Will hollow points work in a Beretta Model 81?

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Good question. I have that AIM advertisement, too.
I don't think it matters, the .32 does not have enough energy to expand a hollowpoint and then get it to penetrate very far.
MY .32 gets FMJ, and Fiocchi at that, which has a higher velocity than US brands.
 
I am a big fan of the 32acp cartridge and in fact probably carry a 32acp more than any other caliber, but no hollow points, always with ball ammo. There are several reasons, expansion & penetration and reliable feeding being the two biggest. The cost/experience advantage is also considerable; it lets me shoot more and practice more with exactly what I carry. My most used brand is Geko followed by Fiocchi and S&B.
 
Rimlock is more a function of catridge OAL and rim diameter than the make of the gun. HPs, which tend to be shorter, can have the rim of the top round catch on the rim of the round below it and fail to chamber because there is room for the rounds to move back and forth in the mag under recoil. Rim diameters can vary quite a bit from brand to brand and the larger the rim diameter the more likely this is to occur. This doesn't happen so much with FMJ because the OAL is greater, minimizing front to back movement in the mag.
 
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Rim diameters can vary quite a bit from brand to brand and the larger the rim diameter the more likely this is to occur.

Boy, I'll say! I reload .32acp and the rim thickness and size or lack of the groove above it causes havoc with my shellholders. I finally found an RCBS shellholder that works pretty well thanks to help from some of the guys on the Reloading forum. Of course, the ones who had never reloaded .32acp told me I was nuts.
 
Rim lock is a possibility in any magazine fed .32 ACP pistol. It can be greatly mitigated by careful magazine loading.

As to whether or not HP ammo will feed in an 81, I expect to be able to give it a try it out in a week or so. $249 for a select condition was too good for me to pass up. I think they all went pretty quickly.
 
I've had the Beretta bug for a while, with a Model 92S and a Model 71. So, then I got smitten with new Model 81 at a local dealer. They wanted an astronomical $800. Bud's would have offered a minor savings at $698 plus shipping and transfer, but with more hassle, and they were always out. I thought I'd be saving pennies forever.

I see Model 85's in surplus all the time (I don't shoot .380), but never thought I'd see an 81. So I too jumped at the Aim offer on a select condition gun. We'll see how it goes when it arrives.
 
Boy, I'll say! I reload .32acp and the rim thickness and size or lack of the groove above it causes havoc with my shellholders. I finally found an RCBS shellholder that works pretty well thanks to help from some of the guys on the Reloading forum. Of course, the ones who had never reloaded .32acp told me I was nuts.


Is there any one headstamp that we need to avoid that's worse than any other? Remington, Aguila, Magtech, Federal, and Speer brass all fit fine in my Hornady shell plate and Lee shell holder.
 
I don't know about AIM, but once back in the Golden Age of mailorder guns, I watched a dealer do "hand select" on Spanish Mausers. Half a minute looking at the top layer in the pile - yes, they were stacked up like cordwood - and voi'la, $10 extra in his pocket.
You might do as well with the ordinary gun to shoot.
 
Is there any one headstamp that we need to avoid that's worse than any other? Remington, Aguila, Magtech, Federal, and Speer brass all fit fine in my Hornady shell plate and Lee shell holder.

I think the Lee works OK. I had Lyman and an unknown one and I had to alternate between the two until I got the RCBS holder. I think the RCBS number is 17 but don't remember for sure.
I had the worst trouble with Remington cases because they had no groove above the rim for the 'jaws' to go into. Aguila also was a problem. But now problem solved.
 
Poo. I should have looked at Classic. I ordered one of the $229 ones from AIM just now.

I like to shoot 32acp. Winchester White Box gave me lots of problems. I've never tried HP. European FMJ like Fiocchi, or Sellier and Bellot, always work well for me.

If they're the same size as my 85, they will have an unusually good sight radius for a 32acp. (I would assume it's cheaper to make them both on the same frame.)
 
Mine was a police trade in some years back, innards were in like new condition and keeping all the shots on a 10" steel plate at 40 yards is very doable. It shoots the 60 Gr XTP better than various RN bullets, never chokes on anything.

I just ordered 1K of pulled Gold Dots from RMR to help feed my .32s.
 

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The Classic ones are Italian police trade ins. I paid the extra $20 for a hand picked one. The last time I bought a gun from Classic I didn't do hand picked and I ended up with a 5906 that had been an evidence gun in at least one and possibly as many as 3 crimes or police-involved shootings! It also looked like it had been run over by a truck or two...
 
Poo. I should have looked at Classic. I ordered one of the $229 ones from AIM just now.

I like to shoot 32acp. Winchester White Box gave me lots of problems. I've never tried HP. European FMJ like Fiocchi, or Sellier and Bellot, always work well for me.

If they're the same size as my 85, they will have an unusually good sight radius for a 32acp. (I would assume it's cheaper to make them both on the same frame.)
Check shipping costs between the two and you may still be close or even ahead.
 
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