Beretta 85S with wood
Sig P230SL with Hogue G10 checkered grips

https://imgur.com/nHNWdH8

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Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
The perfect hybrid of precision rifle and tactical, the Black Collar Arms Priapus Grip delivers the hand positioning, shape, and control of a PRS-style grip

OK, so, Priapus is the Greek god of fertility and in paintings and sculpture, he is portrayed as having a huge beyond huge cock, which is permanently erect. And were supposed to grab onto this grip, so named?

Is somebody kidding us?

Well crap... apparently there were some glaring gaps in my middle school education, because I'd never heard of that particular Greek deity. I had to go look him up, and I'm not sure if I should laugh or be appalled, lol. I guess I can see why my female sixth-grade teacher opted not to cover that portion of the pantheon with a class made up of entirely pre-teen boys .

He's where we get the medical term priapism, the condition referenced in those Viagra ads: "If your erection lasts more than 4 hours, seek medical attention..."

Was happy to see this model released. All beretta should be frame safety. They should offer no safety models as well.

Walked into the LGS today; looked at the Glock 28. Didn't take a fancy to it, but in another display case was a black finished Beretta 80X. I hefted it a few times, pointed it a wall...I bought it.
Thursday I may get some range time in with it. Guess I'll be the beta tester on this. Kept telling myself that in a pinch I may need those extra 7 rounds over the G42.

With the BOX, all things are possible.

The Box Cheetah, the RPus, and the Grip Zone...things that could have been avoided with even a small outside focus group.

I say this as the proud former owner of a beautiful 84FS and a current fan-boy of the 92.

The designer: I'm going to reimagine the classic Cheetah series.

The boss: Oooh, I like it! Go retro and bring back a classic with smooth lines?

Designer: No, nothing smooth. Serrated everything, lots rails and screw on bits.

Boss: Oh, I see. A modern take, right? Maybe bring it back in a more modern caliber?

Designer: No, no, it'll still be .380.

Boss: Oh, a modern take up top, but keep the classic lower profile? Maybe even some nice walnut or cherry grips?

Designer: No, it'll be dorky and straight because every grip everywhere all the time should be a 1911. And plastic panels. And on it...I'll inscribe "Box Cheetah".

Boss: Oh, now I get it, but this time make it light-weight and affordable, right? Appeal to the carry market?

Designer: No, no, no. It's still going to be heavy as shit, and get this...twice the price of the competition.

Boss: All the weight of a full-sized gun, with a sub-optimal chambering, but with none of the old-school sex appeal. I love it! Carry on.

I seriously looked at the 80X after giving up on two, Arkansas PPK/S .380s which were plagued by light primer strikes. Where the PPK/S and P232 have great ergonomics and concealability, the Cheetah is peculiar with its vertical grip and larger footprint. Were it available in 9mm, the platform might have worked for me.

I had to revisit SootchOO's review of the 80X; by golly it can accept magazines for the 84! Just ordered a couple more ($800 and just two mags, WTH?) and the Mec-Gars are shown as compatible too with both models. It's not the 84 we longed for in the olden days, but...

ETA: correction, range day may be tomorrow. Ordered two Mec-Gar magazines for the Cheetah series from Greg Cote. They've arrived, and one will be tested strictly with JHPs to ensure reliability. The slide rack isn't too much more than on my G42. The 42 is what I frequently have on me when walking in an area I've encountered foxes and the rare coyote. And a couple of dogs with bad dispositions.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rat2306,

Late last year I knew Beretta was about to bring back the Cheetah since we had advanced warning from our rep, but at the time I didn't know what the name was going to be. Of course I then forgot about it.

When the first customer calls started coming in in the spring, I thought that they were asking for some gun called the "ADX". At first I 'corrected' them in my mind and said "Sure, we have them", thinking that they actually meant the APX. I mean a 'D' sorta looks like a 'P', right? Ultimately Google became my friend and belatedly I figured out that it's "80X" that these customers were after. Yeah, there were a few pissed off patrons once they showed up and ultimately finding out that we didn't have them.

Gee...thanks Beretta for that play on phonetics.

Since that faux pas, so far every actual 80X that's showed up at the shop has left me thoroughly unimpressed, particularly for the MAP money that Beretta is requiring us to be asking. Operating the slide on each one that I've tried has had none of the buttery smoothness of the 92, or that of the 84F and 84FS nickel I fondled and even shot many years back. Having said all of that, they still don't last very long in the display case. I guess there's been a LOT MORE pent-up demand for the Cheetah than I ever would've guessed.

The only 80 series that I've actually owned is the 87 Target; because of its middling factory trigger it's not one of my favorites in .22LR. Wonder if Langdon would like to take that one on.

I bought one, took it to the range and immediately after that sold it.
I thought the trigger was rough, the recoil much worse than a 9mm, racking it was not so easy and generally came to a conclusion it was neither a concealed carry gun nor a decent range gun, it also hurt my hands firing it with their vertec grip. Live and learn, my learning experience was don’t buy a gun without trying it out first no matter how pretty it looks.

