smee78 said:
I would like something about the size of my Beretta 84F 380 but in a caliber like 32 and if it recoils like a 22 then I will love that.
The 81 is basically the same pistol as your 84, just in .32ACP. However, the 84F has a decocker/safety, whereas the earlier no-suffix, B, and BB suffix versions of the Series 81 (81 thru 89 excl. 88) have non-decocking "cocked and locked" safeties. AFAIK the 81F & 81FS have been available in Europe but have never been imported into the USA in quantity.
The 81, 81B, and 81BB were available here in the late 70's and early 80's but never sold well; a relatively wide and heavy DA/SA 12+1 pistol in .32ACP was evidently an answer to a question that very few Americans were asking.
Today, the 81 seems to be one of those pistols that's not very well known or particularly sought after, but they're so hard to find that, if you find a nice one and you think you might want it, BUY NOW- you're unlikely to find another in >90% condition (i.e. NOT European or Middle Eastern police surplus like the ones on GB).
Here's a bunch more info on the Series 81:
http://berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=94273
Take particular note of the "Parts Interchangeability" section; within the same version, everything but the barrel and magazine interchanges between the 81 & 84, so parts availability should not be a big problem. You can even convert the caliber if you find an inexpensive barrel, since I presume you already have some 84 mags.
[EDIT: you may even be able to use your 84F barrel!] However, speaking of magazines...
gyvel said:
There're four listed on Gunbroker right now... All of them have no magazine.
A major Achilles' heel of the 81 has been magazine availability. Beretta is selling new 81 mags on their website right now, and there are a couple on GB that are advertised as new, but these may disappear quickly; for quite a while, all you could get was nasty-looking used police-surplus mags for $50/ea and up, and this situation may reoccur when the current stockpile is exhausted. This has been known to happen with other less-popular older Berettas; I think Beretta (or likely Mec-Gar) makes the mags in small batches, then drops them from production for a matter of years. IOW stock up while you can get them- consider yourself warned.
Also, I don't know if this is relevant, but AFAIK no 10rd reduced-capacity mag has been offered for the 81, which could be a problem if you move to a state that mandates them.
