Beretta 950B vs. 21A both .25ACP

[YankeeIronSights]

Hi,

A few days ago, I was fortunate to find a Beretta 950B Jetfire in .25 acp for a reasonable price at my LGS. It has no safety. The markings say 1952. It seems to be in good working order (I will test it at the range soon). The bluing shows marks of holster use but I do not mind. One of the grip panels is missing a tiny corner piece. This mouse gun is an Italian beauty..neat gun.

Days later, I also found a 21A Bobcat in .25 acp in good condition for about $60.00 more than the Jetfire. I placed it on layaway because I like the single/double action feature that the Bobcat offers.

With that said, I would like to hear from anyone with experience with both models. Which one do you prefer and why?



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[seanc]

I owned the 950BP for about 30+ years. I didn't own the 21A, but I had a Taurus copy in .22LR. Obviously, the quality difference was night/day, favoring the Beretta, but the SA vs DA trigger was the real big difference to me. The 950BP was stupid easy to point shoot. The DA Taurus wasn't horrible, it just wasn't as easy to be accurate as the Beretta. I really wanted the cheaper .22LR to work for me, but I got rid of that after just a couple years.

Mine also had a cracked grip. I believe it was the right-side panel, upper right hand corner where the recoil spring inserts. Didn't negatively affect the pistol's function. Lots of replacement grip panels available on ebay (at least there used to be).

 

[JN01]

I have a 950BS .25 and a 21A .22 LR.

I like both, the 21 has the DA trigger, but the butt is much larger than the 950.

Both are nice little mouse guns.

 

[hemiram]

I have a 950BS I carried as a back up gun for a few years, it's a great little gun that has had 40+ years without as much as a misfire.

 

[Carmady]

"With that said, I would like to hear from anyone with experience with both models. Which one do you prefer and why?"

Imo, the pros of the 950 are its size (smaller) and looks. The cons are one less round, and and having to cock the hammer (assuming there's a chambered round) before firing.

Imo, the pros of the 21A are the DA/SA trigger, extra round (Mec-Gar 9-rd mag), and the feel of the grip (almost like a slightly smaller and more rounded KT P-11). The 21A "just fits my hand better." The cons are size and weight.

Both have the possibility of snagging on the hammer, which can be prevented.

I've had 13 25 ACP pistols, and am down to one, a Beretta Model 20. It's like a cross between a 950 BS and a 21A. The safety and smaller size (other than larger grip) of the 950 BS, and the DA/SA trigger of the 21A. I believe the 21A came after the 20. They only made the 20 for about two years around 1985-87.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I have owned several of both models.
The 950 is a much more reliable gun.
Building the 21 for .22lr (it's primary chambering)stretched it's limit of reliability. Both feed problems and light strikes are more common with the 21 in .22lr. The only reason the 21 was produced in .25 acp was so that Beretta could discontinue the 950. They had already discontinued the 950 in .22 short.
The 950 in either caliber just plain works. The model 20 is also an extremely reliable gun, but it was chambered for .25 only.

 

[YankeeIronSights]

Update:

I purchased the 21a in .25 acp and ordered a set of vintage replacement grips for the 950 B Jetfire.

These mouse guns are well made and cool to own. I hope to test them this weekend at the range.

On another note, my LGS had one Beretta 3032 Tomcat (Inox) in stock and I brought it home too. The gun is a beauty and I have read that .32 acp is nicer to shoot than a .380.

Now, I am in search of a nice used Beretta 84. Lol [emoji23] This gun collecting hobby is too much fun.


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[Onward Allusion]

Update:

I purchased the 21a in .25 acp and ordered a set of vintage replacement grips for the 950 B Jetfire.

That would have been my pick as well if I had to pick. Back in the day I had both. While both were reliable and as accurate as tiny pocket pistols could be. I preferred the additional +1 of the 25 ACP, reliability of centerfire, and slightly higher velocity from a short barrel.

 

[YankeeIronSights]

2nd update:

I brought the 950B and 21a (both in .25 acp) to the range. The 950B worked well but was difficult to handle and control, due to its small size. Shooting with sweaty hands was a bit painful and slippery. I did not enjoy shooting it. I also found it was not practical nor safe for pocket carry, and for self defense, as it has no slide safety. I would not feel comfortable carrying such a small single action gun locked and loaded in my pocket. After the range session, I traded it for a 21a in .22LR.

On the other hand, the 21a in.25 acp was great to shoot. No issues. The grip size was better and easy to control, yet small enough for safe pocket carry. Having the SA/DA trigger and a slide safety eliminates my safety concerns linked to the 950B. The 21a is accurate at self defense / close quarter distances. I am keeping this mouse gun in my collection without a doubt.

Finally, I bought a Tomcat in .32 acp but have not been able to test it at the range yet. I will share my range report in a few weeks.


