Beretta 81 and 82

J

JJNA

New member
Is it possible to order and buy NIB Beretta 81 and 82 today?

I see that the Beretta 81FS is still listed on the Beretta website, but it is NOT on the Beretta USA site.
 
Your best bet is to call them directly, I thought they had stopped making them though.:mad: they may still have them for countries where owning a military round weapon is illegal.
 
They stopped importing Cheetahs last year, I believe. Even before then I don't recall seeing the .32 ACP versions for sale.
 
They stopped importing Cheetahs last year, I believe.
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Yep. Sad that the finest full-size .380/.32 platform produced is no longer being sold here.

OP, you might take a look at the classifieds section on berettaforum.net. I've seen ads for different unfired/LNIB Cheetahs there recently. And you could always post your own "want to buy" ad.
 
It breaks my heart that they stopped importing Cheetahs just a year before I finally finished school and got a job. I can still get one, but for a lot more money now.

I'll probably pony up for a stainless Cheetah with wood grips, NIB or LNIB, at some point. My wallet is already flinching, but my God, there has never been a nicer .380 in my eyes.
 
It breaks my heart that they stopped importing Cheetahs just a year before I finally finished school and got a job. I can still get one, but for a lot more money now.

I'll probably pony up for a stainless Cheetah with wood grips, NIB or LNIB, at some point. My wallet is already flinching, but my God, there has never been a nicer .380 in my eyes.
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Hey LB, just be aware that the non-Bruniton Cheetahs are actually nickel instead of stainless when you're ready to spring for one. Still beautiful, but definitely a more delicate finish. The pre-F versions were made with a blued finish (and some sort of polished finish over the anodizing on the frame), like this 84BB, and pop up now and again on Gunbroker and berettaforum.

 
Argh.

As a young man, I could not afford all these guns. Now that I am older and affluent, I can't find the guns I want at almost any price!
 
Thanks, AustinTX. How much sacrilege would it be to grab a worn 84 and get it Robar NP3+ finished?
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I say go for it! If you had a pristine older model, I would probably cringe at the thought, but refinishing a finish-worn 84 with an attractive, durable, high-quality finish like NP3+ sounds like a great idea to me. In fact, I'm thinking I might have to pick up an 84 with finish wear on GB and copy your idea at some point. :)

I don't know if you have a particular preference as to the squared or rounded trigger guard, safety/decocker vs. safety only, etc., but I just thought I'd be the devil on your shoulder and let you know that there are a ton of 84BBs with some finish wear on GB for $279 to $299 right now (the same seller has ones lower priced than these as well, but they seem to have deeper dings in the frame, etc., that a refinish might not completely hide).
 
AustinTX- the metal is simply polished, then anodized. There is nothing on top of the finish.
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Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification, Bill. For some reason I thought anodizing naturally produced a rough/matte texture on its own, but I suppose that's just because it's being done to unpolished aluminum (these days).
 
So with these Cheetahs, how do the various lettered variants differ?

From what I gather:

1. No letter: no internal firing pin safety (not drop safe?).
2. B: firing pin safety
3. BB:?
4. F: safety/decocker combination; recurved trigger guard.
5. FS: F + slide retention device?

Do I have that right?
 
So with these Cheetahs, how do the various lettered variants differ?

From what I gather:

1. No letter: no internal firing pin safety (not drop safe?).
2. B: firing pin safety
3. BB:?
4. F: safety/decocker combination; recurved trigger guard.
5. FS: F + slide retention device?

Do I have that right?
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You've got several of the major differences, but no 81 Series pistol has a slide retention mechanism. Here are the other major functional and cosmetic differences (with the ones you listed included), all of which also apply to the 84/85 series of pistols. Succeeding models retain all of the characteristics of preceding models unless otherwise noted:

(1) 81/82: no internal firing pin safety; ambi safety blocks sear; smooth front and back straps; blued slide and barrel; glossy anodized frame; smooth and rounded walnut grips with no logo/medallion
(2) 81B/82B: automatic firing pin safety; ambi safety also disconnects trigger; grooved front and back straps; smooth walnut grips with flattened sides and added medallion; wider rear sight dovetail
(3) 81BB/82BB: slightly heavier/thicker slide; more slide serrations; slide flats slightly recessed/indented above safety (see my photo); larger diameter guide rod and recoil spring; checkered walnut grips; dot-and-post sights
(4) 81F/82F: safety-decocker; squared trigger guard; Bruniton finish instead of blued; matte anodized frame; chrome-lined barrel introduced; hammer size reduced; no half-cock position; different slide notch at safety (full cut-out); full slide-catch notch reduced to groove in underside of the slide (not visible from side view); plastic grips
(5) 81FS/82FS: internal modifications to components of safeties resulting in a more "positive" feel to safety-decocker
 
AustinTX, thank you for that detailed reply. So how "drop safe" is the no lettered versions? How safe are they in general without the firing pin block? Safe enough to carry?
 
No problem, JJNA! I haven't heard of any instances of a no-letter version firing when dropped, but that certainly doesn't mean it hasn't happened, and it definitely appears physically possible from a sufficiently hard impact. Beretta evidently thought it enough of a liabilty to redesign the gun with the safety added.

Whether the lack of a firing-pin safety is enough to dissuade you from carrying a gun is really a personal decision. I personally would not carry a gun without a FPS, especially when the same gun with a FPS exists, but there are plenty of people out there who carry their pre-Series 80-style 1911s (no FPS, not drop-safe) despite this risk.
 
Was any Beretta 81 or 82 in the FS configuration ever imported in the U.S.?

I've only sees ONE Beretta 81 (no letter) for sale anywhere. I've never seen an 81 or 82 B, BB, F or FS version for sale.

I'd pay a good premium for an 81 or 82 FS! But I can't find one.

For that matter, I've never seen an 87 FS either.
 
Mac75, you responded to a 2-year-old "necro" thread. :)

Beretta is notorious for importing Series 81 pistols in fits and starts with little notice. In late 2014, when the thread was originally written, IIRC importation of all Series 81 pistols had been indefinitely suspended for almost a year. Also, AFAIK the 81 and 82 had not been imported in quantity since the 1980s, although the Beretta Forum Series 81 FAQ reports that 81F's with 1996 proof marks have been spotted in the wild in the United States, so a small batch was presumably imported at some point.

However, as I write this in late 2016, the 81FS DOES appear to be available from a number of vendors, along with the 84FS and 85FS.
 
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