Beretta 21A .25ACP Ammo Restrictions?

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Skarekrow88

New member
I picked up what looks to be a very-seldom-fired Bobcat in .25acp today at my LGS mainly to just add to the collection of my Beretta pocket pistols but it also seems like it'll be fun to shoot. I have two Tomcats and I know you aren't supposed to use anything in them that has over 130ft/lbs of muzzle energy which includes Sellier & Bellot 7.65 Browning ammo. The only available ammo I can find for the .25acp Bobcat I just picked up is some S&B stuff but I wasn't sure if the .25acp Bobcat had the same kind of ammo restrictions as the Tomcat does. It came with the box and I found no warning like the one that came with my two Tomcats. Will it be ok to run any .25acp ammo through it that I find?
 
I have a used .32 Tomcat and was not aware of issue with hot loads. Thanks for the heads up. Mine was made in 1998 so I it is before they beefed up the frame.
 
I used to have a .25 Bobcat...it would feed and shoot anything that had 25 on the rim.
PS...the MecGar magazine for the .25 Bobcat holds an extra round...
 
It will be fine.
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I figured but thanks for the affirmation

I have a used .32 Tomcat and was not aware of issue with hot loads. Thanks for the heads up. Mine was made in 1998 so I it is before they beefed up the frame.
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Yeah even the newer ones that have been "beefed up" come with an index card sized warning in the box saying dont use anything that has over 130ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle. Glad I could bring that to light for you.

I used to have a .25 Bobcat...it would feed and shoot anything that had 25 on the rim.
PS...the MecGar magazine for the .25 Bobcat holds an extra round...
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Good to know. Those magazines are sold out on MecGar's site, hopefully not discontinued, but I found one on eBay and another site. Thanks for the tip
 
They've been making .25's out of pot metal going back to the 70s and those can last a good while before failing, so a Beretta will last a lifetime in .25 ACP.

The .32 Tomcat is a caliber that's too much for the pop up barrel design and the pistol is meant to be a pocket gun, but I think it's wider than some of the polymer 9mm single stacks out there. Really a miss by Beretta on that pistol and one they should consider dropping.
 
are there even any considerably differences within .25 acp in terms of ME? They all seem to range between 64 and 66 ft lbs regardless of FMJ or JHP, so no big difference. Only GECO states "68 joules", which would equal only 50 ft lbs. But honestly, I reckon they simply had a mix-up with metric and imperial measures there...
 
They've been making .25's out of pot metal going back to the 70s and those can last a good while before failing, so a Beretta will last a lifetime in .25 ACP.
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Didnt think about that fact, good point.

.The .32 Tomcat is a caliber that's too much for the pop up barrel design and the pistol is meant to be a pocket gun, but I think it's wider than some of the polymer 9mm single stacks out there. Really a miss by Beretta on that pistol and one they should consider dropping.
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I agree that .32acp is teetering the line of being too much for the design, and a little wide for a pocket gun but I wouldnt say its a total miss. I think they're handsome and fun little guns to shoot and make a good carhartt jacket pocket gun for taking out the trash or getting the newspaper etc. There are definitely better options out there but if that was all I was considering when buying a gun then I wouldn't have very many.

are there even any considerably differences within .25 acp in terms of ME? They all seem to range between 64 and 66 ft lbs regardless of FMJ or JHP, so no big difference.
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Wasn't sure of the answer to this which was why I asked what I did. Good to know that there isnt a wide range though.
 
.25 acp ammo is loaded light because of the pot metal guns out there. a .25 acp 50gr. FMJ should be doing about 800 fps from a 2" bbl.
 
I was packing my Tomcat with Fiocchi 60 GR SJHP, but only shot a few rounds. Looks like it may be too hot. I guess I'll shoot it up in my Beretta 81.

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"...out of pot metal..." Nobody makes any kind of firearm out of "pot metal". Mind you, the SS used to make pots, anywhere but in China, is pretty high grade stuff.
Firearms being made out of "pot metal" is a myth.
.25 ACP is light because it islight. SAAMI says its Max pressure is 25,000 PSI. Both .32 S&W Long and .380 ACP have lower SAAMI spec Max pressures.
Fiocchi brand will be slightly different because they load to CIP spec not SAAMI.
 
The term "pot metal" is an old one, and it refers to cast iron- which pots and pans were made of. Cheap guns had cast iron frames. It's certainly not a myth.

The term has evolved-meaning "cheap metal," which now commonly refers to zinc and zinc alloys. Zinc would melt if a pot were made from it. Many modern guns are made of zinc alloys. Most are low-tier guns like Hi Points.
 
I was packing my Tomcat with Fiocchi 60 GR SJHP, but only shot a few rounds. Looks like it may be too hot. I guess I'll shoot it up in my Beretta 81.
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I picked up a box of those myself for my Tomcats but after looking up the muzzle energy I found that they are in fact too hot at 161ft/lbs of muzzle energy. I kept them for my Vz.61 so hopefully it will cycle them although I've read they typically don't like hollow points.

Also it looks like your Tomcat is one of the older models they produced before they "beefed" them up with the stainless models. Definitely don't break that 130ft/lbs rule with yours.
 
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