Beretta Model 81 Cheetah Pistol Review

Beretta Model 81 Cheetah 32 ACP Pistol Review. This is an Italian Police Trade In from Classic Firearms. Big thanks to Ben at Classic Firearms for sending the Model 81 for the Review.
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[@RickJZ1973]

Nice review of the 81. The surplus 81's were a phenomenal value for the money. I obtained a BB variant. I'm a huge fan of the 7,65mm cartridge. I regularly carry a 81 FS or a PPK. My magazines are loaded with S&B 73 grain ammo. Europeans tend to load the 7,65mm cartridge to its potential. If one opts to carry a 7,65mm pistol, best to go with fmj ammo and skip the hollow point mentality. The 7,65mm Browning cartridge should not be dismissed as a viable self defense option. In the end, it's shot placement that counts. So easy to rapidly and consistently put 7,65mm on target.

[@AssaultWeapons]

Also Beretta 81 was largely used by Vigili Urbani, now Polizia Locale, the city police . I have carried on duty the 84f, between 1999-2009 in my service in a small village on Mountains in central Italy police

[@AssaultWeapons]

bert smith 380

[@AssaultWeapons]

@bert smith no, luckily, only in training sessions

[@sukhjindersingh1675]

Hi still Beretta is making 81fs 32acp or no

[@John-mf6ky]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@vicsage83]

Were you Carabinieri or municipal? Thanks

[@robertthorn9560]

32acp is one of my favorite rounds to shoot, which I probably have close to a dozen pistols in this caliber and one my favorite is the Beretta 1935, manufacturer in 1944. Among my list is the FN 1910 and Mauser 1934 which are also sweet shooters..thanks Sootch for sharing another classic pistol in this caliber.

[@SergiusLigurAugustus]

A very good pistol. Thank you from Italy!

[@sootch00]

Thanks for stopping by Giovanni!

[@sunbeam8866]

@Max Paine According to information I've seen here and on other sites, In the Ian Fleming novels, Bond carried a .25 Beretta. But in the movie 'Dr No', Bond is forced to 'upgrade' from a .380 Beretta model 1934 to a .32 Walther PPK! However, in the early 'Saint' TV series, Roger Moore does carry a .32 Beretta model 1935 .

[@martingallegos3674]

Muy bonita .pistola .donde puedo conseguir una igual .que no tenga problemas para registrarla .en cal 380. Italiana .igual a esta .

[@BOB-wx3fq]

People act like 380 is a joke they forget for a century people defended themselves with 25s and 32s

[@Troacoli]

And you can get a lot of .32 ACP on target fast with something like this.

[@JacksonWalter735]

The Beretta Cheetah in 380 ACP is one of my favorite guns of all time. It was the only Beretta firearm in my family up until all the recent Beretta APX sales ($328 shipped is a great deal for a modular striker fired pistol) and my mom pulled one out to scare a robber who pushed her down and tried to steal her purse back in 2002. This was my favorite gun to shoot at the range back when I was a kid. It's a flat shooter with very low recoil for a compact gun. My father ended up giving me his IMI Jericho 941 instead when I turned 21 because I'm a bigger guy (6'5") and he wanted to save the Cheetah for my little brother instead. While I love my Jericho and have been carrying it for almost a decade, I still wished I've gotten the Cheetah instead.

[@rickbourne1376]

I was told back in the 70s as a kid that the .32 ACP caliber in Europe was about having a caliber that you shoot to wound someone, stop them, but not kill them. This is in contract to US rounds like .45 and .44 calibers in particular which were both for wild animal and taming the West. The .32 is certainly better than .22LR at least. I think is someone sees one with this firearms, they are likely to presume it is .380 or 9mm. Nice to know they are still being made in Italy, so I presume that means parts are going to be out there.

[@mekelasarus7341]

32 acp is very dangerous one shot on the chest or head you're gone forever

[@kenclouser9368]

I got this model just recently, it shoots great no misfires or jams at all. If it's good enough for Italian police, it's good enough for me.

