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The Beretta .380s

When I was young, if you wanted to purchase a high-quality .380 automatic pistol, you basically had three choices: Beretta, Browning, and Walther. The classic Colt Pocket Model had been gone since World War II, though since it was a John Browning design many of its features lived on in the Belgian pistol that bore his name. The sleek, but complicated, Remington Model 51 was likewise long since discontinued.

The First Wave

My first centerfire handgun was a Beretta Model 1934 that had come back from the European theater as a souvenir of WWII. This .380 had been standard issue in the Italian military. The Model 1935 was functionally identical, but chambered for .32 ACP. The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) was the American term for a cartridge known as the 9mm Kurz (9mm “short”), 9mm Corto, 9mm Browning Short, or simply 9X17mm.

Over its many years of service – and its many more as a popular concealed carry handgun all over the world – the 1934 series earned a reputation as perhaps the most rugged and heavy-duty .380 made. It was certainly the most shootable. Its solid weight helped to absorb recoil and unlike some contemporaries such as the Walther PP and PPK, its slide did not bite the hand upon firing. When sold commercially in the United States, imported by Galef, the .32 was known as the Puma and the .380 as the Cougar. These guns were manufactured until 1959.

An early Beretta 86 shows its relative size in an adult male hand. The pistol is ambidextrously “cocked and locked,” making it easier for weaker hands to operate.

There are a lot of these rugged old pistols still out there, and a lot of shooters who still appreciate them.

The Second Wave

By the time John F. Kennedy replaced Dwight Eisenhower in the White House, the 70 series Berettas had begun to replace the 1934 style. Known as the Model 100 in the U.S. market, this new pistol was sleeker than the 1934, though similar in many ways including the open slide and the single-action design. It also retained the good shooting characteristics. However, there were some distinct differences.

A current production Model 84 is shown on safe with the hammer down in the double-action mode …

… off safe, cocked and ready to fire …

… and being decocked, which on later models is accomplished by thumbing the frame-mounted lever up past the on-safe position.

One strange safety catch was exchanged for another. The awkward lever above the trigger guard on the left of the 1934’s frame had to be rotated forward, down and then up, 180 degrees, to get it into the “fire” position. The Series 70 had a cross-bolt safety forward of the grip tang. In theory, the median joint of the right thumb would press it inward to “fire,” and it would have to be pressed back out from the other side for “safe.” In practice, most people found it not only different, but just plain difficult. The same had proven true earlier, when Beretta had put it on their 1951 model 9mm Parabellum service pistol. Once the safety was disengaged, though, the 70 series demonstrated superb shooting characteristics. Its more steeply angled grip felt better in many hands (including mine) and made it point more naturally for many shooters (including me.)

Here is the ambidextrous, 14-shot Beretta Model 84 Cheetah .380.

The 1934/35 pistols had come with conventional “European-style” butt heel magazine releases. The 70 models had a push-button release low at the rear of the left grip panel. This was seen as a more ergonomic way for thumb and fingers of the left hand to remove the magazine from the butt, and this feature was found on Beretta 9mm Parabellum pistols throughout the third quarter of the Twentieth Century, and remains on the small-frame Beretta pocket pistols.

The more or less conventional slide stop lever on the left side of the frame was a welcome addition on the 70 series pistols. Most had the “little finger extension” on the magazine that was commonly, but not exclusively, seen on its predecessor guns. Particularly nice were the .22 Long Rifle versions. Their good trigger pull, good accuracy, flat silhouette and reasonably compact size made them a favorite of discriminating plinkers and outdoorsmen. With aluminum alloy frames, they weighed just over 16 ounces. Variants in .22 LR included the standard Model 70S and the Model 71, which lasted until 1985. The Model 72 came with a barrel almost 6 inches long, as well as a standard length (3½ -inch) barrel. The Model 73 had both front and rear fixed sights attached to the barrel, on the theory (long since proven by High Standard and Smith & Wesson in the U.S.) that a front sight on a fixed barrel and a rear sight on a moving slide would not always be in a constant relationship with one another. The Model 74 had adjustable sights, also with the rear sight mounted on the barrel. This pistol also featured an adjustable trigger pull. Larry Wilson quotes factory literature of the period: “The trigger pull is adjustable by means of a conic screw acting on the sear (remove right grip panel, adjustment screw for trigger located near disconnector).” ⁽¹⁾

