Dennis G
05-31-2004, 02:12 PM
The Beretta 93R Machine Pistol - An Answer For Today's Police Officers
By: Gabe Suarez
It’s a rare police department today that hasn't dedicated some resources to anti-terrorosm in schools and other public places. Oh, sure, they disguise it with some soft and cuddly name, just like they did with the first Gang Suppression Units, (No GANG unit, 'cause we have no GANG problem), but it is what it is.
Their mission is simply to be there if something happens. But the question arises about how one officer do anything at all when faced with a heavily armed shooter (or two) in a school or shopping mall? This, inspite of the fact that they are no better armed than the traffic enforcement officer.
One agency's school squad asked for better gear after a school shooting in a nearby city. Their chief responded, "Oh, no. School Resource Officers should not have rifles in their cars. What message would that send to our citizens?" The officers have saved his memo in the event that something happens and they get blamed for it.
Tactics also must change. The traditional patrol response to anything out of the ordinary has always been to "contain and call for help". In good consciense, you simply cannot do that in cases like the ones we are discussing, although there are some administrators that would have you do just that regardless of the potential loss of life. No, friends, the mission changes from "run and call for help", to "Take 'em out before they hurt anyone".
I can hear you out there. "But Gabe, how can we do that with only handguns?" Well, you can, but there are better tools that won't offend the brass' sensibilities. Missions like this need a Low-Profile, but High Firepower weapon with the capability for surgical precision. The only tool in the pantheon of weapons that will give that, is the Machine-Pistol.
Extremely popular with some of the Baltic Region Police Forces and Centarl American Teams that we've trained with, the machinepistol has all but been ignored in the USA. A machine pistol is a fully automatic-capable firearm that is based on an existing handgun design (as opposed to an SMG without a stock, such as what the Germans call the MP5K). They may be equipped with detachable shoulder stocks and almost always have a selective fire capability (single shot, burst, or full auto).
Some closed-minded american instructors and rangemasters have decried the MP as "an ingenous answer to a non-existant question", complaining of its uncontrollability and declaring it ill-suited for police duties. Well, all I can say to them is that they need to train a little more with them before announcing such a condemnation of the weapon. Within its niche, I found the MP to be very useful, perhaps more so than some of the more popular submachineguns due to its compact size, appearance as a simple handgun, and, yes, its full-auto capabilty. The Eastern European and Baltic Teams are very good with their MPs, and to suggest that the gun is too much for our feeble "police children" is ridiculous. I know our policemen are at least as good as the Estonians and Latvians.
One very popular MP is based on the ubiquitous Beretta 92F. It is the Beretta Model 93R. The "R" stands for "Raffica" that means automatic burst in Italian, for you linguistically challenged folks.
Its designed for single-shot fire or, at will, in controlled bursts of three rounds. Selection of the desired mode is made by a thumb lever, and the three-round burst limit is
automatically governed by a mechanism located under the right grip.
The fire selector is located on the top left side of the weapon; by positioning the selector on the white dot (C), the pistol is made to fire in single shot. Reloading of the next round is automatic. When the selector is flicked to the three white dots (D), the pistol is ready to operate in controlled bursts of three rounds. Upon the trigger being pulled, the Model 93R will fire one burst of three rounds. To fire the next burst it is necessary to release the trigger and to press it again; individual three-round bursts may thus be fired until the magazine is empty: six, plus one burst of two shots. When burst firing, the gun still shows muzzle climb but the 3 shots can be kept in a humanoid target at 15 meters after some practice. Shots being aligned verticaly. Subsequents shots would certainly go off target, but thats where the 3 shot burst comes in pratically.
The pistol is equipped with a folding fore-grip for better control during burst fire. I found it to be unnecessary if a proper grip is used. When the pistol is combat-ready, the fore-grip should is designed to be lowered and held with the left hand, with the thumb inserted in the front part of the trigger guard. When not in use, the fore-grip can be folded along the frame to make re-holstering in police holsters easier.
For accurate shooting at medium range, the pistol can be fitted with a special metal folding stock that can be attached to grip. The size is almost identical to the 92F model, and most parts are interchangeable, although the slide is slightly larger and heavier.
One can only wonder what the outcome of some of the well-publicized tragedies we've seen recently would have been if a few officers were already on scene "as it happens" and had been trusted enough to be equipped with weapons like the Beretta 93R.
Technical Features:
Calibre: 9mm parabellum(luger)
Method of fire: single shot semi-automatic or three shot burst in full-automatic
Locking system: hinged locking block
Overall lenght: 240mm
Barrel lenght: 156mm (with muzzle brake)
Metal stock lenght: 368mm
Metal stock folded lenght: 195mm
Height: 170mm (with 20 rds magazine)
Width: 37mm
Overal grip widht: 47mm
Weight: 1170gr (with 20 rds magazine)
Metal stock weight: 270gr
Safety: manual blocking the sear, inertial firing pin
Selector: one shot, 3 shot burst
Magazine: staggered, 20 rds
Rate of fire: approx. 1100 rds/min
Sights: front blade, rear V notch
Indicators: chamber loaded indicator
By: Gabe Suarez
It’s a rare police department today that hasn't dedicated some resources to anti-terrorosm in schools and other public places. Oh, sure, they disguise it with some soft and cuddly name, just like they did with the first Gang Suppression Units, (No GANG unit, 'cause we have no GANG problem), but it is what it is.
