After I got a Beretta 71 and a Glock 42 a few years back the Beretta's in .380 got into my vision.

Anyone has any experience with them? Over here in Switzerland they are quite cheap, but I don't want to buy an old gun that doesn't run reliably.

What's your experience with them?

I bought a Beretta 84BB when I first go on the job for my off duty pistol...mine was very reliable and I felt good about the payload (at least the amount of bullets) it carried...

my younger brother wants one since our other brother and I brought him into the firearm world and he has been trying to decide between the Beretta 84F, 85F or an 80X as his first ever firearm at 55 years of age...

good luck with your choice...I see no reason but for caliber maybe to not buy one today

Bill

I have an 81 in .32 ACP and a spare .380 barrel for it so I can make it an "84" and shoot both calibers.

It has been very reliable in both calibers. It has a typical long Beretta trigger and a pretty long reset. It's a beautiful gun with a very smooth action, and a great choice for recoil sensitive shooters, especially in .32. .380 is a bit snappy since it's a blowback design, but it's big and offers a lot to hold onto, so it's not bad.

Personally, I'll never carry it or use it for defensive purposes. I don't have a real practical use for a .32 or a .380 in that form factor, but it's fun on the range. I think it would be amazing if Beretta would redesign the Cheetah to make it locked-breech and chamber it in 9mm. A DA/SA 9mm in that size would be amazing. I'd also like it if they'd start importing the 87 in .22LR again, or make an 80X version of it domestically.

I'm very familiar with them. I have a pair of 84's, an 80x, 2 87's in 22LR, and an 81 in 32ACP that was Italian prison service issue, which I think is pretty cool. I really like the weapon, and have been looking for an affordable model 86 for years, as they were discontinued years ago. I did find a Girsan (Turkish made) version that is a cross between the Model 84 and the 86, it has a 13 round capacity and a tip up barrel.

I bought an old 84F and 85F over ten years ago and they still work great. Thinking about a new 80X.

Anyone suppress these in .380?

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
I bought an old 84F and 85F over ten years ago and they still work great. Thinking about a new 80X.

Anyone suppress these in .380?

putting a can on it would be my choice. Recently saw a used 84F with a threaded barrel.

Kind of its own sub-category, but I had a Model 86, the 8-round magazine, tip-up barrel version. 100% reliable (although with just a couple of boxes), despite this model not having an extractor. Beautiful fit & finish.

The are beautifully made, and function extremely well.

The only real disadvantage is their size, which is large for a .380 or .32.

When they started flooding the US market with surplus 80-series several years ago, I picked up several of them in both calibers for peanuts. Both the base model and the BB.

This is one of my favorites. It's a total mutt. Started as an abused 81 base model (in 32). I replaced the slide and barrel with a parts kit from an 84 (in 380), had the frame hard chromed, installed some extra-power recoil springs, and refinished the old/abused/gouged grips myself.

It's a great shooter and just happens to have the best trigger break on any 80-series that I've encountered.

The Beretta 84 I had in the late 80s and early 90s grouped as well as most 9mm duty weapons at 25 yards and was the only .380 that ran 100 percent that I've owned. I regret selling it. It is large and solid, certainly not a typical blow-back operated pocket pistol like a Walther PP. That's why it shot and functioned so well. The 85 is trimmer since it has the single-column magazine.

I see some of the European police trade-ins here in the states. I'm somewhat tempted to get one again if the price is right.

With a slide-mounted (and I presume decocking) safety, they were sold under the Browning name. The model designation escapes me at the moment. I want to think it was BDA.

Practically and objectively speaking, I had little "use" for my Beretta. It was a 9-shot .380 almost identical in size to the 16-shot (11 at the time) 9mm Luger Glock 19. But guess which one I took out of the safe to admire.

Aimsurplus still has some police trade-ins available.

I am unsure how well a can would work on a centerfire blowback.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I am unsure how well a can would work on a centerfire blowback.

That's what I was worried about. I see the new 80x comes in a threaded barrel version

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I am unsure how well a can would work on a centerfire blowback.

Since the barrel of a blow-back pistol is fixed to the frame I think it would work fine. No disadvantage at all – possibly even better. I’ve never tried it though – just a guess from this old engineer.

Hmm. Looking thru the safe, I find both an 80x and a 9mm suppressor. When my upcoming surgery is done, I'll head to the range and check it out. I often find myself missing the obvious.

Can on a Beretta 84 sounds interesting. It's actually something that I have in mind. Just have to gather some funds to get this project through.

Did you buy it?

Not yet. The gunshop that has the best selection of Beretta's is quite a bit of a drive away and I'm always busy on the weekends.

I guess it'll be next month or so.

It's beautiful. If it is what you want go for it. You wont regret it.


Buttttttt, as mentioned earlier, it is extremely oversized for modern .380.

size is not that important, it's not like I get to carry it every day concealed.