Silencer Saturday #360: Suppressing The Beretta Cheetah
Welcome back to another edition of Silencer Saturday. Last week we talked about subsonic ammunition, and some myths and misconceptions about it. One point that was discussed briefly was using fixed-barrel pistols in .380 ACP and .32 ACP. Well, this week we are looking at some suppressed Beretta Cheetahs matching that description.
Silencer Saturday @ TFB:
Silencer Saturday #359: A Primer On Subsonic Ammunition Silencer Saturday #358: A Holiday Suppressed Gift Guide Silencer Saturday #357: Black Friday Suppressor Sales Silencer Saturday #356: Reflex Silencer Roundup Silencer Saturday #355: More “DIY-Lisle” Adventures
I have a major soft spot for the Beretta Cheetah. Maybe it was because I had a cap gun that closely resembled the Beretta 86, or perhaps it is a genetic predisposition because my father loves the closely-related Browning BDA. But in any case, the Beretta Cheetah series is a classic and classy pistol.
The Cheetah family, also known as the 80-Series or 81-Series, has many members. Here is a short list:
Beretta 81, 12-round .32 ACPBeretta 82, 9-round .32 ACPBeretta 83, 7-round .380 ACP with 4-inch barrelBeretta 84, 13-round .380 ACPBeretta 85, 8-round .380 ACP with 3.8-inch barrelBeretta 86, 8-round .380 ACP with tip-up barrelBeretta 87, .22LRBeretta 89, .22LR target pistolBeretta 80x, current-production 13-round .380 ACP with accessory rail and optics mountingBrowning BDA, 13-round .380 ACP with slide-mounted safety/decocker (produced by Beretta)
This is a very large family, and while some of the members are siblings many are more like cousins. In addition to the Italian family, there is also an offshoot series of Turkish clones. We have reviewed some of those in the past, like the EAA MC14BDA. This Turkish lineup has grown steadily over the last few years.
One piece that is interchangeable between many of these models is the barrel. Suppressing the Cheetah family is easier than other pistols because they use a fixed barrel. Unlike most semiautomatic pistols, which use the Browning short recoil system with a tilting barrel, Beretta semi-autos including the Cheetah have a barrel that remains in the same position relative to the frame. As suppressor hosts, the fixed-barrel Berettas have an easier time than tiling-barrel pistols because they do not need a Nielsen Device to function properly.
Barrel Options
While I was hanging out at the Alchemy Arms booth at SHOT Show 2024 (shout out to my boys Caleb and Eli), Josh from of Allegheney Arms happened to stop by. He told me the company was selling both .380 ACP and .32 ACP threaded barrels for the Beretta Cheetah series. I finally got around to ordering one during the Black Friday sale when it was discounted. This was not a handpicked test sample, I ordered it like any other customer.
Once I had the barrel in hand I mounted it up in my Beretta 84BB and EAA MC14BDA. On the Beretta it was a direct drop-in fit, and the gun functioned properly with dry firing. I then moved it to the EAA and, while I was able to reassemble the gun without fitting the barrel, the slide would stick to the rear during cycling. It was not too tight, and a slight bump sent the slide forward again. After racking the slide a few times the “stickiness” seemed to ease up. These barrels will fit the average Cheetah, but some fitting may be required on certain guns. The 84BB was going to be the primary host gun so I did not want to do any fitting work on the EAA pistol. If it happened to work on that one it was just a bonus.
Beretta also offers a threaded 80x barrel. This is seen on the Tactical Urban model of the 80x, and can be dropped into other 80x models. Beretta only lists it as fitting the 80x, but based on Allegheney’s barrel being compatible with both the standard 84 and the 80x, it seems likely that the Beretta barrel would work with older Cheetahs as well. That is not guaranteed though, so it is still a risk.
On The Range
As expected, in the first few rounds through the EAA the slide stuck to the rear after each shot. But it soon started to function normally. I then swapped it into the 84BB and it worked with no break-in on that gun. Both hollow point and FMJ ammo cycled without issue. With the light recoil of the .380 ACP it was very fast to put multiple rounds into a target. And though the pistol’s sights are not suppressor height it still worked well enough.
Another fun thing about using a fixed-barrel pistol as a suppressor host is being able to use a 3-lug mount. 3-lug mounts generally are not compatible with a booster assembly so they do not work on most pistols, but this is no problem for the Cheetah. It is not the most practical for concealed carry use, because the 3-lug mount is long and hangs off the muzzle, but having a quick-detach pistol silencer is fun and a little different.
Recurring Silencer Saturday guest-star Collin brought his Beretta 81, chambered in .32 ACP, also equipped with an Allegheny Arms threaded barrel. Side-by-side, the .32 ACP was quieter but not by much. Both the .380 and .32 ACP are (usually) subsonic calibers and apt for suppression.
One thing I was curious to compare was the difference in blowback with the closed slide of the MC14BDA compared to the Beretta 84BB. Because the Cheetah is a straight blowback design it does spit some debris back onto the shooter when suppressed. The BDA-style slide has an ejection port instead of the fully open top of the Beretta, which seems like it might change how much blowback makes it into the shooter’s face. Perhaps some kind of scientific measuring apparatus could detect a difference, but there was not enough to really tell.
Thanks for joining us for another edition of Silencer Saturday. If you have been convinced to pick up a Beretta Cheetah, the most stylish surplus pistol imaginable, Palmetto State Armory has them in stock for only $299 as of writing. Allegheny Arms offers both black and nickel barrels in .32 ACP and .380 ACP. All are in stock as of writing.
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