Beretta Model 81 32 ACP

[Ben]

I drove to my FFL holder this morning and picked up the Beretta, Model 81, 13 shot, .32 Auto .
This one is a " Select Grade " from AIM Surplus .
Obviously , a very low round count pistol.

Ben

 

[Bret4207]

Ooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me likey! Me wanty! Me got no money!!!!!


I'd LOVE one of those!

 

[RicinYakima]

A group of us just finished an article for "The Fouling Shot" that will probably be published Nov/Dec or Jan/Feb. They are $209 and so far everyone has been very nice, but not as good of finish as Ben's.

 

[Ben]

I have zero complaints with the one AIM sent me.
I paid $249 for mine.
Here is the sales add :

 

[RicinYakima]

Please let me know if you find any spare magazines!

 

[Ben]

I have made 5 calls , including Beretta , no luck.................

 

[RicinYakima]

Me too.

don't waste your money on the .380 mags converted to 32 ACP. Waste of time.

 

[Ben]

You'd think if there are a lot of us wanting a magazine that some company would get a few hundred and begin selling.

I've read that getting an 81' magazine in Europe is not a problem.

Ben

 

[Fiddler]

In photo #1 it looks like a pretty big chamfer around the firing pin, hope it doesn't cause problems.

 

[Cherokee]

Great guns. Now I know what you needed the 32 ACP brass for. Have fun.

 

[Bret4207]

I can picture putting an adjustable rear sight on that. I have an older book describing how back in the day there were extra length barrels and slides available for some of the Walthers in 32ACP and how they performed more like a target gun than a pocket pistol.

 

[CZ93X62]

I spoke via PM with Ben a few days back, might as well go public with it--the 32 ACP is a wonderfully-accurate caliber in a good pistol. The USA ammomakers under-load the cartridge and do not take it seriously; Europe does not make those mistakes. I no longer own my Beretta 81, and wish that I still did--it was a jewel. I do have a Walther PP that I dote upon, and it gets fed Lyman #311252 with enough WW-231 to prompt 875-900 FPS.

 

[Ben]

Great guns. Now I know what you needed the 32 ACP brass for. Have fun.

Thanks for helping me Cherokee ! !

 

[RicinYakima]

This has become my favorite "roll the can" pistol; large full size grip but short trigger reach for quick double taps. Perceived recoil is almost zero and little muzzle rise. Took a little research and modification to my normal 32 ACP loading procedure, as these have a CIP specification chambers and not a SAMMI chamber. Think minimum diameter. Tomorrow will be trying out the Accurate 31-084H, a flat nose designed for 32 ACP by Ed Harris with 2.0 grains of SR7625.

 

[Ben]

A .310 cast bullet in my new 81' is " tight ".
A .309" is fine.

Ben

 

[RicinYakima]

Brass wall thickness varies greatly in brands. So few people reload, I don't think the companies care about quality of brass.

 

[Outpost75]

Back when I first got my pistol I logged into Beretta USA website looking for magazines. Got an email the other day that they had them in stock for $48.50 each, with free shipping for $75 minimum order, so I ordered two, which have since been shipped. Everybody I passed the email on to says they were all gone by the time they got the email. I have a mutual friend of Ric's and mine in Italy looking to see what they cost there and how much to ship. Still waiting on that one.

 

[Outpost75]

Brass wall thickness varies greatly in brands. So few people reload, I don't think the companies care about quality of brass.

Much of the Euro brass has a thin mouth only as far as the seating depth for a 73-grain FMJ bullet, then the body wall thickens rapidly below that. You want a cast bullet in which seating depth doesn't exceed that of hardball and which produces a minimum cartridge OAL of 0.945" The Accurate 31-084H works well with 2 grains of Bullseye or TiteGroup.

Accurate 31-084H

 

[fiver]

how is Georgio?

 

[Joshua]

A .310 cast bullet in my new 81' is " tight ".
A .309" is fine.

Ben

Ben,

What mold are you using to feed your 81?

Josh