Full Size Steel 32s: CZ 83 vs Beretta 81/81BB/81fs

[cjsoccer3]

Hi all,

First off, I wanted to say that after about 7 years of being into firearms I for the first time came across a full size 32 (bought a CZ 83). Really different kind of item. Putting aside that the cartridge is on the small side, it was interesting to experience a firearm that is heavy like a CZ-75, but with a recoil profile that has more in common with 22lr. The trigger on the CZ-83 also really surprised me. It’s like a factory CZ 75 DA/SA trigger and unlike most “mouse calibers” where not much effort is dedicated to their accuracy and function. While not a SAO Cajunized CZ-75 custom shop item, it really is nice and well within the vicinity of “1911 trigger” territory.

It’s got me intrigued with the world of steel full size 32s, they truly handle differently to their own, so I was curious if anyone has experience with them and an opinion on the CZ 83s vs Beretta 81s. Soon I plan to have both and be able to comment first hand, but I’d suggest to everyone keeping an eye out at the gun club for someone with one and see if you can give one a try. I definitely liked the CZ 83 in 32acp. I think some go back and forth on which is preferred over the Berettas.

Kind Regards,

 

[bannockburn]

cjsoccer3

While the CZ 83 is all steel with it's slide and frame and weighs in at 28 oz., the Beretta Model 81 has an aluminum alloy frame and weighs around 24 oz. Not a big difference but might be a consideration if you're planning on carrying them over an extended period of time. Width on the two guns is about the same at 1.40 inches. While I have no experience with the CZ 83 (other than handling them at various gun shows over the years), I did have a Beretta Model 84, the .380 brother to the Model 81. My Model 84 was well made, extremely reliable, accurate, had a decent DA/SA trigger, and was easy to shoot with little if any felt recoil, even though it was a straight blowback design. I think it had something to do with the overall size and ergonomics of the gun as a stainless steel Walther PPK (also a straight blowback pistol), which weighs nearly the same as the Beretta, isn't quite as user friendly when shooting it.

 

[jar]

Since I'd consider the CZ 83 fairly compact, I'm not sure what you consider full size.

I'd consider the Colt 1903 full size like the Beretta 81 and the Savage 1907. Of those three I enjoy my Colt 1903s the most.

Slightly smaller 32acps I own are the Ortgies 7.65, Bernardelli 60 & the striker fired VB 7.65, CZ 50, Beretta 71 & 1935, Mauser 1914 & HSc, Walther PP and JP Sauer 38h. Of that bunch the JP Sauer 38h is by far my favorite, then likely the HSc and the Bernardelli VB.

Really small 32acp would be my Beretta Tomcat 3032.

 

[lsudave]

I have a Beretta 81, I find it very pleasant to shoot in .32 acp.

I did have a Beretta Model 84, the .380 brother to the Model 81. My Model 84 was well made, extremely reliable, accurate, had a decent DA/SA trigger, and was easy to shoot with little if any felt recoil, even though it was a straight blowback design. I think it had something to do with the overall size and ergonomics of the gun as a stainless steel Walther PPK (also a straight blowback pistol), which weighs nearly the same as the Beretta, isn't quite as user friendly when shooting it.

Ergos do play a big role in it. I have a CZ 82 in 9 Makarov, it is a very comfortable gun to shoot. I have owned a FEG PA (basically Walther PP clone), in both 9 Mak and .32 acp. My brother had a Bersa Thunder in .380 acp. The FEG in 9 Mak was brutal, painful recoil impulse to the thumb joint. Even in .32 it's more severe than the CZ 82 in Mak. The Bersa was comfortable, no issues shooting it. Based on cross-comparison and experience, I would expect a CZ 83 in .32 acp to be a delightful pistol.

Since I'd consider the CZ 83 fairly compact, I'm not sure what you consider full size.

I'd consider the Colt 1903 full size like the Beretta 81 and the Savage 1907

Don't own a Colt, but do own a Beretta 81 and a Savage 1907. Ergos for handling/aim, the Beretta is great vs the Savage (for me). At 7 yds I have trouble keeping the Savage in the black on a 8.5x11 standard NRA target. It's not the barrel, I can brace on a sandbag and make cloverleafs. But offhand, I am "grouping" about a foot. It's the only pistol that happens with. The Beretta, I can shoot offhand at 10 yds at a casual pace and keep everything inside the 8 ring.

 

[jar]

Don't own a Colt, but do own a Beretta 81 and a Savage 1907. Ergos for handling/aim, the Beretta is great vs the Savage (for me). At 7 yds I have trouble keeping the Savage in the black on a 8.5x11 standard NRA target. It's not the barrel, I can brace on a sandbag and make cloverleafs. But offhand, I am "grouping" about a foot. It's the only pistol that happens with. The Beretta, I can shoot offhand at 10 yds at a casual pace and keep everything inside the 8 ring.

