Egyptian Beretta Clone .. Any Good ?

[SharpDog]

I have a friend that is just starting to shoot pistol. The LGS has a Walther p22 for him which looks good. They also have an inexpensive Egyptian Helwan Maadi Beretta Clone with one magazine.

- Is it any good ?
- Does it take Beretta mags or do the mags take a common spring ?

 

[WestKentucky]

I would skip a helwan. They are decent guns, but they are of questionable metallurgy, and the mag release is kinda funky. As cheap as a used Taurus pt92 is, or a brand new canik I think money could easily be better spent on other guns.

 

[Waveski]

a used Taurus pt92

Good advice. Not much guesswork with a Taurus pt92 , decent gun.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Well, the achilles heel of the Helwan (as well as the M51 and 92 Berettas) is the locking block. For many years, replacements were unobtanium. We had a THR member who made a run of them-
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...beretta-1951s-now.853488/page-2#post-11180124

IF he still has some, and you could get get a spare, and the Helwan is under $250 then its not a bad deal. Otherwise, keep looking.

The Helwan uses the same mags as the M51 Beretta, but even those can be $$ and hard to find.

 

[Rock185]

FWIW, Years ago a gun shop owner told me he got some of those in. He said it seemed like every one he sold broke the locking block....

 

[RON in PA]

If you hate your friend advise him to get the Helwan. Terrible pistol.

 

[Mars5l]

There are alot of places selling surplus Berettas right now if he wants an older Beretta

 

[MedWheeler]

^^ Yep. Here's the 1951 at Bud's for 300 bucks:

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product.../411559417/used_surplus_beretta_m1951_9mm_8+1

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have a friend that is just starting to shoot pistol. The LGS has a Walther p22 for him which looks good. They also have an inexpensive Egyptian Helwan Maadi Beretta Clone with one magazine.

- Is it any good ?
- Does it take Beretta mags or do the mags take a common spring ?

If he's considering a Walther P22, I would think he wants if for recreation, not self defense. In that case, what about a Ruger MK IV -- that gun is hard to beat.

 

[Monac]

Has anyone got any experience with the Helwan Beretta Model 92 copy? I've seen them a couple of times and they interest me.

 

[test drive]

Yes I have used the Helwan that was copied by the Iraqi military back in 2003
We would fined caches of weapons that would have the Iraqi marked Helwans
The lower ranking guys in a squad that was only issued the M16 would grab them up and carry them. We shot the heck out of them and had no problems

 

[Riomouse911]

I’ve had an Interarms Helwan for many years. It’s ok, but it’s truly a third-world military grade knock off.

The sights are poor, the trigger pull is heavy and gritty and parts aren’t available so fixing it if it breaks is really tough. I rarely shoot it.

It is better than a sharp stick, but I would go the used Taurus/Beretta 92 route before plunking down coin on a Helwan.

Stay safe.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I had a real M51 years back and loved it, but it got stolen in a burglary (they took the whole safe ). I would get another were it not for the scarcity of magazines and locking blocks.

 

[MAKster]

The Helwan copies of the Beretta M1951 are poor quality. You can buy a real Beretta M1951 from PSA for $279.99. They also have extra mags.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Beretta+m1951

 

[SharpDog]

Well we settled on an S&W M&P Shield .380 EZ as that is an excellent pistol and also the least expensive one the LGS had in stock. We had earmarked two other models Saturday but they were sold. Shelves are emptying fast. They also had a p238 as well as an FN Tactical 9mm and an M&P 2.0 9mm but they cost more and my friend is very price sensitive. He is a new shooter and he's had problems with the springs on my 9mms we have shot (he also got an uplula). We also wanted to support the LGS.

 

[MedWheeler]

The EZ Shield is a good choice for a defensive pistol, but ammunition cost and availability issues can make it a poor one for a plinker. Hopefully, that wasn't first on his mind. Ammunition in .380 isn't for the "price sensitive", at least, not these days, when compared to .22LR and 9mm Luger.

 

[el Godfather]

My only experience with Egyptian weapon is that of an AK clone. It worked well in all aspects and there was no issue with metallurgy.

On a side note: the more we promote encourage and buy (granted if reliable) cheaper handguns from the lower tier manufacturers the more it will push the main stream boys to improve quality, lower price, and have a responsible customer care service.

 

[5-SHOTS]

The general opinion is that Helwan pistols made for the Egyptian Army are pretty good while the Helwan pistols made for the civilian market are of considerable lower quality.