Beretta 81 Cheetah

The market has recently been flooded with the 32 ACP Beretta 81 Cheetah, a quality-made 32 ACP pocket pistol from Italian police service. They can be found in a variety of conditions, from finish worn to as-new, and there is a very good chance you’ll be seeing one or more in your shop.

Until recently, the Beretta 81 Cheetah was not readily seen in the US firearm market for two reasons; one, it is a quality, well-made weapon that is relatively expensive, costing as much at retail as its larger, more prevalent 9mm sibling. Second, the 32 ACP/7.65 Browning cartridge has never been popular in the United States; it’s been considered to be less effective than the 380 ACP/9mm Kurz/Corto/Short and American shooters have always been of a "more is better" mindset.

Until the last 20- 25 years, many law enforcement officers carried either revolvers in 38 Special or 357 Magnum, a 1911 in 45 ACP, or sometimes 38 Super. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, law enforcement agencies have switched The current crop of imported Model 81s were formerly in Italian police service. to one high capacity "wondernine" or another, like the SIG 226, the Glock family, or Beretta 92, and the plethora of newer 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP handguns that have been developed and offered since.

In Europe, however, the 32 ACP/7.65 Browning has for much of the 20th century been the favorite cartridge of the numerous police agencies of many countries. John Browning’s first semi-auto pistol cartridge was the 32 ACP (7.65×25 mm Browning), introduced in 1899. It was an immediate success in Europe and quickly adopted for military, law enforcement, and civilian applications.

In Push the smaller button in to permit the disassembly latch to be rotated. many European countries, for a law enforcement officer a 32 ACP-chambered sidearm is often secondary to another more serious weapon such as a carbine-style rifle or a submachine gun. In Europe, .32 caliber cartridges don’t carry the "mouse gun" stigma that is does in America. Nor should it; personally I certainly wouldn’t want to be shot with a 32 ACP, let alone anything else.

The current flood of Beretta 81 Cheetah pistols comes to the USA from ex-Italian police inventories. They have been offered in a variety of grades, or condition levels, from as-new to exhibiting corrosion pitting on the steel slide, and wear to the anodized finish on the alloy frame. Even those examples which

appear to have been "ridden hard and put up wet" have moderate to very little wear internally, and most of the Beretta 81 Cheetah imports that I’ve inspected have remarkably clean bores.

In order to be imported, these Model 81 were required to be partially disassembled, with the slide assemblies shipped in container(s) separately from the frame assemblies, and frames and slides were mated again at the US importer’s When removing the extractor pin, take care to control the firing pin and its spring, as the extractor pin retains the firing pin under spring force. The extractor pin is notched and is installed only one way.

Use a small-diameter punch to drive out both pins as an assembly simultaneously, then remove the right side safety lever. facility at the time of application of the required import marking on the underside of the trigger guard. The frame is the only serialized component on these Model 81s. There is no chance that the originally mated slide was reunited with its frame. Opportunity alert: There may be some individual guns that have fit or functionality issues that may need professional attention.

Originally introduced in 1976, the Beretta Model 81 is a high-ca- Far 015" larger in diameter than the pin body. Drive it out from bottom of the slide upward past the staking. Upon reinstallation, reset the staking close to the head of the pin or the pin will launch upon firing. pacity, medium-sized, blowbackoperated pistol weighing 23 ounces; with a 12-round double-stack magazine, a 3-7/8" barrel, and is a sibling of the high-capacity Beretta Model 84, chambered in 380 ACP.

The Model 81 is double-action/single-action with a light alloy frame, an open-topped steel slide, exposed hammer, and possesses an ambidextrous safety. The thumb safety is not a decocker and locks the fire control group. The safety can be engaged with the hammer in either the forward (double-action) or cocked (single-action) positions. The recoil assembly consists of a full-length steel guide rod with a single round-wire spring.

The Model 81 looks very much a scaled-down Beretta 92, and while there are some external similarities, there are more differences internally than not. These ex-LE Model 81 Cheetahs are inscribed with a finely engraved "Cat 4" on the right side of the frame dust cover, which is the Catalogo Nazionale delle Armi number. Upon approval of the Italian arms commission, any type of rifled firearm manufactured or imported into Italy must have Cataloa

go number, and the Beretta Model 81 was number "4" in the registry. All of these current Model 81 imports are marked "Cat 4". Disassembly Regarding takedown, first remove the magazine and retract the slide to ensure the chamber is empty. Not visible underneath the trigger bar shaft is the slide latch shaft passing through the multiple coil of the trigger spring.

