How's the Beretta .22cal. Bobcat?

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Snickersnee

Inactive
I want a little .22 pistol just for messing around, not for self-defense or hunting or any such thing. Just plinking. My ability with a pistol is pretty low, so it only has to be reasonable accurate, not competition grade or anything.

Anyway, Beretta makes a little .22 semi auto
pistol, I think they call it the Model 22 Bobcat, and it had caught my eye.

Does anybody have any experience with these? Are they reasonably reliable?
 
My daughter has one and it is a good gun. In my opinion it is not a serious defense weapon, it is more liks a placebo. It could be a fun gun but you will likely want something more accurate before long. Then you could sell it or trade up.

------------------
Better days to be,

Ed
 
The Bobcat is a much better gun than the Tomcat. The .32 Tomcat has too many problems (firing pin retaining pin dropping out - with the firing pin popping out of the slide and past the shooter's head, tricky reassembly for the uninitiated). The Bobcat I have is reliable and for a point and shoot gun, pretty accurate.

------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
I've got a 21A in .25acp. Same pistol different caliber. Great little gun, believe it or not, it is even quite accurate. It also holds the distinction of being the only semi-auto I've ever had that has never jammed in any way.

------------------
TJS
 
I've got one and it's a fine gun. Goes bang (pop?) every time with no problems at all. But if you're looking for a .22 for just plinking like you stated... the same money will buy you a used Ruger MkII, S&W, Buck Mark, etc. Much more fun for plinking and improving your skills. (Mags for the little Beretta's are expensive too).
 
Yeah, I was looking at the Ruger, as I owned and loved a Mini-14. Only thing was it was a bit big. I have a weird thing for little pistols.

Like I said, more of a toy than anything "serious".

I'm suprised that the reliability reports are so good, in my experience(rifles) .22 auto loaders are prone to feed problems.
 
I too would like a baby berreta
22LR just for fun. Kinda neat.
The problem is I have heard so
much negative ying yang , it
has kept me from buying one.
 
Lets hear some more answers Please!
I am also very curious about these
little gems. Roll the stories!

------------------
"Al-vida-zane"
 
I use to carry the Bobcat as a backup gun. It was carried in a holster which was suspended from the strap of my vest. My uniform shirt was zipper front (the buttons were sewn on). I use to practice unzipping my shirt, drawing, and firing with arm fully extended, elbow locked. Distance would be from 3 feet up to 3 yards.

For ammunition, I settled on CCI Stingers HP or minimags. Can't remember what other brands I tried but generally I try to find something which is accurate and reliable.

One thing I liked about the Bobcat was that it had the DA/SA feature just like a regular full size gun. Like the CZ-75, it could also be carried cocked and locked. One feature which really made me feel safe was the tip-up barrel; which allows for feeding the empty chamber or for unloading the weapon. Aside from the slippery wood grips (didn't want chequered plastic since checking tends to wear through your shirts after a while), the Bobcat was one nifty little gun and unquestionably superior to flipping someone off as a gesture of last defiance. Don't carry it now since I'm a pogue, but will carry it when in uniform.

------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
I forgot to add that the 21A Bobcat makes an excellent little training gun when you need to familiarize someone with an auto pistol. As 4V50 Gary alluded to above, it's basically a mini version of a "real" gun ;). DA to SA trigger operation, Frame mounted safety with "cocked and locked" capability, push-button magazine eject and a slide that works like, well, a real slide. Many of the "target/plinking" .22's I mentioned above have operations that are at times awkward and/or don't always cross over to conventional autos. I have trained several beginners with the 21A and quickly moved them up to a full-size Beretta 92. After that, most all auto pistols were relatively familiar to them.

The very short blowback operation makes the Bobcat susceptible to jam when "limp wristing." Though that sounds like a negative, I think it's actually a benefit in a "training" role... teaches one to keep control of the weapon. My wife used to make our Bobcat jam on demand (holding it too loosely), while I've never been able to get it to jam no matter how hard I've tried.

Enjoy!
 
Snickersnee and SHORTFUSE,
Go out and buy the Beretta Model 21A in .22 LR with confidence. At least five members of my "family" use these every summer when its hard to conceal anything else. None of our pistols has ever jammed when they were clean and used with quality ammo.
If you go to Wally World and buy the cheap wild kitty or thunder ammo they will jam constantly. Also they are of the blow back design with no extractor so a clean chamber is absolutely mandatory. A person never has an excuse to go unarmed when they own one of these. As cheap as ammo is there is no reason not to practice and Mec-Gar makes additional magazines for $12 each. I would rather have my GP-100 or Hi Power along but these are better than nothing.
 
I am glad to read so many positive
posts about the baby 22LR beretta.
I have heard that if you dry fire
it , you will ruin it immediately?
The Jamming & Firing Pin either
coming out or breaking seemed to
be frequent complaints. Everyone
on this thread has been positive
with no negative experiences.
 
I've got a 950 BS in 25acp. I've had it since before the 22lr came out. As mentioned before the accuracy is very surprising. I use Hornady hollow points in it. Everyone I know that has a model 21 says the same thing, you have to find ammo that cycles reliably and stick with it. Most of which has been standard velocity stuff

Joefo
 
Beretta 21A Tomcat is a neat little gun. Keep it clean. Mine had an annoying tendency to double and triple, sent it back to Beretta, they kept it for awhile and replaced something or other in it. It still has the same problem. Nevertheless, for a .22 auto, it's neat. I try to avoid carrying it for "serious purposes," but it does fit in the pocket and with CCI Stingers I wouldn't stand in front of it!
 
Snickersnee, now that you're buying a Bobcat (glad I called to pick up more shares of Beretta ;) ), don't dryfire it or any other 22. You'll ruin the firing pin. If you must dryfire it, get a snap cap.

------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
Thanks for the advice, I was actualy going to ask about dry firing.

Out of curiosity, how does dry firing hurt the gun? I could dry fire all day long with my Mini-14, and extensive dry firing is one way the Army uses to familiarize recruits with the M-16.

Not that using a snap cap is so hard.
 
The dryfire problems arise from the .22s being rimfire instead of centerfire. The firing pin is lined up with the edge of the chamber (or back of the barrel, if you prefer).

_Depending_upon_the_design_, a dry-fired firing pin can impact the chamber edge and peen a little pit there. The displaced metal has to go somewhere, and on the side toward the chamber, you get a burr in the worst place possible. Before it gets too big to interfere with chambering, the fired cases will expand around that burr and then get stuck in there. The burr will drag on the case over the entire extraction distance.

Bummer. I've repaired one friend's rifle that had that problem.

My .22s have limited-travel firing pins, and are safe to dry fire. Even then, I check them every year or three to ensure that the firing pin stopper hasn't worn or broken.
 
I use my Beretta M21A .22 LR as an understudy gun for my .32 ACP Tomcat. It's been a reliable little gun. For dryfiring, load the chamber with a spent .22 case. It won't damage th firing pin.

------------------
/s/ Shawn Dodson
Firearms Tactical Institute
http://www.firearmstactical.com
 
Thanks for the explination.

Do you think having a gunsmith making a little indentation on the chamber to accomedate the firing pin would do more harm then good?
 
I have a "baby" Beretta; It's even smaller than the Bobcat. I have the Beretta Jetfire 950 in .25ACP. It has been 100% reliable with nearly 300 rounds of Hornady hp's put through it. The magazine holds 8...+1 in the tip-up barrel. It's the funnest darn gun to shoot rapid fire.

Ben

[This message has been edited by Ben (edited September 21, 2000).]
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top