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Old June 21, 2007, 10:29 PM   #1
cajun47
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beretta bobcat .22 handgun reliable?

im a proud owner of a beretta 92f 9mm and love it. i want a small pocket .22 semi auto and im looking at the bobcat.

http://www.gunsatcost.com/item.aspx?PID=825

price is right ^^^ but do they jam a lot like most semi auto .22 guns?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiJn-AMlghY

the bobcat jamming ^^^.

i realize .22 autos may be picky with ammo brands. any suggestions?

yea i would like to put it in my pocket along with my north american .22 mag revolver, large pocket knife, pepper spray when im in low threat areas. high threat areas i dress to carry my beretta 9mm.

please please dont tell me how a .22 is not good. i don't want a kel tec or a snub revolver. i want a pocket .22 as back up plus i like .22s they are fun and cheap to shoot.

btw, i gator hunt and kill most of my gators with a .22, head shots at close range. i haven't studied it but a 7 or 8 foot gator's head looks a lot tougher than a human head. one .22 shot does them in but i put 2 or 3 for good measure. i shot a 7 foot gator with a .25acp in the head once, it didn't even crack the scull or knock him out.

i want a pocket .22 and want to know opinions on the bobcat. thats all. thanks.
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Old June 21, 2007, 10:39 PM   #2
Arizona Fusilier
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I have one, and can recommend them. They can be finicky with ammo, but the beauty of it is that it's also cheap to experiment. I've had good experience with Winchester Super-X. I also stick to original Beretta/Mec-gar magazines. I practice exclusively on head shots at 5 yards or less.
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Old June 21, 2007, 10:57 PM   #3
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cajun47,

Just do a search here for "Beretta 21A" and look for the posts that come up on this gun AND ammo for it.

-- John D.
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Old June 21, 2007, 11:55 PM   #4
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I've got the 22 short model, and, it beats a sharp stick, or, no gun. I've ordered a Mika pocket holster, and, I'm hoping it will work for those times I can't carry something bigger, or, think the threat is very low, and, just want something, in case.

Dr. S
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Old June 22, 2007, 10:15 AM   #5
Glenn E. Meyer
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Shot one once and it was a jammer. So was my Taurus PT-22. I think it goes with the design.
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Old June 22, 2007, 10:43 AM   #6
Hallucinator
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I think the gun itself if pretty reliable. It's the rimfire ammunition I'd worry about. The number of misfires in a brick of 22 LR ammo is pretty significant. I'd hate to be in a tight spot and be worrying about whether the round would ignite properly.
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Old June 22, 2007, 11:09 AM   #7
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21a

mine was so unreliable in spite of keeping pristine, replacing mags and trying different ammo. fortunately, i was able to trade it for an old s&w model 60.
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Old June 22, 2007, 11:30 AM   #8
Magyar
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Cajun47, I wish I'd had better success with my Beretta .22....It would have a nose-up FTF about once every other mag...I tried everything on my end and it was sent to their factory in MD twice; but always the same even after they tweaked it...
I did find that with hypervelocity ammo; it helped a little...
However, I did like it for concealibility, and easy off for cleaning, etc.
Good luck, just one experience, and hopefully mine was just a poor example and others are much better...
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Old June 22, 2007, 01:20 PM   #9
Bill DeShivs
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The model 21 (and 3032) stretch the 950 frame capabilities.
The 950 was designed for .25 auto and .22 short. It worked extremely well.
When the frame size wes lengthened/widened for the .22 LR and .32 ACP reliability suffered. But for the most part, these guns work well, or Beretta would not still be making them.
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Old June 22, 2007, 01:26 PM   #10
kayakersteve
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Mine sucked too!

21A with constant FTF - I will make you a great deal on it though!!!!!?????
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Old June 22, 2007, 06:02 PM   #11
Logs
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Beretta

A good friend of mine has the .22 model and it was a jam o matic out of the box. He put several hundred rounds through it and now it is reliable even with Blazer ammo.

I have had the .25 acp Beretta for years and never had a problem with it.
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Old June 22, 2007, 06:44 PM   #12
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I've owned one for I don't know how long...maybe 15 years? I've never had any jamming problems, but I know .22 autos are not the most reliable. I guess I got a decent one, I feed just about anything and it goes pop. I use it for backpacking mostly, it won't do much for the four legged critters but 12 miles from the nearest road I'll take my chances on a two legged critter making trouble.
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Old June 22, 2007, 09:28 PM   #13
Savage99
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I have a Beretta 21A in my pocket now as I type this. Its been my regular carry pistol for a few years now. Its reliable for me with Velocitor ammo but its absolutely necessary to wipe the chamber clean after firing it.
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Old June 22, 2007, 09:39 PM   #14
newcastlejudo
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I bought mine used (.22lr) and with cheap remington it jammed left and right. i got some cci quick stop and they worked great. I've also had no problems with remmington thunderbolts . I love the gun, carry it more than my .45 mil pro. No one wants to get shot.
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Old June 24, 2007, 11:04 AM   #15
Ledbetter
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It's the ammo

I have a 21A in .22 cal.

