Beretta 1934 compared to Cheeta?

[cc-hangfire]

Could someone who has experience with both the Beretta 1934 and the Cheeta (models 83, 84, 85) give a comparison of these two .380acp pistols?

I can see the obvious differences in safeties & mag releases, and know the 84 is higher capacity since it's double stack. How does shootabiliy compare? Field strip and maintenance needs? Ammo preferences? Other notable differences?

I just started paying attention to Beretta's .380acp family (or 9mm corto). I find it interesting that they were producing both models simultaneously in the period from 1976 through 1991 since they would fill the same basic niche. (I suppose the Italian army didn't want to update their arsenal inventory till they switched to the model 92.)

 

[BlindJustice]

Interesting story about one Beretta 1934

A good friend, Jogn, told me he had a cousin who is a bit older
give him a beretta 1934. He had gotten it from John's father
inn the 1950s.. John's father had been on a bomber mission
in the mediterreanean / Army Air Corps WWII. The plane
had to divert to Morocco The crew was interned John's father
became friends with a 'guard' Ended up sending home the '34
Beretta piece by piece in '44/'45..

R-

 

[Old Dog]

The 1934 is a nice little collector's gun. Mine is of post-war, commercial manufacturing with excellent bluing, quite pretty. However, the single-action (only) trigger is incredibly hard (actually, it's horrible). Carry mode is problematic -- Condition 3 is the best answer. Accuracy is mediocre. The sights are miniscule and my geezer eyes have a lot of trouble with them. The hooked magazines are tricky, get dirty easily and are hard to find. Mine chokes on pretty much any JHPs except for the cheaper Remingtons. The heel magazine release is ... well, clearly not user-friendly for quick reloads.

The Cheetah, on the other hand, has only slightly better sights (the recent models with the 3-dots are somewhat better), a longer barrel, a functioning safety, frame-mounted mag-release, longer stocks to achieve a much better grip, better SA pulls (still heinous DA pull). For a pistol that one would actually carry, or use much, the Cheetah is a much better answer.

 

[Monac]

cc_hangfire, I don't understand what you mean when you say "they [Beretta] were producing both models simultaneously in the period from 1976 through 1991". IIRC, Beretta slightly updated the Model 1934 into the Model 948, then introduced an entirely new single action/single stack 380 (the Jaguar) in the 1950's or 60's. The animal names were dropped at some point, and the Jaguar became the Model 70.

I guess it is odd they were making both a single action and a double action 380, but the Model 84 Cheetah started out as a bulky double stack pistol while the Model was a flat, light gun which was better for concealed carry. The 84/Cheetah was a fine gun, but a bit of an oddball, IMO. There were very few other high-cap 380 autos, possibly because people who were going to carry a gun that bulky usually wanted more power than 380.

Also, the Italian Army abandoned .380 at least as far back as the early 1950's. That's when they adopted the Beretta 951 in 9mm Parabellum. The 951 is also known as the M1951 or the Brigadier.

 

[Billy Shears]

I acquired one of those Beretta Model 70s, but it came with an aftermarket magazine, and feed reliability is imperfect. I am trying to find a factory mag, which I suspect will cure the problem, but they are extremely hard to find, and when one does come up for sale, expensive! I let one get away that I should have jumped on, and I haven't found one for sale since.

 

[guyfromohio]

My 34 ate my hand like a fat kid at a pancake festival. Horrible slide bite. Cool gun though.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Cheetahs are to 380's as a pre-64 Winchester is to 30-06. A much more shootable and accurate gun and it's almost impossible to jam. The Beretta 34 will feel like it kicks more because there is less contact surface with your hand (narrower), and it won't be as accurate (barrel is shorter). The 34 will also desire ball ammo as a steady diet while the Cheetah can handle a more varied diet. Both are easy to break down.

 

[Tallball]

I used to have what seemed to be more or less a clone or copy of the 1934. I currently have an 84.

They are night and day. The 84 is a modern weapon and is still as good as anything out there for a 380 service weapon. The 1934 was a somewhat updated WW1 pistol that was arguably obsolescent when new.

 

[Deaf Smith]

I have a WW2 1934 made in 1941. No import marks on it. Original mag (plus I have a few spares.)

The safety, if you call it that, above the trigger guard, only blocks the trigger. So usually I don't use it.

