Beretta Steel-I Instruction Manual

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HOW TO  LOWER THE  COCKED
HAMMER
WARNING:Keep the firearm pointed in a SAFE direction. Be sure
the pistol is unloaded other wise refer to the procedure:
UNLOADING THE PISTOL.
WARNING: THE HAMMER LOWERING OPERATION MUST ONLY BE
PERFORMED WITH THE PISTOL UNLOADED AND THE BARREL
CHAMBER EMPTY.  This is due to the fact that the 92/98/96
Steel I pistols do not feature mechanisms that permit decocking
of the hammer with a round chambered and the safety on the
frame does not function as a decocking...

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single/double action models will first cock the hammer and then
release it to strike the firing pin. The pistol will fire if a round in
the chamber is present.
Hammer in the half-cock position
(92/98/96 Steel I in
single/double action only) (Fig. 8 and 9): By pulling the hammer
rear ward to the second position you will feel and hear the
hammer “click” into the half-cock notch. The pull on the trigger
on the double action mode will first cock the hammer and then
release it to strike the firing...

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OBSTRUCTION CHECK
Check the barrel to be sure there are no obstructions in the
chamber and bore. This is extremely impor tant because if
another car tridge is fired into an obstructed barrel, a
catastrophic failure can result.
•Remove the magazine by depressing the magazine release
button. (Fig. 10)
•Retract the slide.
Releasing the slide when a magazine is not in the pistol will
automatically close the slide. Always keep your finger away
from the ejection por t. To keep the slide in the open...

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AMMUNITION
AMMUNITION (CARTRIDGE) NOTICE:Beretta specifically
disclaim responsibility for any damage or injur y whatsoever
occurring in connection with, or as the result of, the use in
Beretta 92/98/96 Steel I pistol  of faulty, or non-standard, or
“remanufactured,” or hand-loaded (reloaded) ammunition, or
car tridges other than those for which the firearm was originally
chambered. Use of reloaded ammunition will void the
manufacturer’s warranty.
Use only high-quality, commercially-manufactured...

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DRY FIRING/”DUMMY” ROUNDS
Dr y firing is defined as firing a firearm with no ammunition in the
chamber.  Long term dr y firing your Beretta 92/98/96 pistol may
result in damage to the action.  “Snap caps” (iner t chamber
inser ts that allow a firearm to be dr y-fired without damaging the
action) are available at most gun stores for those who wish to
practice firing without live ammunition.
CAUTION: If you want to practice shooting your pistol without
using live ammunition (called “dr y firing”), inser...

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•Hold the magazine in one hand. With the other hand place a
car tridge on the magazine follower in front of the lips at the top
of the magazine. Press the car tridge down onto the follower
and slide the car tridge completely under the lips until it is
lodged fully inside the magazine body. (Fig. 15)
•Repeat process until magazine is fully loaded. Holes on the
back of the magazine allow for visual counting of car tridges.
(Fig. 1/O)
CAUTION: Do not tr y to force more than the maximum number
of...

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WARNING:THE PISTOL IS NOW CHAMBER LOADED, COCKED,
MANUAL SAFETY DISENGAGED AND READY TO FIRE BY PULLING
THE TRIGGER. IMMEDIATELY ENGAGE THE MANUAL SAFETY by
rotating the safety lever with a fully upward thumb pressure
(Fig. 7)so as to cover the red warning dot. The red dot is visible
when the manual safety is disengaged.
WARNING:The manual safety is merely a mechanical device and
is in no way a substitute for the Basic Safety Rules of firearm
handling.
2. DIRECT CHAMBER LOADING
•Release the manual...

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If you want to replace the round which has been chambered from
the magazine (remember that you are handling a loaded firearm
with a live round in the chamber): 
•Check the manual safety is engaged. 
•Remove the magazine from the pistol by depressing the
magazine release button.
•Inser t one more car tridge into the magazine.
•Completely push the loaded magazine into the pistol grip to
insure catch engagement.
WARNING:REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE HANDLING A LOADED
FIREARM, WITH A LIVE ROUND IN THE...

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WARNING: Always visually inspect the firing chamber to ensure
that it is empty. The chamber is empty when no car tridge is
visible when looking into the open chamber. (Fig. 11)
WARNING:If you are ejecting unfired car tridges, use extreme
care to be sure they are ejected onto an appropriate sur face.
Never attempt to catch car tridges or fired car tridge cases as
they fall.
WARNING:Never allow anything to come in contact with the
primer of unfired ammunition. Doing so could cause the
ammunition to...

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FIRING
WARNING: IN CASE OF INTERRUPTION OF FIRING BEFORE THE
MAGAZINE IS EMPTY AND THE CHAMBERED ROUND IS FIRED, IT
IS NECESSARY TO UNLOAD THE PISTOL BEFORE LOWERING THE
HAMMER. 
WARNING:Beretta assumes no responsibility for any injur y or
proper ty damage resulting from improper or careless handling,
intentional or accidental discharge of the firearm. 
WARNING: Only point a firearm at something safe to shoot.
Never put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot.
Never disengage the...