380 rich (CZ and Beretta)

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TennJed

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I picked up a Makarov in 380acp a couple of years ago. I fell in love with the gun and the round. Don't get me wrong I am not here to preach the round as the most effective SD round or want this to turn into a caliber war.

I just love shooting my Makarov. I also reload and the 380 round is quick, easy, and absurdly cheap to reload. I can get 1000 rounds of lead cast for less than $50. The small case takes very little powder.

Shooting it for about $4 for a box of 50 is hard to beat.

Anyway, I was wanting a high quality
double stack 380 for some range fun and I put a CZ 83 on order and it should be here tomorrow. Well the range gods shined down on me and I happen upon a Beretta 84 this weekend. It is used but never fired (like new!). I was able to do a trade for it that we were both happy with.

So now I have a:
Beretta 84fs
CZ 83
Makarov
Safe full of 380 ammo.



I wanted to brag, but also find out if any other Beretta or CZ 380 owners can tell me to good and bad of these guns? I think the are considered 2 of the better large 380s out there, but I have not shot either.

Also, what other larger 380s out there would be good additions to my collection?
 
TennJed

I had a Beretta Model 84 shortly after they came out, and except for the wider grip frame, it was one very capable .380 pistol. Easy to shoot with little if any recoil, extremely reliable with different types of ammo, fairly accurate even with fixed sights, a decent DA/SA trigger, and it felt very comfortable in the hand. For many of those years that I had one, it was my HD gun.
 
A Mak, a CZ and the Beretta, three very competent pistols. I too have all three, (my Mak is 9x18), and enjoy them all. The Beretta owns my heart though. You have a great collection there... have fun.
 
I had a Beretta 84FS Inox, it was a really nice little pistol. I sold it when I was hard up. Recently, I decided I needed another good quality, larger .380 to run some of my hotter loads through and just as a range toy, so I got a two-tone CZ-83. It had a couple hiccups on the first mag, but ran fine after that. Recoil is similar to the Beretta, as is accuracy. The third shot I fired from this gun claimed a cotton tail at 20 yards (First two shots were high; The sights take a little getting used to). It's a top-shelf pistol.
 
I have a Beretta 85FS (single stack version of the 84FS) and a CZ83. Both are excellent guns and have been flawless. The only con I have with either is the flimsy plactic grips on the CZ83. The grip screws tend to loosen and if you tighten them too much the grips will crack. :banghead: Blue loctite and a new set of grips solved that problem. :)
 
TennJed, nice guns. However, I'd have gone for the 9x18 Makarov versions of the Mak and CZ instead, just for the little extra power. There's nothing bad that can be said about any of the Makarov-pattern guns. They're all well-made, reliable, and very accurate. If you want to dress up your Makarov and CZ-83, check out Marschal Grips. Stronger Wolff recoil springs can also help sometimes, as well, but this is less of an issue on the .380 versions.
 
The Beretta 86 is also a neat gun. It has a tip-up barrel so people who have trouble cycling a slide can operate this model and have it ready to be deployed even if they lack hand strength.

It's also a fairly massive gun, as 380s go, so even though it's direct blowback, the perceived recoil is fairly mild.
 
I really like my Beretta M-81. The 83 is basically the same thing in .380.
 
WardenWolf said:
TennJed, nice guns. However, I'd have gone for the 9x18 Makarov versions of the Mak and CZ instead, just for the little extra power. There's nothing bad that can be said about any of the Makarov-pattern guns. They're all well-made, reliable, and very accurate. If you want to dress up your Makarov and CZ-83, check out Marschal Grips. Stronger Wolff recoil springs can also help sometimes, as well, but this is less of an issue on the .380 versions.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on the grips I will check them out. As far as the 380 vs Makarov caliber, as I said in the OP, I would rather not turn this into a caliber debate. I origanally happened upon the 380 Mak for a cheap price in a pawn shop and I have found the caliber to be well suited for what I use it for. Range fun. I have yet to find a target that could stand up to the 380. The extra power of the 9x18 is not needed on most sheets of paper :)

I honestly see no need to keep the components and reloading dies for both the 9x17 and 9x18. The original Makarov caliber is not found in as many guns as the 380.
 
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Hey, what works, works. And they're excellent guns. I'd honestly trust a military design over a purely commercial handgun any day. These guns had decades of service, and are proven reliable. I've heard too many horror stories about the various commercial .380's out there, from cracked slides to jamming to you-name-the-malfunction. They didn't have to change anything except the chamber and interior barrel diameter to make them handle .380. A 9x18 Makarov or CZ will feed, chamber, and fire .380 just fine, but it's not advised due to headspace issues. So you effectively have a military Makarov or CZ-82, just they look a bit nicer since they're new commercial productions. These guns will digest nearly anything, though the Makarov is slightly more forgiving.
 
There's also the Brazillian IMBELs

A direct blow-back 1911 style pistol chambered in 380 ACP, and I think they are the size of a Colt Commander.
 
WardenWolf said:
Hey, what works, works. And they're excellent guns. I'd honestly trust a military design over a purely commercial handgun any day. These guns had decades of service, and are proven reliable. I've heard too many horror stories about the various commercial .380's out there, from cracked slides to jamming to you-name-the-malfunction. forgiving.
Click to expand...

Have the issues been with the CZ or the Makarov or both?. I will say another thing about the commercial Maks I do not like. The horrible huge adjustable sights. I hate em
 
TennJed said:
Have the issues been with the CZ or the Makarov or both?. I will say another thing about the commercial Maks I do not like. The horrible huge adjustable sights. I hate em
Click to expand...
Neither the Mak nor the CZ have these issues. These are military designs, not commercial designs. Only the caliber is very slightly different. If you ever manage to wear either of these guns out, I will be very impressed.
 
1KPerDay said:
where?
Click to expand...

Mastercastbullets.com

95 gr rn for $40.00 + shipping and insurance which was $6.95 last time I ordered about 3 months ago

There is a .net with the same name but different company so make sure you go to .com
 
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