I'm going to a gunshow tomorrow and looking for either a Beretta Bobcat .22 or a Taurus PT .22. I'd appreciate input from anyone in the know about which one will be a better buy. My plans are to use it when my J frame cannot be adequately concealed, but reliability is a must. From what I've been able to learn is that the Taurus Poly P-22 is an excellent buy.
Opinions Pls. Beretta Bobcat vs Taurus PT .22
- Thread starter Old cop
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Erich
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Especially if you don't care about functionality. 
The few people I know who've bought the Taurus micro-Beretta clones - particularly the polymer frame ones - have not kept them. FWIW, I think the Beretta 21a is a whole lot less functional in .22 LR than it is in .25 ACP. The 950 BS in .25 ACP is a masterwork . . .
OTOH, a Ruger LCP works, is accurate, and can deliver 95-grains at just under 1100 fps (with Buffalo Bore's overpressure stuff) . . .
The few people I know who've bought the Taurus micro-Beretta clones - particularly the polymer frame ones - have not kept them. FWIW, I think the Beretta 21a is a whole lot less functional in .22 LR than it is in .25 ACP. The 950 BS in .25 ACP is a masterwork . . .
OTOH, a Ruger LCP works, is accurate, and can deliver 95-grains at just under 1100 fps (with Buffalo Bore's overpressure stuff) . . .
I bought the .22lr Beretta for the same reason you've given. I was told to shoot minimags at the range & carry stingers. I have never had an FTF with these rounds. The Beretta is well made & reliable with the right ammo.
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My wife bought the Beretta 21A in .22..she loves the little guns... we both like Berettas...we sold the beretta 21A.....put it together.
.. she shoots competition.
.. she shoots competition.
I had a Bobcat in 25 ACP and traded it for a Bobcat in 22LR. Erich is correct, the 25 was way more reliable. The 22LR is VERY ammo fussy. I have been getting pretty good reliability with Aguila Centurion HV but not good enough to leave the J-frame at home.
I carry my 21a pretty regularly as a backup to my 638, but if reliability is your main purchase criteria, I would strongly suggest you look elsewhere.
If I could feed it a steady diet of Minimags or the like perhaps I could get to a level of reliability that was acceptable. Maybe not.
Resale value on these guns is not so hot either.
No experience w the Taurus clones. Have fun shopping at the gun show and good luck with your choice.
I carry my 21a pretty regularly as a backup to my 638, but if reliability is your main purchase criteria, I would strongly suggest you look elsewhere.
If I could feed it a steady diet of Minimags or the like perhaps I could get to a level of reliability that was acceptable. Maybe not.
Resale value on these guns is not so hot either. No experience w the Taurus clones. Have fun shopping at the gun show and good luck with your choice.
My wife has a 21A for cheap practice but 22 rim fire is not as reliable as center fire and the 21A does not have an extractor so if you have a shell that does not fire it is a long time getting another shell in the barrel. A BG380 is thinner and more easy to conceal. The .380 is more reliable and has more power than a .22RF. My wife says I don't know much so I may not know what I am talking about. Larry
RobertJ.
Member
I owned the Bobcat 20 years ago, and the only ammo it would shoot reliably was CCI Stingers. I lost it to a psycho girlfriend (long story!), or I'd still have it.
A friend of mine owned the Taurus version of it, and an internal part broke (I can't remember what) and he got rid of it.
I've had a couple Taurus revolvers that I liked, but I haven't met an auto from that company yet that I'd keep.
mc5aw
Member
Old cop ... If you go with the Beretta, makes sure you can find the preferred ammo. Every type of .22 is still scarce in my area, relegating any .22 chambered firearm to little more than paperweight status.
Ranger514
Member
I have no experience with either model you're considering, but I carry one of these little 5-shot .22 magnums in a pocket. I like it, and it sure doesn't have any problem feeding ammo.
https://www.google.com/search?q=nor...uGJDjoATUsYGgAQ&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=651
https://www.google.com/search?q=nor...uGJDjoATUsYGgAQ&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=651
mtheo
Member
m21a reliability
I have 2…..
