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I picked up a surplus Beretta Cheetah 81 early 2020. Former Carabinieri, national gendarmerie of Italy pistols traded in, 1970s guns mostly. Caliber is 7.65 aka 32 ACP. Mechanical art! And wow: $220. With an extra magazine and pick of the litter fee (best of any 10), I was in for < $300 plus transfer. Condition was v. good with various service marks. Stock grips were trash.
Thought I’d update the finish: NP3 for steel parts: slide, barrel, trigger, small parts. Alloy frame in Cerakote, Concrete Gray. I like the two-tone, gray and nickel-like finish. All just came in, see below. Final mod will be night sights, the fixed sights are worse than awful.
I shot a couple boxes of 32 ACP today, it handles well and shoots soft like a Walther PP (about the same size and weight). In April I bought a thousand rounds of ammo known to work well, and there is still plenty out there despite the shortages. The cost is “reasonable” by today’s standards, 60gr hollow points. Not exactly up to modern defensive ammo standards, 9mm 125gr JHPs for example.
This is officially an amusing boondoggle project. I'm enjoying these customizations but they aren't frugal, just fun. Assuming the national ammo situation continues, I might train with it over the winter as well. Not something I’d carry until it’s vetted further, though after 100 rounds seems reliable.
I kinda like it.
It would just sit in the safe though.
So back to your original question,
I picked up a pre WW11 Walther.
At a quick glance it looks meh ok at best.
After you realize what it was you would cry.
Some stupid eff hard chromed it.
You can barley read the name and serial numbers.
So now it is just a shooter and it is a good one for what it is.
$250 was a fair price so I got it.
It would have easily been worth 10 times that amount if left alone.
So I own a pre WW11 Walther shooter.
Whooda thunk?
I am a little surprised the 60 grain ammo cycles this gat reliably. The .32 ACP is loaded somewhat hotter in Europe, to CIP standards, and most PP and similar don't cycle reliably with American SAAMI standard ammo, particularly the lighter bullet weights. The Winchester Silvertip, in particular, is fine in say the modern Beretta Tomcat, but the older pre-WWII designs frequently won't cycle with it.
Tasteful upgrades to the old Beretta, I would say. I have a similar one, newer, in .380, bought used, although it looks like new and shows no particular wear.
I have a ton of old milsurp rifles, but I prefer to keep them stock. In fact it's a travesty, I see so many on the market that have been "sporterized", butchered...basically ruining the collector and historic value.
Now, your pistol isn't milsurp or collector I know. But the concept still applies - think moderate and tasteful in modifying the old lady. Some of those old weapons don't have good triggers, you can make a trigger upgrade that is invisible to the eye.
I guess the Carabinieri never used the. 32acp (beretta mod.81), they had the mod.84 9 Corto (380 ACP), and only the officers, not the cops.
Do you say yours is a Carabinieri one, is there any mark on it, I can help with ?
I guess the Carabinieri never used the. 32acp (beretta mod.81), they had the mod.84 9 Corto (380 ACP), and only the officers, not the cops.
Do you say yours is a Carabinieri one, is there any mark on it, I can help with ?
Oh really? I assumed...there's that deadly word! They said "surplus" and "military and police." So there you go. I have little further and made a couple leaps of faith. I don't want to start the infamous caliber wars, but 32 ACP seems like something of a marginal police or military round. Back 'round start of the 20th Century, it was much bigger news. No way the creators of 9×19mm Parabellum (introduced in 1902) could have known it would still be extremely popular more than a *hundred* years later. And 32 ACP ain't dead yet either, mostly for pocket-rockets!
Tons of interesting tool marks on it. I sent off the slide for some real sights at bonkers cost, but the hell with it: it's amusing to shoot these days, as-mentioned, and ammo is available at non-crazed cost (still more than it should be, but it's available). With good sights, it'll be way more fun.
I have a ton of old milsurp rifles, but I prefer to keep them stock. In fact it's a travesty, I see so many on the market that have been "sporterized", butchered...basically ruining the collector and historic value.
Now, your pistol isn't milsurp or collector I know. But the concept still applies - think moderate and tasteful in modifying the old lady. Some of those old weapons don't have good triggers, you can make a trigger upgrade that is invisible to the eye.
I would agree with the above. Half the people are probably rolling their eyes I dandied-up a blued Beretta Cheetah 81, not worth much at the best of times. I just felt like it, hence "boondoggle." The finish was well-worn, stock, but it functions fine and the barrel and parts seemed good as-received, see below.
NP3 slicks up the action and (I think) reliability. Definitely the durability. I have a custom 1911 Commander, built to my specs, in NP3 that has AFAIK *never* failed to feed. That is weird but I'll take it. So far so good on my Cheetah, but 100 rounds isn't definitive.
I could have had one of the various all-black coatings put in it, to make it similar to stock. Nah, I like the finish of NP3 and Cerakote serves me well on a rifle discussed elsewhere.
The wonky grips are way thinner than stock, and the stock looked like trash. THAT was the most practical update...so to speak...done so far. When the night sights are done, that will be a close second.
While I'm not 100% certain... I think you can purchase a .380/9mm kurz barrel and magazines for it and convert it to a .380 acp?
Beats me. Sounds like something I'll explore in the future, maybe. 32 ACP is soft, and amusing, whereas 380 ACP according to "some" is within the realm of "real" defensive cartridge and I'm sure it will bark a lot louder and harder. Oh well: now that I know this, I'll think on it later....and do some research.
How to turn a $200 surplus pistol into an $800 project. Rest of the story...
See Previous:some time ago, I picked up a used Beretta Mod. 81 Cheetah. Yeah, it's 32 ACP: a little caliber that definitely shoots well though how "useful" may be up for debate.
I liked how this pistol shot, stock. Couple changes seemed in order, cosmetic and functional. Well, it's "done." What: 1) NP3 on the slide, barrel, and most internals 2) Cerakote on the frame, Concrete Gray 3) Wonky-looking grips, improvement over the worn stockers in terms of look and feel 4) Night sights (Tritium) 5) Fresh grip screws from Beretta.
There is no justification per-se for spending what I did...my philosophy here being if you find a pistol you like, make a few updates. These historically interesting Berettas are mechanical art, though Cheetahs and the 92 series seems mostly obsolete at this point.
Tons of fun, in this time of extreme ammo shortage...can't shoot it for any reasonable price, might as well spruce it up!
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