I don't have an accuracy issue with my Savage but do like have a few really big guys around to help cock that striker if needed.

 

[chicharrones]

I have a Beretta 81BB in .32 ACP and a CZ82 in 9mm Makorov.

The Beretta does feel a tad lighter with an empty magazine, but fill them both up with ammo and I can't tell the difference.

The factory CZ grip panel contour makes the CZ feel a bit slimmer in the hand compared to the fat Beretta grip panels.

The DA triggers between the two are pretty close to one another with the CZ DA trigger pull feeling a bit heavier. The Beretta does have a crisper SA trigger, with the CZ trigger being a bit mushy before it breaks. Racking the slides . . . the Beretta feels smoother.

For defense type shooting, I like the dot on dot Beretta BB sights better than the line between two dots of the CZ. But both are just fine otherwise.

In shooting the two, the 9mm Mak is extra snappy compared to the .32 ACP. I shoot my 81BB quite a bit more accurately than my CZ82. Perhaps with a CZ83, the contest would be closer.

It's strange how the CZ looks bigger than the Beretta . . . until you put them side by side and realize its simply the proportional differences. That recoil spring around the barrel of the CZ versus the recoil spring under the barrel of the Beretta and the frame design involved with that.

Interestingly, the Beretta fits into the CZ82 holster just fine.
View attachment 1042869

View attachment 1042872

 

[chicharrones]

Since I'd consider the CZ 83 fairly compact, I'm not sure what you consider full size.

Full size for a .32 ACP pistol.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

There is the SIG 230 in 32acp also. I just picked up one of the Japanese police over runs from years back with the safety and lanyard ring. Neat pistol.

 

[Tallball]

My Beretta 81 is a joy to shoot. It's my favorite 32acp pistol to shoot these days, and I have various other choices. I also have a Beretta 84 and like it just fine.

My FiL has a wonderful CZ83 in 380 that is an excellent shooter. I owned one and liked it, but couldn't get it to shoot to POA for me, and sent it down the road.

Chicharrones, I'm amazed that they're so similar in size. In my mind/memory the CZ seem like the bigger pistol. It's funny how our minds play tricks on us.

If I ever find a CZ83 in 32acp for a reasonable price I will snatch it up immediately. That would be a very cool pistol.

Here are my 84 and 81 with big grips for my ape hands. They're both surplus. The 84 was carried a lot and the finish is worn around the edges. The 81 was pristine when I got it.

Beretta 84 And 81

• Tallball
• Oct 7, 2019

 

[lsudave]

I don't have an accuracy issue with my Savage but do like have a few really big guys around to help cock that striker if needed.

Yeah, I'm really not sure what's up with the Savage. I'm no super-duper shooter, but I don't have problems with any other pistol, regarding accuracy. I don't just miss to one area or side... it's literally all over the place. Upper left, lower right, upper right... out of one magazine. I do my best to control and repeat the position, and I'm hitting 6 inches away.
There are pistols I appear to pull, or maybe the sights are off- I still group them.

Got a couple old Mauser 1914 .32s, and I'm pretty accurate with those. And I'm quite accurate with the FEG. Decent functional accuracy with a Beretta 21A, stays solid up through the various 9mms and 45's. But that Savage- if I ever pulled that on someone, the best thing they could do would be to assume the Superman pose directly in front of me.

 

[Jimbo80]

There is a CZ83 in my future. Wish I had bought more Colt 1903s when they were cheap.

 

[Mosin77]

I like my Colt 1903 a lot. The Beretta feels “nicer” than the CZ-83. But not by much. The CZ is also beautiful, blued steel, while the Beretta is alloy and those tend to look ratty, rather than classy, with wear. IMO. I think recoil between those two is similar. Neither is quite as light in recoil as you would expect from a physically larger (than the Colt ‘03 which is quite thin and so looks smaller) shooting a .32 round. They are nowhere near as soft shooting as my Ruger MkII (standard 4” pencil barrel model) 22.

I think the Beretta and CZ bring double action, modern ergos and controls, sights, and “high capacity” to the table. They are to my knowledge the only .32s that offer these things. Not that they are excessive in recoil by any means, but to hear some guys talk they’re “practically a 22,” and that, they are not.

 

[Walkalong]

Both the CZ 83 and the Beretta 81 are great. Mine are both police trade ins from across the pond.

 

[jar]

So today I carried my post war Mahurin PP in my post war commercial hard-shell D.R.G.M. AKAH (Albrecht Kind) holster.

AbE:

Well, that didn't work. I could get the flap to close over the PP but just barely and then only if there was no spare mag in the spare slot. Also tried my PPK/s and it was an even worse fit.

