CZ 24 & M1934 Beretta - Range Report and comparison

[Oyeboten]

After more than half-a-Year of not getting out to the Range, finally made it out there hoping to try out a couple old .380s, and, managed to bring with plenty of ( loose, ecclectic, motley ) .32 ACP ( by accident, since at a glance it LOOKED like .380! ) and only half-a-Box of ( actual ) .380.

So, I did what I could, with what there was to do it with.


1st up: Model 1924 CZ, 9mm Kurtz ( or, .380 ACP )...made in 1937 -





First time trying it, did one Magazine ( or 7 rounds anyway ) at 10 Yards, free hand, 7 shots in about five seconds or so.

Shot to Point-of-Aim, and, very pleasant in every way.



Model 1934 Beretta, 9mm Corto ( or, .380 ACP ) made in 1936 -





Shot a little high for me as for Point of Aim, so I did a 2nd Magazine worth, or, two 7 round strings anyway, electing to aim to a 6:00 method for the second string, which put the rounds then very neatly into the Yoga Figure.

I only had one Target in the Car Trunk, so after using it for the CZ 24, I rummaged around and found a Yoga Class Flier, and, figured it would work alright, and, it did.

That took care of all my .380 Ammo, since I only had about half a Box.


Summary -

Wow! Both Pistols are a delight to hold and fire...both show the highest Quality of Old World Craftsmanship, fit, and finish, and both are comfortable to my medium-large Hands.

Of the two, the Beretta Model 1934 seemed to have the most felt recoil, and, possibly it is a little lighter, and I will see if I can find my Scale and weight them to see the difference.

Both functioned flawlessly with my ( half-a ) Box of plain old Remington .380 Hardball...ejecting their spent Shells each in their own way...the CZ to the side and back...the Beretta, mostly back and somewhat to the side.


Both are true 'Pocket Pistols' from the era in which that usually meant Overcoat inside-Breast Pocket or Side Pocket.

Both very snug and compact, and, quite small really.

Sorry I could not find my Colt .380 Hammerless, I did try looking for it! But, I will revisit the matter one of these days, when I have found it, getting all three together for the event.


I sent off for ten Boxes of remanufactured .380 with Lead Bullets, from 'Mastercasters' so I can have something to play with with these.


All in all, these two are really beautifully made, good looking, very high quality, compact, little Pistols.


Last image -

Some fun and interesting old small Boxes of Ammunition made by Fabrique National in Belgium, for their .9mm Court John Browning design Pistol of the era. ( I did not want to shoot THESE up! Lol...they are just too cute...)





&


The two together, with the old Ammunition -

[haggis]

Nice report. I always enjoy shooting these older semiautos, mainly because of the various ways that their designers chose to solve the functioning problem - this was back before the "correct" way to design a gun was known. One small thing, your Czech gun is probably a CZ-24 rather than a CZ-27 due to the 9mm Kurtz caliber. CZ-27's were in 7.65 Browning. The slanted slide serrations are an indication that the slide is pre-war, and although they did show up on both models with wartime assembly of pre-war parts, the slanted serrations are more common on CZ-24's. Otherwise, the models are essentially the same except for cailber.

Buck

[guy sajer]

Thanks for the report ! I've owned several of both of these models over the years . Very solid built is an understatement

Cool ammo boxes too !

[Oyeboten]

Nice report. I always enjoy shooting these older semiautos, mainly because of the various ways that their designers chose to solve the functioning problem - this was back before the "correct" way to design a gun was known. One small thing, your Czech gun is probably a CZ-24 rather than a CZ-27 due to the 9mm Kurtz caliber. CZ-27's were in 7.65 Browning. The slanted slide serrations are an indication that the slide is pre-war, and although they did show up on both models with wartime assembly of pre-war parts, the slanted serrations are more common on CZ-24's. Otherwise, the models are essentially the same except for cailber.

Buck

Hi Buck,


Thank you, yes!


I know better yet somehow I screwed that up, calling it a CZ 27 instead of a CZ 24...


I corrected my opening Post to have the correct designation now.


Lol...

[haggis]

One of the things that interests me about the Nazi takeover of conquered/Axis countries' arms industries was the number of times they converted the smaller, officer sized pistols from the native .380 to the .32. I presume that this was done for ammunition supply, but I don't know for sure. The Czech, Hungarian, and Browning .380 pistols were all converted to .32 for German use, and in two cases, had a manual safety added. They definitely didn't consider the .380 as a main caliber, the Germans using 9x19 as their first line pistol caliber.

WWII weapons, especially Axis weapons, are a fascinating study.

Buck

[Oyeboten]

I find it hard to relate to the reason or reasoning of wanting a .32 ACP Pistol for War, or even for any sort of Peacetime Carry.

The Gestapo I gather, carried primarly .32 ACP Pistols, for yet another example of the Calibre or Cartridge being elected...and, in that context, the .32 ACP having been the mainstay of what even today, seem to remain about the most legendary and feared of organized Enforcers!


I can just b-a-r-e-l-y accept .380 for urban carry in Peacetime...b-a-r-e-l-y...

Ditto with .38 NP or .38 S&W.


Otherwise, .38 Special, or 9mm ( whether P-'08, or, 'Largo' or as .38 ACP ) have always seemed to be to be about the minimum I would want to rely on.

Granted, some reading I have done has said that the Pistol in WWII, for the Uk and European Armies anyway, was mostly a formality for Officers to have as part of their accoutremon, and, was not usually issued with any expectation of it being used in Combat.


Who would want to bring a .32 to a Gunfight??? especially a really BIG and prolongued one with many participants?


I find it hard to relate to...

[guy sajer]

When the Germans were conquering Europe they naturally took over existing manufacturing facilities including weapons/munitions plants . If they deemed a model of firearm "adequate" to their standards production continued . Makes sense to minimize caliber variations . It's wartime . Caliber size argumants aside , the .32 was very popular with police and civilians here and in Europe until WWII . And continued in use well into the 1960's in Germany . The nazis armed staff officers , party officials , friends of the party , and multitudes of police type organizations . The .32 pistols were more than adequate in most cases for personal protection and regular police duties . Most police had access to rifles and sub-guns if they were required and some were issued 9mm . I believe most frontline officers and non-coms were carrying a 9mm and in the heat of battle I have to assume there were many rifles/subguns on the ground ready for use no longer needed by their former owners .

I like the looks and quality of the Mauser 1914/34 series pistols too .