You may have read that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence/counter-intelligence agency, was long quite partial to the Beretta .22 pistol. This is the gun. Its flatness made it carry very comfortably and discreetly when concealed, and its excellent pointing qualities lent themselves to the Israeli doctrine of point-shooting with pistols. Since Israeli handgun doctrine also required that the pistol be carried off-safe with the chamber empty, and a round jacked into the spout when it was drawn for serious purposes, the odd cross-bolt safety proved no problem at all.

All these Berettas, indeed all Beretta semiautomatics, had been single-action pistols. Their first double-action in this caliber was the Model 90, introduced in late 1968 and produced through early 1982. Writes Wilson, “The medium-frame Model 90 was the first Beretta automatic pistol with a double-action trigger system, barrel of stainless steel, enclosed slide with ejection port on the right side, and the magazine release located by the rear of the trigger guard. The frame was of aluminum alloy; the hammer was exposed; the slide remained opened after the last shot was fired. Although the pistol did not prove a success, the future of the double-action system was assured.” ⁽²⁾ Only some 22,000 were produced.

Bill Goldstein, an authority on self-defense for senior citizens, strongly recommends the Model 86 for its easy-handling features.

While the author prefers the more powerful Berettas at his hip and in a tactical thigh holster, he admits the shootability of the Model 86 .380 he is holding. Note the group in the target …

… which was fired as fast as he could pull the trigger.

Barbara, a senior citizen with arthritis, is a deadly shot with her Beretta 86, finding it the easiest pistol to operate efficiently.

This Beretta Model 86 gave decent accuracy at 25 yards with cheap Blazer ammo, which it fed perfectly.

The Third Wave

In the early 1980s, the 70 series and the pioneering Model 90 both gave way to what became known as the 81 series, though it has also been called the 80 series. With some refinements these are the .380 Berettas that are with us today, along with their .32 and .22 caliber companion guns, in the current Beretta catalog.

This generation saw the return of the open-top slide, the departure from which had not been a hit for Beretta with the Model 90. A frame-mounted manual safety, similar in shooter operation to that of the first-generation Model 92 9mm, was installed. The 81 series also had a magazine release button in what combat shooters considered the appropriate location, behind the trigger guard on the frame.

These guns also had magazine disconnector safeties, not a usual Beretta feature. This means that if the magazine has been removed from the gun and it has been left with a round in the chamber, if someone picks up the gun and pulls the trigger, the chambered cartridge will not discharge. Wilson lists this feature as “available on request; magazine safety on trigger mechanism when magazine extracted.”⁽³⁾ However, I have never seen a Beretta .380 of this generation that didn’t have the magazine disconnector feature.

Unlike many .380s, the Beretta Cheetah has sights that are easy to see.

Beretta’s modern .380s offer good trigger reach.

The first of the 81 series was the actual Model 81, with a double-stack magazine in caliber .32 ACP (7.65 mm.) It was quickly joined by a twin in .380, the Model 84. Both remain in production. The Model 81, curiously, held 12 rounds in its magazine, while a magazine of the same dimension managed to contain 13 fatter cartridges for the Model 84. The .380 proved quite popular and remains so to this day. The Model 81 is seldom seen in this country. It was realized early on that a 13-shot .32, generating 125 foot pounds of energy per shot with 60-grain Silvertip jacketed hollow-points and 129 foot-pounds per shot with 71-grain full-metal-jacket ammo, would not sell well to Americans when for the same price they could get the identical gun as a 14-shot .380 generating 189 foot-pounds with 85-grain Silvertip JHP and 211 foot-pounds with 95-grain FMJ. It was a “do the math” thing. The relevant decision-makers on both sides of the water knew Yanks would take the .380 hands down over the .32 and chose not to bother bringing the latter to U.S. shores. They made the right decision.

