Beretta M81 carry

Igiveup · Jun 10, 2020

I normally carry an M60, but lately I have been carrying my Beretta M81, .32 auto. Does anyone carry one of these or the .380 version? I am wondering if it is safe enough to carry with a round in the chamber with the safety on, which would make access quicker than having to rack the slide. I also carry other hand guns of larger caliber, so no lectures on the .32.

Erich · Jun 11, 2020

(I'm not precisely sure I understand what you have: I have always understood the Model 71 to be the .22 LR version of the Model 70, which was available in 7.65/.32 and 9mm Corto/.380.) To answer your question, the absence of a firing pin safety on my .32-caliber Beretta Model 70 makes me unwilling to carry it with a round chambered. More's the pity, as it's a delightfully accurate, reliable and classy gun.

murphydog · Jun 11, 2020

He probably meant to write model 81, many of which recently came into the surplus market, reportedly from the Italian prison system.

Hammer down and safety on these is safe but it can also be carried condition 1 (cocked and locked) safely.

Igiveup · Jun 11, 2020

Eric, you are correct. I did mean the M81 and corrected my post to read as such. Sure is a fun gun to shoot and accurate.
Murphydog, it is one of the recent imports. I am always nervous for some inbred reason to carry a pistol cocked and locked, but I will try hammer down and safety on and see how I feel. Thanks guys.

Erich · Jun 11, 2020

Oh, the 81 . . . well, that depends on which model it is - the BB indicates it has a firing pin safety.

murphydog · Jun 11, 2020

Erich said:
Oh, the 81 . . . well, that depends on which model it is - the BB indicates it has a firing pin safety.

Correct, either the 81 or 81BB is safe hammer down and safety on (and the DA trigger should slow you down too much).

alwslate · Jun 14, 2020

I have an 81 and you have two chamber loaded carry options. Cocked
and locked or hammer down and ready for a double action trigger pull.
The firing pin is an inertia type and having the safety on with the
hammer down serves no purpose other than maybe getting you killed
in a crisis.

loknload · Jun 14, 2020

I have to ask,Is there any reason you would want to carry a DA/SA pistol with one in the barrel and the safety on? That would sort of defeat its purpose wouldn’t it ?
I never carry any of mine with the safety on!

dr. mordo · Jun 19, 2020

I have a Beretta 81. Nice gun.

I'd carry it like I carry my 92, in Condition 2 - bullet in the chamber, hammer down, safety off.

ISCS Yoda · Jun 19, 2020

dr. mordo said:
I have a Beretta 81. Nice gun.

I'd carry it like I carry my 92, in Condition 2 - bullet in the chamber, hammer down, safety off.

That is the correct way to carry that gun. One can argue that the 1911 is designed to be carried cocked and locked (it wasn't really, the safety came later but it does work that way) but if you carry one of these Berettas with the safety on it's just a brick in an emergency. Bricks have some value in hurting your foes, as we have seen a lot recently, but they don't replace good firearms.

I have to ask,Is there any reason you would want to carry a DA/SA pistol with one in the barrel and the safety on? That would sort of defeat its purpose wouldn’t it ?

Yes, it would.

iscs-yoda-albums-pistols-all-brands-picture20603-beretta-cheetah-model-81-32-acp.jpg

If my M81 wasn't such a jammamatic I'd think about carrying it but until I resolve the jamming and stove piping issues it rests in the safe.

federali · Jun 19, 2020

Train as you carry

However you carry the gun, it is important to train the same way so that if it is necessary to disengage the safety on the street, you do it automatically without first having to wonder why the gun isn't shooting.

Igiveup · Jun 21, 2020

ISCS Yoda, have you tried different magazines? I have found thru the years that a mag might look o.k., but a slight twist or bend screws up the works.

Ingramite · Jun 21, 2020

This is just me but I'd be a lot happier with the models 81 and 84 if they had a decocker.

I would still have my 84bb and would have bought an 81 if they had a decocker. No way would I carry one cocked and locked without a grip safety too, like a 1911.

I don't like letting the hammer down on a live round. I realize that it's a training issue for me but nonetheless.

