Beretta 21 Bobcat Pistol

[ironhorsemanfxsts]

I went with my grandmother to the gun store and she picked out a Beretta 21 Bobcat. We have not had the opportunity to shoot it yet. Does anyone have an opinion on this firearm. I know that revolvers are more desirable amongst experts, but she is older with arthritis and she tried a light weight Smith and Wesson 22 revolver and it was hurting her. Other than maybe loading the clip it looked very safe and easy for her to use.

 

[excursion12]

I have a beretta in .25 acp. If I recall correctly both the .25 and .22 are blowback operation. I know on the .25 if a case fails to extract from the chamber, you can rack the slide till the cows come home and it won't pull it out. You have to tip the barrel, pick it out with your finger nails, then either hand load the chamber or close the barrel and rack the slide. Pretty extensive clearance drill. Other than that, it is a fun little gun to shoot.

 

[22rssix]

They are great guns for what they are. The mag will fit 7 rounds, but only put 6 in or you will not be able to lock the mag into the mag well.

Keep the barrel and chamber clean since it has no extractor.

Use good Ammo, bulk stuff is ok at the range but I would keep it clean and loaded with Stingers for carry

One of the RO's I work with has one and we shot the snot out of it one day. The sights are small, kind of hard to use, but it is accurate for what it is.

We taped pennies to the targets at 7 yards and were able it hit them.

 

[LPMan59]

i have one. it is fairly accurate and reliable with the right ammo. mine seems to love cci stingers, so that's all i will feed it. the blueing is rather thin though; after keeping it my pocket a couple of times the finish is now really beat up.

i havent had any issues with putting all seven rounds in the mag.

 

[coda80]

i have a tomcat. very similar in design and its a great little firearm. i only paid 40 bucks for it so it was well worth the money.

 

[ruger1800]

Have one of these, works flawlessly when i shoot it, let the wife and kids shoot it, failed to knock the shell out of the chamber (extract) every time, you have to hold these things with a strong stiff wrist since they have no extractor, the recoil just kinda knocks the shell out of the chamber.

 

[indykid]

I had my Beretta 21A out the other day at the DNR range in New Castle. Since they don't allow shooting less than 25 yards, I brought a steady rest. I was amazed when I started seeing holes in the 8x10 inch target I set up. At 25 yards this mini-barrel .22LR was putting rounds on paper!!!!

Since it does not have an extractor, you must make sure that the little guy is very well cleaned after each range visit. Also be careful with the ammo you use. I tried some cheap PMC and found that the wax coating on the rounds quickly gummed up the little Beretta to where it wouldn't eject the spent round. A good cleaning and some clean ammo (used both Remington Thunderbolt and CCI Blazer with no problems) and the pistol was fine.

Just remember, with no extractor you need to keep it clean, and use good clean ammo.

 

[remymartin]

I had the 22lr version. It never failed. The tip up bbl is perfect for those with weak hands as you don't have to rack the slide. Racking the slide on one of those little guys is quite a chore. As with any firearm I sold or traded it is sorely missed .

 

[tedk]

With the tip up barrel easy on weak hands to load. I have one I bought new in 1987 it has been shoot alot looks like hell but still works great.

+1 for the model Beretta model 21

 

[DanO]

Bought one in 1990, liked it so much bought a 2nd 2years ago. Like they said, keep it clean, it will function great. Both of mine eat ANY 22 LR ammo except birdshot. THe tip up barrel allows people with weaker hands to load it easily, allows you to shoot bird shot or any underpowered 22 ammo one at a time, and to render the gun immediately safe. I can make a coke can dance with mine 15 yards, so it is accurate for what it is.

Look at the AlphaRubicon site for a great brakdown on the M21.

They are LOUD, so make sure grandma has quality hearing protection x 2.

 

[thompal]

I went with my grandmother to the gun store and she picked out a Beretta 21 Bobcat. We have not had the opportunity to shoot it yet. Does anyone have an opinion on this firearm. I know that revolvers are more desirable amongst experts, but she is older with arthritis and she tried a light weight Smith and Wesson 22 revolver and it was hurting her. Other than maybe loading the clip it looked very safe and easy for her to use.

I've got a Model 950 (.25 Cal) (which is the same size and functions nearly the same as the 21) that I bought new around 1979 or 80, and it's a really nice little pistol. My wife likes it so well, that when she wanted a .22 pistol, she found a Model 21 used and got it. It's hard to grip the slide, but with the tip-up barrel and a hammer, you never really need to during normal use.

They are surprisingly accurate for such an abbreviated barrel.

 

[ironhorsemanfxsts]

Thank you all for the replies. since this is her first gun ever, and has only shoot one time in a ladies gun class last weekend, I was worried about what the perfect gun would be for her. This makes me feel a lot better about her purchase.

 

[Bluedragon]

I had one a few years ago before selling it to my sister's boyfriend.
From my experience with it, I noticed that after a few mags the gun would jam and have FTE. Still it was a neat little gun and I liked being able to shoot a pistol with affordable ammo. Also the price was right for being a brand new gun.

 

[gunwh]

in my experiance you need to use high grade ammo for the bobcat and tom cat versions when there new for the action is so tight cheep ammo will not cycle properly causing miss feeds and stove pipes. most guys that have baught them have put a thousand rounds threw it befor it wouls cycle cheeper ammo. but most importitly keep it clean

 

[gunwh]

a perfict gun is anything that you are comfertable with and that is reliable

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I agree with about everything everyone has said so far. I have the 21A in .25acp. Great little gun, NEVER failed me in any way. Slide is pretty stiff, but the tip up barrel makes it easy for ANYONE to load/clear. Mine is nickle plated with wood grips, really pretty pocket pistol. I am undecided as to the origin of it's high degree of accuracy, is it because it's a Beretta or because it's a centerfire...? I'm going with the Beretta factor since so many with the rimfire version are experiencing the same thing. I paid $150 about 6 years ago, but have seen them going for over $350 recently. Oh, they make crimson trace laser grips for them too!!!

 

[22lr]

I just picked up a 21a, dandy little piece. I agree with what the others are saying. Its a great little gun for what it is. I like it because unlike a lot of popular CC guns, the 21a has class. Not bling, not cool, not cute and cuddly, but classy.

And I cant really add to what everyone else said besides its a dandy little gun if 22lr is your thing. But maybe im just addicted to small fun guns that shoot cheap ammo.

And to make matters better you can get a threaded barrel and suppressor to make it look like even classier.

(Picture shamelessly stolen from SSNFAs Thompson Machine Suppressors add) The suppressor is a Thompson Machine Wasp.

 

[cosermann]

Is she planning to carry it or just have it around the house?

What was it about the S&W that was hurting her? Weight of the gun itself? Trigger pull?

Doesn't sound like she shot either, so I'm guessing it had to be something ergonomic.

 

[tradertator]

Great guns, but be careful if you have large hands like I do. It will shear a chunk out of your hands when that slide blows back, and the 2 corners look like Beretta had them sharpened to do just that.

 

[tyler34]

I have shot it suppressed and it is SUUWEET!