Gun Digest Book of Beretta Pistols - Massad Ayoob

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on the 70 series pistols. Most had the “little finger extension” on the magazine that was commonly, but not exclusively, seen on its predecessor guns. Particularly nice were the .22 Long Rifle versions. Their good trigger pull, good accuracy, flat silhouette and reasonably compact size made them a favorite of discriminating plinkers and outdoorsmen. With aluminum alloy frames, they weighed just over 16 ounces. Variants in .22 LR included the standard Model 70S and the Model 71, which lasted until 1985. The Model 72 came with a barrel almost 6 inches long, as well as a standard length (3½ -inch) barrel. The Model 73 had both front and rear fixed sights attached to the barrel, on the theory (long since proven by High Standard and Smith & Wesson in the U.S.) that a front sight on a fixed barrel and a rear sight on a moving slide would not always be in a constant relationship with one another. The Model 74 had adjustable sights, also with the rear sight mounted on the barrel. This pistol also featured an adjustable trigger pull. Larry Wilson quotes factory literature of the period: “The trigger pull is adjustable by means of a conic screw acting on the sear (remove right grip panel, adjustment screw for trigger located near disconnector).” (1)

      You may have read that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence/counter-intelligence agency, was long quite partial to the Beretta .22 pistol. This is the gun. Its flatness made it carry very comfortably and discreetly when concealed, and its excellent pointing qualities lent themselves to the Israeli doctrine of point-shooting with pistols. Since Israeli handgun doctrine also required that the pistol be carried off-safe with the chamber empty, and a round jacked into the spout when it was drawn for serious purposes, the odd cross-bolt safety proved no problem at all.

      All these Berettas, indeed all Beretta semiautomatics, had been single-action pistols. Their first double-action in this caliber was the Model 90, introduced in late 1968 and produced through early 1982. Writes Wilson, “The medium-frame Model 90 was the first Beretta automatic pistol with a double-action trigger system, barrel of stainless steel, enclosed slide with ejection port on the right side, and the magazine release located by the rear of the trigger guard. The frame was of aluminum alloy; the hammer was exposed; the slide remained opened after the last shot was fired. Although the pistol did not prove a success, the future of the double-action system was assured.” (2) Only some 22,000 were produced.

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       Bill Goldstein, an authority on self-defense for senior citizens, strongly recommends the Model 86 for its easy-handling features.

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       While the author prefers the more powerful Berettas at his hip and in a tactical thigh holster, he admits the shootability of the Model 86 .380 he is holding. Note the group in the target …

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       … which was fired as fast as he could pull the trigger.

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       Barbara, a senior citizen with arthritis, is a deadly shot with her Beretta 86, finding it the easiest pistol to operate efficiently.

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       This Beretta Model 86 gave decent accuracy at 25 yards with cheap Blazer ammo, which it fed perfectly.

       The Third Wave

      In the early 1980s, the 70 series and the pioneering Model 90 both gave way to what became known as the 81 series, though it has also been called the 80 series. With some refinements these are the .380 Berettas that are with us today, along with their .32 and .22 caliber companion guns, in the current Beretta catalog.

      This generation saw the return of the open-top slide, the departure from which had not been a hit for Beretta with the Model 90. A frame-mounted manual safety, similar in shooter operation to that of the first-generation Model 92 9mm, was installed. The 81 series also had a magazine release button in what combat shooters considered the appropriate location, behind the trigger guard on the frame.

      These guns also had magazine disconnector safeties, not a usual Beretta feature. This means that if the magazine has been removed from the gun and it has been left with a round in the chamber, if someone picks up the gun and pulls the trigger, the chambered cartridge will not discharge. Wilson lists this feature as “available on request; magazine safety on trigger mechanism when magazine extracted.”(3) However, I have never seen a Beretta .380 of this generation that didn’t have the magazine disconnector feature.

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       Unlike many .380s, the Beretta Cheetah has sights that are easy to see.

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       Beretta’s modern .380s offer good trigger reach.

      The first of the 81 series was the actual Model 81, with a double-stack magazine in caliber .32 ACP (7.65 mm.) It was quickly joined by a twin in .380, the Model 84. Both remain in production. The Model 81, curiously, held 12 rounds in its magazine, while a magazine of the same dimension managed to contain 13 fatter cartridges for the Model 84. The .380 proved quite popular and remains so to this day. The Model 81 is seldom seen in this country. It was realized early on that a 13-shot .32, generating 125 foot pounds of energy per shot with 60-grain Silvertip jacketed hollow-points and 129 foot-pounds per shot with 71-grain full-metal-jacket ammo, would not sell well to Americans when for the same price they could get the identical gun as a 14-shot .380 generating 189 foot-pounds with 85-grain Silvertip JHP and 211 foot-pounds with 95-grain FMJ. It was a “do the math” thing. The relevant decision-makers on both sides of the water knew Yanks would take the .380 hands down over the .32 and chose not to bother bringing the latter to U.S. shores. They made the right decision.

      The Indiana State Police bought a Beretta 84 .380 for each of their troopers, as an off-duty and optional backup gun. The pistol was issued simultaneously with the Beretta 92G 9mm that was adopted to replace the agency’s traditional .357 Magnum service revolvers. When ISP later “powered up” to the .40 S&W service pistol, they chose the Beretta 96G, but kept the Beretta .380s for the backup/ off-duty function.

      A fascinating variation of the Beretta Model 84 is the version long produced for Fabrique Nationale as the Browning BDA. This double-stack pistol has the enclosed slide of the old Beretta Model 90, and a slide-mounted combination safety/decock lever that functioned exactly the same as that on Beretta’s service-size 92F.

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       This is the 1935 Model .32 with the hammer at rest and off safe. Of the Beretta intermediate-frame pistols this is part of the first classic generation. …

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       … and here it is cocked and on safe. The 180-degree safety catch proved awkward. This pistol appears to have been chrome plated after market.

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       This is the Series 70 of the second generation, in the uncommon .32 caliber target variation. This specimen has adjustable sights on the back of the slide to complement a long barrel. Note the magazine release at the lower rear

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