I keep the bullet hole in my work bench to remind me to never buy another one of these pistols. The very next morning I traded in my 84bb on a Browning BDA .380 which is basically the same pistol with a decocker.

dr. mordo · Jun 23, 2020

Ingramite said:
This is just me but I'd be a lot happier with the models 81 and 84 if they had a decocker.

I would still have my 84bb and would have bought an 81 if they had a decocker. No way would I carry one cocked and locked without a grip safety too, like a 1911.

I don't like letting the hammer down on a live round. I realize that it's a training issue for me but nonetheless.

I keep the bullet hole in my work bench to remind me to never buy another one of these pistols. The very next morning I traded in my 84bb on a Browning BDA .380 which is basically the same pistol with a decocker.

I've carried a lot of guns in Condition 1 that didn't have grip safeties - Hi Power (my primary auto), H&K USP, SIG P238, Tristar C100 (CZ75 Compact clone), Star BM. There are likely more that I have forgotten. Never had an issue.

I think the key safety test is to carry it around your house unloaded but Condition 1 in your carry holster. If the hammer falls, the worst thing you get is a pinch. That said, I've never had a AD and the only time the safety even switched off was during a long road trip. My ambidextrous Hi Power safety switched off, and I noticed it later that night (I'm certain the outside facing safety rubbed against the car seat and switched off). It was a bit scary, but the fact is the holster did its job protecting the trigger and there was no issue.

As far as decocking the M81, I agree that I'd rather have a decocker. However, I'll add that the FEG PA63 my dad gave me would fire when I used the decocker. THANK GOD I figured that out while at the range and with the gun pointed down range. I took it apart and thoroughly cleaned the decocking mechanism and it seems fixed, but I can't say I'll ever trust that gun again, and these days I'm not all that enthusiastic about decockers.

Fishinfool · Jun 23, 2020

Couple thoughts on the 81. IF the safety blocked the firing pin, then it would make sense to use it with the hammer down, but it doesn't. First generation 81's, like mine, did not have the firing pin safety, so carrying it hammer down on a loaded chamber can lead to a discharge if dropped on a hard surface and it lands on the hammer.

I don't carry mine for SD use, but if I did, it would be hammer down on a loaded chamber, safety off.

Larry

alwslate · Jun 23, 2020

The 81 will not discharge if dropped on the hammer with a round in the
chamber. The firing pin is an inertia type and is slightly shorter than it's
tunnel in the slide so is not touching the primer when the hammer is down.

ISCS Yoda · Jun 23, 2020

Igiveup said:
ISCS Yoda, have you tried different magazines? I have found thru the years that a mag might look o.k., but a slight twist or bend screws up the works.

Interesting and I do know this but where does one get magazines for these pistols?

This is just me but I'd be a lot happier with the models 81 and 84 if they had a decocker.

OH, YES!!!! I am a big fan of decockers.....

jframejoey · Jun 23, 2020

don't 81s have a half cock safety so the hammer isn't sitting on the back face of the firing pin? Im pretty sure my 84BB and 84FS do.

Fishinfool · Jun 24, 2020

alwslate said:
The 81 will not discharge if dropped on the hammer with a round in the
chamber. The firing pin is an inertia type and is slightly shorter than it's
tunnel in the slide so is not touching the primer when the hammer is down.

Unless I am mistaken, the model 81 is not considered "drop safe", and is the reason that subsequent models "B" and later incorporated an automatic firing pin block mechanism.

Larry

alwslate · Jun 24, 2020

Supposedly a pistol with an inertia firing pin and no firing pin block might
fire if dropped and landed on a hard surface directly on the muzzle. The
idea is that the sudden stop might allow the firing pin to compress it's
spring and move forward with enough force to ignite the primer and fire
the chambered round. Then the bullet might ricochet off the hard
surface and somehow hit the most unlucky bystander in the world.
Yep, maybe

Sounds like a what ifer's bad dream to me. I'd like to
see someone drop an 81 or any .32 or .380 pistol from waist height
and make it land squarely on the muzzle period. Somebody drop their
81 on concrete and report back as to how many tries it took to get it to
land on the muzzle please

Beretta M81 carry

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