATING

•

ASSEMBLY

•

HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE ADJUSTABLE REAR SIGHT 17
ADJUSTING THE REAR SIGHT 18
HOW TO REVERSE THE MAGAZINE RELEASE

BUTTON 18
MALFUNCTIONS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 19
AMMUNITION 20

MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS

A. THE LOCKING SYSTEM

with falling locking block and the barrel short recoil operation are a warranty of
long-life and shooting accuracy.

B. THE DOUBLE ACTION

offers the advantages of the revolver. In the rare instance of misfire due to a
faulty primer, it is sufficient to pull the trigger again to repeat the percussion on
the cartridge and fire the round.

C. THE GREAT FIRE CAPACITY

Models 92 e 98 = 15 round, staggered magazine
Model 92 FS Compact = 13 round, staggered magazine
Model 92 FS Compact “Type M” = 8 round, single line magazine
Models 96 = 10 round, staggered magazine
Model 96 Compact = 9 round, staggered magazine

The staggered magazine, of the same lenght as a traditional single line
magazine, allows greater fire capacity. (Fig. 7)

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D. THE COMPLETE SAFETY SYSTEM

G. SPECIAL MODELS

D1. Automatic firing pin safety: when the trigger is not pulled completely

back, a blocking device secures the firing pin and prevents it from moving
forward, even if the weapon should fall from a height and strike the ground
muzzle-down.

D2. Manual safety-decocking lever: allows safe hammer lowering over a

chambered round. The safety rotation interrupts and shields the firing pin
unit from hammer strike. With the safety ON, the linkage between trigger
and sear is disconnected.

D3. Chamber-loaded indicator: when a cartridge is chambered, the extractor

head protrudes outside the slide breech, exposing a red warning signal. In
the dark, the protrusion can be felt by touch. This makes it unnecessary to
pull back the slide to verify if the chamber is loaded. (Fig. 9)

D4. Slide overtravel stop: on the FS models, the hammer pin head has been

enlarged to enter a matching groove cut into the slide rail to stop slide
breech recoil overtravel.

E. THE GREAT SIMPLICITY OF FIELD STRIPPING

The disassembly device is designed to allow an extremely quick and simple
field stripping of the pistol and also to avoid causal or involuntary disassembly.

F. THE FUNCTIONAL AND ANATOMICAL FEATURES

F1. Slide catch: when the last round has been fired, the slide locks open

signalling that the magazine is empty.

F2. Ambidextrous safety decocking lever: allows easier and quicker handling

by left and right - handed shooters. (Fig. 10)

F3. Special sights: both front and rear sights are designed for swift target

acquisition. To aid sighting under low light conditions, the sights are
equipped with white inlays.

F4. Grooved frame: the front and back straps of the grip are longitudinally

grooved to secure a firm hold even with wet hands, or under conditions of
rapid, unaimed fire.

F5. Reversible magazine release button (Model 92 FS Compact “Type M”

excluded): it can easily be assembled on the right side of the pistol for left
handed shooters.

F6. Checkered grips: they ensure a better hold and give to the pistol a touch of

elegance. Walnut checkered grips or black rubber grips are available on
request.

F7. Combat trigger-guard: the trigger-guard is shaped and grooved to allow a

functional rest of the index finger when shooting with two hand hold.

G MODELS

The G models (designed for the French “Gendarmerie Nationale”) feature a
manual decocking lever only instead of the safety-decocking lever of the 92 FS.
When the decocking lever is released, it automatically returns to the ready to
fire position. There is no manual safety (Fig. 2).

DS MODELS

The new DS models are “double action only” pistols: the hammer always
follows the slide forward to come to rest in the double action position (the
hammer never stays cocked).

The hammer spur has been removed, and is flush with the rear of the slide. The
manual safety lever on the slide provides the same function as it does on the 92
FS (Fig. 3).

D MODELS

The D models are also “double action only” pistols. They are identical to the DS
models but with out the manual safety (the lever has also been eliminated).

CENTURION MODELS

These pistols offer the frame (and same magazine capacity) of the basic 92 FS
model and the reduced lenght of the Compact version.
Special G Centurion, DS Centurion and D Centurion models are available in
some countries.

COMPETITION CONVERSION KIT MODELS

The standard model can be converted, with a special conversion kit, into a
competition target pistol. The kit includes a 7.3” (185 mm) barrel with
counterweight and elevated front sight, a fully adjustable target rear sight and
ergonomic walnut grips. The kit comes, only with the standard pistol, in a
special carrying case (Fig. 5).

TARGET MODELS

Designed to offer the ultimate performance in competition shooting, these
models meet all U.I.T.S. standards for large caliber pistols (P.G.C.). They differ
from basic 92 FS in the following aspects:

- 150 mm. barrel, with aluminum counterweight sleeve

- Fully adjustable target rear sight

- Ergonomic walnut grips, with “orange peel” anti-slip finish (Fig. 6)

INOX MODELS

The Inox models feature the following parts made in stainless steel:

- The barrel

- The slide (including the extractor, the safety and the right-side manual safety
lever)

- The trigger (and trigger pin)

- Slide stop lever

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