[@Trump145]

I did watch that gentleman's video and he is very professional and I've watched several of his videos and I just bought one haven't shot it yet but I think it's a great little piece and I like what the gentleman said at the end of the video having any firearm it's better than having no firearm when it comes to carrying concealed

[@thomaswashburn3513]

I have a Tomcat 3032, and love it for plinking. Nice to see more .32ACPs coming into to country; now, maybe the ammo price will come down a bit.

[@burtonkephart6239]

Midway USA store has some cheaper ammo for 16.99 for a box of 50 fmj but you still have to pay tax unless you buy so much , like 50-100$ worth.

[@surudog4929]

That gun when being fired looks steady in the hand and recoil doesn’t look bad at all. Looking at glocks, once you fire a round the gun moves up from horizontal position. Looks like these beratta’s are great guns.

[@getoffmylawn8986]

Hard to go wrong with Beretta. Always quality.

[@davebowrin7361]

I bought my Beretta 85bb from DK Firearms in Bowling Green Va and I really like it. It's my carry gun these days.

[@salvomarino7531]

Wonderful pistol, elegance+reliability. 32 ACP is a very good option for self-defence, i wish will be re-evaluated in the future...

[@stevemiller7433]

I have a lot of Beretta's 2 950's, 2 21a's, a Tomcat, a 92fs, a PX4. I purchased one of these from Classic Firearms.. it is in beautiful condition. I cannot wait to shoot it, I really like the .32. I hope it is reliable. I have had issues with both my Tomcat and Keltec.. lack of reliability renders them range guns only. And, yes, I shoot ball ammo.

[@starkparker16]

Sootch has a good video of most cool old guns.

[@timmitcham656]

Now if I can just talk my wife into me buying "another" gun. LOL

[@jamieciotti5783]

I bought one and I love it. It is in very good condition.

[@Douglas-Ops]

Thanks for the review, very good! Just ordered mine, wanted one for ages, CF price can’t beat it! 👍🏼

[@martinrigggs500]

Can you give me the info to Order one for myself, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

[@sunbeam8866]

I bought four of these last year while prices were dropping, and tested a couple modified Mecgar Cheetah 380 mags that provide up to 15 round capacity in these with .32 acp. Today, with the virus-panic, supply of these pistols seems to be drying up. In recent KZbin tests of .32 acp, the hottest conventional loading was Fiocchi 73 gr. FMJ. Meanwhile, there's a unique new copper round by Lehigh Defense, called Xtreme Cavitator that may be a game changer for those that prefer to rely on .32 acp.

[@TexanTactical69]

Such and underrated channel, I was interested in the .25 ACP and I learned more about the round from your channel vs others and same with the cheetah

[@hiddenagendab8682]

Ordered and received two from Classic. Both are in real good shape. Very impressed. We'll get to shake them out on Saturday.

[@hiddenagendab8682]

Got to shoot them today. Both pistols ran flawlessly. Fun little pistols and very accurate to boot.

[@philliphill4763]

Military Arms Channel did their surplus Beretta review this morning ... early bird "gets" the worm. Speaking of "gets", "get" original Sootch!

[@CGFIELDS]

You know they must pick the best looking gun to send him 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@vulcano9200]

If you have the hammer cocked you don't need to use your trigger and finger to decock it, you just have to turn to safe positition on the side and the hammer goes down without firing. I've one of those Cheetah 81f and that's how i decock my handgun. It's a superb machine a bit big for concealed carry but i use it anyway for it's accuracy, easy to use, relliability and as someone said, i don't mind the caliber as long i train where to hit...lol. And great review. Keep up the great work.

[@larsbliss2728]

Mine is arriving tomorrow,. Look forward to shooting it this weekend. If I dig it I'll probably get a 2nd.......

