Anybody have experience with a Beretta 85?

[offthepaper]

Been eyeballing a Beretta 85 (380) for a while but still haven't made the purchase. Anybody have any experience with one of these? It would mostly be a small range plinker and maybe and possible part-time CCW.
Any Pro's or Con's with these appreciated.

 

[whatnickname]

One of the better 380 pistols. The increasing number of small frame polymer pistols on the market today like the M&P Shield, KHAR CW, Glock etc. in calibers ranging from 9 MM on up to 45 ACP, and with corrosion resistant finishes at very attractive prices has caused the demand for the larger frame 380 pistols to fall off. The finish on the 85 is not as durable as the more popular small frame polymer pistols. The Beretta 85 with its double stack magazine is a real handful making it more suitable for carry in a belt holster than a pocket. There are a good number of used Beretta pistols on the market the past few months...imports from Israel and most likely LEO trade-ins. Some appear to be in pretty decent shape for the money ($300 to $400 range). Others look pretty tired and well worn.

Then there's the whole traditional DA/SA format requiring you to shift your grip a bit after that long, first double action pull. Carry one for defensive purposes and you're gonna have to practice with it a good bit in order to be accurate for that very important first shot. Advances in ammunition have made the 380 a much more effective round than it was 20 years ago. But then there have been significant advances is all handgun ammo. As per the FBI report that was issued in 2014, coroners can't tell any real difference between someone that has been killed with a 9MM or a 45ACP when modern ammo has been used. This fact and the fact that generally more LEOs can shoot more accurately with a 9MM and the fact that the 9MM holds more rounds is why many police agencies are going back to the 9MM. The FBI report went on to make the point that caliber was not nearly as important as shot placement as long as the round could reliably expand and penetrate 12" in ballistic gel. When you can go to a big box store like Cabelas and buy a new in the box M&P Shield for $369 that comes with a $75 dollar factory rebate I say go with the M&P. The Beretta is a well made and fun pistol to plink with but there are so many more small and concealable handguns in much more effective calibers that I doubt I will ever own or carry another 380...too bad too because I still have quite a bit of 380 ammo.

Probably more here than you wanted to know but just my honest opinion.

 

[Waveski]

My "Cheetah" has the sweetest double action trigger I have ever experienced in a semi automatic pistol. Getting that first shot off is a real pleasure. (SA after that, of course.) The Beretta 85 is well balanced , points well , and is really appealing to the eye. Recoil is sweet. I love my PPK , but the Beretta 85 is superior in all ways which are practical.

 

[FL-NC]

Cons: too fat and heavy, 380 caliber, probably too expensive. Pros: kind of nice looking, but otherwise can't think of any unless you just really like it.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Go for it! Nice pistols, especially the older blued jobs and nickel/wood finishes- though I prefer the looks of the Browning BDA .380 variant with its closed slide and having the safety lever on the slide increases purchase while chambering. My buddie's BDA feeds everything from cheap Tulammo to Hydrashoks- I don't think he has ever had a jam or malfunction of any sort.

 

[bannockburn]

I had both a Model 84 and a Model 85. Great, well built pistols with a decent DA/SA trigger and easy to acquire sights. Very reliable and durable. Drawback were both of them are kind of large for .380s, especially if concealed carry is being considered. Either one would be fine as a range gun or for home defense.

 

[usp9]

World class quality gun. Carried a 84 for many years because it was both reliable and because I could shoot that gun better than others. Great natural pointability, rock solid reliability and easy to shoot well made the 84 and 85 excellent choices. The only con I ever discovered was that 85 mags were hard to find. I bought both the 84 and 85 on the used market years ago.

 

[zaitcev]

The Beretta 85 with its double stack magazine is a real handful making it more suitable for carry in a belt holster than a pocket.

It's the opposite, actually: Beretta 85 is the single stack version, Beretta 84 is a double stack gun. However, the 85 is still quite fat, by the standards of modern small 380s, such as Glock 42. Good pictures may be found in the Cheetah FAQ section of Beretta forums.

 

[lysanderxiii]

It's the opposite, actually: Beretta 85 is the single stack version, Beretta 84 is a double stack gun. However, the 85 is still quite fat, by the standards of modern small 380s, such as Glock 42. Good pictures may be found in the Cheetah FAQ section of Beretta forums.

Doesn't appear to really be any thinner:


thanks Doug.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Far as I know, only the Verboten in USA Glock 25, Bersa Thunder Plus, and now discontinued SIG P250 had larger capacities of .380 than the Cheetah.

 

[WVsig]

Been eyeballing a Beretta 85 (380) for a while but still haven't made the purchase. Anybody have any experience with one of these? It would mostly be a small range plinker and maybe and possible part-time CCW.
Any Pro's or Con's with these appreciated.

