Beretta 1301 Competition User Manual - Page 17

HOW TO LOAD AND FIRE WARNING: Before loading the firearm, it is a good idea to practice the following handling procedures without the use of ammunition. Never handle a loaded firearm until you are fully familiar with the loading procedures. Always inspect the ejection port, the loading gate and the cartridge chamber to make sure they are empty. Check that there are no cartridges in the magazine tube. Before loading the firearm, ensure that the safety is engaged. Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction. (See points 1, 2 and 4 of the BASIC SAFETY RULES.) WARNING: Always check the barrel before loading the firearm to make sure that it is clean and free of possible obstructions. WARNING: Check the conditions and correct tightness of the choke tubes in the barrel. Never use the shotgun without the choke tube inserted. WARNING: The shooter and all bystanders must always wear protective eyewear and ear protection during shooting. Residue from gunpowder, lubricant or metal fragments may be projected backwards and cause injury. Noisereducing earplugs or earmuffs will reduce the risk of damage to hearing caused by prolonged shooting activity. CAUTION: Always keep your finger off the trigger and avoid contact of other objects with the trigger if you don't intend to fire. • Check that the carrier stop push button is pressed all the way down. Otherwise, push it down (Fig. 1). • Use the cocking handle to retract the breech bolt until it snaps into the open position (Fig. 2). • Engage the manual safety by pressing the safety button to hide the red ring (Fig. 3). CAUTION: The safety can only be engaged with the hammer in the cocked position. The hammer is cocked by pulling back the breech bolt. When the safety button shows the red ring, the SAFETY IS DISENGAGED (Fig. 5), so the firearm is ready for use. When the red ring is not visible on the safety button, the SAFETY IS ENGAGED (Fig. 3). WARNING: The manual safety is merely a mechanical device and is in no way a substitute for the Basic Safety Rules of firearm handling. • Introduce the first cartridge into the cartridge chamber through the ejection port (Fig. 6). • Keeping your hands away from the ejection port, press the release button and guide the breech bolt to lock. EN 17