This review of the Mauser C96 Modello 1899, specifically an early Italian contract variant, highlights its historical significance and unique design. The firearm weighs 2.5 pounds with an 11.75-inch length, chambered in 7.63x25mm Mauser. While its 'broomhandle' grip and front-heavy balance make it ergonomically challenging as a handgun, attaching a shoulder stock transforms it into a more effective carbine, improving handling and recoil management. The trigger pull is long but clean, and the safety is stiff.
This expert-level entry details the extremely rare Beretta 38/43 submachine gun, as presented by Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons. It covers the firearm's historical context, unique visual features like its fluted barrel and underfolding stock, and operational controls including the dual-trigger system for fire selection. The guide also includes a field strip procedure highlighting late-war production simplifications.
The Beretta PM12 is highlighted as an underrated 20th-century submachine gun, praised for its controllability due to a slow cyclic rate (550 RPM) and a telescoping bolt design that allows for a compact form factor. Despite its historical service in numerous countries and its legendary reliability, it remains less recognized than contemporaries like the Uzi and MP5, partly due to its limited availability to US collectors. The PM12's design evolved from the M1938, incorporating stamped steel for faster, cheaper production and featuring a triple safety system.
The Beretta Model 1934 is a robust Italian service pistol, representing the culmination of Tullio Marengoni's early designs. Despite its age, the 1934's simple blowback action and open-slide design proved reliable and remained largely unchanged for decades. This review highlights its historical significance, mechanical lineage, and practical aspects, including its adoption by the Italian military and its enduring appeal to collectors.
The Beretta NARP, the Italian military's new service rifle, features a robust short-stroke piston system designed for exceptional reliability and ease of maintenance. Luca Tremolada from Beretta highlights its successful NATO testing, including firing over 20 magazines in full-auto without issues. The rifle incorporates customer-driven design changes for improved ergonomics and modularity, with a proprietary collapsible and folding stock and an M-LOK handguard. Beretta also offers a 3D-printed Inconel suppressor with a QD system that minimizes point of impact shift.
The Beretta 93R 'Raffica' is a select-fire machine pistol variant of the Beretta 92, developed for Italian special forces and police. Key distinguishing features include a three-round burst mode, a folding vertical front grip, and a detachable folding stock for enhanced stability. Its internal mechanism for burst fire is intricate, preventing runaway fire after the third shot.
This ARTV preview showcases firearms from Walther Arms, Taurus, and a historical Italian Bodeo revolver. The video highlights Walther's German manufacturing post-WWII. It then examines the Taurus G3X pistol, noting its shorter slide and larger grip for concealed carry with high capacity. Finally, the historical Bodeo Model 1889 revolver, used by Italian forces for decades and notable for its unique design, is discussed. The description also provides viewing information for American Rifleman TV.
This review of the Beretta ARX-160, Italy's service rifle, highlights its unique design, including the integrated GLX-160 grenade launcher and extensive use of polymer. Expert analysis covers its short-stroke gas piston system, cold hammer-forged barrel, ambidextrous controls, and ergonomics, noting both its strengths and some peculiar design choices.
This review details the Italian Balilla youth training carbines, miniature replicas of the 1891 Carcano designed for fascist youth organizations. Produced by manufacturers like Fratelli Grazian, these blank-firing carbines featured scaled-down components, functional sights, and even folding bayonets, intended to teach basic rifle handling and military drill to boys up to age 12. The carbines evolved with markings changing from ONB to GIL and saw production shifts between FNA Brescia and Grazian.
This video provides an expert-level overview of the Beretta M1951 pistol, highlighting its historical significance as Beretta's first locked-breech 9mm handgun. The presenters, Keith Ford and Steve Ostrem from Brownells, detail its adoption by Italian forces, international licensing, and design influences from the Walther P38. They also discuss technical aspects like the locking block's potential weaknesses and variations in slide and frame construction.
This video from American Rifleman TV dives into the history and features of the Beretta Model 1934 pistol. It highlights the pistol's open-top slide design, direct-blowback operation, and its role as a service sidearm for the Italian military. The description also mentions its compact nature, suitability for concealed carry, and its chambering in .380 ACP, noting a later variant in .32 ACP. The video emphasizes how this successful design influenced future Beretta models and even the U.S. military's service pistol.
The Carcano Moschetto M91 is a short carbine variant designed for cavalry and Bersaglieri troops, featuring an integrated folding bayonet. Its mechanical design is similar to the M91 long rifle but includes a bent bolt handle and adjusted rifling for the shorter barrel. Later M91/38 models simplified the rear sight and barrel contour for production efficiency, especially during WWII when it became an 'economy' version.
Gun Laws by State
Read firearms regulations for all 50 states + D.C.
Find Gun Dealers
Search licensed FFL dealers near you.