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Little Berettas

17608 Views 100 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Que, 
Que
All of this Bond talk, naturally associated with the PPK and P99, got me to pull the pin on a Beretta 1934 and 1935 as I posted elsewhere. And while Bond's original gun in the early novels, the 418, is planned, it stated me looking at some of today's contemporary pocket Berettas. This has all coincided with my father-in-laws comment that he really enjoys shooting a .25 auto. He's small in stature, and while he can handle a 9mm or .40 very nicely, he has the most fun with with my P22. So, with Bond on my mind and my FIL's comment, this past Saturday I ran down the the shop and picked up a cute little Beretta Model 21A in .25ACP, used but like new. I think my FIL will enjoy it as a guest gun when he visits from out of state in November. We (along with my BIL) will spend at least one day at the range, and as a host I always like to accommodate my guests :D Plus, I have really fallen for this little gun. I think that I may well add a Tomcat, the .32 ACP version with the more full slide. Add to that a DeSantis "Trickster" pocket holster and 60 gr. JHP or Winchester Silvertip JHPs and it isn't a bad little package.



http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8363/3032smaxirm8.jpgTomcat
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I will offer these opinions on the little Beretta's currently in production:

Tomcat ....waste of time (Sorry, Searcher 451) Many better options out there.

Beretta 21A ..... Not bad, like all small autos in this size better in .25 than .22

Beretta 950, 950BS .....Excellent Pistols in .25!!! Could be a real life saver.

Yes Dep, there is no extractor on the little Beretta's and I believe the Tomcat functions the same way.
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Searcher451,

Prehaps you have not reckoned with Beretta's long history, they have been making guns since about 1610! I'll bet they have a few dozen quill pen/parchment letters that have not been answered yet!!!!

Sadly, that Tomcat you purchased with your hard earned money is too light for a boat anchor!! ;) Even if the Smith gets it straightened out I would hesitate to use it on anything bigger than the pack rats on Deputy's FIL's ranch!!!

Once that Tomcat is back together, shelve it or sell it (the latter seems kind of a mean thing to do) and pick up a nice pre lock S&W 442 or 642, add a slick action job and you'll have the best pocket gun available!!

The only decent small - small auto is the Seecamp, but even that is not a really "user friendly" pistol. If you are attracted to the small autos, one of the big wholesalers in the Free States was offing a lot of Walther/Manurhin PP's in .22 LR.... those are really nice pistols.

I know your pain. Back when the Walther TPH was first put out by Interarms, I bought one of the first ones. It was a real POS and went back to the factory twice. I really WANTED one of those ....it just wasn't meant to be!!
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Que,

Just get in touch with Wolff Gunsprings and replace all the coil springs, on the older pistols that's been a given on the ones I have picked up. I would imagine 60 to 70 years is more than those old springs were ever intended to last!

Good Choices!!!
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The Beretta in the film "Dr.No" was a 1934 Model in .32 ACP and not the good old 418 Model which Bond carried in the novel. Nothing sinister there, just a lazy prop man who thought a Beretta is a Beretta is a Beretta.

An even greater mistake was made with Bond's "PPK" which is in reality a "PP", to add insult to injury the PP Bond used in Dr. No was a .380 and not a .32!

In various scenes of Dr. No, Bond's Walther PP morphs into a 1910 Browning and a Colt 1911. All typical of the sloppy prop work with firearms in 1960's British film and TV. Much of the reason though lies with the fact that making semi-autos shoot blanks with any degree of reliability was an infant science in the 1960's. They tended to use what worked, and figured the audiance would be none the wiser.

They got Bond a PPK in later films, and he even dallied with the P5 in two movies before going back to the PPK, and making a final switch to the P99.

One wonders if oo7 will take up the PPS one day?
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Okay Bond fans....

In Dr. No, Bond's PPK/PP was replaced with a 1910 Browning in the scene in which oo7 shoots Professor Dent. The pistol he pulls out of his shoulder holster and screws a silencer on it a Browning, if you have a pause button/DVD you can really see the Browning in a quick close-up.

Later on Crab Key Bond faces off with Dr. No's "dragon". When Bond starts shooting his PP/PPK changes into a 1911 for a couple of shots. In other shots Connery just "jerks" his pistol to simulate firing.

The 1911 was used earlier in the film by one of the "Blind Mice" Killers, complete with a silencer. One can presume they gave Bond the 1911 is because it worked with blanks.
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Should I have done my previous post in Spainish?

Muchos Apologious, Senior Deputy!

;)
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Those old CZ's are nicely made and until the success of the CZ 75 largely ignored. Nice piece!

More Bond Trivia:

Prior to the car chase where Bond uses the P.38, he dispatches a couple of Goldfinger's henchmen, so he could have grabbed the P.38 off one of them.

The Aston Martin DB5 was designed with a drawer under the driver's seat that contained a Mauser Broomhande and some other gadjets. Sadly this was never shown in the films!
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No way!!!!!

But I'll cross my fingers for you!

;)
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Que said:
The heck with the Beretta. Get one of these::D
Click to expand...
I want one ...........
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