Beretta Model 1934

T

Targetman

New member
Hello all, new poster here. My 91 yr old uncle just gave me a Beretta Model 1934 380 Cal pistol. It was a bring back from WWII. Condition is excellent and fires and runs all FMJ ammo from any manufacture. It's easy to fieldstrip and reassemble and I have enjoyed firing it for the past few weeks. I have been looking online for an answer to my question of whether it is safe to dryfire this pistol with no results. What are the general thoughts on this forum regarding dry firing this pistol? Thanks.
 
^^^ Ditto. I have not heard of any particular problem with Beretta 1934 firing pins breaking—in fact, most knowledgeable enthusiasts seem to categorize the 1934/1935/934/Cougar series as over-engineered and thus extremely durable due to the low-powered cartridges they use—but my general rule is to always use snap caps when dry-firing anything that's been out of production for more than about 30 years. It's cheap insurance.

Also, in case you haven't heard this before, the pistol is designed to have the slide locked back manually with the thumb safety during reloading. IIRC this was an original Italian military design specification for some historically obscure reason. Doing this will prevent the slide from slamming shut when the magazine is removed with the slide locked back. (If you were wondering why it does this, it's NOT broken – to use the computer programming catchphrase, it's a feature, NOT a bug. :))
 
That pistol, like many pocket size pistols (including the Colts and Brownings), does not have a slide stop; unlike the others, though, its slide locks back on the magazine follower when the magazine is empty. If the magazine is then removed without manually locking the slide back with the safety, the slide will move forward. No harm is done, but then you have to retract the slide to chamber the first round from the full magazine.

That is a very rugged pistol; it will stand up to about anything short of putting it on a railroad track for trains to run over.

Jim
 
I've dry fired a Modelo 1934 plenty without any negative results. I would, however, probably buy a replacement pin if you want to pound the heck out of the gun dryfiring and while you're at it, replacing the firing pin spring and recoil spring. Even if all your parts are good, they will eventually wear out. Numrich has the parts now, but regularly sell out of things so you may be out of luck down the road. They have what you need now so I'd go ahead and take the plunge. Great pistol, by the way. They are very tough and excellent shooters.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/AutoPistols-35387/1934-34796.htm
 
Thanks guys, I just received from Gun Parts Corp a recoil spring, firing pin spring, and a mag catch spring. will use these to freshen up my new treasure. I may go ahead and get a firing pin and a replacement magazine while they are still available. I remember shooting this pistol when I was a teenager. My uncle would come in on leave from the Airforce and he would break out the little Beretta saying, "ya wanna shoot some?" He was and is still the greatest uncle. I am now 61 and he is 91 and I always look forward to visiting him. He is a veteran of WWII, Korea, And 2 tours on Vietnam. He retired in 1971 with 26 yr service. He can still tell some stories from D-Day to Vietnam!!!
 
I have a close friend who inherited a 1934 from his father, who had fought his way up the Italian peninsula and talked little about it except to say to his son that he had seen and done terrible things. It had been in a drawer for decades, but my friend and I sat down and cleaned it up and it shot well. Not having encountered them before, I thought it interesting that it was marked with a second date in Roman numerals indicating the year of the "Fascist Era."

I have snap caps for every centerfire caliber I own, and I use them regularly. They are a very small investment and they essentially cause the pistol to work in the way it was designed instead of being subjected to unanticipated stresses. I put them in the "can't hurt, might help" category.
 
Maybe I've been wrong all these years, but I was raised to never dry fire anything. A snap cap is your best friend.
 
My army issue 1934 has been shot and dry fired for seventy years and is still ticking, not a plesant pistol to shoot as it barks and recoils more than more modern designs. The 1934 has always been looked upon as a real work horse that will fire under the most adverse conditions, and look good doing it.
 
Great information guys. This Beretta 1934 must be a pre-war manufacture as the second line of info on the slide reads...GARDONE V.T. 1936--XIV. It also has a crown over R.E on the frame below the hammer. Serial no is fairly low for this model.....5327xx. Any comments or additional information is appreciated. I have been gleaning some information off the internet but the Firing Line forum members are awesome for their information. I have been lurking in the background for a few years and am amazed how much I have learned just by following threads.
 
Your Uncle does sound like a Great Man, makes your little Beretta that much more of a treasure. I had a wonderful Uncle who was in the Texas Border patrol and introduced me to the joys of shooting a revolver as a pre-teen young man. It was really special when he would sign out a S&W K frame 22 from the armory for the weekend. Other guns I remember were a long barreled Colt 38 (Police Positive?) and his pretty 4" Model 66 Smith. Great memories!
 