The Indiana State Police bought a Beretta 84 .380 for each of their troopers, as an off-duty and optional backup gun. The pistol was issued simultaneously with the Beretta 92G 9mm that was adopted to replace the agency’s traditional .357 Magnum service revolvers. When ISP later “powered up” to the .40 S&W service pistol, they chose the Beretta 96G, but kept the Beretta .380s for the backup/ off-duty function.

A fascinating variation of the Beretta Model 84 is the version long produced for Fabrique Nationale as the Browning BDA. This double-stack pistol has the enclosed slide of the old Beretta Model 90, and a slide-mounted combination safety/decock lever that functioned exactly the same as that on Beretta’s service-size 92F.

This is the 1935 Model .32 with the hammer at rest and off safe. Of the Beretta intermediate-frame pistols this is part of the first classic generation. …

… and here it is cocked and on safe. The 180-degree safety catch proved awkward. This pistol appears to have been chrome plated after market.

This is the Series 70 of the second generation, in the uncommon .32 caliber target variation. This specimen has adjustable sights on the back of the slide to complement a long barrel. Note the magazine release at the lower rear of the left grip panel, a signature Beretta feature for the period.

The Beretta 84 was and is a substantial .380. There are a lot of .380s that are smaller. Hell, there are 9mm and even .40 S&W pistols that are smaller. With this in mind, Beretta introduced the Model 85 a few years later with a slim single-stack magazine that held eight .380 cartridges, allowing a proportionally slimmer grip frame.

The 85’s slender grip frame and magazine size were retained for the Model 86, which is my personal favorite Beretta .380. The dust cover (the forward part of the frame) was extended to allow for a tip-up barrel a’ la the 950 series. While the lever that pops the barrel up is located on the left side of a 950’s frame and requires only a short arc of movement, the one on the .380 is on the right side and demands a full 180 degrees before the mechanism tilts the barrel upward.

Though the Model 86 looks bulkier than the 85, it is not really so in any given dimension, and its added weight is but a single ounce. A Beretta 86 tips the scales at 23 ounces unloaded, an 85, at 22 ounces.

… the 1934/35 style fit solidly in the hand, and established a reputation as a .380 unbeatable for reliability and accuracy.

For much of the 20th century this was the defining shape of Beretta pistols. The author’s first centerfire handgun, a Model 1934 .380 …

… had a patina from WWII combat use, and the manual safety was removed …

Author’s favorite .380 is the Model 86. It is the most powerful tip-up barrel design. This is a feature that enables use by those with crippled or weakened hands.

I’m partial to the Beretta 86 for the same reason a lot of firearms instructors are: it serves as a special-purpose “orthopedic gun” for a certain type of student. This is the individual who, for reasons of illness, injury, age, or whatever does not have the strength to operate the slide of a semiautomatic pistol.

Circa 1992, the Models 84, 85, and 86 became the Beretta Cheetah series along with the Model 87, which was the same gun in .22 Long Rifle. The design was updated to make the frame-mounted safety lever function as a decocking lever as well.

This, for the most part, is a good feature. Lowering a double-action pistol’s hammer by hand is asking for an accident. There is huge potential for slippage.

If you’re going to carry a double-action Beretta .380 in double-action mode, the Cheetah series (or the Browning BDA) makes enormous sense. If you are accustomed to carrying a 1911 or other type pistol with a frame-mounted safety that is pressed down for “fire” and up for “safe,” you will have commonality with the Cheetah in its double-action mode, and that makes awfully good sense, too.

At the same time, one thing I liked about the earlier design of the Model 86 was that its manual safety design made possible cocked and locked, single-action carry. It was my experience that a person whose limited upper body strength made it hard for them to operate an auto pistol’s slide, often also had fingers so weak or so limited in reach that the long, heavy first shot pull of a double-action trigger would be difficult for them, too. I’ve encouraged a number of people in this situation to go with the older style Beretta 86, and as long as they could live with the .380 ACP power level, they were happy with it. Those same people, almost always, found themselves carrying the gun cocked and locked because it was much faster and much easier for them to get off the first shot. Sometimes, that was the only way they could get off the first shot.