Great little pistols. If you are looking for strictly a range plinker I would get the 85F or 85FS because they will take more beating than the B or BB. The earlier guns will beat themselves to death if you shoot enough rounds through them.

I really like my 85B because you can carry it cocked and locked.

 

[berettaprofessor]

The '85 is much thinner than the '84. It looks it in the picture above and it is a much better fit for smaller hands.

 

[zaitcev]

Far as I know, only the Verboten in USA Glock 25, Bersa Thunder Plus, and now discontinued SIG P250 had larger capacities of .380 than the Cheetah.

From the department of useless trivia, M11 (originally by MAC) in .380 came with 32-round magazines. I shot a semi-auto version of it and only was able to hit anything by holding it with the off hand by the (fake) silencer. Fortunately, it was a reciprocating baffle design and thus didn't heat much. The worst gun ever. But, with a greater capacity!

 

[Skolnick]

Anybody have any experience with one of these? It would mostly be a small range plinker and maybe and possible part-time CCW.
Any Pro's or Con's with these appreciated.

GREAT pistol series!!!

The model 87 (.22LR with shorter barrel) is accurate, but not as accurate as a target pistol; the model 81 (.32 ACP) is second best in accuracy.

All versions are harder to rack than they should be (but that's not an issue with the model 86).

NEVER had an FTE or FTF with any of the versions. Occasionally, I had a misfire with the 22 version, but there is a second strike capability. I'd say less than 1% required racking the slide to clear the round. I never had a misfire, or any kind of failure, with any of the centerfire versions.

The tip-barrel model 86 does not disassemble readily and is hard to clean.

 

[offthepaper]

Finally "pulled the trigger" (pun intended) on the 85F and very glad I did. Great looking gun, soft recoil, and accurate As stated good DA trigger, but a little extra travel on SA. Fit and finish show typical Beretta pride from he factory. Only drawback is it only came with 1 mag and the mags are pricey. Very nice pistol. Glad I made the purchase though.

 

[Confederate]

Cons: too fat and heavy, 380 caliber, probably too expensive. Pros: kind of nice looking, but otherwise can't think of any unless you just really like it.

As FL-NC said, plus these observations.

First, I can't recall which one had the fat grips/hi-cap and which was the standard grip/standard-cap features, but all FL-NC said plus the gun wasn't known to be very durable over the long haul and seemed to have been overly susceptible to cracks in the frame. Aluminum frames aren't like having polymer frames; some are okay and others not so much.

The gun is beautiful, but as it comes from the factory, it has a stiff, gritty-hard trigger pull, is a bit broad in the beams (heavy on the bottom and light on top) if it's the hi-capacity one, but I think the hi-cap is the Model 84 and that the standard one is the 85; it's far too expensive and one can get a small 9mm for the same if not lower price. A polymer-framed gun would most likely be more durable and easier to fire than the Beretta! With a full load of 14 rounds, the Beretta 85 (if we're talking the hi-cap version) is just a pain to carry.

I love the tiny Beretta Jetfires, the 21, 70S (.22LR) and the 92-series. I'd like the 85 if it were cheaper, had a better action, fired a more potent round and was more durable. For the price of the gun, I could probably get a nice 9mm. Given my choice between the 85 and the 70S/.22LR, I'd take the 70S any day.



Beretta 70S .22LR with a steel frame. This Beretta is superb! I had the blued finish
changed to hard chrome, and it's made the gun highly desirable!




The Beretta "mouse guns" also are one of my all-time favorites.
These little guys are stainless steel w/aluminum frames.

..

 

[bannockburn]

Confederate

Given my choice between the 85 and the 70S/.22LR, I'd take the 70S any day.

You and me both brother!

Beretta 70S .22LR with a steel frame. This Beretta is superb! I had the blued finish
changed to hard chrome, and it's made the gun highly desirable!

Don't you just love it!

 

[Panzerschwein]

Then there's the whole traditional DA/SA format requiring you to shift your grip a bit after that long, first double action pull.

If you have to shift your grip after the DA pull, you need to learn to shoot better.

 

[hemiram]

I've never understood the whole "Switching from DA to SA problem" at all. As long as the DA pull isn't insanely heavy, and I've had a couple of guns that had seriously hard DA pulls, I was OK with them. But I'm weird, I love the Sig DAK trigger. My P220 is just about perfect, IMHO.

 

[Tallball]

I got the double-stack version (Model 84) several years back. It was military surplus and cost me a little over $300. It functions flawlessly and is quite accurate. They are great guns. It is a service pistol, not a pocket gun. The extra size makes the recoil mild. Follow-up shots are quick. Plus it's just fun to shoot.