Survival Directory
The M9 is a light weight, semiautomatic pistol manufactured by Beretta and
designed to replace the M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol and .38 caliber revolvers.
The M9 has redundant automatic safety features to help prevent unintentional
discharges. It can be fired in either double or single action mode and can be
unloaded without activating the trigger while the safety is in the
"on" position. The M9 pistol has a 15-round magazine, and may be fired without a magazine
inserted. This weapon can have the hammer lowered from the cocked, "ready
to fire," position to the uncocked position without activating the trigger
by placing the thumb safety on the "on" position. The M9 Pistol has a short recoil system utilizing a falling locking block.
Upon firing, the pressure developed by the combustion gases recoils the
slide-barrel assembly. After a short run, the locking block will stop the
rearward movement of the barrel and release the slidewhich will continue its
rearward movement. The slide will then extract and eject the fired cartridge
case, cock the hammer and compress the recoil spring. The slide moves forward
feeding the next cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. The slide and barrel assembly remains open after the last cartridge has been
fired and ejected. Caliber 9-mm NATO System of
Operation Short recoil, semiautomatic Locking System Oscillating block Length 217 mm (8.54 inches) Width 38 mm (1.5 inches) Height 140 mm (5.51 inches) Magazine
Capacity 15 Rounds Weight with
Empty Magazine 960 grams (2.1 pounds) Weight with
15-Round Magazine 1,145 grams (2.6 pounds) Barrel Length 125 mm (4.92 inches) Rifling Right-hand, six-groove (pitch 250 mm [about 10 inches]) Muzzle Velocity 375 meters per second (1,230.3 feet per second) Muzzle Energy 569.5 Newton meters (430 foot pounds) Maximum Range 1,800 meters (1,962.2 yards) Maximum
Effective Range 50 meters (54.7 yards) Front Sight Blade, integral with slide Rear Sight Notched bar, dovetailed to slide Sighting Radius 158 mm (6.22 inches) Safety Features Decocking/safety lever, firing pin block. Hammer
(half-cocked notch) Prevents accidental discharge. Basic Load 45 rounds Trigger Pull Single-action: 5.50 pounds; Double-action: 12.33 pounds Combat Training with Pistols, M9 AND M11. M9 Pistol
M9 Specifications
M9 Manuals
FM 3-23.35