kBob
Member
They are Italian Navy surplus and where shown on today's online video flier
-kBob
-kBob
I always wondered if everyone that ordered one was a Mack Bolan fan....
-kBob
The 51 is steel framed, single action, and has an 8 round, single stack magazine.This is the first time I've heard of a Beretta 1951, I looked it up and it seems to be a lot like the 92.
Would anyone mind explaining the differences between the two to me? Ten minutes on Google wasn't very helpful.
Or just a fan/collector of high quality, uncommon, steel-framed, fun to shoot pistols in a common and inexpensive chambering.You would have to be a Beretta fan to want one of these.
For the price you would have to be a very serious Beretta fan.
For the price you would have to be a very serious Beretta fan.
Beretta factory magazines are pretty hard to come by, but Helwan mags will also work and pop up from time to time.Evidently, I am a serious Beretta fan since I just took delivery of a model 51. Actually, I am not a Beretta fan at all, I am a fan of 'old school' steel pistols. I have small hands and single stack mag guns are what I shoot best.
The 51 I got today was rated a "very good" by Classic Firearms. Evidently, they are rather lax when it comes to evaluating the condition of guns if my specimen is the norm. I would rate it a Good+ due to surface rust in the slide serrations and scratches and gouges in the grips plus burs/spurs on the mag release. After spending the better part of an hour polishing the grips and release, it looks passable.
However, once I got the gun cleaned up, it shot like a dream. Very accurate with 124 grain handloads at 15 yards and absolutely no malfunctions.
I would say that the only real disappointments would be a "generous" VG rating and the $379.95 price. The price doesn't bother me much because the $30 extra for VG nowadays will buy what $5 would buy when I was younger ... and in 1951 I was only 8 years old. A nickel back then would buy me a Snickers bar and 6 cents would get me a Coke.
What sets this gun apart from other 9mm's is its very easy shooting with little recoil and its accuracy. If that's what you want, buy one. If you want a pistol that weighs 10 oz. and shoots 17 rounds, then buy a plastic gun.
For whatever reason, '51 locking block failure is extremely rare. It could be the lighter slide puts less stress on it, or possibly better metallurgy/heat treating. It could be they are rarely subjected to the high round count of some service '92s. It could simply be that they represent a much smaller statistical sample since there were so few produced, relative to the '92.Parts is a problem, especially locking blocks.
Everyone on this thread apparently knows what "Classic" stands for. Interesting!
Dave
If you buy an Helwan make sure it is an Egyptian Army surplus pistol. Civilian Helwan are not quality guns.I always wanted a Helwan Egyptian Beretta copy. Used to drool over them Samco or Sarco surplus gun flyers back in the late 80's / early 90's. Still don't own one but did pick up and trade a 92FS. Nice shooting gun but heavy for what it is!