All I could think of when I opened the box was, “It’s like someone ran a Model 92 through the dryer!”
I recently bought a used Beretta Model 84. It was a pretty accurate description of this little pistol.
The Model 84 is part of the Cheetah line of pistols, launched in 1976, which includes Models 81 through 89 (though there is no Model 88 listed). The lineup includes a wide variety of guns including single- and double-stack pistols chambered everything from .22 LR to .380 ACP. The Model 84 is a medium-framed .380 with a 13-round magazine and as with all Beretta products, there is a pretty long history of upgrades and advancements over the years. In all, Beretta produced five different versions of the Model 84.
Most recently, a number of Base Model pistols were released to the American secondary market, pushing the prices down below $300 from some online retailers. Later models, like the F and FS versions can be priced between $650 and $750, so it pays for the consumer to know the differences between the versions.
The story will review a Base Model pistol that was shipped from an online seller with a 13-round aftermarket magazine made by Mec-Gar. Sale price of the gun was about $300. Like the opening line says, the Model 84 looks very much like the full-sized Model 92, with its open slide, exposed hammer featuring a hole in the center, magazine release and slide lock all mimicking the bigger gun. The takedown lever on the Model 84 is on the opposite side of the 92, but the locking button allowing you to move the lever remains on the left side of the pistol, just like the Model 92.
Disassembly is very similar to the Model 92, albeit the lever is on the opposite side. Remove the magazine, double check the chamber is empty, while holding the locking button, flip the lever down and the slide will come off the front of the pistol. You may do this with the hammer fully cocked, at half-cock or all the way down. You may do this with the safety in the SAFE or FIRE position, but note that if you do it with the safety in the SAFE position, the lever will be moved to the down or FIRE position as the slide comes off.
With the slide off the frame. The guide rod and spring are removed by pulling them down. The guide rod is not captured inside the spring. The barrel then comes out down and to the rear. With this the gun is fieldstripped and can be thoroughly cleaned and lubricated.
This is as simple and straightforward as pistol disassembly gets. You can have the gun broken down to its major components in a matter of seconds. Putting the Model 84 back together is just as easy, but there is a catch. The sequence is this: Return the barrel to the slide and see that it is aligned properly. Reinsert the spring and guide rod. Ensure the safety lever is in the fire position and put the slide on the front of the frame, pulling toward the rear. As the disassembly cutout (which is also the slide lock cutout) passes over the back side of the disassembly pin, you may push the locking pin down and flip the disassembly lever up to reassemble the pistol. Pro tip here: The disassembly pin should be near the front edge of the disassembly/slidelock cutout for everything to slip back into place. Also DO NOT lock the slide to the rear and attempt to reassemble the pistol, the disassembly lever will not move back to the up position if the slide is locked to the rear.
The Big Question
This little pistol is amazingly accurate despite the fact that the Base Model sights can best be described as, let’s say, “basic” because that is one step above rudimentary. I have seen worse sights on a pistol, namely the Argentine-made Ballester-Molina and most ComBloc military pistols. It’s clear that Beretta didn’t want to spend lots of money on the sights for the original Model 84 pistol. But it also looks as though that didn’t matter. This pistol, at least the one I have, will repeatedly put rounds into a 3-inch circle at 7 yards despite the fact the sights are small and hard to find. Combat accuracy, even out to 15 yards is excellent. Don’t get me wrong, this is no match-grade gun, but it will score “minute-of-bad guy” groups at all of your traditional combat distances.
The recoil on this gun is nothing but soft. The heaviest rounds I have fired so far have carried 100-grain projectiles. Everything from 85-grain loads up to the 100-grain has fed and functioned perfectly regardless of bullet style. The pistol just chews through ammo and I have yet to clean it. I really want to see how dirty it has to get before it starts to malfunction.
The single-action trigger pull on this little pistol is short and crisp after a very little bit of take-up. The double-action pull is long, a bit heavy, but smooth, except for one element. If you perform the double-action pull sitting at a desk with an empty pistol, you will notice when the hammer passes over the half-cock notch. But if you pull the trigger just enough to set the hammer to half-cock and put the pistol down, when you pick it up and work the DA trigger things are as smooth as buttermilk.
