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Is that a Beretta in your pocket or are you just glad to see me...

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
... was what Mae West shudda said.

Down here my answer would quite often be "Both!" So I thought it might be fun to cover what I actually have carried in my pocket this summer and the pros and cons of each choice. First, all but one is 32acp and the outlier is a 380. All are Beretta all reliable and all adequately accurate (I have a very high degree of confidence of placing two or more rounds within a inch of each other when within 20 feet) and all have at least a 6 round magazine plus one in the chamber.

Going from smallest to largest...

My Beretta Tomcat:
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The Tomcat is small but wide enough to fill my hand. It's surprisingly comfortable to shoot which adds to its accuracy. The magazine hold 7 rounds plus one in the chamber. The tip up barrel helps with loading and also offers a safe way to decock the gun even when there is a live round in the chamber. The Tomcat is a traditional DA/SA format with a frame mounted safety.

Next is the 380 of the group, my Beretta Pico:
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The Pico is by far the slimmest of the group and has the best sights but honestly it is by far the least enjoyable to shoot. It is DAO with a magazine that hold 6 rounds plus one in the chamber. Like a revolver it has no safety other than the long trigger pull. The bore axis is the highest on any semi-automatic I own. It's a modern modular Fire Control system that makes working on the pieces parts easier than any other gun I own.

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The Beretta 1935 may be my favorite of the bunch but it's also by far the heaviest. It has an 8 round magazine plus one in the chamber, is SA and the safety is located on the left side above the trigger. It is a toggle; forward to "Fire Mode", back to "Safe Mode". The magazine release is a typical early European Heel Release.

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Beretta modernized the 1935 just lightly and it became the Model 70. Mine is a fairly early version that uses a cross bolt safety. Later versions used more conventional frame mounted safety. It does have a button magazine release but it's located at the bottom rear of the left grip panel. The 1935 had been called the Puma and so the model 70 became the "New Puma" Like the earlier Puma the New Puma has an 8 + 1 capability, is SA only and has no decocker.

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Lastly, my Beretta Model 81 that is a recent purchase to replace the Model 81 I bought back in the late 1970s. It's a "HiCap" 12 + 1 semi-automatic (well I can only get 11 rounds in the new magazine but still kept one of my oldies) and was Beretta's first DA/SA semi-automatic. While it's certainly the biggest of the bunch it still fits easily in my shorts pocket. My holsters for the Sig P230 fit it well so that's what I use when the 81 goes Walkabout.

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It has a more conventional lock and the magazine release is in the expected position. The safety is ambi and easily controlled with either hand.

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As Mae West shudda said; "I'll try anything once, twice if I like it and five times to make sure."
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
Nice Beretta’s @jar_ and great read! People have to admit, Beretta makes pretty guns. I just like the way they look.

My first Beretta back in the day was a 92FS Centurion. I was just a young kid and didn’t know anything. Who knows where that first double action shot went, because it sure didn’t make it to the target. :)

My second was the TomCat .32, got it as a back up for work but it was too heavy in my front uniform pocket when trying to run and jump fences in the middle of the night and too thick to carry in the straps of my ballistic vest. You could always see the lump printing on the outside of my uniform shirt.

The tipping barrels are great for people who can’t rack the slide. I would love to have the Beretta Cheetah? Isn’t it the model 85? In .380 and also a tipping barrel?
 

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
Nice Beretta’s @jar_ and great read! People have to admit, Beretta makes pretty guns. I just like the way they look.

My first Beretta back in the day was a 92FS Centurion. I was just a young kid and didn’t know anything. Who knows where that first double action shot went, because it sure didn’t make it to the target. :)

My second was the TomCat .32, got it as a back up for work but it was too heavy in my front uniform pocket when trying to run and jump fences in the middle of the night and too thick to carry in the straps of my ballistic vest. You could always see the lump printing on the outside of my uniform shirt.

The tipping barrels are great for people who can’t rack the slide. I would love to have the Beretta Cheetah? Isn’t it the model 85? In .380 and also a tipping barrel?
I think the 86 was the 380 with the tip up barrel.
 