The author thinks the best casual sporting .22 Beretta ever made was the Model 70. This one has adjustable sights, factory thumb-rest stock.

Few pistols point as well as a series 70 Beretta, or feel as good in the hand.

The Beretta Model 70 .22 became famous as an issue weapon for Mossad, the Israeli secret service.

Cocked and locked, the second-generation Model 70 is seen with its ergonomic thumb safety, which replaced the previous cross-bolt design.

Dubbed the “New Puma,” the series 70 Beretta .32 was a sleek single-action auto with some unusual features.

Unlike first-generation guns, the second-generation intermediate frame Berettas had this efficient, ergonomic slide lock design.

Shooting the Beretta .380s

Not until a year or so into production of the third-generation guns (81 series) did Beretta .380s start coming with internal firing pin safeties. This rendered them drop-safe. Prior state-of-the-art was such that if a semiautomatic pistol with a round in the chamber and no internal firing pin lock should be struck sharply on the muzzle or hammer end, the firing pin could be driven forward enough by inertia to fire the weapon. Thus, if you have any pistol without an internal firing pin lock, it is an excellent idea to carry it with an empty chamber and jack a round into the firing chamber Israeli-style when the gun is drawn in an emergency or any other situation where it may be appropriate to fire. The current Beretta .380s with internal firing pin lock are, however, safe to carry with a round in the chamber, the way U.S. police and most of us “in the business” carry our semiautomatic pistols.

I personally thought those sweet, second-generation 70 series models had the best feel of all, but the current generation is awfully close in that positive attribute. This is subjective, of course, but the reader can easily test a given handgun for this factor without firing a shot. Triple check that the gun is unloaded. Pick a spot that could safely absorb a bullet. Lower the gun, close your eyes, and keeping the eyelids shut, bring the pistol up and point it by feel at that pre-selected spot. Freeze everything, and open your eyes. If the gun is aimed where you wanted it to be, that gun “points well for you.” It’s a subjective thing. It’s about you and the gun, not about me or anyone else and the given pistol.

The top of a Series 81 pistol’s slide is somewhat rounded. This makes it more comfortable for inside-the-waistband carry, and is esthetically pleasing. However, it also means there’s less flat area at the rear of the slide with which the shooter’s support hand can engage the grasping grooves. This can make jacking the slide awkward. It’s another reason why I’m partial to the Model 86 with its tip-up barrel. There are some other .380s, notably the SIG P230 and P232, whose slides are easier to operate than those of a Beretta 84 or 85.

The modern Beretta .380s normally come with ambidextrous safety levers. This is always a good thing. You might be right-handed, as I am, but either of us might have to lend our gun to another good guy or gal who will be using it southpaw. At any time, either of us could suffer an injury to our dominant hand or arm that requires us to carry on the weak side for a while. That’s a lousy time to have to call the gunsmith and see how long it will take to install an ambi safety on our carry gun.

If what you want is a smaller, lower-powered version of a modern military or police style Beretta, consider looking for the Browning BDA variation. Remember, its safety/decock lever is operated exactly the same way as the similarly slide-mounted lever on an F-series Beretta.

Like the second-generation Beretta .380s, the current third-generation has a .22 caliber understudy gun available that works exactly the same way. It is the Model 87. This is a handy thing for practice and training.

Recoil of the Beretta .380 is markedly soft. Virtually everyone who shoots one comments on that. When editor Harry Kane and I were putting together the 2005 edition of the annual Complete Book of Handguns, we included an article on very small hideout guns. These ranged from the little Guardian .32 auto, to Beretta’s .32 Tomcat, to the J-frame S&W Airweight .38 Special revolver, the sweet little Kahr PM9 micro-size 9mm Parabellum and the Beretta 86 .380. There was no question that of all these guns, the Beretta .380 was by far the easiest to shoot and to hit center with at high speed.

