Dumb question about beretta 92

[p35bhp09]

I know I'm going to look stupid for asking this but I figured I had better swallow my pride and ask. I am the new owner of a beretta 92fs. I am just learning the inner workings of it and have a question. If I am starting out with the gun completely empty, slide locked to the rear and I insert a loaded magazine, is it possible for the gun to discharge when I release the slide and chamner a round? The reason I ask this is I carried the same gun in the military and every time I loaded it I was required to aim it into a round catching barrel in case it discharged. I live in an apartment now and even though this is probably a very dumb question its one I felt I had better ask. Thank you for your help.

 

[1 old 0311]

No it will not fire. YES you should always aim at something safe when chambering a round. Remember Murphy's law.

Kevin

 

[ktd]

I would err on the safe side. All things being shiny, the Beretta will not go off. But..you could get you firing pin jammed forward after you took it apart, or a piece of debris got stuck in the firing pin hole in the breechface, or something got messed up on your extractor or ejector, or your round could have a high primer. The .mil adopted the catch barrels because with as much loading and unloading as they do something is gonna happen sooner or later. Myself I just point at my tv set. That should teach me if I did something stupid.

 

[kennyboy]

No, the gun will not fire under normal circumstances. However, always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction, just in case of an accident.

 

[doublebarrel]

Or, you could have a broken firing pin, broke in half right at the firing pin block. So the forward motion will throw the front half of firing pin forward. Depends on how much momentum it has, and the softness of the primer, it might touch off the chambered round. I believe the original Ruger P85 had a broken firing pin problem, that Ruger issued recalls. They were corrected and the model became P85 MKII. There were no accidents caused by the P85 broken firing pin, if I remember it right...

 

[runninmike]

Just make sure the safety is in the "on" position or "lever down" and let the slide go home while pointing in a safe direction. If the firing pin is broken, the firing pin rebound spring will keep the broken section of the firing pin from striking through the hole, as it will take alot more force forward than the weight of the broken section of firing pin. If you are constantly loading and clearing your gun at home, yep, a clearing barrel is a good idea. That's why they use them in the military, to error the side of safety always-yet they still have many negligent discharges nonetheless.
When I was stationed at Quantico Weapons Training Batt, a Brit Royal Marine exchange instructor SgtMaj had a neg discharge with a Glock in our weapons cage right next to our clearing bbl, and he was called home to London as they had sent him as an example of their finest instructors.
I once let the slide of my Ruger P85 go home on an empty chamber only to watch my forward half of my firing pin go skipping across my kitchen table with some force. That early model didn't have the same coil rebound spring, which I think they updated later. It happens.
Best-MC

 

[Steve in PA]

How many times did the gun go off when you were in the military?

Always follow safe gun handling procedures. Weapon pointed in a safe direction, finger off the trigger, etc and you'll be fine.

 

[Mad Chemist]

You should always have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction whenever you manipulate a firearm. Whether it's the slide, bolt, trigger, scope, whatever.
Whenever you fiddle with it, you should have it pointed at something that won't complain if you shoot it.
Keep your old protocol, it's already drilled in. A heavy dresser at an oblique angle will make a good bullet stop in your apartment.

JH

 

[runninmike]

How many times did the gun go off when you were in the military?

Always follow safe gun handling procedures. Weapon pointed in a safe direction, finger off the trigger, etc and you'll be fine.

Well, I never had one, but there were a couple while I was at Camp Pendleton, and we had a couple at Quantico, and I know of one in Okinawa where an armourer handed an M60A3 through the recovery port muzzle 1st-it had a round caught in the chamber and it shot through 2 Marines when the 1st one accepted it in. The shot went through him and killed a 2nd fellow behind him too. Another neg discharge happened to one fellow who was on guard duty on the rotating shift opposite mine. He was shot through the neck and the bullet changed path and exited the back of his head. This 2nd neg dis was from an M9 pistol that the Sgt of the guard left at our dispatch desk when he had to use the head or restroom, meanwhile the dispatcher picked up the holstered pistol, drew it, dropped the mag (it had 1 in chamber as it should) and pointed it at another Marine across the desk and made a stupid comment like "you're dead"-stupidly kidding, and killed the man instantly. We had a clearing bbl right in front not 15 feet from the dispatcher's desk. That's been about 15 years ago and I still remember the poor fellow's name and face-whom was killed negligently.
Best-MC