The Cheetah 86 I have was not meant to be broken down by anyone other than a gunsmith (says Beretta's handbook). So all the regular maintenace I have done was cleaning as best I could every spot I could get to without removing the slide, then get it reoiled and fresh again. I now have 1k rounds in it and it runs great, always has. When should I take it in to get cleaned? And that really chaps my hide I have to take it in for that. I mean, that's like taking my truck to the overpriced dealership or the morons at Joe's Garage, just for a simple oil change and costs an arm and leg, not to mention I don't like anyone working on my truck I don't know. I do my own oil changes as well as any work on my truck. I wish I could do it on my gun too
If I thought it wasn't too tough, I'd do it myself...but no directions on how to do so. Has anyone broken down an 86? Seen it done? Heard about it? etc... What does it entail?
I might go take it for an estimate or whatnot from the gun shop. But I was just hoping to find out how its done.
Sounds like a spring retains the barrel axis pin. With that out, the barrel and then slide can be removed.
I have a little pop up model 21, and can see how you might be able to clean the thing pretty thoroughly without slide removal. Since removal may require replacing the retainer spring, I would be inclined to leave it be unless it becomes unreliable.
On a sadder note, it does not appear that Beretta is still producing this excellent weapon. At least they still make the .32 with the same barrel system, but this really was the perfect weapon for those lacking hand strength.
Thanks for the link. It would be my luck I'd have to replace something if I did get it apart
You're right about being able to clean it thoroughly for the limitations. Normally I'll tip up the barrel, then rotate the barrel release back to the closed position, then pull back and lock the slide open and I have some good room to work with. I can get the tighter areas cleaned up with a good Hoppe's soaked Qtip. I might just wait until I'm having trouble before taking it apart.
You know, I saw that Beretta would be no longer producing the 86. I was going through their catalog but I couldn't find the 86 listed. I thought maybe it was an OE surfing through links. But a quick check on the Beretta Forum and that stop-production was confirmed. It's unfortunate, it's a neat little pistol. I'm glad I got one when I did. Last year around this time I was reading a letter to the editor in Guns & Ammo mag during a long flight. The guy mentioned his disabilities and whatnot and the 86 was suggested to him. Of course, I took the info and ran with it myself. It was a random needle in a haystack but it's what got me back into shooting.
If you can remove the grips, I'd consider using a spray product to flush out the frame. I've melted one set of grips, so I'm a bit leery of doing that again.
Or if you want to invest the money, Cylinder and Slide's Dunk-It looks like a good product.
