by J. B. Wood | Contributing Editor
The “silenced” Beretta Model 71 and the CCI ammo.
The story goes like this: Several years ago, the Israeli Mossad located a notorious terrorist chief in a hotel room in one of the Arab Emirates. Two black ops agents were sent, and the man responsible for killing a lot of Israeli citizens was summarily dispatched. The instrument used, reportedly, was a silenced .22 Beretta.
Of course, I can’t verify this. In the words of the old spy joke, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Even so, it is known that in this shadowy profession, the Beretta .22 with a suppressor is a favored accessory. This brings us to the current offering from Century International Arms, a .22 LR Beretta Model 71 with a fake suppressor.
Like the tongue-in-cheek dialogue above, its origins are also something of a mystery. As some readers will know, suppressors are mostly unrestricted in Europe. Thus, these pistols may have been originally offered for commercial sale. For US importation, of course, those terrible things had to be taken off.
Century solved the problem by installing a simple hollow steel tube at the muzzle, with two nice-looking checkered bands. There are two downsides present in this arrangement. The steel tube makes the pistol very muzzle-heavy, and the sight picture is obscured. There is, though, a way to get around the latter factor. More on this later! The tube is a force-fit, not removable.
The original Beretta Model 71, without suppressor, was routinely imported and sold in the US from 1960 to 1987. Early versions had a cross-bolt push-button manual safety and later ones a conventional up/down lever. The slide stays open after the last shot, and the release catch is conveniently located. Magazine release is a push-button at lower rear on the left side.
The magazine holds 8 rounds of .22 LR, and it has that familiar Beretta finger-extension, which results in ample room for all three fingers of the average hand on the front-strap of the frame. This is also a help in stabilizing that extra muzzle-weight.
Except for the fake suppressor, it’s a standard Beretta Model 71, with the slide latch, safety, and magazine release in the usual locations.
A test target. Group of three shots: 3.5 inches.
For those who want the numbers, the actual barrel-length is 3.5 inches. Overall, with the fake suppressor, it’s exactly 12 inches. Height, including the magazine finger-rest, is 4.62 inches. Width 1.01 inches. As noted earlier, magazine capacity is 8 rounds. Weight, with that heavy fake suppressor, is 37 ounces.
Trying out the pistol at the Big Tree range, I used my favorite .22 LR high-velocity load, CCI Mini-Mags. I was standing, with a two-hand hold, and the distance was seven yards. To get around the “no sights’” problem, I simply matched the top curve of the “suppressor” with the 8-inch black of the Champion VisiShot target.
The results were interesting. Three of the 8 shots were well-centered, and the other five were slightly up and to the left. Several other targets were similar. The pistol worked perfectly, of course. It is, after all, a Beretta. Using my weird sighting method, the groups averaged 3.5 inches.
The Proof date on my pistol is “AA,” which means it was made in 1975. This sort of corresponds with the spy story related at the beginning. Who knows? The suggested retail price of this unique Beretta is $379.95. Contact data: Century International Arms, 430 S. Congress Ave., Suite One, Dept. TGM, Delray Beach, FL 33445. Phone: 800-527-1252. Online: centuryarms.com.
