Dear Forum,
If there are any folks who might remember or otherwise find this interesting: could you please advise me about which Beretta handgun would have been the best choice for self defense back in 1966?

I am a writer working on a book in which a character gives his daughter her dead mother's Beretta after she (the daughter) is raped. The father does this as a somewhat sentimental gesture, since the gun is 20 years old by the time he gives it, so I presume technology will have eclipsed it.

But if you have any wisdom on the matter, I would appreciate it hugely.

Kind regards,

This Beretta Model 1934 was actually produced in 1966. It is a .380 caliber, though the Italian marking calls it 9mm Corto (9mm short). It would be a common gun for the time frame.

It is a compact gun and wouldn't be an unusual choice for a woman to have. It holds 7 rounds in the magazine.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Beretta 418, .25ACP was a little pocket Beretta in production up until the 50's. Would have been a common bring back piece from WW2 vets.

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Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

The 418 was the gun James Bond carried in the early novels until M makes him give it up for a Walther.

The Beretta 950 Jetfire has been around since the early 1950s, too. I imagine if you are using a stated 20 years old gun then the Jetfire would be too new but the 418 would not be, nor would the 1934.

Size-wise I think I would go with the 418, its manufacture date certainly fits your plot, and the later Berettas would definitely be more advanced/modern in design.

Depending on how intricate your plot is and how the gun plays a part you might want to do some detailed examination of these guns in re their operation. I always like a story where the weapons are properly depicted and used properly, etc.

Hi Avan:

Welcome to the Forum. Very interesting question you pose...you don't mention where the story is set - in the US, or in Europe? Also, a bit of back story on the mom would be helpful as well. Must the handgun be a Beretta? I've nothing against them, but I'm just wondering if you are committed to that particular brand. I can envisage a story line where the daughter discovers her late mom was in the OSS/MI-5, etc. during WW-II, and the handgun her father gives her is her late mom's issued Walther PPK. Anyway, best of luck with your book. As a welcome gift, I'll help to start your novel out:

"It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out! Meanwhile, in a wheat field in Kansas, a young boy made a surprising discovery."

Okay, Avan, now that I've broken the trail for you, you can take over.

Best of luck,

Dave

Thanks all, every reply is valuable to me. The handgun doesn't have to be a Beretta, it's just that when I began to research small handguns, someone suggested a .38 snub nose and all reviews found those terribly heavy for a woman to easily operate, so I thought that practically speaking, the Beretta suggestion held more promise?

Then I saw one and really liked it, superficially for how it looked.

So--back to the story: if the Beretta Model 1934, produced in 1966, is a .380 caliber, could a shot to the head of the rapist kill him or is that .380 caliber more for target practice/small mammals? (Forgive my ignorance about calibers and guns, learning on the fly.)

A .380 round to the head could, and probably would, kill a rapist of any size.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

The first handgun that I shot was The small tilt barrel Beretta 22.
Was that a 21?
I think it also came in 25.
And that was way before 1966!
Either would be a handy hide out mouse gun for a femme fatale .

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

OK--second question: I'm saying that in 1989, New Jersey, the father gives his daughter her mother's Beretta 1934 model, .380 caliber. For a license, the daughter would have to apply, yes? In other words, her father couldn't organize any of that for her?

Hey- Today is 4/18! It's a sign...

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Because of the metric system?

Dangit, man...at least set the story in a gun-friendly state!

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Because of the metric system?

1st question........ Mother's gun in 1966......

1966 was still the "age of revolvers" in America......... with the exception of Colt 1911s in .45acp, S&W Model 39s in 9mm and Browning HP's in 9mm.

Small autos were mostly European WWII "bring backs"..... Mausers, Beretta 34 and Walther PP series (PP and PPK)in .32 and 9mm short (.380) taken from German and Italian Military officers/SS and police units. These guns weigh as much as a 5 shot J-frame Smith!

1966 was 3 or 4 years into the "James Bond" craze...... Beretta's were bad (in "Dr. No" Bond has his .25 Beretta taken by M cus it jammed and got him shot)

On the other hand the Walther PPK, Bond's new gun..... were are the hottest thing going .........PPK's in .32 and .380s. Like Dirty Harry's S&W Model 29 .44 magnum in the 70s.

Laws were a lot different in 1989 than today.........for example for many years a Pa. concealed carry permit from another county weren't good in Philadelphia................. did that change before 1989 ????? yes...... what year? who remembers.

Dad's worrying about their daughter being raped ....... gives them a gun........... heck none of those bring backs were registered.

I believe OSS & MI5 were using Colt 1903 Model M in .32 acp during WW2. One of those in .32 or .380 would fit well into the story line.

Bring-backs. Interesting. So if it's a Beretta 1934 that was manufactured in 1966 (I see a few online for sale) there's no war to bring it back from, right? So the mother herself, in 1966, in new Jersey, at age 24, would not likely purchase this--or else how would she get one?

