New-to-me Beretta Model 81, no firing pin safety?

So I bought one of the surplussed Beretta Mod 81s from Classic and didn’t realize it was the first gen with no firing pin safety, as opposed to something like the 81BB.

Anybody have any reservations about carrying one without the firing pin safety? Because I figure the more you handle and carry loaded guns the more chance for accidents and I have dropped two loaded and chambered pistols before, a SIG P226 and SP2022 but I was very confident in those.

 

It would depend on how much I "handle and carry" it. I've dropped one loaded gun before, back when I didn't know which guns were "drop safe" and which ones weren't (the gun was a S&W 659, and this was in 1990.)

I'm confident that I could carry it in a snug holster and not have an issue, but you don't say how recently your two "gun drops" were, or how close they were to each other. Only you know your confidence in your own handling, as attributed to things such as your dexterity, age, any underlying medical conditions, etc. You should be more confident in yourself than in the gun.

 

If this won't be a self defense gun, leave the chamber empty until you are ready to shoot.

If this will be a self defense carry gun (or home defense gun) and the chamber is loaded, put the hammer on half cock and set the safety lever to "safe".

I admit I prefer guns with firing pin safeties, which is one reason I bought an 81BB over a an 81, but I could work with a regular 81 if I had to.

 

My opinion is the firing pin block was added for a reason. I don't carry cocked and locked, nor with a round chambered - just makes me uncomfortable, so - I just don't go there even though it takes an extra second or so to rack the slide. You might look at other carry conditions, does that model have double action so you can carry with the hammer down? Just some food for thought.

I like those model Berettas and don't think the pin block would make any read difference in my getting one. I have a 92S with no firing pin block and don't even think about it.

 

And two free hands.

 

So my intention is to carry chambered with the hammer down, I’m a big fan of the double action carry mode for the safety aspect as well as the mechanical aspect of removing all stored energy from the gun, so it’s practically impossible for it to fire by accident. So I feel without a firing pin block the gun could fire if dropped on the hammer with the hammer down on a loaded chamber. I suppose it could be tested with empty but primed cases but why risk breaking anything?

On the other hand I also have a Beretta Bobcat that I CCW and it also has no firing pin safety but I still choose to carry it hammer down on a loaded chamber because to me that is the correct way to employ a DA/SA pistol. My other CCW gun is a SIG P226 so the trigger is similar. Anyways my point is I am more conscious of how I handle the little Beretta because I am constantly aware of its lack of a firing pin safety as well as being so small it’s more difficult to hold onto.

 

The firing pin block is a positive for a reason besides the gun being dropped. The pre-F models do not have a decocking lever. When manually decocking the hammer it could slip and hit the firing pin. With a firing pin block you can let the trigger go forward and reengage the firing pin block and then lower the hammer the rest of the way.

 

I too have a Beretta Bobcat. It has a half cock, too.

I don't recommend having the hammer all the way down on the firing pin with the chamber loaded in a gun without a firing pin safety.

Put those guns on half cock, as it keeps the hammer off of the firing pin and if dropped it should take quite a bit of force to break that half cock notch enough to let the hammer fall. Which should reduce the remaining energy from the hammer enough (that would continue on to the firing pin) that the gun is much less likely to fire.

Edit to add: A hammer at half cock is really only 1/8 to 1/4 back in its travel in pistols like these.

 

I didn't know that the early Beretta 81's did not have a decocking mechanism. The only DA automatic I own without a decocker is a Benelli B-76, and I always thought that was a sign of Benelli's inexperience with pistol design. You sure can't say that about Beretta.

I know a lot of people think that thumb-lowering a hammer on a live round is no big deal, but I have always considered it the kind of thing where if enough people do it enough times, an accidental discharge is certain to happen - and the size of either "enough" is not all that big. Much lower than the number of times it takes a well-designed decocker in a quality pistol to break, anyway.

