I just love the Italian made Berettas. Especially the 380's. All steel and all class. I picked up this Model 86 at a gun show last week. Traded a Glock for it plus a little cash. The tip ups are hard to find. Great for those with arthritis or week hands as no racking is necessary.
Anyone else like these? I have This one and the 85FS..same exact gun w/o the tip up. I have the 92FS 9mm too. Just really well made all steel/alloy guns.



Model 86 on left 85FS "Cheetah" on Right both single stack

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Have a 92fs and one tip up....love the 380s also...

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Yep, Viva Italia! I have a 92FS and a 84F (Cat# 5802) BR84F200M

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RIP Shipmate

Had an old one that I traded off. Dumb kid then. It was old then best I remember it was only marked model 34. Wish I had it back.

I have a 92FS, Bobcat 22LR, Nano 9mm and PX4 9mm. I like Berettas in addition to my Smiths.

The PX4 is my favorite to shoot and is my SHTF gun. It just fits my hand and points very naturally for me. I keep the rotating barrel locking mechanism well lubed and it never fails. IMO this is one of the most under recognized guns out there.

And I'd love to add a tip up Model 86 to the collection.

I have my Dad's original model 84. Very accurate and easy to shoot.

I fine the double action trigger not very smooth though.

I'm told not to carry it chambered as she doesn't have a firing pin block safety.

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Death? Smile back...

I hate to break it to you guys, but your guns have light alloy frames, not real steel. Some older Berettas, like the Model 34/35 do have steel frames. Some M-951's do.

I have a Model 92FS, which I like very much. My son found the issued M-9 very functional and deadly in Iraq, even with NATO ball ammo. He's paying off a 92-FS now, although he somewhat prefers his SIG's and Colts. And he shares my love for the CZ-75B, which DOES have a steel frame.

Berettas do have a rep for reliability that few can match. I trust their .380's much more than most, but the slides are often hard for many users to operate; strong springs and blowback action that needs to be strong enough not to batter the Ergol frames. Many women and men with neuropathy or arthritis problems can't operate them. That's why they developed the Model 86 with tip-up bbl.

On the other hand, the M-92 9mm's use a P-38-derived locking sytem and are among the easiest 9mm's to cycle. The slight radius cut on the back of the FS grip does a lot to make the gun useable for those with smaller hands. You have to look hard to see it compared to the M-9, but your hand will feel the difference. I can use the M-9, but the 92-FS does feel better in my hands, which are not small. My fingers can reach the DA trigger okay in both the Beretta and the CZ-75.
'

The old M-34 with metal-backed grips is among the most durable .380's. I think the metal backing was because the Bakelite (?) grip material of those days was relatively fragile. Later commercial M-34's use normal plastic grips, which I guess were stronger than Bakelite.

I knew I shouldn't have bought the 84F...

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RIP Shipmate

When I said all steel I was not precise. Big mistake in the gun world. I work in a foundry that makes super alloys parts for jet engines. I definitely know better, and that was sloppy language. I should/ meant to say.."all metal" as opposed to polymer guns.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

I think we all knew what you meant Mike. Well, most of us. No worries mate.

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RIP Shipmate

I wish I had a Beretta 380. They do have a certain class about them. Not so sure they are the all out King however.

My Sig and CZ are right up there.

Bet you don't have a stainless steel Sphinx.

DA only double stack (that's not a scratch)

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Still Running Against the Wind

This chunky little booger is all steel:

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Well,just for diversity's sake,I'll keep my Colt.



f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

The mrs. has the new version Colt Mustang Pocket lite. Excellent firearm.. I prefer the Beretta because it fits my hand better. But the Colt and her Sig P238 are very accurate and very reliable. She loves them both..and is scary accurate with both. She tells me I can keep my Berettas

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Don't have a picture handy but a little Beretta 1935 in .380 lives at my house and it is a cool little shooter. Good feel in the hand.

I have a Walther PK380 and it is a good pistol but I just don't like it. It shoots fine and is light weight due to the polymer body but I like me some Beretta or Colt 380s. I had a Beretta 92FS and a PX4 Subcompact both in 9mm. I sold them to fund something else. Kinda wish I still had the 92FS. I really want to find a 84 or 86. Tried to buy a Colt Government model 380 but the price on GB went astronomical. Eventually I'll come across another 380 that says, "buy me!" Is the 84 also called the Cheetah or is that a different model all together?

My neightbor just sold me an Astra 300 from WWII (380 cal) and after I get it checked out my a gunsmith I'll shooting it.

These are great little pistols and I believe that they might feed everything including empty casings!



