Beretta Model 21 "Bobcat" - Reliable ???

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dawg23

New member
I'm considering a Beretta Model 21 (Bobcat) in .22LR caliber for plinking and playing around (NOT for self defense).

BUT, I've heard some comments that were less than flattering about this model's ability to reliably feed ammo.

I've owned some "jam-o-matics" before, and I don't need another one. I would like to hear some first hand comments.

Thanks,
Dawg23
 
Bobcat

The Bobcat I tried was not reliable, it tended to have both ejecting and feeding problems. The malfunction rate was severe, which made me decide not to buy that model. OTOH, the Jetfire I tried was 100 percent reliable. I think the Jetfire is the model to get, except that I think it is only chambered in 25 ACP. :(
 
I had a model 21 which I later sold to get a Kel Tec. It was reliable when it was clean and used fresh ammo, however after the first 50 or so shots started to gum up and smokestack or fail to feed. In that aspect it was not as reliable as a Ruger.

The biggest problem was that after the .22 ammo had time to absorb ambient moisture it would sometimes not fire.

I once had to use it in haste, to shoot a nutria which was chewing up my dog. A nutria is a giant rat, 2 feet long with big teeth the size of your thumb and can really hurt a dog.
 
I once had to use it in haste, to shoot a nutria which was chewing up my dog. A nutria is a giant rat, 2 feet long with big teeth the size of your thumb and can really hurt a dog.
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If I may ask: did your dog recover from his/her injuries? I am a big dog lover BTW. Where do you live? I know that I would never want to live anywhere that has 2 feet long rats. I am even scared of mice! :D
 
Aside from reliability, these Berettas were not designed or meant to be "plinking" guns, but for self-defense. They will not last through thousands of rounds of firing as well as other .22s.

I know that the suggested lifetime of a Beretta Tomcat .32ACP is 1000 rounds. Don't know if this is aplicable to the Bearcat.
 
CZ...

Hey, now! The Jetfire is a fine little pistol. Mine is stanless and is also 100%. .25ACP loads still leave a lot to be desired in the defense department, but new loads are making it better. I bet mine, which right now is loaded up with Hornady XTP hollow points, would have sent that Nutria to "Nutria Heaven" pretty quickly. :) Also, I'm not positive, but I think Jetfires were made in .22 short at one time.

Kentucky Rifle
 
Hey, now! The Jetfire is a fine little pistol. Mine is stanless and is also 100%. .25ACP loads still leave a lot to be desired in the defense department, but new loads are making it better. I bet mine, which right now is loaded up with Hornady XTP hollow points, would have sent that Nutria to "Nutria Heaven" pretty quickly. Also, I'm not positive, but I think Jetfires were made in .22 short at one time.
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I agree, I really like the Jetfire. Its one of the best pocket pistols out there IMO. My only problem is the chambering: .25 ACP ammo is very expensive for the amount of "power" it has. If it was chambered in .22LR, it would make more sense to me (at least the ammo is cheap for the "power" level). On top of that, I don't think those little pocket pistols hold up too long (they are not meant for a lot of plinking as this gentleman wanted). I almost bought a Jetfire once after shooting it, but I decided I really didn't need a .25 ACP. I might get one eventually just to add a pocket pistol to my collection, but at present its not a high priority (a Ruger .44 Magnum is my next priority). ;)
 
The one I had lasted only 5 boxes of different ammo. Could never get it to reliably go through a mag w/o some kind of jam. Get a Tomcat ;)
 
I had one. It was a very nice little pistol. The only problem was that as someone else mentioned if the barrel was dirty after about 75 rounds it would start to fail to extract the empty brass. The Beretta 21 doesn't have an extracter so when the powder build up makes the inside of the barrel rough it starts to fail to extract as the blowback of the fired round is not strong enough to overcome the drag. This is due to the blowback design and the decision not to have an extracter.

All I ever had to do was run the brush that came with the pistol down the barell to clean out the residue and it fired fine again. I found mine as reliable as any other .22 auto except for the fouling of the barrel.

It's also very accurate though difficult to take advantage of due to the tiny afterthough sights installed.

they are very fun guns and very reliable when clean in my example at least.

shiro
 
I have a Model 21.

It seems to feed reliably with no more than 5 rounds in the mag.

It appears that if more than 5 rounds are loaded, the rimfire bases tend to 'stack', leaving the balance of the top round unsupported. Unsupported, the top round droops due to gravity. When the slide is activated, the top round nose-dives into the feed ramp.

Load only 5 rounds and it feeds reliably.

It's a mag problem. If there is a fix for this problem - such as an elegant follower design - I'd sure like to hear about it.

If I've mis-diagnosed the problem, I'd like to hear about that too.
 
I too have a 21 that does all of the above mentioned. I've only used the cheap 500-550 round packs of ammo found at Wal Mart. It's been suggested that I try a bit hotter ammo, like CCI Stingers.
 
I had a lot of malfunctions with standard LR, but I seem to remember that Stingers fed fine. It's not much of a plinking gun though, it's just too small.

If you want a small 22 plinking/fun gun you can stick in your pocket, I think the Hungarian gun manufaturer Feg chambers their PPK knockoff in 22. Fegs seem to get good press and theyre cheap.
 
Ber mod 21

Dawg, I have a 21 in stainless. Never jamed, never failed to fire. I shoot a lot of .22s through it. Stingers work the best, but Remingtons work fine, too. Keep it clean.
 
My 21 has 300 rounds threw it without a malfunction. I am pleased with it. I keep it clean and have had no problems.
 
P.O.S. ! I'm stupid I'v got 3 jam,fall apart,light strikes.I willnot unload junk on someone else!They do have good trigger pulls.Buy a Taurus crappy trigger,but will shoot.MY 2 cents.
 
BTW. Where do you live? I know that I would never want to live anywhere that has 2 feet long rats. I am even scared of mice!
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Gotta be from Louisiana, nutria (aka 2 foot long rats) live in the bayou country. Hell, some Cajuns actually eat nutria, I haven't tried it yet.
 
I bought a 21 used

It's plenty reliable. I only shoot high velocity .22 ammo through it. I've shot it a lot and don't notice any looseness or wear. I keep it clean and I lube it with dry lube to cut down on accumulation of residue.

Ledbetter
 
Taurus PT22 & PT25

Cover story of the November 2001 issue of COMBAT HANDGUNS is about the Taurus PT22 & PT25, these two guns are identical to the Beretta Bobcat.
 
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