[Czechbikr]

I showed up at Marengo Guns 3 days and 25 minutes after filling out the 4473 and paying my 15 bucks. I expected mid-day Saturday to be busier than it was. There were probably 15 people in the shop, four employees working and only one ahead of me in the checkout line. I grabbed two more boxes of 32 ACP and presented my receipt for the FFL charge.

They couldn't find it. Checked where it should be in the guns that were received...asked me if I was sure that they got it. I said that the FedEx site showed it in their shop...I said Thursday (it was actually yesterday noon that it got there. More searching, got another employee involved. The clerk said that it probably hadn't been "received" yet and I was thinking they were going to say I'd have to come back next week. The line started to back up. I said that it most likely wasn't shipped by Gander as it came out of the Carolinas and Gander is in MN.

More searching and they finally found it in it's little plain brown box...in a bigger box with two other guns. So about 30 minutes later I got out of there.

First impression: It's not as dirty as I expected. Bluing is good...as an amateur I would put it at 80%. Functions well. Field stripped it and cleaned and lubed...bore looks good. Recoil spring looks new. Guide rod is metal. Grip checkering is good, better than the CZ 83 surplus that I bought. The lower smooth part of the plastic is a little boogered up.. I'll take plastic polish and the Dremel with a cotton buffing wheel to try and restore those.

 

[kruizer]

Congrats on your new to you slide gun

 

[Ickthus]

Ohh, i love a BB.
Cock and lock frame safety, deep bluing, round trigger guard... The BB is the best model of the 80 series Berretta's.

 

[Czechbikr]

Ohh, i love a BB.
Cock and lock frame safety, deep bluing, round trigger guard... The BB is the best model of the 80 series Berretta's.

I was surprised at the size of the grip...very close to the Model 92. I started poking around for a used Model 84 barrel to try and convert it to fire .380 Auto.

 

[Car_Doc]

For the size of the pistol I'll bet that's a real soft shooter.

 

[jwc007]

Very Nice and I'm glad you finally got it! :smile: Also glad that the staff at Marengo finally found it! :smile:

Hope that it shoots well for you, too!

I'm probably going to hold out for a Beretta 84, should I decide to collect one.

 

[funflyer]

Congrats on the 81. How's the trigger on the BB?

 

[Czechbikr]

Congrats on the 81. How's the trigger on the BB?

Feels really nice...very similar to my PT 92.

The modified 84 magazines from Robertson Trading do not load properly. After 5 or 6 rounds the cartridges start to bind and subsequent loadings are loose in the magazine body. I may end up returning them and waiting for the real thing to come as surplus.

 

[TonyC2639]

Congrats!!! You sure worked hard for that gun! I think if they had told me they hadn't received it yet my head would have exploded. Sot mine for a while today. Light recoil and it's a lot of fun to shoot. It's clear I'm going to need to stockpile some ammo because I sure go through it.

 

[bubblehead]

congrats!! looking forward to a full range report.

 

[Flash60601]

Feels really nice...very similar to my PT 92.

The modified 84 magazines from Robertson Trading do not load properly. After 5 or 6 rounds the cartridges start to bind and subsequent loadings are loose in the magazine body. I may end up returning them and waiting for the real thing to come as surplus.

Check that the magazine spring and the follower are properly oriented.

 

[silverstring]

Very nice looking 81 - you will be very happy when you take it to the range. Mine is very accurate, soft shooting, and with that wide Beretta grip it works well in my big hands.

 

[bigC]

Congrats on your new to you pistol.

 

[DeltaBravoKS]

Hmmm. A BB gun that shoots real .32's. What will they think of next?

Good luck with it. You've almost convinced me to get one too!

 

[Ickthus]

I was surprised at the size of the grip...very close to the Model 92. I started poking around for a used Model 84 barrel to try and convert it to fire .380 Auto.

It's the same gun so it is interchangeable. And yes, the grip is a double stack. If you need or want it thinner, AGW is making G-10 thin grips in a few colors for a round $40 -$50. It makes about as thin as the 85bb if you can believe that. My broken up old hands like the larger grip.

 

[taurustoter]

Damn, that's nice!

 

[Jake3501]

Nice shooter, hope you really enjoy it!

 

[darbo]

Good looking pistol you got there! Enjoy!

 

[sig_230]

As mentioned above, tear the replacement mags down, do a good interior clean and make sure all is assembled correctly.

You should enjoy it for many decades.

 

[jwc007]

I started poking around for a used Model 84 barrel to try and convert it to fire .380 Auto.

BEFORE you go doing that, try seeing IF the Case Head of a .380 ACP Shell will slide up into the Slide Boltface under the Extractor Hand.
IF it does, then you are home free to convert over to .380 ACP. IF Not, don't waste your cash.

Usually, you can convert the .380 ACP Pistols down to .32 ACP, but not .32 ACP up to .380.