[@larsbliss2728]

@Marine1775Preacher1611 American1776 Looks great with a couple small marks on the right grip panel and light.rust on top of the slide. Ballistol and a brass brush will clean that up. Didn't get to shoot it yet. Been sick for a little while with a couple more months to go. I'll hope to have it out next weekend if I feel up to it. It will fit nicely with my CZ-70 and Walther PP. I load for .32 ACP already and the secret to all of these euro pistols is get that bullet to 900fps for reliability........

[@justa3v619]

just picked one of these up for my 8 year old son. this is his first center fire pistol and we loving it so far except the prices of mags. Found them on the glock store website for 13$ but you gotta spend 200$ minimum. Guess we will just paying 40$ each id like to get him at least 2 more. Other than that the pistol is very nice for 200$ very well built and he has always loved the 92 and this is a perfect sized 92 for him lol

[@leonardjanda6181]

On browning shotguns of the 50s the blueing changes in colors . As well HK P7 ‘s early years I was told that’s PLUM . I think it looks great 👍

[@mannys9130]

The old Ruger semi-autos have odd plum colored bluing. I don't know if it changed over time or if it was like that brand new.

[@addiumuppicus5738]

Hey Leonard , correct about that blueing . I just found a gunsmith in Ga that used to work at Browning . I seen some of his work blueing on an early Browning sweet 16 and it is an exact match of the original . Also at the same time he had done a Ruger No1 which has three different colors due to hardness as it was explained . Again , as it was produced he's an older gentleman and is a real craftsman . Name is Mike , and I think it's Mike's gun repair . I was just riding shotgun with a friend who had the ' sweet ' 16 work done .

[@shadowwolf7622]

I'd take the 32 over a 380 any day.

[@Fred_Bender]

It worked for Hitler.

[@Danstheman1357]

@@Fred_Bender is that what he plopped his brains in with? Allegedly....

[@burtonkephart6239]

Daniel yup! A walther pp in .32 is what I have . I also have the beretta model 81 seen here in 32 obviously . Love them both. The beretta was only 209$ !! While I bought the walther years ago for twice that used no less. I use my beretta as a car carry gun and believe it is quite adequate especially with 12 rounds of Hornady ftx ammo!! The guy on the military channel explained it perfectly in his show on the beretta 85 in .380 when he said the .380 has about as much recoil as a 9mm because the beretta 85 in 380 is straight blowback ( as are most small to medium caliber pistols )while the 9mm s are falling block or locking block systems that reduce felt recoil . So why get a .380 if recoil is the same but power is less . So I reasoned that a .32 is definitely much better felt recoil that either .380 or 9mm so a big .32 like this beretta is super manageable even one handed not to mention shooting with out ear plugs which in self defenses you will be doing !! And since hornady now has the .32 in its ftx line ( bullet with rubber fill in hollow point ) I think it has much better performance now than years past!! For home defense I’ll use a 9mm or bigger but just for gunning n running out in streets a .32 is fine imo!!!

[@Bey11ktb]

How does it compare to the .380?

[@Ni999]

@@Bey11ktb See the video at 13:17 and then watch Paul Harrell's video as recommended. The only questions that can be answered are - a) how do the two rounds compare in what guns, it's a big difference which guns are used, b) are you asking about recreational shooting or self defense, and c) what are your expectations, is either round right for you, do you have physical limitations (and there is no shame in that if so, more people do than are willing to admit)?

[@rodolfopadillaiii2642]

A very nice handgun. I ordered one and for some reason it would not feed. Well it seems like the recoil spring was installed backward. Took it apart and flipped it. Works great!! Just a heads up on this. No need to send it to a gunsmith. Do this first.

[@77Infidel]

Were your and Mac's guns handpicked by Ben? They look pristine.

[@TheChubbyKid]

Mine is the same and I didn't do hand pick. In fact my grips look way better than Sootch's.