The 86 is the Tip-up barrel:
86FS-1.jpg

The 85 is a single stack .380
85F-1.jpg


The 82 is the .32 version of the 85
82BB-1.jpg

The 87(all versions) fits the hand the same way. This 87BB Long Barrel is a tad bid more challenging to find:
87 &87LB.jpg

My current avatar has the 87BB, 87BB Long Barrel, 87T, 89 Standard, and 2 different .22 conversion assemblies on 92 Frames.

And I too am fond of the the way they look. Equally fond of the way they point and shoot. The purchase in the hand is stellar as well. I like this thread.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
The 86 is the Tip-up barrel:
View attachment 1015724
The 85 is a single stack .380
View attachment 1015725

The 82 is the .32 version of the 85
View attachment 1015727
The 87(all versions) fits the hand the same way. This 87BB Long Barrel is a tad bid more challenging to find:
View attachment 1015728
My current avatar has the 87BB, 87BB Long Barrel, 87T, 89 Standard, and 2 different .22 conversion assemblies on 92 Frames.

And I too am fond of the the way they look. Equally fond of the way they point and shoot. The purchase in the hand is stellar as well. I like this thread.

Beautiful guns! Those two long slides look cool. Right out of a Hitman movie or something. :)
 
Beautiful guns! Those two long slides look cool. Right out of a Hitman movie or something. :)
The 92 Combat(frame safety) and Combat Competition Kit are similar, with counterbalances and bushings. The pistol used in The Professional was a simple 92FS with as counterbalance and barrel bushing, like the 92fs Competition Kit.
The 92 Stock is a frame safety 92 with a barrel bushing, but without a counterbalance. My custom .22 Frame Safety Conversion is like the 92 Stock.
92 conversions.jpg
 

jar_

Too Fugly For Free.
I don't have a Beretta but I love my Walther PPK/S in .380 for the summer.
I like the small Walthers as well as Berettas and other makes. At times this summer my Walther Model 4 and my Manurhin PP got to go WalkAbout.

Note the ejection Port is actually on the Port Side.
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POSH=Port Out Starboard Home.
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So when sailing on one of the Kaiser Class Luxury Liners I guess it was the Walther Model 4 when leaving Germany but a PP on the voyage back home.


Kaiser wilhelm 2

Andrew Steller [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
 
I love the M9 of course, but "i knew a guy" that had one of these Beretta Jetfires .25 ACP (above). Think he found it.

That thing never jammed ... you would THINK it'd be a piece of junk, but no, actually. It worked very very well.

Very easy to carry, I imagine. Like a Zippo.

Loud, though.


AA
Those little guys are a ton of fun, 21A .22lr(1997), 950BS .22s(1992), 950BS .25(1987), Galesi Brescia 503B .25(1963). The 950BS’s were found as NOS, still in the box.
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Ad Astra

The Instigator
Those little guys are a ton of fun, 21A .22lr(1997), 950BS .22s(1992), 950BS .25(1987), Galesi Brescia 503B .25(1963). The 950BS’s were found as NOS, still in the box.
View attachment 1015758
Yep, third one.

I used to joke .25ACP would make a great bear round...

*WHATTTTTT!!????*

Sure. Wait until the bear wraps its arms around you, then fire off that little Jetfire right next to his ear ... he'll drop you!

AA
 
Saw a used 21a the other day. They were asking $250 for it.

Very tempted to see if it's still there? Usually carry a NAA .22mag Pug as a back up. But the 21a might be a better choice, if in a defensive situation.

You guys have some nice collections.
 

nikonNUT

The "Peter Hathaway Capstick" of small game
I love the M9 of course, but "i knew a guy" that had one of these Beretta Jetfires .25 ACP (above). Think he found it.

That thing never jammed ... you would THINK it'd be a piece of junk, but no, actually. It worked very very well.

Very easy to carry, I imagine. Like a Zippo.

Loud, though.


AA

Didn't James Bond carry a Beretta 418 .25 ACP in a "Skelatonized" (aka grip panels removed) format in the early books?
 
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