 

Nothing wrong with lowering the hammer provided the person with the gun is adhering to proper safety procedure. If the gun is deliberately pointed in such a way that a discharged round will do no harm , there is no risk.

You sure as heck cannot trip a decocker while pointed at anything/anyone that is vulnerable. I know a number of shooters who are more uncomfortable using a decocker than they are manually lowering the hammer.

 

On the Bobcat I do have it on the half-cock notch when carrying hammer down on a loaded chamber. It’s clear to me that it keeps the hammer physically off the firing pin even if it’s not as fancy as SIG’s rebounding hammer design.

 

There are options to cocked and locked , options that involve action type selection.

- "nor with a round chambered" ... Personally , I think that carrying with an empty chamber constitutes an invitation to disaster. It is something I would never , ever do.

 

Just a link on it, with some history and pros and cons
https://gunbelts.com/blog/israeli-carry/

 

Waveski, everything you say here is true. But:

A) if people always adhered to proper safety procedures, the only accidents would be things like "hit by lightning" or "killed by ice falling off the Hancock Building". This just isn't the case in the world we live in, with the human beings we actually have.

B) Who suggested using a de-cocker while the pistol is NOT pointed in a safe direction?

C) I, too, am uncomfortable with things that facts show are good for me, like colonoscopies. Being uncomfortable does not mean we should not do the right thing.

 

Regarding empty chamber , I cannot imagine becoming confident that I can not only draw , but then rack that slide correctly under extreme pressure - with no second tries.

Scenario --- Bad guy has gun. Good guy , in view of bad guy , draws his weapon. NOTE - at this point in this scenario , the likelihood that the bad guy will attempt shoot the good guy has gone from "possible/probable" to 99.99% certain. Good guy needs to be able to shoot asap.
Outcome (a) : Good guy needs to take time - however brief - the rack slide. Bad guy advantage is improved by time taken by good guy racking slide. Odds favor bad guy significantly.
Outcome (b) : Good guy , in the heat of the moment , short racks the slide , failing to chamber a round... or panics and pulls the trigger without racking slide at all. Odds now very badly lopsided in favor of bad guy.

Sorry , not acceptable to me. I either carry a revolver or a semi-auto sa/da in da condition - ROUND CHAMBERED , hammer down. Holster covering trigger guard.

I can't abide putting myself in a situation in which I have to rack the slide and chamber the first round in a life and death situation , hoping I get it right AND that the bad guy is considerate enough to wait for me , just to make it fair.

To each his own.

 

IMO, a non-issue. The Beretta 81 is a big-ish pistol. It’s not gonna be a prime choice for CCW, so if you’re carrying it in a case, or a proper OWB holster as intended, there won’t be any serious risk of dropping it and thus, no reason for concern. If you plan to CCW while doing acrobatics I’d carry something more modern.

 

Waveski writes:

I'm one of them. When I even do use a decocker, I still guide the hammer down. I just hate the sound of a snapping hammer-fall when the gun isn't where it should be when the hammer is allowed to fall.

..and this is not a "chamber loaded vs empty chamber carry" thread. I think there have been a few of those already.

 

Carrying without a round in the chamber is like thinking you’ll have time to put on your seat belt right before an accident. ‘Nuff said.

 

for the most part I agree, but depends on the gun in particular and what hand ya shoot with. with this beretta, I agree with ya.

that said.....Paul Herrell did a nice video on this, timing him both ways on some pistols with harder to use safeties. he did just as well on empty chambering speed wise as taking safety off. granted hes a well trained shooter and he wasnt shooting a glock where no way can someone chamber as fast as just pulling the trigger.

as a southpaw using a 1911 without an ambi safety I can draw and chamber faster than taking safety off. granted easier to just add an ambi safety, but for someone who prefers the right handed safety only. time wise due to my training I can do it faster chambering when drawing. unless I take safety off before drawing, which I find dangerous and risky. yeah I know, carry a gun that isnt setup for right handed only.