So basically just like it’s also blowback predecessor. Lol. I sold my 84 years ago. Never have I missed it even a little bit. Beretta could fuck up a wet dream.

I'm still liking my old 81BB, at least as a range toy. I even picked up a .380 barrel for it and a couple of .380 mags so it can do double-duty as an 84, mainly because I came into a bunch of .380 ammo and had nothing else to shoot it out of.

I've seen a few of the 80Xs on the shelf in the LGS, but have not been remotely tempted to buy one. It lacks the classic beauty of my 81, and the prices they are asking are insane. If it was an "87X" in .22LR, it would at least have some appeal, but for some reason Beretta sees no reason to sell things that people might actually want.

I wish they could rework this platform into a locked-breech 9mm. A small, metal-framed DA/SA in 9mm in that size would be a sweet little carry gun. .380 is stupid in a gun that big, though.

Beretta has a long and storied history of making decisions and selling guns that the buying public doesn’t want. They sell crappy guns that break (Tomcat) and refuse to fix them. They stop selling the 87 which is the best all around 22 ever made yet now I can buy any colored 21a Bobcat I want, ala the Silverback or the Ghost or whatever dumbass name kinda fits the color. Still no extractor, still crappy sights, still amazingly poor reliability.

This is coming from a full fledged Beretta fanboy. I love Beretta. But they are fucking retarded. Anyone could have called this one.

What is the purpose of a .380 anymore, none. Especially a large one like this pig. I had a Sig P230SL and sold it about 7 years ago. I consider that a mistake but not because I really had a purpose for the gun, I just thought it looked great. So, if you just think the 80X looks great then I suppose it has a purpose. But as far as a pistol that is useful, forget it. I have a SIG 365X Macro that is probably about the same size, and has 17+1 rounds of real 9mm, so for a self defense pistol there is no comparison. And the Sig cost a lot less. The only Beretta that I have ever owned and the only Beretta that was worth owning was a Beretta Model 89 Gold Standard .22 target pistol.

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What is the purpose of a .380 anymore, none.

I have to respectfully disagree. For those who are challenged either with recoil, hand strength or both, there IS a purpose for the caliber. S&W figured that formula out with the Shield EZ. And if someone really, REALLY want the smallest in semi-auto convenience and carry with still a somewhat effective cartridge, a .380 Ruger LCP something is most likely going to be that gun (sorry Kel-Tec).

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Originally posted by monoblok:

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What is the purpose of a .380 anymore, none.

I have to respectfully disagree. For those who are challenged either with recoil, hand strength or both, there IS a purpose for the caliber. S&W figured that formula out with the Shield EZ. And if someone really, REALLY want the smallest in semi-auto convenience and carry with still a somewhat effective cartridge, a .380 Ruger LCP something is most likely going to be that gun (sorry Kel-Tec).

Whatever you think may be right for you, but I would say just get a lighter loaded 9mm round, if you have a problem with that aspect, perhaps subsonic and use one of the newer small nines like a 365, Hellcat, G43X etc. You have more flexibility, power potential and higher round count. A long time ago I considered a Beretta model 84, but it just does not make sense.

I think you both are kind of right. By that I mean, this particular gun is none of those things monoblok that you consider positives. The Cheetahs are very hard to rack, they are snappy as hell, and they aren’t great low hand strength guns. The EZ Shield is all those things. The Beretta is none of those things. Lots of Beretta guys, myself included, have purchased 32 barrels for their 84/85’s. Why? Because for size the recoil impulse of these is way out of whack for caliber. Ie, they are beautiful guns that aren’t great choices for most people. (I sold my 84 and kept my hang tag wearing factory nickel 85 only because it’s a gorgeous gun)

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Originally posted by pedropcola:
I think you both are kind of right. By that I mean, this particular gun is none of those things monoblok that you consider positives. The Cheetahs are very hard to rack, they are snappy as hell, and they aren’t great low hand strength guns. The EZ Shield is all those things. The Beretta is none of those things. Lots of Beretta guys, myself included, have purchased 32 barrels for their 84/85’s. Why? Because for size the recoil impulse of these is way out of whack for caliber. Ie, they are beautiful guns that aren’t great choices for most people. (I sold my 84 and kept my hang tag wearing factory nickel 85 only because it’s a gorgeous gun)

I 100% agree. While my 81 (/pseudo 84?) is a really nice gun, it's not really practical in any way. .380 as a caliber has a role, but there are far better platforms to dispense it from no matter what your particular need might be.

The time of the Cheetah has come and gone. Unless you are a form over function guy there are a dozen better launchers of 380 than the Cheetah. Whether it’s the BOX or the 84/85 or even the 86. I am a Beretta guy and I wouldn’t pick a Cheetah over much for any real usage. It was a great gun. It’s a relic now. Why Beretta chose this gun to “overhaul” is a mystery. Beretta does dumb stuff, this is one of those times.