[@vtxdaryl]

A friend just got his hand select and it’s the same condition. Another fried didn’t pay the $25 hand select fee and his looks beat up. So pay for hand select if you want your best shot at getting a great looking pistol.

[@stevemiller7433]

Mine was not a hand select and it is beautiful... this is not always the case.

[@chris32817]

Mine was delivered today and it is beautiful. Looks like it was carried but never fired.

[@jarchiec]

I have my grandmother's model 950 in 25ACP. Honored to have inherited it. yeah i know 25......but it was hers so i cherish it.

[@blkft]

I have the 950 Inox in .25 ACP. It's a ton of fun to shoot and easy to slip in the pocket.

[@blkft]

@Moo Butt That's cool! Mines polished out, not sure if it came that way or someone did that. Most ithers I've seen are more subdued. I like to call it, "The Stainless Steel Rat". :))

[@Danstheman1357]

Hey on first 48 there's lots of murders where it's like 1 25acp killed em lol

[@blkft]

@@Danstheman1357 Cool, but I'm sure there are many stories out there where it was used in a Self Defense role rather than to murder someone. But thanks anyway.

[@Danstheman1357]

@@blkft you took that way wrong, I'm just saying it's effective. Of course itll work for self defense

[@mikegoldstein8168]

FYI I found an extra magazine through Midwest Gun Works. They only had the stainless versions available, but it looks cool contrasted to the blued 81.

[@bonelessdoritoslocostaco5984]

there's one .32 ACP you forgot about at 4:40 Colt brought back the 1903 like 2 years ago

[@mkshffr4936]

Forgive me for noticing but that is really kind of a pretty pistol. I really want one. I actually prefer a .32 over a .380 for low blast and fast accurate follow up shots.

[@bobspamail]

Love the intro music!

[@sootch00]

Thanks Bob!

[@concealed40carrier]

A huge thank you (from India) for the excellent review 🙏

[@rkirschner7175]

LOK makes a great grips for this gun. Love mine.

[@Mrgunsngear]

great blasters 👍🏾

[@whatsupdate]

Heads up midway USA has big discounts on used models right now rated good to excellent.

[@Enes-wj5xq]

Nice pistol for EDC, thanks Sootch

[@sootch00]

Thanks for stopping by Enes!

[@infamous1454]

Can this pistol be decocked? So the hammer isnt always in the rear position.

[@danieldorsey8767]

I just got mine from classic firearms today

[@bobthompson4918]

I've got the 71 Jaguar in 22lr. Very nice little gun also 😊

[@buckeyesbengalsreds3125]

It was nice of them to send you an 81 in great condition. I paid for a "best of 10" and got a gun I would say is borderline fair-good. I can deal with that, but the thing that irritates me is that it has no rear sight. I'm trying to work with them to remedy this, but they're not responding to my emails. I guess I'll have to call them again.

[@buckeyesbengalsreds3125]

@Marine1775Preacher1611 American1776 I finally got in touch with them once more over email. However, this was 4 days ago, with no further contact. Supposedly, the request was sent to their warehouse to check for an available rear sight. Not optimistic anything comes of it. I'll just have to become accurate with only a front sight post. Should be okay for short distances.

[@henrydelvalle7706]

32 has killed plenty of people throughout history. Unlike a tomcat you also have a longer barrel that makes a huge difference. At close range a with good shot placement it will get the job done. The mossad used the 22 version with great success.

[@Sam-iw6te]

So strange. I was just researching .32 as a defensive round.

[@lewmark6112]

Oh man! Sootch! Do a vid on your 950's !

[@bigdogpete43]

Beautifully crafted. Always has been.

[@evilfluff6634]

For de cocking the firearm with live rounds use a shot bucket (a bucket full of sand ) to catch the bullet of the hammer slips don’t for get eyes and ear protection.

[@sootch00]

Excellent recommendation. Thanks Brother

[@bluzamps23]

Browning BDA 380 by FN is almost the same pistol.

