Beretta 1934 Questions on carry

T

TheFlynn01

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2020
Messages
110
Location
Colorado
Found a nice (to me) 1934 made in 36. Its a really nice little 380! Yet looking at this thing, I found it interesting it has such a long service life. The swing over safety is very strange to me, makes me wonder how the Italians carried it for so long? I would not think it safe to carry cocked and locked, with as fiddly (for me) safety. It does not seem like it would make much sense. Wondering if anyone here had more wisdom on how the Italians used it, in military.. but more curious about the police work and the like. I suppose using two hands it would be easy enough to swing the safety over... but I dont see it being very good for concealed carry, even back in the 30s.

Would love to hear what you all think about it. Its neat that it has such a long service life, and just wanting to learn more about that. It had to be popular for a reason, and mine is a real nice shooter. I am just trying to think of how I would use it if I had to duty carry it and such.

Thanks for reading!
 
TheFlynn01 said:
Found a nice (to me) 1934 made in 36. Its a really nice little 380! Yet looking at this thing, I found it interesting it has such a long service life. The swing over safety is very strange to me, makes me wonder how the Italians carried it for so long? I would not think it safe to carry cocked and locked, with as fiddly (for me) safety. It does not seem like it would make much sense. Wondering if anyone here had more wisdom on how the Italians used it, in military.. but more curious about the police work and the like. I suppose using two hands it would be easy enough to swing the safety over... but I dont see it being very good for concealed carry, even back in the 30s.

Would love to hear what you all think about it. Its neat that it has such a long service life, and just wanting to learn more about that. It had to be popular for a reason, and mine is a real nice shooter. I am just trying to think of how I would use it if I had to duty carry it and such.

Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...
I will be punished by some folks for doing so and writing about it, but in the last century I carried mine with a loaded chamber and at the half cock. To give you an idea of how long ago I will say my carry ammo of choice was the Super Vel JHP.

At the time My buddies had Walther PPk, Astra Constable, and FI Pony and that 1934 out shot them all, even when we switched guns.

Let the screeching begin!

-kBob
 
Friend in Italy is retired Carabinieri who carried the M1934 early in his career. They were required to carry with empty chamber. When covered in flap holster it was permitted to have hammer at full cock to reduce effort required to rack slide and chamber a round.

In WW2 Italian Army practice carrying with loaded chamber and hammer in half-cock notch was common if contact with the enemy was imminent, but modern testing indicates that the pistol is not drop safe with that method of carry.
 
Awesome, thank you all for the info. It is a real fun little pistol and I just like to wrap my head around how it was used. The safety is so unique, and I have not run across another firearm with one like it, so I really wanted to see what people used to do! Makes me want to pick up a 70S, seems like the next 'upgrade' in the line.
 
Awesome looking pistol! I like the fit and finish on yours Erich! It has a good look to it. Mine is pretty rough, but I suppose that is to be expected! Nice little holster too! What one is that?
 
TheFlynn01 said:
Awesome looking pistol! I like the fit and finish on yours Erich! It has a good look to it. Mine is pretty rough, but I suppose that is to be expected! Nice little holster too! What one is that?
Click to expand...
It's a leather-lined but otherwise basic Remora. Alan Bogdan (the owner) is a great guy and he is wonderful about accommodating weird guns like this one. :)
 
tommy.duncan said:
I have one in 380 too. It has only made 1 range trip and had a few mags through it. It was fun to shoot.
Sorry for the bad picture.
Click to expand...
Looks good to me! They are nice little pistols!
Erich said:
It's a leather-lined but otherwise basic Remora. Alan Bogdan (the owner) is a great guy and he is wonderful about accommodating weird guns like this one. :)
Click to expand...
Awesome, I will have to check it out. I have taken a shine to this little pistol.


So took it to the range again yesterday. First time I shot it I put a box of S&B through, no issues, hickups, or problems. Yesterday though, I had the hammer fall 3 times and no bag. 3 out of 100. So I figure there must be some old gunk in there. I cleaned the gun but there must be more stuck in the firing pin chamber. I also ordered new springs from Wolf, so I will tear it all down to make sure. Anyone more wise than I might have any other idea what it could be?
 
TheFlynn01 said:
Looks good to me! They are nice little pistols!

Awesome, I will have to check it out. I have taken a shine to this little pistol.


