Newly acquired Beretta 81bb!

Great Scot said:

Good afternoon everyone. I just won a Beretta 81bb on GB and I was hoping to get some thoughts on best ammo, holsters, extra magazines, etc. for this gun. As far as ammo, I’m wondering which .32 is most reliable in this gun, which ammo offers best balance for self defense, and what what’s available? Thanks for the help.

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Best ammo is very hard to say each gun is like its own person. My G2C loves the white box winchesters for range ammo and federal hst for SD. My wifes G2 much prefers Blazer brass on the range and Hornady critical duty for SD ammo. Best thing to do is buy a few different brands and see what seems to shoot the best. I can switch between the ammo's with both guns but not as accurately as what seems to be the preferred for each one.

Congrats on the 81BB, Great Scot!

I have a Beretta 81BB that I got just this past January.

I'm no stranger to .32 ACP, as I've used it in pocket pistols for several years. My ammo preference in .32 ACP pocket pistols is the hotter European made FMJ ammo for potentially better penetration than hollow point ammo. I feel the same way towards shooting .32 ACP FMJ out of my longer barreled 81BB, I want as much penetration as possible out of that little cartridge.

In my 81BB, I've fired S&B FMJ and Fiocchi FMJ and the gun ran perfectly with both ammo types. I've yet to try other brands in it, but being the 81BB is no pocket sized gun, I'd be surprised if the 81BB won't run well with most .32 ACP ammo types out there.

Fiocchi and privi partisan both work fine in my 81.

Congrats, they seem to be some of the best larger size .32 pistols for the money. Holsters should be an easy one, any holster that works with the other Cheetah's should work for the 81.

Ammo is subject to your particular gun. Firstly, don't get any US made ammo, it's expensive and frankly not good. PPU makes a 73 grain JHP that wouldn't feed in my Zastava, but it may in your Beretta, however I doubt it as I think the OAL is too long. The reason I mention it is I get the feeling the rounds will expand due to the huge cavity and the weight is there for penetration. It's also cheap.

If they don't feed tho, you're stuck with Lehigh's 50 grain solid copper ammo that's like $1/round or Fiocchi XTP that's half that. Only issue with the Fiocchi ammo is it doesn't expand very much, but it does penetrate.

Lucky Gunner did tests with that ammo in the 81 last year, so it's more of a known quantity. If that's the ammo you want, here's a link for where to find it:

https://gun.deals/search/apachesolr_search/762344028781

Now the bad news.

Mags are still hard to get currently, but there are some places that have modded the 84 mags to work with .32 ACP and it sounds like they are a success. I expect the mag situation will improve with time as more and more people buy these pistols, but right now I think they're still tough to find and are going to set you back $40 or more.

SCOT,

I have an 81. I use most any fmj ammo for the range, except WINCHESTER White Box and the 81 feeds them all. I have had trouble with the WINCHESTER ammo in 3 different models of BERETTA, in a WALTHER PPK and PP, COLT 1903 and KEL TEC. If I wanted to carry it or use it as a house gun, I would use the HORNADY Critical Defense FTX. This is what I gave my wife for her TOMCAT. In the BERETTA, you may also get good results with FIOCHHI XTP loads as a large .32ACP can get the velocity up to where they will expand.
For holsters, BERETTA makes a nice outside the waistband holster for the Cheetah series. I have nice holster from De SANTIS as well.

Jim

Finding ammo anytime soon may be a trick.

My goto 32acp ammo is Geco. I have also found S&B, Fiocchi, PPU work well. With 32acp I stick to ball.

jar

My goto 32acp ammo is Geco. I have also found S&B, Fiocchi, PPU work well. With 32acp I stick to ball.

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I liked Geco .32 ammo as well. Very clean shooting, reliable, and fairly accurate in my Walther PP and Beretta Model 90. Got the same performance as with S&B and Fiocchi ammo.

I love my Model 81. It is a fine pistol and fun to shoot.

"S&B FMJ and Fiocchi FMJ" are also my favorites.

WWB is too short in AOL and jams my 32acp pistols badly.

Mine is just a range toy, so I carry it around in a cheap black nylon holster.

I have XXL hands, and the the Altamont grips help me shoot it better. I liked them so much I got a set fom my Model 84 too.

This is right after I got it:

Here ii is with the Altamont grips. We'd just gotten home from the range, so it was dirty.

TTv2 said:

Lucky Gunner did tests with that ammo in the 81 last year, so it's more of a known quantity.

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Your post led me to find that link. Thanks.
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/pocket-pistol-caliber-gel-test-results/#32ACP

For the first time this year I was able to get out to the range. The Beretta and an ARAK went with me.

I took some home rolled 32 acp and the Prvi factory ammo.
The home made ammo was far more accurate than the Prvi.
I used plated bullets in the 72 grain catagory with Lee loading manual data. (sorry lost the label off the home load box)
With my arthritic hand I had trouble loading more than 9 rounds in the magazine. Next time I'll take the LULA. The gun performed fine with no malfunctions.

One can safely assume your Beretta will reliably function with any ammo available. Mine has eaten Winchester, Fiocchi, Geco and S&B easily. If you need mags this link takes you to new mags for a very good price at DK Firearms. Enjoy your classic Beretta... great gun!
https://dkfirearms.com/product/beretta-model-81-cheetah-32-acp-12-round-magazine/

I prefer Fiocchi myself, but lately given the ammo panic and the fact that I got an 81 for my wife so need more on-hand ammo I've been buying about any .32 acp I can find.

The hotter European loads are best in my opinion.

MidwayUSA has new Beretta mags for $39.95.

My M81 has digested everything I’ve fed it from 78gr Cast over 1.8gr of Bullseye to 91gr Lee SWC over 1.5gr Bullseye. All JHP’s have fed. It is a peach!

I bought 100 PPU 71gr JHP bullets They are the old style, not the new larger cavity style. I plan to load them over a max load of Titegroup.

From my extensive loadings with a TomCat in Late ‘90’s, the Fiocchi was the hottest factory ammo. The 60gr JHP ‘s ran over 1,000 and 73’s over 900fps from 1.78” bbl.

total recoil

Thanks for posting the photo of your Model 81. It took me back in time to when I first laid eyes upon a Model 84 with the black plastic grips. I thought it was the neatest and the most stylish looking semi-auto I ever saw! Didn't carry it very often but I did use in the home defense role for many years. It was a fun gun to shoot and I took it to range on many occasions. I should get one of these Model 81s if just for the sake of having another one like my Model 84 to play with!

It's definitely better to have one of each!

That's a nice one!

Update!
Classic has USED magazines in-stock.
$34.95, limit 2

Bought 2. Fast shipping and they are like new.
Who can do without ?

Just got some "crosscut" grips for my 81BB from LOK Grips in blue and black; love them (at least looks-wise)! They are significantly thinner versus the original grips and have just enough of a pattern to keep your hands in place. Everything you need, nothing that you don't. Haven't shot this at the range yet so I can't verify how it shooting experience will go with these new grips on but I'm hopeful...

Looks nice.