The disassembly lever release button projects from the left side of the frame above the front end of the trigger guard and at the 7 o’clock position of the left end of the disassembly lever shaft. Press the button in, then rotate the disassembly lever on the right side of the frame clockwise 90 degrees. Withdraw the slide assembly forward off the frame. Note the location of the recoil spring guide head in its recess in the barrel lug.

Push the recoil spring guide forward, removing it and the recoil spring from the slide. Push the barrel down out of the slide and remove it. The spring-loaded extractor pivots around a staked-in vertical pin in front of the rear sight. This pin also retains the firing pin against its spring and is headed at the top end; the head is 0.015" larger in diameter than the pin body. Drift the extractor pin out from the bottom through the top of the slide, past two staking dents on either side of the pin hole.

Control the firing pin and its spring as the extractor and its spring as both are under spring force and the firing pin especially may "launch" if not restrained. Disassembly within a large plastic bag is recommended. If equipped, the magazine safety spring is a curled loop on the right side of the frame. I have examined three of these ex-Italian police Model 81s and none of them had a magazine safety spring. Your mileage may vary.

To remove a magazine safety spring if so equipped, use pliers to unseat the lower spring leg from its notch in the frame and pull it out away from the frame. Unhook the other end of the spring from the opening in the trigger bar. The right-hand safety lever is fixed to the left hand safety lever shaft by a small sheet metal double roll pin; use a punch to remove the pin, then slide the righthand safety lever off the shaft to the right.

Ensuring the hammer is cocked, remove the left-hand safety lever to the left, taking care that the plunger and spring are restrained by a finger as you do so. Once the safety lever clears its positioning post on the outer end of the hammer axis pin, the safety lever plunger spring force

will be released. Pull the plunger and spring out with fingers, pliers, or tweezers. Before removing the trigger bar, take note of the position of the trigger spring that resides between the two frame rail bosses and underneath the disassembly lever. Looking closely with plenty of illumination, this is the wire form spring that’s straight at the front end, has a single coil and a multi-turn coil 90 degrees to each other, and is hooked at the rear end. A lot is going on with this spring.

The straight end of the trigger spring fits in a hole in the disassembly lever Knock out the smaller pin first, which tensions the sear spring. Then drive out the larger diameter pin as shown. release button shaft, the slide catch shaft passes through the multi-turn coil in the trigger spring, and the hook at the rear end is fastened over the trigger bar shaft between the two "eyes" at the top of the trigger through which the trigger bar shaft passes.

Taking a photo or making a sketch of this tight area prior to further disassembly will help with reassembly, and there is a detailed photo of the area in question accompanying this article. The trigger bar is removed by first withdrawing the trigger bar spring arm from a groove in the un- Far Once the pin is removed, cock the hammer to push the hammer strut guide out of the bottom of the frame. derside of the trigger bar, then sliding the bar out of the frame to the right.

Next remove the disassembly lever by rotating it 180 degrees so that the lever tab is vertical and pointing up, then work it out from the frame to the right. Now pull the slide catch slightly away from the frame. Using a small screwdriver tip or tweezers, unclip the upper (short) leg of slide catch spring from its seat in the frame. Then continue pulling the slide catch to the left and out of the multi-turn loop in the trigger spring, and ultimately out of the frame.

The slide catch shaft needs to be reinserted in the multi-turn loop when reassembled. Since the slide catch shaft serves as the trigger axis pin, removing the slide catch frees the trigger. With the trigger still loosely in place,

Tweezers or small forceps are useful for reinstallation. Not so with the Beretta 81. Note that the flange on the guide rod nests in a mating half-moon recess in the underside of the barrel lug—be sure to set the guide rod as shown before reassembling the barrel, slide, and recoil spring assembly to the frame. remove the trigger spring from the top of the frame using needle nose pliers or tweezers.

Withdraw the trigger toward the bottom through the trigger guard by rotating the bottom end of the trigger forward so that the trigger is horizontal in the trigger guard. Once the forward tip of the trigger spring is out of the disassembly button shaft, the disassembly button can be removed from the frame. If the hammer is still cocked, use a screwdriver or punch to push the sear out of engagement with the hammer to release the hammer.

With the hammer forward, use a pin punch to drive out the hammer strut guide (aka frame plug) retaining roll pin, adjacent to and to the rear of the lower grip screw bushing. After driving out the pin, cocking the hammer pushes the hammer strut guide out of the bottom of the frame, allowing for ready grip with finger and thumb for removal of both guide and the mainspring / hammer strut assembly behind it. Next remove the hammer axis pin to the left and withdraw the hammer from the top of the frame.

A smalldiameter roll pin in the arc-section milled area behind the magazine well restrains and tensions the sear spring. Driving out the small-diameter pin unloads the wire sear spring and the sear. Driving out the solid pin that serves as the sear axis enables the sear and sear spring to be removed to the inside of the magazine well. Pay attention to the positioning of the components as a reference for reassembly. The long, straight leg of the sear spring seats in a slot in the forward face of the sear.