So took it to the range again yesterday. First time I shot it I put a box of S&B through, no issues, hickups, or problems. Yesterday though, I had the hammer fall 3 times and no bag. 3 out of 100. So I figure there must be some old gunk in there. I cleaned the gun but there must be more stuck in the firing pin chamber. I also ordered new springs from Wolf, so I will tear it all down to make sure. Anyone more wise than I might have any other idea what it could be?
Click to expand...

S&B is very well known for hard primers. Did the rounds fire on re-strike? New springs can't hurt, as long as they actually are stronger than what's in there now.
 
Got the .32 iteration, simply because our late range officer was so fond of them. Mine runs well enough; the magazine follower as the slide stop is a PITA.
They are neat old guns, but not what I'd chose to carry, assuming I had other choices.
Moon
 
TheFlynn01 said:
Awesome, thank you all for the info. It is a real fun little pistol and I just like to wrap my head around how it was used. The safety is so unique, and I have not run across another firearm with one like it, so I really wanted to see what people used to do! Makes me want to pick up a 70S, seems like the next 'upgrade' in the line.
Click to expand...
The manual safety catch on the Beretta 1934 is the same as the safety on millions of Colt 32 and 25 copies made by the Spanish for the commercial market, and for the French in World War I. All it does is block movement of the trigger. It does not lock up the sear or the firing pin in any way, so if you think about it, all it does is prevent intentional firing of the pistol. I guess it also keeps people who are unfamiliar with it from firing it right away as well.

Also, the 1934's last shot hold open is one of those where the magazine follower jams the slide to the rear when empty. This makes the magazine harder to remove, and the slide slams down as soon as the magazine is moved, so it is just a signal and no help to rapid reloading, as halfmoonclip points out above.

For these reasons, plus a lightweight aluminum alloy frame, the Beretta Model 70 is a big step up. It has a sear-block safety located in a good position, a proper 1911-style hold open, and a magazine safety, if you are not opposed to those.

Don't get me wrong, the 1934 is highly regarded for very good reasons. They are very solid and well made, accurate, and generally reliable. (The late World War 2 ones made for the Germans may not be as good.) J. B. Wood, a famous gunsmith, once said of the 1934 that it would possible to design something better, but not something better and simpler.
 
When the slide stops on the magazine follower Flip the safety on and jack the slide back that last half inch.

Then thumb back the mag catch while hooking mag finger hook with the same hand index finger and shuck out the mag.

Load new mag. with same hand pull down and rotate the safety.

Slide slams shut feeding first round in magazine.

The bit about carrying with an empty chamber and the gun at full cock does make drawing back the slide easier than trying to over come the hammer spring or striker spring as well.

I have no way of testing other than saying “that has been my experience”

My Dad used to carry a Bernadelli VP .25 in a pocket and he carried cocked over an empty chamber. He could, if needed, cock the little thing in one hand. He could not easily do so with it un cocked as even that tiny spring added to the force required.

I could, in my youth, thumb cock and work the slide of a Service M-1911a1 one handed with out the gun touching anything but my hand. I was taught that by an instructor that had carried and used a 1911a1 in the Philippines in WWII and again in Korea. He was of the opinion that it was an important skill as he felt it possible that your first hint of needing the pistol might be the loss of the use of one hand.

He also preferred carrying Cocked and locked and thought it odd that folks worried about carrying a M1911a1 that way but thought nothing of carrying a DA revolver, but if the Brass says empty chamber well getting an Article 15 (non-judicial punishment) is WAY more likely than needing a loaded handgun in most places!
 
kBob said:
When the slide stops on the magazine follower Flip the safety on and jack the slide back that last half inch.

Then thumb back the mag catch while hooking mag finger hook with the same hand index finger and shuck out the mag.
Click to expand...
Golly, kBob, I was really hoping that this would work, as it is how it is on a 418.
Wait, stop the presses, I did get it to work; it's a bit different than the 418.
I'll be damned, and thanks, kBob.
Moon
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Beretta 1934??
Replies
11
Views
1K
Cosmoline
C
rs525
  • Locked
Beretta 1934, 1951 and 84
Replies
4
Views
283
rs525
rs525
Waveski
  • Locked
Beretta 1934 ... markings
Replies
6
Views
426
.455_Hunter
.455_Hunter
cc-hangfire
  • Locked
Beretta 1934 compared to Cheeta?
Replies
15
Views
3K
oneounceload
O
D
  • Locked
Beretta Corto 1934
Replies
7
Views
4K
Denmark116
D
Back
Top