quote:

Midwest Gun Works, listed under Browning BDA (which Beretta made for Browning).

Cool, thanks! I knew these were basically the same but I guess it never occurred to look under the Browning parts list. Holy crap @ the price ...but at least I know they're out there.

Yeah....I didn't mind for my nickel BDA which has sold on GB for 10x the spare barrel cost but was a bitter pill on my 85BB. I since snagged a surplus but unissued 81BB for only a few bucks more than the barrel cost me. That's how it goes with collecting old stuff I guess

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

Midwest Gun Works, listed under Browning BDA (which Beretta made for Browning).

Cool, thanks! I knew these were basically the same but I guess it never occurred to look under the Browning parts list. Holy crap @ the price ...but at least I know they're out there.

So I guess you didn't bother to read my answer to your question? How odd.

Numrich has 84 barrels listed for $79, but out of stock. You've got to pay to play . I don't even have the gun in hand yet, so I'll wait and see how it is before I go buying another barrel...but I do appreciate the heads up on the Browning parts!

quote:

So I guess you didn't bother to read my answer to your question? How odd.

I did...guess I just missed that part. My apologies. I was originally looking at getting one of the 85s and converting it to .32, but I ended up going the other way with an 81 and thought it might be nice to have a .380 barrel as well. Thanks for your response as well!

I guess I am the outlier. I have a 84, 85, and a couple 87’s. I hate the center fire Cheetahs and I am a huge Beretta fanboy. I actually have my 84 up for consignment right now and would probably sell the nickel plated, still has hang tags 85 but my son said he wanted to keep it. They kind of suck as 380’s. Stiff and big yet pretty. Dumb them down as 32’s and they are more fun I suppose. My thinking though (having done this today) is get a 87 and shoot cheap and a shit ton. My 87 has scads of rounds down range. Probably in the 10-15k range easy. It’s like shooting an 85 but at a fraction of the price. It is also wickedly reliable even with shitty ammo (currently shitty Aguila). With good ammo it’s near perfect.

I get the love affair with beautiful Italian steel (and aluminum) but the Cheetahs are meh, other than the 87.

I might pick up a 32 barrel for that 85 though. Just cause. I’m surprised to read 380 mags work though. Beretta forum intel seems to indicate you need dedicated mags. No personal experience obviously.

you need proper mags on the double stack. single stack works fine. My 32acp P230's are the same...no difference in 32 mags vs. 380's and are not marked as either from the factory. chalk it up to the follower being simpler on the a single stack

quote:

They kind of suck as 380’s.

That doesn't surprise me, honestly. I have yet to shoot a .380 that I've really liked. My primary reason for wanting a .380 barrel is because I load ammo for some family members. A couple of them own .380s, and I thought this might be a cheap way to do load development for them without having to buy a whole gun in a cartridge I don't particularly like.

I'm excited about the .32, though...I'm hoping it makes for a nice range gun to shoot with my wife and kids. I also have a friend at work who's been looking for something light-recoiling and controllable, so I'm going to have her try the 81 and see what she thinks. I'd love an 87, but this is a far cheaper option...or at least it will be if components and ammo ever become available again.

they're terrific in .32; same reason I prefer the CZ-83 in that caliber and also the P230

After a case or two, even reloads, the 87 math becomes viable. I know I sound like a broken record but the 87 is hands down my favorite overall 22 of all time. It’s beautiful, it runs and acts like a “real” gun, it’s not finicky with ammo, accurate, I swap between the thin plastic and wood grips, it’s the perfect little gun. Yes it costs double than a surplus 81. Totally worth it. One of the handful of guns I love so much I bought an unfired spare for my son.

Good intel on the single stack mags. Thanks.

Ok, you guys owe me 200 dollars. The fact that I could get a nickel barrel to match pushed me over the edge.

Years ago when 87 long barrel’s were dirt cheap I always meant to pick one up and never did. So, I figure buy it now before they dry up.

I have never fired a 32 in my life, this better be good. Lol

Enjoy John Moses Browning's chosen caliber for pocket guns. 32acp = 7,65B (B for Browning).

It's a slipper slope. I have the aforementioned 32 barrels in my 85BB, BDA, the 81BB, a Titanium Tomcat, a pair of CZ-83's, a VZ61 Skorpion, a 1903 Pocket Hammerless, two P230's...all in 7,65B.

Everything you like about the 87....fast shooting, no recoil, reliable, etc. That's 32 in the Cheetah series.

(and I have an original no billboard 87 and also had an 87LB and 89GS to boot....only the 87 left)

Well it is on its way. I’m glad they had a nickel one. Almost like it was meant to be. When reloading supplies become available this seems like an easy choice.

I lied btw. I forgot that years ago I owned a 7.65 Walther PP. Sold it to a Navy buddy because I didn’t like it for some reason. I regret that decision. I don’t remember firing it much though.

Whoah. Good reminder...I also own three PP's. I knew I was forgetting something

Just to be sure I did right thing. I still have the Beretta 85. I bought the Browning BDA 32 barrel. That is interchangeable with 85 correct? The Beretta forum help page is like reading google translate sometimes.

Yes, works fine. The FAQ's are super detailed on BF but sometimes you need to be an aspy to understand. There were dimensional differences in the early "no letter" guns like 81 vs. 81B or 81BB, mainly the slides were narrow. Later slides were widened and not compatible with original guns.

The barrels are all the same....the only difference I can recall was the lug shapes. Check the barrel when you get it against the 85 barrel and they should look the same. I don't recall if it was the 81 Cheetah's that differed or if I'm remembering that from the 70 Series Jaguars (since those spanned 25yrs). I think it was a Model 70 thing only

Cool. Thanks.

quote:

Ok, you guys owe me 200 dollars. The fact that I could get a nickel barrel to match pushed me over the edge.

Hey, I warned you this could happen. This place is dangerous !

It's been an adventure sourcing reloading stuff, too. I had nothing for .32 (well, actually, about 9 range pickup cases). It's amazing online...literally everything is sold out. I watched a set of dies go for over $100 on ebay. I got in the truck and did the LGS circuit the other day and managed to snag a set of RCBS dies and a shell holder. I traded into a couple of boxes of ammo from some friends, and a day-shifter buddy went to a gun show Saturday morning while I was sleeping and snagged me a couple of hundred cases. I found some heavy-for caliber lead bullets still for sale on midway...only thing they had...I may need to shave them down some but I can probably make them work. Hopefully no issues develop with the gunbroker deal, because I'm pretty heavily invested in this now!

I'm happy I snagged two cases of fiocchi back when it was $9.95/50rds. That will take a long time to shoot lol

Yeah, I imagine that will last a while. But with this go-around it seems anything is possible :-/.