It was pretty clear that the holster was not for the PP grip size.

Then I saw a really faded ink stamp inside with what looked like W-4 so tried my Walther model 4 and it's a perfect fit even regarding the spare mag slot. The PP magazines were almost impossible to pull out while the Model 4 mags slide in and out easily.

Happy Dance.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

What is the magazine situation with the CZ?

I can buy new mags straight from Beretta, CZ has left the 82/83 for dead.
THe current crop of mags labeled " CZ manufactured " are NOT made by CZ and have well known and wide spread issues with fitment and feeding.

 

[usp9]

I've owned both the CZ and Beretta in 32acp. Of the two the Beretta would be my first choice. I owned the CZ before they modified the magazine to make feeding better, that is they had to change the back plate to lessen the rimlock possibility. Rimlock in that gun was such that unloading sometimes meant having to remove the base plate. A real bummer with a loaded mag. Otherwise I really enjoyed shooting it. Good grip, good sights, good accuracy and easy takedown. Poor reliability. Mag are very hard to find.
The Beretta 81 on the other hand is a jewel. Always functions, easy to shoot well and accurate. One of my favorites.
The aforementioned Sig P230 is also a super nice pistol. Almost perfect. Never a problem.

 

[whatnickname]

I’ve got a Beretta M81 that I picked up a year or so ago when the Italian Corrections Dept turned quite a few of them lose for very reasonable prices. Mine is in 95%+ condition and was a tad over $200 after shipping and transfer fees. The only thing I regret is not buying two or three of them at that price. Like my Beretta M84 and M85, the M81 is excellent in all respects. I also have a Beretta Tomcat and a Walther PP. Both the Tomcat and the Walther are excellent as well. Don’t know that I would ever carry one for a CCW, but as so many have said, the best CCW is the one you have in your pocket. I would wager that there are quite a few people in Europe that were sent on to the next life by the lowly 32 ACP. I know I would not volunteer to step in front of one.

 

[golden]

I have owned a CZ-82 in 9m.m. MAKAROV, so the only difference was caliber and a little more recoil. I also have several of the BERETTA 80 series CHEETAH pistols in .32ACP and .380ACP. Both are excellent guns with good triggers, overbuilt for the caliber so they are low maintenance, accurate and reliable. If asked to choose one, it would be the BERETTA because I think the hammer dropping safety of the BERETTA is much safer than the 1911 style, non-hammer dropping safety of the CZ.
I would carry either gun with a round in the chamber and shoot first shot double action. On the BERETTA, once I rack the slide and load a round into the chamber, all I have to do is flip on the safety to safely drop the hammer and then flip the safety off to ready the gun.
With the CZ, once I have loaded the chamber, I still have a cocked pistol and I will not carry it cocked and locked.

The biggest drawback is their size and weight which makes concealment harder, but that is also their strong point. They are both easy to shoot and carry a large magazine capacity and not at all finicky with ammo.

Jim

 

[chicharrones]

I have owned a CZ-82 in 9m.m. MAKAROV, so the only difference was caliber and a little more recoil. I also have several of the BERETTA 80 series CHEETAH pistols in .32ACP and .380ACP. Both are excellent guns with good triggers, overbuilt for the caliber so they are low maintenance, accurate and reliable. If asked to choose one, it would be the BERETTA because I think the hammer dropping safety of the BERETTA is much safer than the 1911 style, non-hammer dropping safety of the CZ.
I would carry either gun with a round in the chamber and shoot first shot double action. On the BERETTA, once I rack the slide and load a round into the chamber, all I have to do is flip on the safety to safely drop the hammer and then flip the safety off to ready the gun.
With the CZ, once I have loaded the chamber, I still have a cocked pistol and I will not carry it cocked and locked.

The biggest drawback is their size and weight which makes concealment harder, but that is also their strong point. They are both easy to shoot and carry a large magazine capacity and not at all finicky with ammo.

Jim

Sounds like a slide mounted safety Beretta (92FS) is getting mixed up with a frame mounted safety Beretta (81, 84, etc.)?

 

[golden]

Chicharrones,

No it is not. Please examine the Cheetah series and you will find that they drop the hammer now. The older version could be cocked and locked only, but the new production models have both a cocked and locked mode and a hammer dropping mode. The safety is still in the same location, it has just been upgraded.

Jim

 

[chicharrones]

Chicharrones,

No it is not. Please examine the Cheetah series and you will find that they drop the hammer now. The older version could be cocked and locked only, but the new production models have both a cocked and locked mode and a hammer dropping mode. The safety is still in the same location, it has just been upgraded.

Jim

Thanks for the correction, @golden . Looks like "F" models were the first with that feature?