As for laws being different in 1989--I assume, less strict? Or do you mean more strict?

A War trophy Beretta 1934 could be used in 1966.
The first one I ever saw was brought home from Italy in WWII.

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Back to basics...... The Beretta Model 1934 was the standard Italian Army/Navy/ AF side arm.... from 1934 through WWII..... till 44..... and by the Italian Police for at least another 20 years.


If I had to guess trying to buy a "new" Beretta 1934 in the US in 1966 ...... would have been extremely hard to do........ hard to impossible to find. I bought a Beretta 70-S in .380 off a friend in about 1980; never seen or heard of that Model before that.......Beretta did not become "big" in the US until the M-9/92FS was adopted by the military in 1985 and it appeared in Die Hard and Mel Gibson movie Lethel Weapon.

OK folks, I'd better scratch the Beretta idea, as darling as it is. What do you think an American woman would buy in 1966, in New Jersey, for self defense? Just want to avoid a .38 snub nose as those I keep reading are too hard to pull and too heavy.
Something that would get the job done...

Charter Arms .38 revolver.
Browning Baby .25ACP auto.

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Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

OK. Maybe more sensible to do the .38--do you think a 5'6" 130-lb woman would have no trouble firing it? Thank you!

Yes, every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Actually, even now a short barrel, small framed .38 revolver is one of the most popular guns carried by women, men, and everyone in between.

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Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

Here is a Beretta Model 1934 that was produced in 1966 (note the date on the slide):

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Now go make God proud...

Maybe a Colt 1903/1908....... .32/.380...... 8/7rounds....... 24oz ....... 7 inches long.....about 4.5-5inches tall/maybe an inch thick..... over 1/2 million produced 1903-45

sleek and sexy....... could have been her Grandfather's passed to Dad... to Daughter.......the 1908 was the gun issued to 'General Officers in WWII"...Patton carried one....... even shot a plane down (in the movie) with one.


What is old is new again....... it's a striker fired gun.....

Guns are interesting things........ they really don't get "old' like other stuff......... for example the Model 10 .38 made from 1957 to 199something is based on a 1899 design....... the Walther PPK is a 1934 design that's still made,used and carried by J. Bond and me ...... along with the Colt 1911 and Browning 1935....... many of us still carry and shoot these old guns........some would say the height of revolver craftmanship is the 1935-41 S&W Registered Magnum..... and the Colt 1911 and Browning HP are the best autos ever designed.

If the gun has to be made prior to 1946 the Beretta models 21 and 950 are too new AFAIK. But if you are switching to a .38 caliber revolver then you can easily come up with a gun that was made in the early 1940s. If a 20 year old gun is required.

If anyone on the Forum is familiar with New Jersey guns laws from the early 1960s and before they can assist. I would wager the current restrictive gun laws in NJ did not exist in their present form before the mid-1960s but I could be very wrong - New York City's handgun laws pre-date the 60s by 60 years! So NJ could have been using similar laws before the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968.

Guns brought back from Europe after WW2 would be very unlikely to be registered, even if NJ had registration at the time. I had two (I still have one) old .25 autos and believe me they were in possession of someone who had them in the 1940s, I know because it was family, and they were in NYC unregistered when I got them and they left NYC unregistered when I moved to Texas.

Which reminds me - there were other diminutive .25 ACP autos in America as well as .32s. The .380s back in the day were not particularly small; not the ones I can dream up, anyway.

There were very many small "pocket pistols" from the late 19th century onward - a host of small revolvers were known as pocket pistols. .32s and .38s. Whether they were too large for a woman to tote around is a different subject.

I recall George C. Scott/Patton shooting AT a plane, not successfully downing it, in the movie.

Colt Pocket Hammerless - I think of 1917 - maybe it is made in 1917

colt 380 1917 - Google Search

(C) No copyright claimed - but I think it is en.wikipedia.com from a similar photo

Colt 1903 made in 1917

colt 380 1917 - Google Search

(c) GunsAmerica

Those are two easily encountered automatic pistols in the middle of the 20th century.

Since this is the Smith & Wesson Forum let us not forget the S&W Safety Hammerless or S&W New Departure - both nicknamed as lemon squeezers as I recall. Both reasonably available in the earlier part of the 20th century and, thus, could be found by dad to give to his daughter.

Peruse this Forum and you will find plenty of information on those models as well as the Centennial - it is within the age bracket if you shave the date a little because they came out in 1952.

Here are pictures of my Fourth Model Hammerless.

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LOL a Patton legend....... IIRC...... in the movie he jumps out his office door window into the street and shoots at a German (?) plane that has just strafed his headquarters ......... the plane ..... is seen trailing smoke as is disappears over the horizon. Implied/ legend is it crashed!!!!!!!!