Very simple to take apart. Very robust. Quite accurate to boot.

The Cheetah, in 83 and 85 versions, is pretty much the same size but excellent safeties! Can be carried cocked and locked to boot.

So if you intend to CCW one, pick the 83 or 85. If you want to shoot a fun WW2 gun, the 1934 is the gun to get. I think I paid $200 for mine years ago at Gander Mountain (of all places.)

Deaf

 

[phil dirt]

A model 34 Beretta is the only gun I have ever fired in self defense. It saved my hide from a German Shepard. This was at night, and the muzzle flash was enormous. The bullet was a warning shot that hit right between his front legs splashing him with mud and gravel. He did a summersault pirouette and took off down the road like I'd thrown scalding water on him. I still have that gun, 50 years later.

 

[cc-hangfire]

Thanks for the feedback folks. And apparently I need to do some more study on the progression of models.

 

[Monac]

A gunsmith and writer named J. B. Wood wrote a good book about Beretta pistols in 1985, and updated it in 2005. I only have the 1985 edition, but it is good on all the Beretta pistols up to that year, and the 2005 revision seems to be well thought of on Amazon. Unfortunately, this is reflected in their prices on Amazon, because both are expensive: $37.61 for the 1985 book and $84.99 (!) for the 2005 revised edition. You might hunt around other used book websites or local used bookstores to see if you can find a better price.

There are Beretta pistol books by Masaad Ayoob and Gene Gangarosa, but their focus seems to be mainly on current Beretta pistols, like the Model 92.

 

[guyfromohio]

I also have the 84 which is on my never-sell shelf in the safe. An excellent shooter. I believe mind is the older F model. Extremely accurate and easy to shoot. I believe it to be one of the best .380s ever made.

 

[kBob]

For carry TODAY I would go with one of the modern Double actions over a 1934.....but boy is that pre WWII design gun fun on the range!

I did carry it in the deep dark past generally in a shoulder holster or inside the belt, or coat pocket, in a slightly modified pocket protector type eye glasses case. I carried with chamber loaded and on half cock......see every one was young and dumb at some point and some of us did live past 60.

The only ammo I ever had problems with was that awful blue box S&W marked stuff, but then every .380 pistol I knew of at the time had issues with it. While I shot mostly commercial FMJ I also shot Super Vel JHPs in it and carried those.

The 1934 has the Beretta ejector that over hangs the mag well so the round in the magazine is pre positioned forward before the slide starts forward motion, I suspect this is why most people (there are always exceptions to every thing it seems) claim they feed about anything commercially available. I believe the later Berettas also have this feature.

It was the most accurate of the .380 pistols in my crowd (we swapped so it was not just me) and that included Walther PPks and PPk and Astra Constable and a number of Star clones and Stars and a Llama.

The 1934 was also made of steel and had some heft to it.

-kBob

 

[bannockburn]

Never had a Model 1934 but have a Model 70S and use to own a Model 84 and 85. The Model 70S in .22LR is one of my all-time favorites for just about anything. It's the perfect Kit Gun version in a semi-auto and is both incredibly reliable with any ammo and surprisingly accurate with a great set of sights and a very clean single action trigger. It has a nice thumb safety (provided your right handed), and is very easy to field strip for routine maintenance.

Only drawback, and no fault of the gun itself, is that quality magazines are hard to come by. I did find a spare factory magazine (I think it was for a Model 100), that works in my Model 70S but it's slightly longer. I eventually found a spacer off another Beretta magazine and put it on the .22LR magazine to make it look a little more finished.

The Model 84 I had was also a very reliable gun but the double column magazine made it a bit more difficult for concealed carry so I used it mainly as my home defense gun. Sights were somewhat on the small side and the double action trigger was long and heavy; single action worked just fine. The Model 85 also shared the same trigger nuances as the Model 84 and while it was easier to carry concealed (single column magazine), it was to my way of thinking a bit large for a .380. It had slightly better sights than the Model 84 and was extremely reliable as well. Both guns are easy to disassemble for cleaning.

 

[oneounceload]

My 34 ate my hand like a fat kid at a pancake festival. Horrible slide bite. Cool gun though.

Same here - my FIL brought it back from WWII, marked 1943 and bites so bad neither of us will shoot it; wife prefers my G26