Muzzle jump is minimal with the Cheetah-class .380s. The low bore axis is one reason and a grip frame that allows a full purchase and a strong grasp is another. I and the other fans of powerful guns can make all the “mouse gun” jokes we want, but the fact is, there are some people who are just intimidated by more powerful pistols but are confident in their ability to shoot fast and straight under stress with a gun like a Beretta .380. Let’s say that you and I have to go into one of those dangerous situations that I’ve come to call The Dark Place. We can choose one of three people to back us up. One has a 12-gauge shotgun, but is totally intimidated by its savage recoil. One has a .45 automatic, and cringes and jerks the trigger with every shot. And one has a Beretta .380, and shoots it fast and straight even when the pressure’s on.

The one with the shotgun will probably miss, if the courage is mustered to fire it at all. The one with the .45 will likely jerk low, and maybe achieve a thigh shot if we’re lucky. But the cool hand with the .380 is most likely to hit dead center in an emergency. The one with the .380 gets my vote. How about you?

The trigger pull is quite good in both double- and single-action. As with their modern service pistols, the current Beretta .380s have generously sized sights that are easy to see, particularly for those of us with aging eyes.

But let’s look at the biggest advantage of the Beretta .380s as currently produced …

The damn things work!

My experience with the elegant and stylish Walther pistols is that some of them feed hollow point ammo and some of them don’t. If you have a good one, the splendid little Walther-influenced SIG .380, will work as well as a Beretta. If you don’t have a good one, it’ll show up in the first few hundred rounds, and you’ll have to send it back to the factory to make things right. The SIG .380s will also slice your hand with the slide as it comes back, and most of the Walther pistols will do the same; they don’t bite as much since S&W started importing them a couple of years ago and made Walther extend the grip tang, but they still bite some. I’ve seen Colt .380s that worked with JHP, and Colt .380s that didn’t. Contemporary .380s from Colt are scaled down versions of the Government Model .45, and if you have average size adult male hands and shoot with a strong grasp in which your thumb is curled down, there’s a good chance that you’ll accidentally depress the magazine release and dump the magazine on your foot.

None of these problems occur with the current Berettas. They feed JHPs. They don’t bite your hand. They’re accurate as hell, right up there with the Walther and the SIG, tied for braggin’ rights as “best of breed” among the .380 pistols past and present in terms of precision shooting potential.

While putting this chapter together, I took a Model 86 out to the backyard range with the only two types of .380 ammo I had in the house, both inexpensive “generic ball” loads. Remington-UMC easily kept all five shots in the head of an IPSC target at 25 yards, with a group measuring 3.05 inches. The best three of those bullet holes were in a cluster spanning only 1.4 inches center-to-center. CCI Speer’s aluminum-cased Blazer delivered a five-shot group of 3.20 inches, with the best four in 1.65 inches and the best three in 0.80 of an inch. Bearing in mind the proven rule of thumb that the best three of five shots handheld from a bench rest will come awfully close to what the same gun/cartridge combination will do for all five shots from a machine rest, that’s damned impressive pistol performance.

Downsides? Really, only a couple. If you have the earlier double-actions with the hand-lowered hammers, you’re almost better off to carry them cocked and locked. Also, to get the great reliability and accuracy and easy shooting of the Beretta .380s, you have to accept that, as Wilson accurately categorizes them, they’re medium-frame guns. If you want a small-frame pistol, small enough for a pocket or ankle holster, and you want it to be a Beretta, you’re probably going to have to go down to the Tomcat .32.

But if you’re looking for a .380 that will be carried in or on a belt, worn in a shoulder holster, packed in a purse, or stored in a lock box or glove box, the Cheetah size Beretta will be awfully tough to beat.

Endnotes

(1)Wilson, R.L., “The World of Beretta: An International Legend,” New York City: Random House, 2000, P. 204.

(2)Ibid., P. 202.

(3)Ibid., P. 205.