Beretta USA officially relaunched the M9A1 9mm pistol this year, bringing back a sidearm that many Marines and soldiers carried through Iraq and Afghanistan. After being quietly phased out of regular production, the “Alpha One” is back in the general catalog with all the features that made it a go-to for deployed units.
What made the M9A1 different
The original M9 was adopted back in 1985. Introduced 20 years later, the M9A1 addressed some shortcomings identified from the M9 during extensive combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marines needed something more suited for the desert and wanted to easily mount a weapon light. They went to Beretta for a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) solution. The result was the M9A1.
It wasn’t a total redesign, but a series of practical upgrades. The most obvious change was the MIL-STD-1913 rail on the dust cover. It also got a strengthened locking block to increase service life, 3-dot sights, more aggressive checkering on the front and back straps, and nickel-plated sand-resistant magazines.
Specs of the relaunched M9A1
The relaunched M9A1 has the ambidextrous slide safety/decocker, a short reset trigger, and the front and back strap checkerings. A key point for many is that it keeps the classic, thicker M9 grip profile, not the slimmer Vertec-style grip that came later with the M9A3.
The relaunched M9A1 ships with two 15-round PVD-coated mags, and there’s a 10-round version for California. MSRP is set at $829.
Why choose M9A1 over M9A3 or M9A4
The beauty of the Beretta M9A1 lies in its simplicity and traditional design cherished by many gun enthusiasts and military users. It is priced more affordably than modern iterations and targets users who want a combat-proven, straightforward military pistol.
In comparison, the M9A3 offers higher capacity magazines (17+1 vs 15+1) and more customization, while the M9A4 adds key upgrades like an optic-ready slide for red dot sights, night sights, and a slightly improved trigger.
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