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Looking for old Beretta .380

7K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  markleaf 
#1 ·
Hello one and all!
I need some help ....last year when my wife & I took our Texas CHl course we experienced an almost disaster. The night before our course after 200 rounds thru her "new" Taurus .380 acp at our home range, it jambed. I mean it really jambed. There was no freeing it. I took it over to our local gun smith who didn't want to force it, which I understand. So the next morning we took it to class in hopes that someone there might have an idea. Well no one could free it so we were afraid that she would have to wait until we could have it repaired to take her class. However, one of the class members told us that he had an "old" .380 in his truck that she could use. Since we had her ammo we accepted and went ahead with the class. With absolutely no practice she scored a 247 out of 250. on her written she scored 98 out of 100. She was the only woman in the class.......Damn I was proud!

Anyway, The Beretta as I said was an old .380. It had about a 4.5-5.0" bull barrel. It reminded me of an old WWII german luger that my Father had. The guy that loaned it to us said that he had bought it in the early 1970's. I need help identifying this gun as I would like to find one and surprise my wife with it on her birthday.

Any help would be sincelely appreciated.

Thanks,
Grandpa, Paris, Texas
 
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#5 ·
It wasn't the Beretta that did the job, but rather your wife herself.
In fact, she did quite splendidly, since she was using a totally unfamiliar pistol.

Instead of finding some old Beretta for her, why not take her with you to a gun shop, and help her choose something for herself?
You now know that Taurus has quality-control problems, so guide her toward something that's known to be more reliable.

Some gun shops include firing ranges, and they rent time on their stock guns.
Find one of these places and let her try out as many pistols as she has patience for. Let her see for herself what's the most comfortable for her hands.
Then just say, "OK, honey, it's yours. Happy Birthday!"
 
#6 ·
Hey ya'll! It's definitly not the 1934 and the 70s is a .22lr, but the Cheetah is looking good. I have been searching for the guy who loaned it to us and have a good leaqd on where I might find him to get the exact model. I tried to buy it from him the day she qualified but he wouldn't part with it.

Steve, you're right on. Believe it or not she had never shot a handgun in her life until we started training for our CHL. After 30 days at 50 rounds thru the Taurus per day she was good to go. While in my opinion she is a natural she also has some really good training........GUESS WHO! Oh believe me I get that lady whatever she wants. She has fired a friends Glock 37 and really liked it. It is now on order thru my local FFL dealer. The old Beretta is more for nostolgia.
 
#7 ·
Congratulations to the Missus. She did better than I could do on my best day.
Can't go wrong with the Beretta. I have an 84F that will never leave my care and custody.
She could have been using an older 84, like the 84 or 84B. Or if the magazine was a single stack, MAYBE an 85. If you are hellbent on the particular pistol she was shooting, just use your favorite search engine (image mode) and enter Beretta .380. All manner of of models will pop up.
 
#11 ·
hey, about that taurus, did it jam on closing? don't give up on it yet, you will get it open withith enough force, wear gloves that will give you a good grip. my gun jammed on closing and it took an unusual amount of pressure to get it open. good luck:smt1099
 
#12 ·
GOOD MORNING WI45.

Yes, it did jamb on closing. After all else failed, I returned it to Taurus. They called me when they received it and asked a few questions (ammo, no. rds., how close rds. fired etc).I received it back within two weeks with a letter explaining that the spring was bent and the firing pin was a "tiny" bit short. I accepted the gun as Taurus does have a lifetime warranty on new guns. Although we put another 200 rds. thru it without a single hickup. I am still leary of being able to depend on a weapon that jambed like it did. I must question the quality control of the Alabama location when this gun was built. It is out of service and in our safe....where it will probably stay until we come up with a suitable alternative.
 
#15 ·
Hmmm. How could he mistake a Browning 10/71 for a Beretta? I don't see any similarity, myself.
In the feller's original description he said it has a four or five inch bull barrel and looked like a Luger......... and shot .380.
I don't know of any old Berettas that fit that description. I do know that the Browning 10/71 kinda does. It is easy to mistake the make.

Regards,
Bill
 
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