[@MadavTV]

I paid $20 extra for the rustiest one they had. Wish they sent me one like yours. Second bad experience with classic firearms won't be dealing with them again.

[@grantgauvreau2744]

MadavTV that bad?

[@markbennettjr]

This is the real gun of Tony Montana in the movie Scarface by the way

[@chessbox4776]

stfu

[@zd-motion6688]

Classic definitely sends you the best hand select ( new looking), yet I payed for hand select and got an average quality.

[@davidlynnprepperprincipal3540]

Good Afternoon Sir, I have a Beretta Model 21 in 25 ACP. Sweet pistol. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏼👍🏼😂

[@sootch00]

Thanks David! The Model 21 is a great little pistol!

[@addiumuppicus5738]

All these marvellous toys ! Good little back up guns as they are easy to conceal , and fast recovery for follow up both due to low recoil and trigger in single action . Practice reduces the need for follow ups . . just saying as I ' always ' miss a couple shots . . . . .need more practice I guess . =-) As far as knock down power I like the 10mm or 44 Mag as carry pieces although the new norX ammo for 9mm has caught my eye . But my all time favorite for knock down power is a Claymore belt buckle . . . . . . .; -)

[@raymondwilliams6601]

Hey Sootch great video. one thing I didn't hear you mention... slide racking strength. id love to get my girlfriend one but I have an 84 and there is no way in hell she could quickly rack that slide properly. I struggle when the hammer is down. How hard is it to rack the slide on these Model 81s?

[@ShredderSensei]

Raymond Williams it’s a little tough, especially for how small the slide is.

[@nyanrapier7838]

".380 is a far superior cartridge" *laughs in ammo shortage*

[@daviddahl4148]

Awesome looking little pistol!

[@himalayanyogabygaurav]

Can you please tell me sir what is the effective firing range of Beretta Cheetah 81 32Acp?

[@davejoerger8928]

Al Pacino carried this gun quite a bit in Scarface.

[@michigunsanta8680]

I got one of those like a year ago, great pistol, only bad thing was rust on the mag it came with. Then I bought 2 used mags and they came with rust!?! Lol 😆🤦‍♂️

[@jolivas1437]

Would like to pick up one of those model 84s!!

[@gilliland426]

very nice Beretta pistol Don.

[@difarr1618]

Hi,... Just purchased 3 Beretta in 3 different calaber s. What resources are available to date these weapons?... Thanks

[@thesehollowshit9967]

I missed it... what did he say the average price was on this .32 pistol? If anyone else caught it.. thank you.

[@jamiemitchell9733]

209.99 Classic Firearms dot com

[@thesehollowshit9967]

@@jamiemitchell9733 Holy shit! I'm getting one.. and thanks man, you're a badass.

[@sootch00]

At $209.99, it's a steal! Great little firearm. Thanks Socrates

[@jamiemitchell9733]

@@sootch00 thanks for the review! Glad I got mine early!

[@scrapguy6816]

I have the 22lr version and the 22 short version. Great firearms.

[@claudioros3505]

Don't exist a 22 short version.

[@scrapguy6816]

@@claudioros3505 it sure does.

[@anderwmarcell9503]

this is a really a nice pistol

[@sukhjindersingh1675]

Beretta is still making 81fs 32acp pistol or no

[@sukhjindersingh1675]

What is the range of this pistol and which is best model 81 fs or 81bb

[@danemaui8259]

Hey love the video. I got a great curveball for you if you can help me out with this one I'd be really grateful. I picked up a Beretta model 81. It's gold plated nickel-plated and a wooden grip. The safety will not engage when the hammer is all the way back. Also after releasing the slide release, I can only get the slide about 3/4 of an inch foward. It looks like a piece of the bottom of barrel sticks down into the frame. So for some reason my Beretta 81 is very different than everybody else's. The gun functions very well otherwise and shoot very good and has a very smooth double action and trigger. But I can't take it apart to clean it, and I can't switch the safety on when it's in single action. I tried getting customer support from baretta and they don't have a clue. I figured maybe with your resources and experience you my know what's going on or be able to do some digging with your sources. I would be most grateful. Anything you can do I would be very grateful. Thank you.