You have to find the ammo that works. I use Mini Mags by CCI. No .22 rimfire ammo is 100% reliable, however.

Chamber has to be clean and smooth. The gun has no extractor. The flip up barrel is a nice feature. This is a LOUD gun due to the short barrel. Accuracy is not its strong point, but it's handy.
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Old June 24, 2007, 03:34 PM   #16
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Quote:
do they jam a lot like most semi auto .22 guns?
Most .22 semi-auto guns don't jam...crappy ammo jams most .22 semi-auto's...
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Old June 25, 2007, 08:22 AM   #17
kayakersteve
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It's the gun!

I've tried everything I can find for ammo, not just the WW junk! Iv'e polished this and that - Still get regular jams. My feeling is these guns are hit and miss - I would never attempt to rely on the one I have.
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Old April 27, 2010, 03:10 AM   #18
FamilyShooters
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Absolutely love the gun - but -

Out of the box was extremely stiff. Took a lot of work and oil to get it going. Probably took about 100 rounds to get it nicely broken in.

ABOUT AMMO/jamming - Have read and heard much about jamming and misfeed. It is a picky gun, for sure. Tried 30 grain Aguila rounds. Forget it. Winchester Super X, maybe 90% reliable. Remington Yellowjacket 33 grain hollow point - flawless. Very, very rare that the shell doesn't eject.

It's a fun and powerful gun to shoot. Difficult to be accurate, though. More of a point-shoot experience. But when you get the hang of it, great. I enjoy shooting it very much. Wife and kids love it, too.

All-in-all a very nice personal protection piece if you don't want weight or balk. Literally disappears in the palm of your hand
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Old April 27, 2010, 08:43 AM   #19
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A friend of mine had such a pistol and it ate any kind of ammo that was loaded into it. The muzzle blast was impressive to say the least.
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Old April 27, 2010, 11:42 AM   #20
catzor
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I just made a thread about the 21a last week. To sum it up:

Use high velocity ammo
Don't cut yourself with the slide
The sights suck

Otherwise, people only had good things to say about the little gun. The drawbacks seem inherent to either the size of the pistol or the ammo itself. Either way, it's not specific to Beretta's design, just the nature of a small, rimfire semi. If you expect it to do what it was meant to do, it seems like a fine little pistol.
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Old April 27, 2010, 05:36 PM   #21
stargazer65
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I love mine and always carry it in my pocket. It needs love and attention and it is very reliable and surprisingly accurate for a little gun. However, you can't just buy it, feed it crap, never clean it, seldom use it, and expect to shoot bullseyes at 100 yards for a million shots in a row without a single hiccup. Keep it cleaned and oiled, break it in, practice with it, and give it the right quality ammo and it will love you back.
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Old April 27, 2010, 07:21 PM   #22
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Mine has been 100% reliable with CCI Minimags and Stingers.
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Old April 27, 2010, 07:31 PM   #23
chas1
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The 21A is an excellent pocket .22 just feed it CCI mini mags and keep it clean, you do your part and it won't let you down. spend range time with it and get to know it's capabilities.
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Old April 28, 2010, 05:24 AM   #24
"JJ"
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.22 ammo has to be the least QCd caliber ammo available!!

Like Pilot, stargazer65, catzor, FamilyShooters, varoadking, Ledbetter, newcastlejudo, & probably a few others have said: QUALITY AMMO!!

Yes, there will be problems with guns. But if you buy a box of 500 "Bullets R us" ammo for $6, you WILL have jams in the best firearm.

You get a quality ammo, maybe CCI, Remington, or Winchester high velocity loads, and you give the gun a chance to function.

varoadking said it best:
Quote:
Most .22 semi-auto guns don't jam...crappy ammo jams most .22 semi-auto's...
"JJ"
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Old April 28, 2010, 05:30 AM   #25
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I actually have two of them...

One is finicky on ammo... likes CCI mini mags as mentioned above. the other works well with just about anything... so go figure. I bought a magazine with a finger extension on it and it doesn't work as well as factory ones.
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