THAT little tidbit leads us into carry conditions for this pistol. The Base Version of the pistol could be carried safely in Condition 1, cocked and locked. Load a magazine, rack a round into the chamber, move the safety lever up into the SAFE position and insert the pistol into a good quality holster. The reason I say this is because even without the automatic firing pin safety of the B Version, the Base Version will not let the hammer contact the firing pin unless the trigger is held all the way to the rear through the entire hammer fall. I know the gun is not labeled as “drop-safe”, but I have done everything I can short of hitting the thing with a hammer to get that hammer to fall without pulling the trigger. I dropped the gun 25 times, while it was cocked and locked, from a height of 3 feet onto a concrete floor covered with one layer of carpet and a plastic office chair mat. At one point the slide moved to the rear about half an inch and stuck there. It took a little bit of manual persuasion to get the slide back where it belonged, but never once did the hammer or safety lever move. Now that I’m done throwing it on the floor, the little gun still works great.
Noticing this element, I decided to try to carry the gun in what could be called a modified Condition 2. The traditional Condition 2, according to Col. Cooper is with a round in the chamber, a full magazine and the hammer down. You can see where this could be dangerous in a gun without a firing pin block. But based on the fact that the Model 84 hammer cannot reach the firing pin unless the trigger is held fully to the rear through the entire fall of the hammer, I tried an experiment. With an unloaded pistol containing no magazine I racked and released the slide, just as if I was loading a round into the chamber. Then, holding my thumb on the hammer spur (but not depressing the hammer) I pulled AND RELEASED the trigger. Then, as I released pressure on the hammer, I looked in amazement as the hammer and the trigger both moved forward. The hammer stopped at the half-cock notch and the trigger returned to the fully reset position. I then moved the safety lever to the SAFE (up) position, effectively locking the entire mechanism. Now, to fire the gun I would need to drop the safety and complete a full double-action trigger pull.
Getting the gun to the configuration can likely be called unsafe and I would not recommend it, especially for inexperienced shooters. At this point, I have done it dozens of times, but dozens of times with a firearm that will fire thousands of rounds is not enough to be statistically significant. As always, keep the gun pointed in a direction that, should it discharge, the resulting discharge will cause no personal injury and only limited property damage. Again, I am not recommending this. I am providing information to improve your understanding of how the Base Version Model 84 works. Later versions could very easily be carried this way.
Head to head
The Beretta Model 84 compares very nicely with the Glock Model 19. They are nearly identical in size and weight with the Glock being just two ounces lighter when empty, but, as expected, heavier when fully loaded, because the Glock 19 carries two more rounds in the magazine. The Glock has a 4-inch barrel and the Model 84 carries a 3.8-inch tube. Yes, new Glocks have better sights than old Berettas and we could argue all day about the difference between .380 ACP and 9MM, but the Beretta Model 84 is a fine pistol in its own right and, if you can pick up a solid, dependable, accurate defensive sidearm for less than $300, a Base Version Model 84 would serve you very well. If you move into the newer F or FS versions, you will pay more, but you will get more gun, as well.
The Model 84 is a fine, smooth-shooting little pistol. It carries well, shoots straight and will provide reliable service. If you think it might be right for you, give it a closer look. The Model 84 is now only found on the secondary market. Beretta now offers the Model 80X as a similar model in the same caliber.
The 5 Versions of the Model 84
Base Version: A rounded trigger guard, ambidextrous, frame mounted safety. Alloy frame with smooth front and backstraps. Blued steel slide. Standard grips were wood, but aftermarket plastic grips are available.
B Version: Added and automatic firing pin safety, shorter extractor and grooved front and backstraps
BB Version: More serrations on the rear of the slide, white dot rear sight white dot post front sight.
F Version: Added squared trigger guard, proprietary “Bruniton” finish, chrome-plated bore and chamber, combination safety/decocker
FS Version: Includes internal improvements over the F Version that are not visible during casual inspection. As of 2015, FS Version pistols were sold in both Bruniton and nickel finishes in the U.S.
