I love Berettas, so this one was off to a good start. The box said both "Beretta" and "Pistola", two of my favorite things in one.



Look at that - box, docs, cleaning brush, spare mag, and nice Model 81.



Aside from some pretty ratty ones imported by CAI a while back, you don't see many Model 81s. Its a 12 shot .32, while the identical size Model 84 is a 13 shot .380. Most folks went with more of the bigger bullets.



Its a good sized gun - I'm sure there are .45s that are more compact. But still - look at the thing. I love my chubby little baby Glock, but its an ugly duckling that will never grow up into a swan. This little .32 could at least grow up to be a 92 someday.



It has some minor dings from bumping around in the box with the spare mag for the last couple of decades, but I don't think it has ever been fired. I'll fix that soon enough.

Its a nice set up - you can carry cocked and locked, or hammer down with the safety on or the safety off.



I have enough guns that are practical and make sense. I like .32 guns and a guy can never have too many Berettas. Any other fans?

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Nice pistol there. You are correct it does not make sense but it sure looks cool.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

Great score there for sure!

Congrats on your newest I-talian Stallion

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NULLI SECUNDUS

A very nice find!!

Congrats!

Should make a real fun shooter and even at the hight of the banic I could find lots of .32 ACP.

Congratulations! Not every purchase has to make sense but they should make you happy.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

Good looking gun.

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“Look life in its iron face”

Very nice! Thanks for posting the nice pics and info. I was pretty ignorant about the Md 81 until your post.

That's OK, I have a Beretta that is almost the same size and it only holds 8 rounds of .22 LR. It's a Model 70s

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

Back some years, Browning sold that gun as their .380, just the way Beretta made it. I guess a case of "If it ain't broke..."

I like the 81s with their oddly not-holding-as-many-as-the-.380 mags. Tamara has one. Regarding the 84s, I'm sure you have heard of the Browning-marqued version, the BDA-380. This is the European version of that gun, the FN 140 DA.



So, don't feel silly for buying nonsensical guns - at least yours isn't weird and nonsensical. (It's a super-accurate .380, FWIW . . . .)

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Now go make God proud...

It's a relief to know I'm not the only one to buy nonsensical guns. When the price is right I find their siren song impossible to resist. I might be posting pictures of another one this weekend, so stay tuned, folks.

It was practical for Tony Montana, just aim for the shins.

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Because of the metric system?

My DIL has their Roma .32. Likes it but relies on 9mm SIG's and S&W M&P's. Her Beretta was inherited.

Has anyone here shot any jackrabbits or coyotes or foxes with a .32 auto? How'd it work?

The club I shoot bullseye at occasionally hosts .32 bowling pin matches. Pins must be knocked over. They don't have to roll off the table. The matches are intended to have fun with grandpa's pocket .32, hence the rules: no adjustable sights, no guns marked "magnum", no .32-20s and 4" maximum barrel. A K frame .32 S&W long would out class a J frame but .32 S&W Long M&Ps are scarce. The .32 S&W Long's heavier bullet is an advantage but it still tends to take a lot of shots with the timer running.

Unfortunately grandpa didn't leave me a .32. With bowling pins in mind I recently bought a pistol that is nonsensical because I’ll be a very long while looking for the needed extra magazines: a Sauer 38H 7.65mm. Compared to its one 8 shot magazine you just bought a race gun.

I should charge a nickel for helping members justify needing their latest whim.

Incidentally, I know of two other similar high-cap DA/SA .32s that can be cocked and locked: a scarce Taurus and a CZ that was still cataloged the last time I looked. The CZ has large modern sights and for that reason might be more competitive than your Beretta.

No household is complete without a 32 auto. Here's my old Italian police trade-in. It's a model 82.

Ed

I want a 32 gun in my pocket for fun.

Since when does buying a gun have to make sense?

Nice gun. I probably would have bought it too.

Congrats on the score of a nice looking pistol!

I too love Beretta's......my first "new" gun was a 70S in .380 in 1980...... traded it on a 92 Compact back in about 88.

Impractical.....nonsensical purchases ......... last year a Walther PPK/S in .32apc....... but it came with 4 magazines for only $360 ........ just couldn't walk away!!!!

Here is my Beretta model 1934 in 32. My brothers father in law passed away so it was given to me. It is a hoot to shoot.

As a .32, should be a Model 35. But Italian law for years forbade the .380 to civilians as war material. So, Beretta made some "fat" barrels to turn .380 guns into .32s to permit them to be owned because some .380's had fallen into civilian hands during the war. I think these amounted to a .380 diameter barrel being bored for the .32. Never seen one, but saw this on the Beretta board. An Italian member there helps a lot with this sort of info that we otherwise don't get in the USA.

Wonder what a nice .32 auto would bring if sold in India, where the .32 is the largest handgun a civilian can own. Can they even own a .32 auto? Frenchmen also had a ban on .380's, I think.

