I started to post this in the Beretta forum, but since this post has both rimfire and centerfire, I decided to post it here.
I like to collect surplus guns, and there have been a couple of rounds of surplus Beretta pistols lately. Here are a couple that I scored - a Model 71 (22LR) and a Model 81 (32ACP).
The 81 is about 1/2 inch taller and 1/4 inch longer than the 81. The 71 is about 1/4 inch thinner. The 71 is single stack and holds 9+1. The 81 is double stack and holds 12+1.
This is how the 71 came to me:
The faux suppressor was an accommodation to the insane regulations that the BATF imposes upon importers. It was a solid hunk of steel with a hole drilled through the center. It made the pistol so front end heavy it was difficult to shoot. The importer claimed that these pistols were surplus Mossad assassination pistols and were threaded by the Israelis. After getting that POS off the muzzle and examining the threads, I am pretty sure that CAI had some angry beavers thread the muzzles.
Here is a closer picture of the 71.
And a closer picture of the 81.
The manual of arms and field stripping of both pistols is very similar. The 81 has ambi safety levers and the 71 does not. The mag release on the 81 is behind the trigger on the left side like you find on most American autoloaders. On the 71, the mag release is at the bottom rear left grip.
These are fun pistols to plink with. The 81 feels like a larger pistol than it is when shooting it. I will need to get an adapter for the threads on the 71 so I can mount a can.