https://www.luckygunner.com/lo...n-size-duty-pistols/


It doesn't look like any double stack Cheetahs are going to show up in the USA, new or police trade ins.


"If you’re really torn on which caliber to get, the good news is that you can convert the caliber of the .380 and .32 models simply by swapping the barrels. And if it’s a double stack model, you’ll need to swap magazines as well."

My only Cheetah I have left is the single stack 85. I can confirm if you buy a .32 barrel you end up with a very light recoiling and easy to shoot Beretta. Same mags.

It used to be very cheap to buy a 32 barrel.

It is a very common and popular event on the “other” forum.

If you reload it turns the Cheetahs into a very fun and mild platform.

I bought my barrel years ago. Still haven’t shot it. In either caliber. Test fitted it and that was it.

As an aside I never liked my double stacked 84. Very girthy for not much capacity. 13 if I recall. The 85 is much more elegant and the 86 is nearly perfection (but you can’t swap barrels in those).

Yes, I have done this. Keep looking, though, I was recently able to get a Model 81 police surplus (Italian) from Guns.

I have an 87, which is a blast to shoot, and a beautifully made gun. But not convertible.

Ooooohhhh, the 87 is the best Cheetah.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Ooooohhhh, the 87 is the best Cheetah.

I can't argue. Shoot it all day for just a few bucks, even with .22 ammo the way it costs now. And a really good shooter.

I really wish they'd make the 87 again, and that it was sort of affordable. I like my 81, but hate chasing the brass. Shooting rimfire, that's not a concern.

The conversion to .32 caliber is an interesting idea. I may do that conversion to make a diminished recoiling pistol for my wife. She is rather petite and recoil sensitive. Before reading the article I thought that the conversion sould be to 9x18 Makorov. Are there 9×18 barrels for Berettas? Are the .32 barrels available?

Years ago a DA was shot and killed in one of the PNW states. The BATF was investigating the possibility that a conversion barrel was used in a Walther style pistol. I don't know if that case was ever solved.

I have an 89 Gold Standard. Its nice but either me or the gun is not as accurate as expected.

I got my dad a Cheetah 87 years ago. It kept breaking firing pins.

He got rid of it. I get a pant of regret on that once in a while that he should have kept it.

I have 2 Cheetah 87’s. One is unfired the other has cases and cases and cases through it. I can’t say in the probably 15-20k rounds through it that there haven’t been malfunctions. There have. Not a lot though. It’s as reliable a 22 as I’ve ever owned. I thought I broke an extractor once. Even bought a new one to replace it. Then I cleaned it really well and inspected it. It does look like a corner is chipped off. Maybe. Everything on this gun is small so even with a brand new one to check against it’s a solid “maybe”.

Point is, your dad should have sent it back to Beretta. If it “kept breaking firing pins” it needed warranty work. These things aren’t known for breaking anything. I wonder if homebrew gunsmithing was involved.

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

The Cheetah is a pretty cool gun. I've had two and only sold the last one due to health issues. Nothing to do with OP's post about the interchangeability of calibers on some models. Just chiming in on the cool factor.