WWII Italian .380
 

Does anybody know the weight of the .380 cartridges that Italy used in their 1934 Beretta's? I've been shooting 90 grain hollow points and they seem to shoot a tad low out of my '34.

For what I know they used the 90 grs bullet (280/300 m/s) surely depends also on what sort of powder you are using.

Sergio

Chris,

If you happen to be a handloader, there are a number of bullet companies that sell a plated 100gr RN bullet for handloading. They are reasonably priced, and function very well in all of my .380cal handguns. The heavier bullet MAY help you acquire POA=POI.....just a thought.

If you are not a handloader, you may be able to find/purchase remanufactured .380cal ammo with said 100gr bullet to try.

Thank you both. Sadly I am not a handloader, so I have to resort to store bought ammo. Remington sells a 102 grain hollow point, I might give it a try. The little 1934 is ridiculously reliable, and VERY pleasant to shoot...I'd hate to relugate her to a permanent resident in the safe. If there are any other solutions, I'm open to suggestions.

Cristopher

That handgun was extremely reliable, I read that even German soldiers prefered it to their more beautiful P.08
Apparently that little "1934 Beretta" was always working both in the Sahara sands and the Russian snow.

Sergio

Keep in mind that it may not be bullet weight, but bullet configuration that is affecting POA. The Berretta was designed and sighted for round nose ball ammunition. Shooting hollow points throught it would certainly affect POI.

I noticed that SAOTW had the cartridge listed as '9mm Corto Modelo 1934' and tried Googling that to see what came up. Not much facts, just discussion. COTW had it listed as a 95gr bullet, but unconfirmed.

One of these is in my LGS as we speak. I walked in as the owner was trading it in. Original and with excellent condition original holster. Odd observation: Slide was plum coloring but rest of gun was blue-black. Didn't look buffed or even dip-refinished. I didn't look close enough to see if .380 or .32. Also didn't think to look for military branch marking. Usual spiel: father-in-law bringback.

I did test 95 grain FMJ round nosed cartridges in it, and had similar results. I might need to try Winchester white box ammo in it, Winchester rarely lets me down. I have a little over 100 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense in .380 for an Interarms Walther PPK, but the PPK safety keeps dropping into the on position during shooting sessions. Luckily I have a Colt 1903 that is VERY accurate...


Sheepherder, you should take a look at the one in your local gunstore, they're really neat guns! I think Beretta built them with the expectation of having a service life of 100 years!

Chris,

Although a higher powered cartridge(self-defense, +p, +P+) will change your POI over a std. velocity round(usually a higher POI if same bullet weight due to recoil impulse), I would not suggest using these modern high velocity rounds in a handgun that was not designed for them. You might get away with it, but you might also damage/break parts, and that would be a shame.

If it bothers you a lot, you can always lower your front sight with a file, but I would think long and hard before I did that to one of these pistols. I would just change my POA to give me the POI that I require.

Curss did not say if he shoots POA=POI or 6 O'clock sight picture...Makes difference...

Definitely not worth filing on the front sight. Better find a good gunsmith for that PPK...

6 O'clock? As in just below the target? I normally try to aim dead center of the bullseye.

Adjust POA. Don't use hot loads. Mine takes just about anything I feed it. In fact, I've never had a FTF or FTE. Very reliable. But, because of its short barrel, it's really a close range gun. I have noticed that many 1934's have the plum color on the slide to one degree or another. And mine is a bring back. I have the paperwork to prove it. My father picked it up in Italy just before he and the 36th invaded the beaches of Southern France.

A 6 o'clock hold is a match target shooters aim. It gives a much more precise location image than trying to correctly determine the exact center of the bullseye

When competing in Service Rifle matches here in Florida and at Camp Perry, we always set our sights so that a white hairline was visible between the top of the front sight and the bottom of the black bullseye. This would give us "X Ring" hits consistently if dialed in correctly.

At defense pistol ranges, you hold pretty much on the "X ring" directly.

Perhaps some magtech lead round nose cartridges will print a little higher. 905 FPS vs 945 FPS might make a difference.