R.E. stands for Regio Esercito, or Royal Army. (At that time, Italy was a monarchy; Mussolini, the dictator, held the office of prime minister.)

Mussolini, never one for modesty, changed the calendar so that year 1 was the date of his "march on Rome" in 1922; 1936 was year 14 (XIV).

Jim
 
This thread is unusual because all recommemd snap-caps. IMO the familiar red & brass or clear & red with spring, Italian made snap-caps are good.
 
Thanks so much for all the information. I am learning more on the history of this fine pistol. As a side note, my 26 yr old stepdaughter says the Beretta looks like a "spy gun". HaHa. She loves James Bond movies. Until two years ago she had not even picked up a gun. I go to a local indoor shooting range and asked her to go with me one day. She seemed genuinely interested so I sat her down at the kitchen table and went over safety fundamentals, hands on with a Ruger Mark II, and sight pictures. She had a ball at the indoor range. Over the next few outings she shot my S&W 686 357 mag and graduated to a Ruger SR1911 45 ACP. She liked the 357 revolver most because in the darkened shooting lane she could see the flame come out from the front of the cylinder. Said it was the coolest thing to see. I now have a shooting buddy and her husband is getting interested in shooting also. She just told me a few days ago that she wants to shoot the little Beretta 1934...I can't wait to take her!!! It's great to introduce shooting sports to a new generation.
 
Targetman said:
As a side note, my 26 yr old stepdaughter says the Beretta looks like a "spy gun". HaHa. She loves James Bond movies.
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As a side note to your side note (;)), a Model 1934 is the "damn Beretta" that M forces Bond to replace with a PPK in the movie version of "Dr. No". This scene has long been the subject of rolled eyes and scoffs among gun enthusiasts because the "seven point six five millimeter" (i.e. .32 ACP) PPK is erroneously said to be more powerful than the .380 Beretta it replaces! :rolleyes:

The source of the mixup is that the literary Bond initially carried a .25 caliber Beretta that was never conclusively identified in print, but is generally thought to have been a Model 418. IOW the PPK would have been a real step up for the character in the novels. It's thought that the filmmakers failed to comprehensively understand or respect the literary source material (certainly not the only time it happened :rolleyes:), and/or neglected to instruct the movie armorer to provide an appropriate Beretta rather than whatever arbitrary Beretta pocket pistol he had on hand.
 
This scene has long been the subject of rolled eyes and scoffs among gun enthusiasts because the "seven point six five millimeter" (i.e. .32 ACP) PPK is erroneously said to be more powerful than the .380 Beretta it replaces!
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I always hated that line, "Walther PPK. 7.65 mil with a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window".

What would a .45 ACP be? A rocket through a steel garage?

It's thought that the filmmakers failed to comprehensively understand or respect the literary source material (certainly not the only time it happened ), and/or neglected to instruct the movie armorer to provide an appropriate Beretta rather than whatever arbitrary Beretta pocket pistol he had on hand.
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The "PPK" in Dr. No was actually a PP chambered in .380 ACP. I believe afterwards, they used the proper PPK in the movies. Something was certainly wonky with the armorer who worked on Dr. No.
 
After making so much of the "powerful" PPK, in the scene where Bond puts on his silencer, the gun is actually a Browning Model 1910 with a 1922 barrel to attach the suppressor.

I will caution Targetman that there can be a downside to getting your wife or daughter interested in shooting. A friend of mine got his wife started in small bore target shooting with a "plinker" rifle. Now every Christmas or birthday or anniversary, she wants a new rifle, or a new scope, or a new shooting coat, or more ammo. He says he never realized how much that stuff costs!

Jim
 
Beretta 1934

New member, 1st post. I have a WWII 1934 I got 35 years ago from a local owner in NJ. It was in like new condition, still is as I've only put less the a box of ammo through it. Now years later I'm looking for a CC gun that is easy for me and my wife. Have a CC permit and will be traveling the country with our RV. I talking to a local shop guy who has had several of these. He warned me that there may be an issue with quality of the later war productions and to be careful shooting it. That bothered me a bit. Mine seems to be later war based on SN and lack of stampings. SN G36402 seems to put it at 1944 I believe. SN on one side and CAL. 9. Nothing but a small eagle stamp below the hammer on the other and a small BM near the lanyard loop. Has anyone heard of issues firing this gun. Any info would be appreciated.
 
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