Just for fun:

1934 Beretta feeding hollow point ammunition from the magazine - YouTube

I was gifted an old Beretta 84 that was in terrible shape...it came from a pawn shop and had major maladies. A gun shop traded me a brand new 6" Model 29-3 straight across, even though the 84 appeared pretty much shot-out (the frame, not barrel, was in bad shape). One day I may track down another one...fit great in hand.

Bought an Izzy surplus FN 140 DA (an 84/Browning BDA variant) this week . . . made by Beretta.


Just had it out at the range today; it'll do (10 yards with S&B 92-grain FMJ M 1043 fps/ES 49.11/SD 19.77 - Range at 5950'>sea level; 90°F):

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Now go make God proud...

I've got an old police trade in 92FS that I picked up a couple of years ago for $350 with one mag. It has just a little holster wear and is in very good mechanical conditional. The reason I got it at the time were 9mm ammo was cheap and available, high cap mags were cheap and available, and parts are plentiful. I bought a box containing 48 new 15 round mags for $5.00 ea., sold half of them for $10.00 each and kept the rest. This is my lawn mowing/hiking/ 4 wheeling gun. I carry it in a G.I. holster on a web belt with two extra mags. I've never had a hiccup with this gun and have put several hundred rounds through it. It lives in the desk drawer next to my computer when I'm not packing it. I carry 147 grain hollow points in it but it will shoot just about anything I put in it. My other two Berettas and .25 caliber with tip up barrels. One was "borrowed" by my son and the other occasionally sees bug duty. Keep them clean and fed with good ammo and both are very reliable. If I happen to trip over one of the 380's for a good price I'll probably own one.

Here's my 84f, built in '94. I guess they're about the size of a Glock 26/27. Maybe a wider grip?

I always liked the Model 84. Kinda chunky for a .380 but they do feel nice in your hand.

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Even older, even crankier....

I guess I'm partial to the old all steel 1934 md since I have six of
them. Actually I think the .380 md 1934 and the .32 1935 are the best
guns period in this type of firearm. Here's one of mine made in 1965
with it's little brother, a pre safety 950 in 25 acp.

Attached Images

009.jpg (128.6 KB, 111 views)

Aloha,

Between the Wife and I, we own: Sig 232, Colt series 80 Mustang, Walther ppk/s,
Bersa 380, Beretta 70s, Beretta 84, 85, 86, 87(22)

Of them all, the Beretta 85/86 are the Most comfortable to shoot.

Here is the Wife's BBQ 84



Her standard 84



Her Sig 232



My 70S



And my 86



The Wife's First BBQ Beretta, 92EL



Yes, her taste in Berettas costs me a lot, but She's worth it.

I was just reading this old post of yours and I was kinda' confused by your comment that all Beretta's have alloy frames. I'm looking at a model 84BB and it was my understanding that it was all steel. Am I wrong?

An old thread but what the heck. Got this ol' 84B:

Last year, I got the hots for a .380. So, I ended up with four, within a period of five months; Beretta 85FS, Sig P232, CZ83, and a Colt Government Model .380. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they're all well-made pistols. The Beretta is a work of Italian art. The CZ83 is typical Czech practicality, as is the Sig. The Colt is a great design, with the exception of the extractor/hammer block.

The slides on the European pistols are all a bit difficult to rack, since they're straight blow back models. The Colt, however, with its delayed blow back action is probably the mildest shooting of all. I've carried all of them, but the Colt is the most comfortable.

The main reason I like the Beretta 85FS, is the single-stack mag. It fit my hand, whereas the double stacks don't. Whether 9mm or .380, double stack is double stack, and too wide for my hands.

Last years Christmas present. 96A1 .40S&W

M,

Great finds.........................I have owned Beretta's since the early 80s ..... first was a 70s ....long gone....(dumb move in retrospect) for a 19 2 1/2" IIRC

But still own a few........

Compacts
Centurions
Inox (full size & compacts)
Elite IIs
Compact Ms ( single stack 8rd.....) (Dennis the B; these are great guns ..... if you can find one and extra mags........kind of Beretta's..... Model 39!!!!!!)

SBs,Fs and FSs

Never owned a 92 full size like the......like the M-9..... go figure. Always felt IMHO that the Centurion was a "better" size with it's 4.2" barrel vs the 4.9" on the "full size" 92.



The only "issue" with the Beretta .380s is they are the same size as my 3913/14s........

I like the .380. I have never owned a Beretta I think, after this thread I need one.

I like that one! That little guy's been around, hasn't he?

Have a Browning BDA. Nice gun, but I don't carry it.

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Stay protected my friends.

I have a Browning BDA380, and I do carry it. Two of my friends also have a Browning BDA380, and they like it, too. A Beretta I would like to get when I move to Nevada later this year is a Beretta 98 in .30 Luger.

Resurrected threads make me laugh - the system gins them up and they're live again!

