Beretta 21 A

[Rifleman1776]

I bought two pocket carry pistols today.
One is a Ruger LCP .380, the other is a Beretta 21A in .22lr.
The 21A is a stainless steel version of the regular 21A or Bobcat as it is sometimes called. I have seen statements that the stainless 21A was only made in .25acp, mine proves that is not correct.
I would have purchased two but the Mod. 21 is in high demand and short supply. I consider myself lucky to have found this one in unfired condition.
The design is pretty simple and straightforward as is typical with Beretta quality.
I did learn two important things about this gun and the lesson applies to other guns as well.
I bought it for my wife. She can barely shoot the first shot with the long and hard DA pull. Can be done but with difficulty. I also have an American Arms Walther style PX22 and she cannot fire it from DA at all. Something to consider if buying any gun for a member of the fair sex.
Other thing I learned, the magazine is a 7 rounder but will accept 8 rounds. However it will not insert fully into the gun with 8. So counting is important. My usual habit is to load until no more are accepted.
Shoots reliably as is to be expected. Performs best with extra high-vel ammo like Stingers. Bulk ammo is not reliable in this gun or the Walther style. For a self defense gun I can afford the higher priced ammo.
The bulk stuff will still be used in my Ruger 10/22 as I have done for decades.
FWIW, the Ruger LCP .380 shoots just fine and reliably, I really like that gun, has just what I wanted in a pocket pistol. Light, small, reliable.

[Sharpsdressed Man]

Another thing to remember is the Beretta can be loaded by just flipping the barrel up. BUT, what you REALLY want to remember, is if you have one in the pipe, DO NOT rack the slide! This will pick up a new round, but NOT extract or eject the one in the barrel (no extractor on this gun). You will have a jam that will require time and the removal of the mag, along with other maneuvers, to clear. Great gun, just a few things to do differently.

[weblance]

Another comment about the 21a. DONT dry fire it. A good rule of thumb is to never dry fire a rimfire. Ruger says its ok with their firearms, but its definately not a good thing with the Beretta. The problem with the 21a is that it doesnt lock open on an empty magazine, so if you are shooting, and not counting, you will dry fire it at the end of a magazine. The firing pin will impact the lip of the barrel. Continue to do this and you will eventually have problems.

My 21a is stainless. It says so right on top the barrel. The stainless 21a, in 22 LR, is not rare.

[amd6547]

My Bobcat not only runs great with high velocity ammo like Stingers, Velocitor, and MiniMags, but it also likes bulk Blazers.
Another favorite is Aguila SuperMax and Interceptor.

[LewSchiller]

21A is a gateway gun to the other Beretta tip-ups. Fun little buggers. Collect 'em all like Pez dispensers :-)

I started out with a 21A - then traded it and got a 950BS in .25 . Now my wife and I each have a 950 for pocket carry. The .32 Tomcat was nice but after it ripped my hand - and she didn't care for it - we sold it.
I think the problem with the Tomcat was the Crimson Trace grips though. Made it hard to hold - for us.

[Bill DeShivs]

The 21 can be carried cocked, with the safety on, or it can be carried hammer down and thumb cocked before shooting.

[bonefamily]

I really loved my 21A - now the wife loves it since she took it over from me We have found ours (hers) to like the above mentioned CCI varieties, as well as Blazer bulk and Rem Goldens bulk. It is very accurate with American Eagle but stove pipes with that once in a while so we stopped using it.

[amd6547]

Just last week, I took a friend of mine to the range who had gone on a buying spree at the start of the panic but had not shot his new guns yet.
One was an Inox Bobcat 22lr.
I also brought my older, like new high polish blue, wood grip Bobcat.
It was fun to have a little Bobcat shooting match.
His worked perfectly out of the box using some Federal he brought, while mine was shooting Aguila Interceptor (a hot, Velocitor type load).
My older one was smoother finished...even the trigger finish felt better on the finger, as we swapped guns for a mag.
Mine has had about 500rds through it to smooth up the trigger pull (though I would say it was smoother to begin with)...his new one was pretty stiff, and the trigger itself had a different profile...thicker, flatter, and squared corners.
At the end, I gave him a mag of Stingers to try in his gun, and he was amazed at the greater recoil and muzzle blast.

[Rifleman1776]

Stingers work very well for me in two of my pocket .22s.

[745SW]

I’ve had my two 21A’s in 25ACP for years. My only gripe is blue finish of the slide and barrel will rust. Having a Tennifer type finish like the older Glock’s would have been nice.

Dropped one the 21A’s from a bag onto concrete from a low height. Marred the front edge of the barrel and spur of the hammer. Otherwise OK.

The 21A is no longer available on the primary market in my state. I feel fortunate of my Beretta purchases and of others that are out of production.

[michael t]

I have 2 of the 21's Mine shoots blazer ammo with out a problem In fact I shoot standard velocity ammo in both LRN type . I shoot oe every dat at least 1 or 2 rounds never a jam. We fired a brick between the 2 one afternoon 3 people shooting . Both were perfect and neither was cleaned till day was over .

I have 2 of the 25 auto 950's 1 with safety 1 with out safety and a Model 20 in 25 auto. Model 20 is best of both worlds DA/SA of 21 but thinness of the 950's