Beretta 21 Bobcat Reviews

by **blbolin** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:08 pm

A great very well made small pistol which is ideal for those who have trouble racking a slide. All you have to do is tip up the barrel load a round into the chamber and push a loaded clip in and you are ready to go, great for ladies and those who may have trouble with other auto loaders. Accuracy is good and you can get a lot better because a.22 is cheap to practice with and as with any handgun practice is importent.

To get trouble free operation keep the Bobcat very clean, shoot a lot to break in, and use either CCI Mini Mags or CCI Stingers, both of which give 100 percent trouble free operation in my .22 Bobcats. Cheap or low powered .22's will jam in the Bobcat and cannot be counted on, don't waste your time or money on them. Another thing which is great about the Bobcat is that it is a great backup gun or as a CCW to slip into a pocket holster and watch it disappear in your front pocket or jacket for the utmost in carrying abiltity. I know a great many may look down on the .22 for a defensive round, but after having two friends murdered, shot instantly dead with one shot from a .22 I can testify the round is capable of doing some serious harm to a bad guy. A .22 has it's critics but do you know anyone who would volunteer to be shot by a .22? So the Bobcat is easy to shoot, easy to carry, and well made, and reliable if you feed the right ammo. The .22 Bobcat is so much cheaper to shoot compared to a .380 or 9mm so you can get a lot of practice in to delvelope accuracy and gun handling skills. A great lttle carry gun and chances are if you have a Bobcat you will it have with you if you end up in harms way. A more powerful gun will not help when it is hard to control or so much trouble to carry it's left at home in the drawer. I own many pistols, but I now own two Bobcats, now that my wife tried and wanted my first one.

by **Gunsnbikes** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:05 pm

If anyone has issue with using this gun for concealed carry purposes, look no further than using Aguila Super Maximum ammo. This stuff is incredible out of my 21A. It punches holes in paper that are the equal of 9mm or .38. My friends did not believe me on this until I showed them at the range. While my 21A is not my primary carry gun (that would be my PX4 Storm SC or my Keltec PF4), with Aguila ammo it give me better peace of mind when I need something small. I am proud to be an owner of this sweet gun.

by **markej4801** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:58 pm

There. I've gone and done it. Went to Cabela's this week and after much deliberation purchased a 21a in .22. Cleaned it, boxed it and will take it to the range soon to begin its break-in. I expect about the same accuracy everyone is experiencing here, good for what it is. I'm no boggle headed kid that thinks for one minute this thing is a target gun or that it is the end-all be-all for concealed carry. But I WANTED a good BUG, one that my wife could use if she chose to (not yet, but maybe some day) and could slow an attack. With good/lucky shot placement, I could end the fight immediately.

All that being said, the journey begins.

by **cliffie4** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:48 pm

Fired my bobcat inox 21a today for the first time, using CCI mini-mags. No problems at all, with 80 rounds.

Decent trigger pull, even better using single action. Real pleased with this pocket pistol.

This is the smallest gun I'll use for a semi-auto and 22LR rounds. Even those rounds, its impressive.

Want to fire larger rounds like 32 acp and 380, get a semi-auto with single/dual action , and a larger framed pistol so your whole hand can grasp the handle of the pistol. If you want comfort with larger rounds, go larger on the pistol, your hands/fingers will appreciate it..Much more pleasant shooting that way.

by **markej4801** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:19 am

Spot on, Cliffie. I used Mini-mags for my first time out the other day and had 0 problems whatsoever--emptied the 100 round box. Got a wallet type hoster for Christmas from my kids. Fits beautifully in my back pocket and I forget it's there, it's so small. However, I'm back to that same problem--I'm used to carrying a PX4 Storm (17+1) or a Kahr PM9 (7+1) with an extra mag for either in a belt pouch! I felt terribly under-gunned while carrying the Bob. Think I'll save it for those insanely hot Texas summer days when shorts and a T-shirt are all I can stand. After all, this is a get-the-hell-off-me gun, unless you are such a wonderful shot under pressure that you can place a round in their eye every time. I'm beginning to understand the adage that a handgun is what you use to battle your way to your rifle. Perhaps I should stow my CX4 in the trunk?

)

On a slightly different tack, I was at Cabelas the other day and they had in stock CCI Segmented HP's. I had looked this up while researching the Bobcat and was very interested. It's a 32 grain HP bullet that supposedly sheds to 3 pieces on entry, increasing the damage path. It also claims a respectable 1640fps, so should deliver a decent amount of energy for something so small. There were only 8 50rd boxes, so I took half (low price-gotta love Cabelas). I'll try a box of these on my next outing to see that they WILL work in my palm sized surpriser.

by **Patrol** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:23 pm

2011 update as I'm sure i already commented on this little gem before but i shot a box of stingers out of it yesterday. Still this little gun rocks. I have shot nothing but stingers through it since I got it "USED" back in 1991 so thats what 20years and still going strong with nothing but a steady diet of hypervelocity hollowpoint CCI Stingers..hummm..so much for that type of ammo tearing a gun up...Incidently i have the Beretta 21A flip top with the wood grips.

by **markej4801** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:40 pm

@patrol: OOOH, wood grips! Envious!!! I think it really makes the look complete. I've been watching around for some, but haven't found any for a price I'm willing to pay just yet.

As to the Stingers, you're exactly correct. It does seem to take a hypervelocity bullet to have this gun work most effectively. I tried the segmented HPs and found them to work just fine, so will use them for carry eventually. I'm not too worried about accuracy, considering the effective range is out to 10 feet. Not saying you can't hit something farther out, just that the accuracy may be lacking from a barrel that's only slightly longer than the bullet. And yes, there are those who want to be able to use this at 50 feet or more. Not so sure that's a great idea. At any rate, 20 years for a gun gives me great hopes for my purchase. thanks for the good post!

by **cliffie4** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:24 am

I bought my Inox 21 few weeks ago. For a small pocket pistol, I would go no higher than 22lr. Its not best for protection, but will practice my skills shooting it. I owned LCP, but at 9.4 oz empty weight and 380 bullets, hurt to shoot it, to much recoil. This beretta weighs 11.5 oz empty, two ounces heavier than the ruger LCP, and using it is much more comfortable. The 21A has a good feel and is much more fun to shoot.

I have a 327 magnum revolver at home for protection, it weighs 28 ounces and shooting 32 S&W long rounds in it, its not bad at all. Revolvers are ready to use, and your not going to have a misfeed or jam, its instant protection with reliability.

by **ProudPatriot** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:18 pm

Was in shooting the breeze with my friend at the local gun shop and ended up bring home (yet another) gun- this time a .22 cal Beretta Bobcat. Although I have other options in terms of a defense weapon- I really like this little gun! It's a great little gun that is both fun and inexpensive to shoot. My wife who normally just shakes her head when she knows I've been to the gun store is interested in this gun- and with the barrel tilting loading method- what could be easier? Plan to purchase a second pistol just like it to teach my daughters to shoot!

by **markej4801** » Sun May 22, 2011 1:54 pm

FWIW, took my Bob to the range the other day along with a couple other .22's and threw a fair amount of lead downrange. I tried the Remington Sub-sonic just for grins. It shot well out of a10/22 and a Beretta Neos, but the Bobcat just hated that stuff! Just couldn't get it to cycle right with the slow round. Also, that stuff is DIRTY! Not something you want to leave lying around very long after shooting, that's for sure.

So the proof is in the pudding: stick with hypervelocity bullets for this diminuitive gem. It will treat you right every time if you do so, but not so sure with the sub-sonics. And BTW, the subs aren't really all that much quieter, so still use ear-pro.