Beretta 92FS Safety Manipulation

[Jenrick]

All my experience with an external safety on a pistol has been frame mounted (1911's, HK USP, etc.) which all function by being moved downward. The Beretta and other slide mounted safeties (S&W auto's for instance) that move upward are not something I'm terribly familiar with. What exactly is the correct method to disengaged the safety? You can of course just flip it up with your strong side thumb, but I'm finding that this shifts my whole grip around, requiring me to adjust it again. Is there anyway to disengage the safety w/o having to break your firing grip, or at least to disturb it less?

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Carry it with the safety off. However:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0VxLkqm--U

 

[blkbrd666]

The Beretta 92 has a pretty substantial grip size...some people just can't push the safety off without repositioning their grip...some can. I can manage it fine, but if my hands were any smaller I couldn't.

 

[Jenrick]

Reaper: I saw that video, but can't for the life of me figure out what the heck the guys doing with those camera angles and his description.

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Push down on the safety like a 1911. It will spring up if you do it right.

 

[RETG]

Doesn't work on the PX4. But why carry a SA/DA with a safety on? I have carried SIGS for years, and no safeties.

 

[JohnKSa]

When I was shooting them a lot I found that I was able to bump the safety forward and upward using my thumb knuckle without shifting my grip.

Here's a youtube video (not made by me) that demonstrates another technique that seems to work ok. It uses a somewhat similar motion to what would be used for a frame mounted (down for off) safety. This method does not work well with the PX4 due to slight differences in the way the safeties work.

Hah! Looks like I took too long finding the video!

 

[9mmepiphany]

the Beretta 92/96 has the easiest slide mounted safety to flip off.

when you establish your master grip, assuming thumbs forward grip, the thumb will naturally push the safety lever forward...the spring loaded lever should do the rest. it's not like a 1911, you still have the DA first shot as a safety factor

 

[Jenrick]

Hmm, well the my safety does not pop up when it's pushed forward, down, etc. It only goes up when I push up on it. I stripped down the safety to see if I had a broken spring, etc, and everything seems to be in place and in good shape. Is this something that that only certain models of 92 are able to do?

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Is the safety/decock mechanism well lubricated?

 

[Jenrick]

Yep, took it apart, cleaned it up, and oiled the heck out of it. No luck.

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

So you're saying that if you start to push up on the safety that it won't spring up?

 

[Jenrick]

No it'll go up when I push up on it, I just have to push directly up on it, not any other direction.

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Hmmm...

 

[MachIVshooter]

No good reason to have the safety on, unless you're shooting in a match that requires it. TDA guns with decockers are really meant to be carried hammer down, safety off. THe long, heavy trigger pull becomes the safety

 

[johnnylaw53]

There was one beretta, I don't remember the modle number that the safty worked as a hammer drop only such as is on the sig's. I only engage the safty on my beretta when I'm loading it. Loaded the safty goes off. Have never had a problem with it being engage without me knowing it. There really no need to ever had it engage while carrying it.

be safe

 

[Jenrick]

Believe me I'm with everyone in terms of carrying it with the safety off. This isn't even going to be a carry gun, that's what my G34 and USP w/ LEM trigger are for. I'm just asking so that I know if I ever end up in a situation where I need to.

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Beretta 92G (French military model.)

 

[David E]

If I had to carry it safety on, I'd practice wiping it off while acquiring my grip with the gun still in the holster.

If carrying a 92 safety on is NOT a valid or current concern for you, then I'd suggest spending about 10 minutes trying to figure it out, then spend the rest of your time improving your skills with the guns you WOULD use in a defense situation.

 

[Jenrick]

David E: Believe I spend quite a bit of time practicing with my carry pistols. I figure I might as well get in the habit, just like with a 1911. I don't normally carry one, but if I do, I know how to de-activate the safety. In this case if for some reason the safety gets activated I want an ingrained response to deactivate it.

-Jenrick

 

[REAPER4206969]

Have you figured it out yet?

 

[Jenrick]

No luck. I might pull the safety apart and polish the two plungers a bit to see if that helps.

-Jenrick

 

[David E]

Since you don't normally carry one, keep the decocker/safety "off" when you do.

Problem solved.

 

[HorseSoldier]

The weapon is designed to be decocked and carried with the safety off -- unfortunately, which is how we carried them when I was in a USASOC unit. In the Big Army units I served in, any number of people with more authority than competence would have either wet themselves or gone ballistic making a spot "correction" if they caught you with an unsafed pistol.

That digression aside, just carry it loaded and decocked. The safety is poorly situated for fast manipulation under stress, which isn't its intended purpose.

 

[jdh]

the Beretta 92/96 has the easiest slide mounted safety to flip off.

The S&W safety is much easier for me than the Beretta. I do have to shift my grip just a little on the Beretta. I do not have to change my grip on the S&W.