New to Me Beretta Model 81

[jar]

My recent 81. Must admit it is in better shape looks-wise than the 81 I just gave my friend. But he's happy and I'm happy.

Ordered a standard grade from DK Firearms and it arrived pretty quickly. Gave it a SPA Day and took it for a WalkAbout. Accurate and so far reliable.

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When I took some pictures for my records though I noticed something I'd missed during the full takedown, inspection and even the clean up after we got back from the range. A prior owner had scratched some initials in the slide; poorly and likely with a screwdriver or pen knife. To see them the light had to be just right but when photographed using LED lighting and flash they were obvious.

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Sunday during the early Little League game I decided to try to get rid of the chicken scratch but not the normal wear. I started with 400 grit Wet/Dry sand paper and worked through to 2000. Then a full clean with first detergent, then water finally alcohol. Next several layers of Brownell's 44/40 burnishing between each layer using 0000 steel wool. Once the section matched the rest of the slide a warm water wipe down to stop any further reaction and some RemOil over the whole slide.

Before & After closeups:




In my High Noon pocket holster made for my Sig P230.

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[Patocazador]

A prior owner had scratched some initials in the slide; poorly and likely with a screwdriver or pen knife.

"Poorly" scratched is right. Why not remove the grip and do it there?

I have a friend who has a Sauer drilling. He scratched his driver's license # on the receiver. Some thief broke into his house and took all of his guns except the drilling.

 

[jar]

"Poorly" scratched is right. Why not remove the grip and do it there?

Well, to be honest I think the grip screws were initially tightened by Luca Brasi. It was nearly impossible to get them off without damaging the head.

 

[lionking]

show us some targets, 10 shots at 10 yards and show more the guns you got

 

[Patocazador]

I got mine today. I paid the extra $20 for a best of 10 pick. It's in real good shape except for minor scratches on the grips. The metal shows very little holster wear and it feels great in my hand.

I put a clip of 10 rounds through it and it shot to POA @ 10 yards. Double action trigger is good and the single action trigger is very light .. like it had a trigger job.
I'm very happy with it. The only bad thing was Classic taking ten days to ship it.

 

[Havok7416]

Got my modified mags today. They are getting sent back due to the manufacturing defect they emailed me about. Guess we will have to wait and see and those.

 

[swoter]

Picked my two up today, very good condition. Covered in a light grease. I did not pay extra for the hand select, just the regular $209 each. I think I got lucky. One has a little wear on it, the other looks almost new.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I was resisting buying one of these but then my LGS posted on FB that they got a few in stock. So after dinner tonight I went over and traded in a Stoeger Coach Gun that had been gathering dust, threw in a few more bucks, and came home with one.



I hope to shoot it this weekend with the Aguila .32 auto I bought as well. I hope the magazine situation improves, because I'd like to pick up a couple spares.

The date code on the frame is AF, which translates to 1980 manufacture.

 

[swoter]

I ordered 3 of the modified 84 mags from Robertson’s Trading Post, and only one would even go in the magwell. So, according to their email, I hit each mag on the rear of the feed lips to even out the bump. Then I had to slightly grind down the inside rear of the feed lips, because they were to far in to let the bolt slide past. Now they seem to work well, I can hand cycle ammo through the pistol easily. The test will come next week when I can actually shoot it. It was a lot like having to fit AK mags, except a lot smaller!

The gun shop owner said he had about 10 of these come through his shop this week.

 

[Schlegel]

Mine came in as well. Left side is the more worn side, but I'm happy with the condition for the price. My surplus Walther PP was much more battered at a similar price point. I didn't realize these were alloy framed, that's a nice weight reducer, and in 32 should still have plenty of longevity I imagine. I think I'd like wood grips in the future.

 

[lionking]

I am so ready to order one but with hurricane Dorian looming now I'm holding off until it passes I might have to repair the house some instead with the deductible. I'm on the west coast but still.

 

[Havok7416]

Finally got around to making some test loads for .32 today and made it out to the range with the Beretta. Shot it at 10 yards alongside my PPK. I had a few issues that seemed to be ammo related. The 12th round was a royal pain to load. The Beretta targets are on the right in this picture.

 

[lincen]

Picked my Beretta 81 up today. Date code AF in very good condition. D&K Firearms’s out of Bowling Green VA had some hand selected 81’s for $249 last week with free shipping. Very pleased with their selection and they’re great folks to buy from. Other than some holster wear at the bottom of the backstrap and also the grips it is at least in 90-95% condition, I could hardly believe it !

I had extra Beretta mags I bought last year for my model 81 FS. I paid a little more than double for that Beretta and mags were available for a good price so I bought three. Extra magazines are part of owning any semi-automatic. Really glad to have bought them before they became so expensive.

 

[usp9]

DK has reduced their pricing for a standard level to below $200. If you can take a little more wear there are some great buys to be had.

 

[Patocazador]

There must be tens of thousands of them imported for sale as everyone is selling them cheap and in good condition. I'm very happy with mine but wish I had another magazine.

 

[Havok7416]

My new grips from Altamont (www.altamontco.com) came in earlier this week but I needed some time to get the right screwdriver to get the screws off. These only cost about $35 and really improve the look of the gun. They are also a fair bit thicker than the plastic grips. I'm hoping to be able to test them out soon.

 

[bannockburn]

Havok7416

Those are some great looking grips! I had Pachmayrs on my Model 84 but after awhile I felt they made the grip feel a bit too wide so I went back to the factory grips.

 

[Tallball]

Nice grips!

Where did you get them?

 

[Havok7416]

Altamont Grips. I edited my post to reflect that. Guess I had a brain fart.

 

[Tallball]

Altamont Grips. I edited my post to reflect that. Guess I had a brain fart.

Thanks! I ordered a pair just now. I can use them on either my Model 81 or my Model 84. They sure are purty!

 

[Havok7416]

Thanks! I ordered a pair just now. I can use them on either my Model 81 or my Model 84. They sure are purty!

What kind did you get (smooth or checkered)?

 

[Tallball]

What kind did you get (smooth or checkered)?

I got the smooth ones. They looked to be a little bit larger. They are walnut, IIRC.

 

[swoter]

Got to the range today, and the two 81s I bought were fantastic! Shooting steel at 25 yards was very easy, minimal recoil. The three 84 mags from Robertson’s trading post worked very well. As long as I took my time loading them I had no problems. If I got the bullet too far forward, it would tilt down and not feed. The guns themselves worked great.

 

[george29]

Just fondled one at my gun shop, very good weapon. I just bought a G48 so I couldn't swing both.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I just ordered a Beretta 81BB from AIM over the last week. Gander Outdoors has a better price, but the condition wasn’t explicitly stated. I’ve bought many surplus guns from AIM and their advertised conditions were accurate. I can’t say the same for Classic Firearms and the now rightly out of business Southern Ohio Gun. In fact, I’ve often received guns from AIM that were in conditions better than advertised. I really like AIM and am willing to spend a few bucks more to have the confidence that I will get the gun in the condition that I expect, if not better. I wish all surplus companies would follow suit.