There are two tiny roll pins that fasten the ejector to the frame. Removing those pins frees up the ejector, but removal is not recommended unless the ejector is broken or requires replacement. To remove the magazine catch, assuming it is set up for right-hand use, a small screwdriver is best to push the wider block inside the magazine catch to the right, while pushing the right side of the magazine catch to the left. The magazine catch will just about pop out of the frame.

Reassembly Some points of interest when reassembling the Model 81 concern the fire control group and the guide rod’s positioning in its proper recess in the underside of the barrel. First, when installing the trigger bar, be sure that the forward tip of the trigger spring is inserted in the hole in the disassembly latch release button shaft as it provides the spring force to keep the disassembly release button in place protruding from the left of the frame.

Then reinstall the slide catch, ensuring that the slide catch shaft passes through the multi-turn loop in the trigger spring. Then, the trigger bar shaft is inserted in the frame from the right, ensuring that the trigger spring hook is hooked over the trigger bar shaft between the two "ears" in the top end of the trigger that the trigger bar shaft rides in. The trigger spring thus provides reset force for the trigger. Next, install the disassembly lever from the right, with the finger piece pointing up.

Once seated in the frame, rotate it 180 degrees so it points down. An improperly located guide rod is what brought the first 32 ACP Model 81 to me. The pistol was in three parts: frame assembly, slide assembly, and recoil spring/guide

1 Barrel 2 Slide 3 Recoil Spring 4 Recoil Spring Guide Rod 5 Extractor 6 Extractor Pin 7 Extractor Spring 8 Rear Sight 9 Firing Pin 10 Firing Pin Spring 11 Frame 12 Disassembly Latch 13 Disassembly Release Button 14 Trigger Spring 15 Slide Catch 16 Slide Catch Spring 17 Trigger 18 Trigger Bar rod assembly. The customer could not get the pistol to reassemble; no matter how he tried, the slide would not reseat completely on the frame.

I examined the three assembly groups and activated the disassembly latch a 19 Trigger Bar Spring 20 Magazine Release Button 21 Magazine Release Button Spring Bushing, right 22 Magazine Release Button Spring Bushing, left 23 Magazine Release Button Spring Safety, left 24 Safety, left 25 Safety Spring Plunger 26 Safety Spring 27 Safety Wing, right 28 Safety Wing Pin 29 Hammer Pin 30 Hammer 31 Hammer Spring Guide 32 Hammer Spring 33 Hammer Strut Guide Beretta 81 Cheetah (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 34 Hammer Strut Guide Pin 35 Ejector 36 Ejector Pin 37 Sear 38 Sear Pin 39 Sear Spring 40 Sear Spring Pin 41 Grip, right 42 Grip, left 43 Grip Bushing 44 Grip Screw 45 Magazine Body 46 Magazine Follower 47 Magazine Spring 48 Magazine Plate 49 Magazine Floorplate 50 Magazine Safety Spring few times and couldn’t see anything out of sorts.

While the customer was waiting I reassembled the pistol and it went together fine. I was able to rack the slide and dry fire the 81 in a safe direction. "Wait a second! How did you do that?", the customer exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the little Beretta in my right hand. So I disassembled the 81 into its assembly groups and started to reassemble it, showing the customer where pistol’s barrel lug has an arc-shaped recess into which the guide rod head is to seat.

That leaves a very short space between the longest section of the barrel lug and the guide rod head. If the guide rod head is not fully seated in its half-moon recess, the pistol won’t reassemble. I went through reassembly again slowly, then disassembled it and had the customer put it together while I watched. That time, he had no problems. Other reassembly points to note: The left-side safety lever has a spring-loaded detent pin that engages the post protruding from the left side of the hammer axis pin.

In a controlled environment such as draped towel or a large plastic bag "tent", use a jeweler’s screwdriver to depress the detent and push the safety in place against the frame. To replace the magazine catch, insert the left end of the catch into the left recess with the inner shoulder of the left spring housing against the inside of the recess in the frame. Push the right end of the catch to the left to compress the spring to the point where the right end of the housing clears the recess.

Then push the right end of the magazine catch housing forward to fully seat in the recess. Many thousands of these Beretta 81 Cheetah .32 caliber pistols have been imported and have been offered at quite attractive value pricing if one is not particular about cosmetic issues, such as finish wear and rust pitting of the steel slide.

These aesthetic issues generally do not compromise the functionality of an intrinsically reliable handgun design and provide the buyer with the opportunity to own an inexpensive high-capacity pistol for personal protection. AG