I think Italy still has a ban on 9mm Para. guns for civilians. So they make a 9x21 ctg. that is about the same power, but is legal.

What does your slide read? The pic won't enlarge to read the lettering. You may have the Modelo 35, if this is really a .32.

I need to go with you to Peterson's if neat stuff like this is in there.... !!! NICE Beretta!! I am going to go against the grain and say that it is very practical. Stoked w/ Hornady hollow points,recoil would be very light. That pistol and a spare mag would take care of business just fine. I once had a HK4 and carried it on occasion.


P.S.,

I think .32 autos are COOL!




Charles

There is little difference between the 32 ACP and the 380 ACP. In the "Handgun Stopping Power " books quite a few shootings were recorded with the ball ammo from both of these loads. Both showed about 50% one shot stops. With the best hollow point loads they both showed about 60%. The 2 inch 38 Special with standard 158 gr RNL loads also showed 50%.

So, if you are going to carry a little gun, then this one is fine. I would probably go for one of the Buffalo Bore loads. I consider this a head shot gun and the all copper load should penetrate better than ball ammo. The flat point cast lead load would be OK as long as it will feed 100%.

The main problem with any small pistol is making proper hits. This one is big enough to make hits easy. I used to have a war model Mauser HSc in 32 ACP. I could hit with it quite well to 25 yards. I admit to using it for open carry many years ago when I lived in AZ. They did not have CCW in those days. I used the GECO ball ammo as it was a bit more powerful and functioned perfect in the pistol.

I grew up with dad carrying a Colt Model M in 32. I had a Walther ppk in 32. Now the only 32 auto I have is a Beretta 3032 early Tomcat, unlike so many, this one has a smooth trigger. Years ago I also had an Jagger AP-74 in 32 ACP (an AR-15 look alike). That has got to be one of the only rifles made in 32 ACP! I'm a little old fashioned, in that my 32 defense loads are Silver Tip Hollow Points, NEVER had a feed issue in any 32! I had a 2 pound coffee can of the 32 GECO ammo I traded into, the stuff was a magnum in comparison. Ivan

And a razor in my shoe!

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Possum—The other white meat!

Sig needs to come clean and admit how many times he has pointed it at the mirror and said, "say hello to my little friend."

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Possum—The other white meat!

For what it's worth, Geoffrey Boothroyd once told me (in a letter) that he didn't think it mattered much if James Bond carried a .32 or a .380 Walther. Neither was a powerhouse, and the .32 carried one more shot. Either required precise shot placement.

The Walther was Ian Fleming's idea. Boothroyd had advised that 007 carry a S&W Airweight Centennial .38 with the "long barreled .45 Colt" in Bond's car being replaced by a Model 27 .357.

After the Model 65 appeared, the first stainless handgun, Boothroyd wrote that it was the logical Bond gun, but Fleming had died the previous year.

Let us know how the Beretta .32 shoots. I had a prewar Walther PP that grouped quite well at 25 yards.

Was this used to shoot the Emperor Franz Ferdinand? I've read that it may have been a M-1910 instead.

I read that the gun that started WW I was a 380. Ivan

The Indian government has a quasi monopoly on arms sales to citizens. Thus this new to them .32 auto (Ordnance Factory Board) will set one back around $1800 if memory serves. Yes, really.

Small numbers of imported guns are available legally. A Beretta like the one that started the thread would be worth a fair amount of money, perhaps $2500 to $3000.

Many people simply have the village blacksmith make them a gun, for obvious reasons.

Most don't :-)

Back in the 1980s a man from India used our range. He usually fired a Browning Hi-Power that had an extra barrel for .30 Luger. I don’t remember if he said India had a maximum bullet diameter under 9 mm or if 9mm was banned because it was a military cartridge. Regardless, inexpensive black market 9mm was readily available in his home town so he was going to be very careful to not accidentally pack the 9 mm barrel in his luggage when he left for home.

The little Beretta and I made a stop in the BLM and we expended 50 rounds of PMC FMJ at the various targets of opportunity which usually abound there.

The first thing of note was that you really need to eat your Wheaties to get 12 rounds in those mags.

Once that was accomplished, there were no malfunctions of any sort. The sights were dead on and recoil was almost non-existent. Together we ventilated one jackrabbit, a couple of pumpkins, a basketball, and went 5 for 5 on a rock about the size of my first VCR at sixty yards.



I'm starting to think this Model 81 does make sense. It would be perfect for a recoil-sensitive person stepping up from a .22, or for a guy whose wrists are starting to feel the fun of 25 years of quarterly quals with a light .45 ACP.

I like it.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I am glad you like it! Just remember the 7.65 mm was good enough for James Bond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU98uP7pXA8


He could've kept a Beretta if had opted for your pistol!!


Charles