Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Fabbrica D' Armi Pietro Beretta SpA More Info

About the Gun

Compact single-stack DA/SA blowback pistol with an alloy frame and an open-top slide. Slim grip. The BB adds extra slide serrations, dotted sights, and a firing-pin block. Safety remains an ambidextrous frame-mounted lever with no decocker. Variants use black checkered plastic grips, checkered walnut with a PB medallion, or a nickel finish.

Production

Production ran from 1982 through 1988.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $400. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $350–$550.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.380 Automatic
Alias:	9mm Browning Short
More Info

Analysis

Beretta introduced the BB update on the 85 in 1982. It is the mid-run slim-grip .380 Auto pistol: same blowback lockwork as the 85B, with a stronger recoil assembly, more slide serrations, and white-dot sights. Blue Book first lists it in the 1985 catalog and adds nickel in 1988. Guardia di Finanza issued 85BB pistols; G.F.-marked surplus guns are the examples most often seen now. Italian BB production ran through the late 1980s before the F slide-decocker guns. Used prices split between worn issue pistols and boxed commercial guns. Nickel examples are scarcer than the blued plastic and walnut guns and sit at the top of the range when original magazines are present.