Benelli B76

Benelli B76
Clockwise from top right: B76 Sport, B77, MP3S 9mm Luger, MP3S .32 S&W Long
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Italy
Production history
Designed	1976
Manufacturer	Benelli
Produced	1976–90
No. built	~10,000
Variants	B76 Sport, B77, B80, B82, MP3, MP3S
Specifications (B76)
Mass	970 g (34 oz)
Length	205 mm (8.1 in)
Barrel length	108 mm (4.3 in)
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum (B76, MP3S) .32 ACP (B77) 7.65×21mm Parabellum (B80) 9×18mm Ultra (B82, MP3) .32 S&W Long (MP3S)
Action	Inertia driven
Feed system	8-round, single-column magazine (5 rounds for MP3S)
Sights	Iron

The B76 is a pistol manufactured in Italy by Benelli.

Design

First manufactured in 1976, the Benelli B76 is a locked-breech, fixed-barrel semi-automatic. The B76's trigger is of a double-action/single-action type and the firearm works thanks to a unique "inertia lock" system, as explained in U.S. patent 3,893,369. In this system, the gun has a bolt provided with ribs extending transversely to the bolt axis and adapted to engage in and disengage from corresponding mating grooves in the receiver, and a locking lever that links the bolt with the slide which acts as a bolt carrier. Upon firing, while the pistol recoils in the hand of the shooter, the inertia of the slide makes it maintain its position relative to the receiver, constraining the bolt ribs' motion in the corresponding grooves via the locking lever, and so keeping the breech positively locked. As soon as the recoil movement of the pistol in the hand of the shooter slows down, the slide tends to continue its rearward movement, so retreating relative to the receiver. At that point, the locking lever does not force the bolt into its locking recesses any more and the bolt is free to recoil as well, pushed by the residual pressure of the gasses in the barrel with enough force to complete the shooting cycle.

Manufacture was discontinued at the end of the 1980s.

References

• Modern Firearms article
• Instruction Manual