Their mission is simply to be there if something happens. But the question arises about how one officer do anything at all when faced with a heavily armed shooter (or two) in a school or shopping mall? This, inspite of the fact that they are no better armed than the traffic enforcement officer.
One agency's school squad asked for better gear after a school shooting in a nearby city. Their chief responded, "Oh, no. School Resource Officers should not have rifles in their cars. What message would that send to our citizens?" The officers have saved his memo in the event that something happens and they get blamed for it.
Tactics also must change. The traditional patrol response to anything out of the ordinary has always been to "contain and call for help". In good consciense, you simply cannot do that in cases like the ones we are discussing, although there are some administrators that would have you do just that regardless of the potential loss of life. No, friends, the mission changes from "run and call for help", to "Take 'em out before they hurt anyone".
I can hear you out there. "But Gabe, how can we do that with only handguns?" Well, you can, but there are better tools that won't offend the brass' sensibilities. Missions like this need a Low-Profile, but High Firepower weapon with the capability for surgical precision. The only tool in the pantheon of weapons that will give that, is the Machine-Pistol.
Extremely popular with some of the Baltic Region Police Forces and Centarl American Teams that we've trained with, the machinepistol has all but been ignored in the USA. A machine pistol is a fully automatic-capable firearm that is based on an existing handgun design (as opposed to an SMG without a stock, such as what the Germans call the MP5K). They may be equipped with detachable shoulder stocks and almost always have a selective fire capability (single shot, burst, or full auto).
Some closed-minded american instructors and rangemasters have decried the MP as "an ingenous answer to a non-existant question", complaining of its uncontrollability and declaring it ill-suited for police duties. Well, all I can say to them is that they need to train a little more with them before announcing such a condemnation of the weapon. Within its niche, I found the MP to be very useful, perhaps more so than some of the more popular submachineguns due to its compact size, appearance as a simple handgun, and, yes, its full-auto capabilty. The Eastern European and Baltic Teams are very good with their MPs, and to suggest that the gun is too much for our feeble "police children" is ridiculous. I know our policemen are at least as good as the Estonians and Latvians.
One very popular MP is based on the ubiquitous Beretta 92F. It is the Beretta Model 93R. The "R" stands for "Raffica" that means automatic burst in Italian, for you linguistically challenged folks.
Its designed for single-shot fire or, at will, in controlled bursts of three rounds. Selection of the desired mode is made by a thumb lever, and the three-round burst limit is
automatically governed by a mechanism located under the right grip.
The fire selector is located on the top left side of the weapon; by positioning the selector on the white dot (C), the pistol is made to fire in single shot. Reloading of the next round is automatic. When the selector is flicked to the three white dots (D), the pistol is ready to operate in controlled bursts of three rounds. Upon the trigger being pulled, the Model 93R will fire one burst of three rounds. To fire the next burst it is necessary to release the trigger and to press it again; individual three-round bursts may thus be fired until the magazine is empty: six, plus one burst of two shots. When burst firing, the gun still shows muzzle climb but the 3 shots can be kept in a humanoid target at 15 meters after some practice. Shots being aligned verticaly. Subsequents shots would certainly go off target, but thats where the 3 shot burst comes in pratically.
The pistol is equipped with a folding fore-grip for better control during burst fire. I found it to be unnecessary if a proper grip is used. When the pistol is combat-ready, the fore-grip should is designed to be lowered and held with the left hand, with the thumb inserted in the front part of the trigger guard. When not in use, the fore-grip can be folded along the frame to make re-holstering in police holsters easier.
For accurate shooting at medium range, the pistol can be fitted with a special metal folding stock that can be attached to grip. The size is almost identical to the 92F model, and most parts are interchangeable, although the slide is slightly larger and heavier.
One can only wonder what the outcome of some of the well-publicized tragedies we've seen recently would have been if a few officers were already on scene "as it happens" and had been trusted enough to be equipped with weapons like the Beretta 93R.
Technical Features:
Calibre: 9mm parabellum(luger)
Method of fire: single shot semi-automatic or three shot burst in full-automatic
Locking system: hinged locking block
Overall lenght: 240mm
Barrel lenght: 156mm (with muzzle brake)
Metal stock lenght: 368mm
Metal stock folded lenght: 195mm
Height: 170mm (with 20 rds magazine)
Width: 37mm
Overal grip widht: 47mm
Weight: 1170gr (with 20 rds magazine)
Metal stock weight: 270gr
Safety: manual blocking the sear, inertial firing pin
Selector: one shot, 3 shot burst
Magazine: staggered, 20 rds
Rate of fire: approx. 1100 rds/min
Sights: front blade, rear V notch
Indicators: chamber loaded indicator