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[YankeeIronSights]

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[Alan0354]

I own 3 950s, I put over 1000 shot between the first two. All are very reliable. But they do wear out some, the oldest one broke the main spring after shooting a lot of rounds. I bought the 3rd one and shot to proof it was reliable and stop shooting it and keep it.

The only hang up I had was with CCI Blazer aluminum casing that the shell failed to eject out. I cured the problem by slightly polished the chamber. Apparently the chamber was not smooth enough and the aluminum case caught in the chamber and not coming out completely. Never have a single problem with the brass casing. I never use hollow points, only round nose rounds.

I would depend my life on it. In the picture are the two remaining. The one that I shot the least is the one that I actually filed off the pointed butt and filed down the mag release button and the safety. Notice I filed down the plastic grip to minimize the thickness.

When you buy, make sure you check the wear on the frame where the slide moving. I would NOT put over 1000 rounds through this small little thing.

 

[Alan0354]

2nd update:

I brought the 950B and 21a (both in .25 acp) to the range. The 950B worked well but was difficult to handle and control, due to its small size. Shooting with sweaty hands was a bit painful and slippery. I did not enjoy shooting it. I also found it was not practical nor safe for pocket carry, and for self defense, as it has no slide safety. I would not feel comfortable carrying such a small single action gun locked and loaded in my pocket. After the range session, I traded it for a 21a in .22LR.

On the other hand, the 21a in.25 acp was great to shoot. No issues. The grip size was better and easy to control, yet small enough for safe pocket carry. Having the SA/DA trigger and a slide safety eliminates my safety concerns linked to the 950B. The 21a is accurate at self defense / close quarter distances. I am keeping this mouse gun in my collection without a doubt.

Finally, I bought a Tomcat in .32 acp but have not been able to test it at the range yet. I will share my range report in a few weeks.

I have no issue with the 950. I don't know why you say it's not safe. You can just don't load a round in the chamber if you worry. Also, you have an option not to cock the hammer, just load the round by tipping up the barrel and put the round in. So you never have to deal with the safety.

I don't find it hard to shoot at all, just a matter of getting used to it.

I would like to hear about your Tomcat 32. I am thinking about a Seacamp 32 that is legal in kalifornia, but I bet the price is going to be very high.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

The 950 is very practical and safe for pocket carry.

 

[YankeeIronSights]

Hi Alan0354,

I promise to share my range report, after I test the Tomcat. I predict that I will like it, due its larger grip and SA/DA trigger and slide safety feature.

The 950B does not meet my carry needs because I like guns that are ready to fire, as soon as I pull them out of my pocket, during self defense situations. Having to load a round in the barrel and/or cocking the hammer while reacting to an attacker/criminal simply takes too much time and requires a level of dexterity that can lead to disaster. I know that everything with practice is possible but I still feel that the 950b restricts ones ability to point and shoot fast enough to neutralize a criminal threat. The 21a acts like a double action revolver. You can carry it loaded in your pocket with minimal safety concerns. Yet, you can pull it out, point and shoot fast and with little effort. Just my humble opinion.


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[Carmady]

I tried to buy this Alleycat with case a couple of years ago for $300, but the seller stood me up. It's a Tomcat with night sights.

 

[Webleymkv]

The Beretta 950 was originally designed to be carried with the chamber loaded and the hammer down (condition 2). When drawn, it is expected that the shooter will manually cock the hammer in leu of disengaging a safety. The gun is quite safe to carry in this manner as it has an inertial firing pin: the firing pin is not long enough to reach the primer when the hammer is fully down. This is actually the reason for the tip-up barrel: there is not need to rack the slide thus cocking the hammer and further necessitating de-cocking it prior to putting it in the holster or pocket. I actually prefer the older 950B as opposed to the newer 950BS due to the lack of safety on the older model. The safety on these guns is quite small and difficult for my large hands to operate and I find cocking the hammer to be easier.

While not cheap, if the OP would like a nice set of replacement grips for his 950, I've got a set of these on mine and like them very much as they're slim, lack the safety cut, and are quite sharp looking IMHO.

http://grips4u.net/product/beretta-m950-checkeredno/

One word of caution, however, the 950 does not use any metal fittings between the grips and screws so be careful not to over-tighten the screws lest you risk cracking the grips. I'd recommend tightening them just enough that the grips don't slip about on the frame with a drop of blue locktite to keep the screws from loosening.

 

[Schlitz 45]

Found this thread & thought I'd share some photos of the latest addition to my mouse gun collection rather than starting something new.
1964 Beretta 950b Jetfire that I came across & decided to pick up as you just don't see them around very much & for some odd reason I find them very interesting & I wanted another 25acp to go with my Colt Vest Pocket-if I'm going to take the time to reload 25acp I want at least a couple of pistols chambered for it.

 

[YankeeIronSights]

Very nice. I need to get into reloading .25acp and other mouse gun calibers like .32 acp and .380 acp.


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