Sometimes you have to break out the classics – and today’s Classic Gun Review is the 1935 Beretta in .32 ACP. What makes this gun cool? Aside from the fact that one like it was in Dogs of War, it represents a neat historical period in firearms development. It’s hard for us to imagine that a gun like this was considered acceptable as a service pistol, but in the 1935 Beretta Classic Gun Review, we’re doing exactly that.
The 1935 Beretta was actually issued to Italian soldiers during World War 2 as a standard sidearm, which when you consider what a service pistol is like today seems insane. Can you imagine rolling into a battle with a bolt action rifle and a .32 ACP as your only back up for it? The design elements of the 1935 are interesting as well, because you can see the open-top slide will eventually evolve into the legendary Beretta M9 design. One of the benefits of the open slide reliability. The 1935 Beretta is a straight blowback design. The open slide lets the empty cases out a lot easier than a traditional closed slide would.
For the 1935 Beretta .32 ACP Classic Gun review, I did some shooting on steel targets. Running traditional drills seemed silly, but the gun itself was actually quite easy to shoot. The trigger pull is a smooth, single action pull, and while the sights are certainly rudimentary, they’re still usable. It is interesting to note that part of the reason point shooting became popular in the 1930s was specifically because guns of the era had such crappy little sights. In our modern times of good sights and red dots, point shooting is completely pointless.
Ultimately, the 1935 Beretta is fun to shoot, and interesting to own. They make a great starting point for someone interested in collecting classic pistols. They’re eligible for purchase by someone with a Curio and Relic license, so why not get one and get started?
