TTv2
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That's fine, the Tomcat pretty much is a cancer to the .32 caliber pistol.
Beretta 21 Bobcat 22LR opinions?
- Thread starter Elkins45
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usp9
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For that price I'd buy one. If considering it for carry you may want to think about a .25acp or .32acp model IMHO. Yes, the sights are a weak feature but it's a point and shoot gun, so why worry?
TTv2
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The .32 is quite a bit larger and for .25, if a DA/SA action is what the OP is looking for, there's only two I know of the Beretta model 20 and Walther TPH. Beretta is no longer made, the TPH is pricey.
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Coyote3855
Member
Bond's first handgun was a Beretta 418, .25 ACP. He was reluctant to replace it with a Walther PPK even though Q said of the PPK "it hits like a brick through a plate glass window."
Also if you limit the 32 to the recommended 130 ft lb ammunition and then you subtract the velocity loss because the 130 ft lb recommendation is factory ratings and factory rating is a 4" barrel.
You don't have anywhere near enough oomph to have any expansion.
You're basically then at a .312 ice pic vs a .223 IMHO neither is outstanding but the fact that ammo and practice is about 10x cheaper with a 22, the bobcat makes more sense as a pocket plinker.
crestoncowboy
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I watched the movies. All prior to goldeneye when I was in high-school. Can't say I'm a huge fan. Lol. If not for the goldeneye game I probably wouldn't have even bothered .
wnycollector
Member
I have shot a few Bobcats over the years. Nice little guns in my opinion. I owned a Beretta 950BS and still own a Taurus PT22 Poly as well as a bunch of other mouse 25's. Both of the tip up barrel pistols run great when clean but had issues once they got dirty. My youngest now carries the 950BS as his pocket carry.
kBob
Member
So In the late 1980’s the Beretta M-21a WAS hot. A bud had one and after shooting his I got one.
35 years ago I could see the sights, if the lighting was right.
Bud did the opposite of everyone else with his sights he painted that round hole on the back of the slide a sort of yellowish white ( the paint was some sort of glow in the dark stuff which he thought might find it in the dark) So when he pointed the pistol he had a whitish dot with the rear sight notch at noon and that little “black” front sight sticking up over the white “ball” It worked for him.
With my then eyes and firing SA I could hit a full sized “Silly-Wet” a bit over half the time… from a roll over prone or off a bag on a table.
As it got shot it got less reliable over the years and I got told by so many that a.22LR was pointless. I got a chance to handle a KelTec P32 and to drop it in my pocket … and the Beretta M-21a moved to the sock drawer.
Mind you the sights on the Original P32 ARE worse than the Beretta M21a, but no one now tells me how useless the .22LR is… nope just how useless the .32 ACP is!
Maybe it is time to look under the socks.
-kBob
35 years ago I could see the sights, if the lighting was right.
Bud did the opposite of everyone else with his sights he painted that round hole on the back of the slide a sort of yellowish white ( the paint was some sort of glow in the dark stuff which he thought might find it in the dark) So when he pointed the pistol he had a whitish dot with the rear sight notch at noon and that little “black” front sight sticking up over the white “ball” It worked for him.
With my then eyes and firing SA I could hit a full sized “Silly-Wet” a bit over half the time… from a roll over prone or off a bag on a table.
As it got shot it got less reliable over the years and I got told by so many that a.22LR was pointless. I got a chance to handle a KelTec P32 and to drop it in my pocket … and the Beretta M-21a moved to the sock drawer.
Mind you the sights on the Original P32 ARE worse than the Beretta M21a, but no one now tells me how useless the .22LR is… nope just how useless the .32 ACP is!
Maybe it is time to look under the socks.
-kBob
kBob
Member
That is hit half the time at 100 yards! Hitting at the more realistic 3 to 7 yards was easy
Sorry a late supper confused me!
-kBob
I bought a .32 bobcat once before the new era of compact carry guns came out. What a pile of junk. On the second box of ammo a spring popped out from under the grip and rendered it useless. One of the few guns I ever sold. I much rather have my Ruger 38lcp when I need a mouse gun (tee shirt/shorts carry)
Y'all inspired me to dig out the 21A and give it a go at the range. The sights aren't as crisp as when I bought it, and it's not the gun's fault. 
But, at 7 yards you could ruin someone's day in a hurry with some CCI Stingers. (First shot fired double action.)
But, at 7 yards you could ruin someone's day in a hurry with some CCI Stingers. (First shot fired double action.)I don't doubt that at all, if you can see the tiny sights well enough to get them lined up they're very accurate.