First things first.

sipowicz's Beretta 950 BS is a 25 ACP.

Next, Beretta didn't develop the tip up barrel for the Model 86. They already had the tip up barrel for decades in the little Jetfire and Minx and it was a natural for the .380. The reason, however, is clear - it is ever so much easier to load than racking a slide. The reverse is also very true - it is SO easy to make the gun safe!

Okay, that said, I love my Beretta Model 85FS but it, and my Star Model S .380 (.380 Government model replica), are just too big for that caliber. Unless they minimize recoil sufficiently for weaker hands that can't handle one of today's mini-.380s they're really kind of pointless. I have 3rd Gen S&W 9mms and a .45 that are the same size.

BTW, I still say the SIG 230 shown above is the most beautiful pistol ever made.

Everyone should have a few Berettas - they're some of the world's finest handguns. Just because we're S&W aficionados doesn't mean we can't own Berettas. I'm fixing to post some photos of mine one of these days.

Steel slide and alloy frame. The older single action 380s
like the 1934 model that was no longer imported after the
GCA of 1968 had steel frames. The same gun in 32 acp was steel frame only until sometime in the 50s when a few
started to be made on alloy frames but they are not common.
Since the single stack steel frame 70S model in .380 all
Berettas sold in the US have had alloy frames as far as I
know until the recent polymer models. The predecessor of
the 9 mm 92FS model was the 951 single stack single action
model which had a steel frame.

Neat - zombie thread!

You are wrong about your 84BB (aluminum frame), but my 1934 is all steel.

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Now go make God proud...

Pulled out my model 70S (.380) from 1972 and took it to the range two weeks ago.
Shoot 50 rounds and was surprised how accurate it is. Only problem is I have just one magazine. Fun little gun.

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2B1ASK1

He's downright pristine compared to his older brother:





I've even glommed on to another Beretta between the death and resurrection of this thread -



A very charming .22 LR Model 948.



Next to S&W the handgun of Pietro Beretta are my favorite. Always happy to see 'em.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Agreed on the Beretta .380s. I gave my wife a model 1934, much Like Erich's that he posted. She has her CCW license and carries it occasionally.

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Rather be outdoors

I really like Berettas. But, I like my Walther PPK/S better.

Bob

The Steel 1, Steel Vertec, Billennium and 92 Centennial are steel-frame Beretta 92/96 variants, off the top of my head. I think there may be a couple more.

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SWHF #448

Aloha,

OT, Beretta has a 22 Kit available for the 92/96s.

Complete top half.

Barrel and slide and magazines.

I got mine for $350 thru Beretta e store. Now almost $400.

Well worth it.

I made a 92 ex-police gun into a Dedicated 22 for the Wife.

She likes it.

Ooops time.

You CAN shoot 380 in a 92, I did it by accident when some 380s got mixed

up with 9 mm ammo.

Gun fired but did not eject.

A reason NOT to shoot an 85 next to a 92.

My first handgun was a 1934 Beretta 380 right out of WWII. I was 14 and really couldn't afford what I wanted. . .a P38 or a Luger. I would stand in front of a dirt bank as big as the side of a house, put a large can in front of it, and watch the bullets go literally "everywhere" within a six foot radius. I was still proud of it because it was all I had. Traded it for a Smith Model 10 about ten years later. That was a good trade.

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Dr. B

The problem with shooting small groups with the 1934 is the typical
trigger pulls they have in my opinion. Heavy is an understatement. I
put 50 rds through one of mine one day, an old 1941 WW2 gun, and
ended up with a big blood blister on my trigger finger. But what is
good accuracy? I have seven 1934s now since I also acquired another
one since this thread began. I have found that all of them, including
two WW2 guns with rough bores, will put all five rounds of a group
on a nickel at the standard combat distance of 21 ft with at least one
brand of 95 gr FMJ. This is from a rest and fighting those trigger pulls.
How much more is needed from a carry piece?

I bought a Beretta 84P back in 1991 because I liked the look. Thirteen rounds plus one in the pipe! It became my wife's favorite gun and she used it for her CCW quals. She outshot everyone but me(lucky). She loves the tip up barrel so she doesn't have to rack the slide. Great gun!

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

That model 86 with the tip up barrel is a seeeexy looking pistol. I sold my Bersa thunder .380 & BG380. Both were good shooters, especially the Thunder 380. Now you make me want one.

I have a Bersa combat .380, I like it real well, shoots good. I have only fired a couple boxes thru it. I am new to guns, but satisfied with it.
Eddie68

I almost forgot this one was in the safe. The bottom gun is a Model 70S in .380 and I think it's all steel, too. The grips bug me, so it gets neglected until I can find some non-thumbrest grips to put on it. Shoots great, though.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”