Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Fabbrica D' Armi Pietro Beretta SpA More Info

About the Gun

Compact blowback pistol on the 1934 pattern, with an alloy frame and a slim slide. External hammer, open-top slide, and a single lever that is the safety and the takedown. Black plastic panels with Beretta across the top. Single-stack magazine with a heel release. Fixed sights, the rear in a dovetail.

Production

Production ran from 1949 through 1958.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $54. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $400–$750.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.22 LR
Alias:	.22 Long Rifle
More Info

Analysis

After World War II Beretta needed a civilian pistol, and Italian rules kept military cartridges out of commercial hands. The 948 is the .22 LR answer, prototypes in 1948 on modified 1934 frames, then a production gun with an alloy frame. About 76,000 were made. In the United States it was sold as the Featherweight, then the Plinker. The standard barrel is 3.5 inches, front sight on the slide. A later cut-slide gun took a 5.9-inch barrel with the sight on the barrel. Those slides are still marked 948. The 70-series Jaguar replaced this size in the next decade. The word Beretta across the top of the panel, rather than the PB monogram, is the usual tell against a model 1934. Magazines and those panels are the pieces that go missing.