Beretta PX4 Storm Compact Beretta PX4 Storm Subcompact User Manual - Page 21

GENERAL OPERATION The Beretta PX4 Storm Sub-Compact pistol is a semiautomatic firearm using a cam operated, tilt-barrel, locking system. When the pistol is fired, the recoil energy causes the slide-barrel assembly to move to the rear. After a short distance, the barrel is forced downward by the operation of the cam and locking block ramp interface. The barrel stops while the slide continues its rearward travel, extracting and ejecting the fired cartridge case through the ejection port, rotating the hammer and activating the recoil spring. Pushed by the recoil spring, the slide then moves forward, feeding the next cartridge from the magazine into the barrel chamber. Continued forward movement causes the barrel cam to raise the barrel into its locked position in the slide. The slide is designed to remain open after the last cartridge has been fired and the spent shell casing has been ejected. LOAD CHECK At various points in this manual you will be instructed to "visually check to be certain your Px4 Storm pistol is unloaded." This should become second nature to you, as you should: • Never assume that a firearm is unloaded (even a gun that is new and in its original packaging). • Never point or push a firearm toward yourself or another person. • Always visually check to see that the chamber is unloaded. • Remove the magazine and block the slide in the open position before handing the pistol to another person. • Never take or pull this pistol from another person unless the magazine has been removed, the slide blocked in the open position and the chamber has been visually checked to confirm it is unloaded. To visually check to be certain your pistol is unloaded carefully follow the steps below. NOTICE: The numbers in the figures refer to the photos on pages 2 and 11. 21