I'm considering picking up one of the surplus Beretta M71s in .22LR currently offered by some online dealers. My only concern is they come with no front sight and there is a gap in the slide that bridges over the front of the barrel where apparently the faux suppressor was once pinned on has been removed.

I assume the slide would have to be welded up and a sight added? Is this something most competent gunsmiths could do, and is it worth it on a$300 used pistol?

https://atlanticfirearms.com/beretta-71-22lr

Oof…rough looking even for $289. I know prices have jumped on these in the last decade, so even if refinished and a front sight gets added you could be ahead of what others sell for.

They are very fun to shoot though. I haven’t looked in a while, but factory mags used to be very expensive and very difficult to find. You can get thread adapters to use 1/2x28 cans with, so don’t let the oddball thread pitch hold you back!

quote:

Originally posted by Spieler:
I'm considering picking up one of the surplus Beretta M71s in .22LR currently offered by some online dealers. My only concern is they come with no front sight

Also important to note that they do not have magazines either...

And as CD warns:

quote:

Originally posted by Creeping_Death:
I haven’t looked in a while, but factory mags used to be very expensive and very difficult to find.

Personally, unless you already are sitting on some M71 mags and you're able to do the front sight/slide fabrication work yourself, I wouldn't bother.

The juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze on these otherwise.

But but but, it’s got a “patina” finish”. lol

I would run away from that project and I love Beretta 22’s. Even the shitty Bobcats.

I had one of the older non surplus ones for quite some time. Solid reliable gun. Mine was not threaded. It was the earliest version first year or two of production. A part broke that was unique to the earliest version, and it was impossible to find a replacement. After a gunsmith nightmare story, I ended up substituting a later version part I put in my self, and it affected reliability to the point the gun had to go.
The later ones parts are easy to find relatively speaking.
In these the front sight is part of the barrel, so a drop in replacement barrel solves the sight problem.

Original beretta mags are very scarce and typically run $75+ each if you can find them. Luckily the aftermarket triple K ones run decently ( one of the few things they make that does)
From an economics point of view, a $300 gun, plus. $100 spare barrel, and another $150 for a couple mags is getting out of hand. Finding one on the secondary market without issues and magazines will make more sense

Sootch posted his videos 10 years apart on his 71. I have a couple KKK mags for my 70s and a couple converted Bersa mags. The longer you wait on these little gems, the more time and money it will cost. A 9-hole Review video to sweeten the pot

I'm a Beretta 70/71 .22LR superfan, but they are just about useless without factory mags. Consider it a single-shot apparatus without a good mag, and Triple K ain't it.

Factory mags can be had, but be prepared to search and search and then pay $$ for one if you find it.

The slot in the slide is necessary to remove the barrel. The front sight also rides in this slot. The front sight is attached to the barrel with a lengthwise dovetail. When the fake suppressors were installed, about half of the sight was cut away. A good gunsmith can make you a new sight.
Good luck!