[@infamous1454]

So you can decock this pistol with a round still in the chamber? How would you do that the safest way?

[@werre2]

Beautiful pistols.

[@ikigai47]

You have me wanting to trade my 84 for an 81

[@ertugrulklc1048]

There is Tisaş Fatih 13 . It is a clone of that one. Could you check out it?

[@trietdang5403]

Cái đẹp trên Tây Nguyên mà có những thứ này chơi mấy hoành tráng và triệt để😊

[@johnq.public5078]

Nice collection of Berettas! I love my M9, 92FS and 92FS Compact (all three converted to "G").

[@williamhampton1005]

The mags at Beretta are out of stock as well.

[@4411825]

That's a very important in considering a weapon is the availability of extra magazines!

[@williamhampton1005]

@@4411825 I've spent about 3 hours looking only found 1 used mag for it. Berreta was out before this video. I picked my 81 up today.

[@4411825]

Thanks for your info! I to looked around and didn't have much luck, which is too bad because this is really an excellent piece for an excellent price. Good luck with your purchase!

[@williamhampton1005]

@@4411825 It's a nice shooting piece. I got more as a collectable.

[@4411825]

Thanks for the info. I do know that .32acp is a fun and smooth shooting caliber on the other end of the spectrum as your magnum calibers!

[@8686872]

Do they all look this good that are for sale at Classic? How many magazines come with it?

[@jasontribbett4386]

Classic Firearms has a limited supply of magazines, 2 per order.

[@sukhjindersingh1675]

It is made by stainless steel or no

[@ryszardkoprowski1414]

Military Arms Channel posted similar video 10h earlier. Watching some gun channels, one may spot very often the same gun's review at the same time...hmmm, are these films a kind of commercials? Straaange...

[@DeepakSharma-cu8jr]

Nice Video, Nice Pistol

[@rakshitraj1116]

How much total pistol do you have?

[@cubanito411]

81 or 81bb which do y’all like better?

[@zebwalton979]

Can’t find them.

[@gerardwozniak5786]

Thanks Sootch, new toy,,piekne,, ;))good day

[@nobodysreview6137]

Only thing wrong with these is the stupid safty that could get bumped on by acident with the hammer down and to make matters worse its ambi. An unessasry feature times 2.

[@thethreeper7029]

No firing pin block? Not drop safe?

[@theumpteenthtime8854]

I'm still kicking myself for not picking up an 84 Cheetah.

[@michigunsanta8680]

Beer Brewer me too.🤦‍♂️

[@brocklanders6969]

Make .32acp Great Again

[@daviddarby6263]

Looks a lot like a Bersa Thunder .380.

[@خالدالخيكاني-ي4س]

وين احصل قطعه نفس هذا إللي بالفيديو

[@turgayarslanoglu7957]

Llama 7.65

[@donmurrin5269]

Especial. 380. Looking for mags.

[@qqkk5581]

Nothing is smoother then a blued carbon steel firearm - much lower friction then SS.

[@worldsky7807]

とてもいい拳銃だ！

[@SeanJohnson-qm4pu]

I'd get one but I don't have a purse to put it in. 👜

[@JavierLopez-ed5wc]

Gun!

[@robertodesalvatore6739]

It is an 81, but not a Cheetah, the Cheetah has a combat type trigger guard, not rounded ...

[@Catgat37]

Cheetah isn't in 32 acp either as far as I know.

[@uppitywhiteman6797]

Good ladies pistol.

[@Jason-fm4my]

1:03 I know it's been a few years, but I hope you got that mosquito.