One worked perfectly out of the box with a preferred ammo. The other one not so well. The problem generally was the nose of the up and coming cartridge would strike the top entry of the firing chamber and stop the feed.
I could remedy this problem by putting one less cartridge per magazine.
The correct solution was to measure the front of the feed lips on all six magazines (Mecgar and Beretta) and using a pair of taped jaw 4" Vicegrips carefully squeeze the sides of the lips down from the typical .125" gap to .115". The pick-up part of the slide measured .105". This reduction of gap kept the angle of cartridge feed lower and directed at the center of the chamber.
As for the lack of extractor, when I have a cheap ammo fail to fire, I just push the tilt release and the barrel flips up and forward with enough force to fling the cartridge out….Keep the guns clean as a matter of course. I do not remember EVER having a FTF with Mini-Mags or Stingers. I carry the guns with Stingers. Both of these guns are now tops in reliability with quality ammunition and a modicum of cleaning.
These are quality pocket pistols and I really like the 1911 style safety and double action first shot from the standpoint of safe carry.
I have 2…..
One worked perfectly out of the box with a preferred ammo. The other one not so well. The problem generally was the nose of the up and coming cartridge would strike the top entry of the firing chamber and stop the feed.
I could remedy this problem by putting one less cartridge per magazine.
The correct solution was to measure the front of the feed lips on all six magazines (Mecgar and Beretta) and using a pair of taped jaw 4" Vicegrips carefully squeeze the sides of the lips down from the typical .125" gap to .115". The pick-up part of the slide measured .105". This reduction of gap kept the angle of cartridge feed lower and directed at the center of the chamber.
As for the lack of extractor, when I have a cheap ammo fail to fire, I just push the tilt release and the barrel flips up and forward with enough force to fling the cartridge out….Keep the guns clean as a matter of course. I do not remember EVER having a FTF with Mini-Mags or Stingers. I carry the guns with Stingers. Both of these guns are now tops in reliability with quality ammunition and a modicum of cleaning.
These are quality pocket pistols and I really like the 1911 style safety and double action first shot from the standpoint of safe carry.
Jim Lawburgh
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Tomcat, with round nose .32's.
Don't carry it often, but always goes bang at the range.
Have had it for years.
Don't carry it often, but always goes bang at the range.
Have had it for years.
RANGE UPDATE: Went to the gun show this past Sat. and no Berettas to be found anywhere, but a few Taurus PT22s & .25s. On a whim I purchased the PT 22 for just over $200 OTD & went to the range today. It ran flawlessly w/all brands of .22 LR I had on hand. Shooting as rapidly as possible all 9 rounds went into about a 3" circle from about 5 yds. away.
I don't know about a break-in period but 100 + today w/o a problem of any kind. Maybe I just got lucky but I feel confident in the little gun now & plan to carry it w/CCI Mini-Mags when the Model 38 will not work out.
I don't know about a break-in period but 100 + today w/o a problem of any kind. Maybe I just got lucky but I feel confident in the little gun now & plan to carry it w/CCI Mini-Mags when the Model 38 will not work out.
I know I'm a little late to the party, but I much prefer the Taurus TCP380 to any .22-.25-.32 mini by anyone else. It's just as small and mine, at least is 100% reliable. We all have our reasons for liking what we do... Old Cop, hope it works out to your satisfaction!
mtheo
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walkin' trails
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I have two 21s in 22LR from the 1980s. They would shoot just about anything I ran thru them as long as the chamber got brushed out every 50 or so rounds to be on the safe side. The problem is that they are actually addictive to shoot, and 4-5K rounds will cause them to start shooting loose. Mine digested a lot of mini mags and vipers so that may have contributed. They were very consistent and reliable with the Remington 40 grain RN Golden Bullet. I don't know much about the Taurus version, but a stainless 21 would be the way to go.
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kalei
Member
One piece of advice, NEVER trust a Taurus!!
I carry a 22mag min revolver or my little Keltec 32, super reliable in both cases.
I carry a 22mag min revolver or my little Keltec 32, super reliable in both cases.
Engine49guy
Member
Never had an issue with my 21A but it got shelved when I found the much smaller NAA revolver
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