I shot mine in our informal 22 league we shoot the B34 reduced and shoot 15 rounds at 7 yards 20 rounds at 15 yards and 15 rounds at 25 yards no support.
snowman357
Member
I own 2 mine and one I inherited from my father. They are really handing for caring when you feel lazy. They are more accurate than you would think. They have no extractor, will not work good with lower powered 22 ammo, use hot 22 ammo the extraction is from blow back. It's a great front pocket gun.
i bought a beretta 21 almost 40 years ago with two factory mags. never got it to function reliably even after two gunsmiths looked at it.
had a ruger lcp22. was expecting a 2/3 sized sr22, but obviously its based on the lcp platform which i dislike in 380acp. wasn’t a smooth tool, for me.
have a jimenez 22. okay to pop cans but certainly wouldn’t bet my life on it.
despite the caliber’s small footprint, 22lr needs a larger platform to work well as a handgun, for me. so despite how much i enjoy rimfire, 22lr cannot serve as a pocket pistol, for me. ymmv.
had a ruger lcp22. was expecting a 2/3 sized sr22, but obviously its based on the lcp platform which i dislike in 380acp. wasn’t a smooth tool, for me.
have a jimenez 22. okay to pop cans but certainly wouldn’t bet my life on it.
despite the caliber’s small footprint, 22lr needs a larger platform to work well as a handgun, for me. so despite how much i enjoy rimfire, 22lr cannot serve as a pocket pistol, for me. ymmv.
I have experience with the Beretta and Taurus PT-22, both were very unreliable. Now folks can get lucky and try many kinds of ammo to get one to run. I wouldn't trust one. With good options in 380, I wouldn't get one. If I wanted a very small 22 LR - I would get a NAA Mini - they don't jam up but tthey are what they are - a OMG, scenario, not a primary EDC.
jar
Contributing Member
I've had good luck with both my Beretta 21 and the Taurus PT22Poly. But my Ruger LCPII Lite Rack and Walther PPK/s are less ammo sensitive. But it's my S&W Kit gun that gets the most 22LR WalkAbout time.
OP
OP
Elkins45
Member
I can’t find a source to verify that. I did find a Reddit post that some of the color variations are being discontinued, but not the model 21 entirely.
halfmoonclip
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The 950 is the way to go with the little Berettas. I had a .22 short for practice, and a .25 for carry, back in the day when there weren't better options. Both (even the .22) were remarkably reliable. I can't say the .22s that weren't blown out were much of a problem; popping the barrel usually tossed them out.
The tip-barrels were the easiest guns ever to make safe.
Moon
The tip-barrels were the easiest guns ever to make safe.
Nah, the Pico gets that prize. The trigger pull requires two men and a boy to get it to go off, and Beretta won't service them when they break parts. Which they do, frequently.
Moon
zaitcev
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Hopefully this will be a life lesson for you never to visit Reddit
Beretta USA on Instagram: "In the world of pocket pistols, there are icons, and then there’s the Beretta 3032 Tomcat and Beretta 21A Bobcat. Secure your piece of history as 2023 marks the final year of production for these models. Act now and click
2,744 likes, 42 comments - beretta_usa on December 8, 2023: "In the world of pocket pistols, there are icons, and then there’s the Beretta 3032 Tomcat and B..."
www.instagram.com
Shivahasagun
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Good gun in .25. Same goes for the 950's.
Not very reliable in .22lr.
Have owned many.
M21A .22lr is a little more reliable with a suppressor.
Not very reliable in .22lr.
Have owned many.
M21A .22lr is a little more reliable with a suppressor.
Shivahasagun
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In Fleming's books, they take Bonds 418 (He has the 418 through books 1-6) and give him a S&W Airweight .38 snub AND a PPK in 7.65mm. (.32)
He uses the .38 first in Dr. No. Ends up getting captured. He has the PPK next time. (Funny, he reloads the .38 a couple times while he's shooting at the "dragon" from behind a dune. How does he? With loose rounds in a draw-string sack of course! So sophisticated!)
He also uses a "Long barrel Colt .45 Army" deployed from his car a few times.
Uses plenty of guns taken from bad guys, too, often .38's.
halfmoonclip
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I recall his CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter, has a J-frame, but didn't realize Bond ever carried one.
Scored a minty 418 at a local shop; it is remarkably flat, and nicely made. I don't recall any parts falling off when removing the grips, as Bond does to make the gun even flatter. In a bit of shooting, it has been reliable, but it was a grits and shins purchase.
Moon
