Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Gratuitous Gun Pr0n #82...

Beretta 81 Cheetah
Fat grip without a shred of texture to it and straight blowback operation combine to make a .32 that squirms in the hand like a puppy that wants down. Tiny sights, too. It makes you work harder for your hits than you'd think; I picked it up expecting an experience like shooting my 22/45 only louder, and instead got an experience like shooting a Beretta 92 but higher-pitched.

(Pic above was one of the first shots with a refurbed Canon 18-55mm lens that I took a plunge on specifically for taking gun pics since it'll focus well under a foot.)

21 comments:

staghounds said...

I have the Browning version in .380.

Can't say I have those problems.

Tam said...

Browning version with the close-topped slide is a lot less frenetic to shoot. More mass in slide = less slide velocity? Dunno.

My suppositions on slide velocity on this thing are also fueled by the magazine, which features a beastly spring, indicating a need to get the next round into place in a hurry.

Kristophr said...

Ya know ... now that you have an adult camera, you can make some pin money selling stock images ...

Maybe add captions to help newsies avoid "shoulder thing that goes up" mistakes.

og said...

I just bought a set of electrically coupled macro tubes for the Nikon. You still have to focus, but the exposure is taken care of, and they work really well. Even on the 55-200 lens, which is impressive, and allows you to get further away and get a good closeup without as much foreshortening/fisheye. I was happy to find they made them coupled, and cheap.

Paul said...

Good looking gun. By brother has one in shiny metal set to .380. They fit the hand pretty good in my case, have never shot one though.

Jay Bee said...

For about a quarter of a second I thought I learned of a second person in the world who actually owned a Tanfoglio GT380.

I am glad I was mistaken.

NotClauswitz said...

Italians really know style, that's for damn sure.

Anonymous said...

Nice pic with the ambient lighting.

Handguns are generally very difficult to photograph well.

staghounds said...

That makes sense. Funny how such a small difference can play out in actual use.

Blackwing1 said...

Pardon an idiot question, but what does the little nubbin on the back side of the trigger do?

I once had a Beretta 70S in .380, which was a single-action little thing, looked about the same. Much slimmer in width and had black plastic grips. Looked cosmetically similar from the side (except for the trigger).

Tam said...

Blackwing1,

Overtravel stop.

Anonymous said...

Always liked the siblings, the model 84/85, but could never find a reason for one. I know, not a reason not to buy one. Still a very elegant design.

Matt
St Paul

CAR said...

It might be a squirmy puppy, but at least it's a cute squirmy puppy.

Murphy's Law said...

It is an aesthetically-pleasing little puppy, that's for sure.

og said...

I think that will take an 84 grip, of which I have some. I could fry on the rough tactical surface of your choice.

Critter said...

I really like my 84, and am just a touch envious of your little puppy.

Ritchie said...

Consider, if you will, the merits of white foam board as a fill reflector to even the shadows a little and add subtle highlights. Of course, no one else has to see the learning curve. One could do worse than to coattail one Ichiro Nagata. About that puppy-remember the sheets of black stuff? Place the seam carefully.

Anonymous said...

That lens focuses well under a foot? That had me confused for a moment, wondering just HOW you hold your camera when taking pictures of guns. I usually use my hands, or mount it on a tripod ; ) -- Lyle

Old NFO said...

Nice pic, and a nice looking pistol. The other, not so much...

Anonymous said...

Former coworker told me when he was young and crazy, he would carry a Browning version of that in his back pocket with a bandanna draped over it all over the place and no one was the wiser. Pretty slick set up.

Little .32s are fun to shoot. But DO NOT rely on them for penetration, my brother shot a wild hog at point black range in the head (already shot with buckshot - this was a kill shot) and found the bullet right under the skin - skull wasn't even dented! Opened up his eyes.

Tam said...

Ritchie,

Consider, if you will, that if I was going to do all that, I might as well just break out the light boxes, tabletop floods, and flannel backgrounds. Maybe blow the gun off with compressed air and wipe it down with lint-free micro-fiber, too.

Or I could just, you know, continue taking the little quick snapshots that make me happy and use the other stuff when I feel it's warranted. ;)