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Beretta 21A Bobcat Review: Best Micro Pistol?

We take a look at the Beretta 21A Bobcat -- its specs and features, what makes it unique, and how it stacks up against modern pocket pistols.
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    Beretta 21A Bobcat Pros u0026 Cons

    Pros

    • Very light recoil
    • DA/SA design
    • Tip-up barrel
    • Fun to shoot

    Cons

    • Finicky reliability
    • Slide bite

    The Bottom Line

    The Beretta 21A Bobcat is a micro-sized pocket pistol that is often finicky in terms of reliability. While fun to shoot, the Beretta 21A Bobcat isn't a gun I'd trust my life to.

    Beretta 21A Bobcat Specs & Features

    Specs

    • Caliber: .22 LR
    • Capacity: 7+1
    • Width: 1.1″
    • Overall Length: 4.9″
    • Barrel Length: 2.4″
    • Weight: 11.5 oz.

    Features

    • Tip-up barrel
    • Grip-mounted magazine release
    • DA/SA trigger
    • Manual safety

    I’ve recently dived headfirst into the world of micro pistols — .22 LRs, 25 ACP, and 32 ACP pistols…tiny little guns in tiny little calibers that, according to most of the internet, will get me killed in the streets.

    Beretta 21A Bobcat

    My most recent mouse gun is the .22 LR Beretta 21A, a.k.a. the Bobcat. It looks like Rick Moranis pulled a Honey, I Shrunk the Beretta 92.

    It’s the only pocket pistol in production that I know of that keeps the classic DA/SA design and features a distinctive tip-up barrel.

    Overall, it’s just kind of cool. It’s slick, stylish, and relatively unique in its genre. With that said, is the juice worth the squeeze? Is it concealed carry ready? Or should it be resigned to a range toy?

    Let’s find out.

    Table of Contents

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    How We Tested the Beretta 21A Bobcat

    For this review, I spent hours with the Beretta 21A, testing it and evaluating it for performance, ergonomics, and features. That included quite a bit of time at the range running Federal Automatch, Mini Mags, Federal Punch, Aguila Super Extra, Remington Gold Bullet, and Federal bulk .22 LR through the Beretta Bobcat.

    I shot at various distances out to 25 yards and ran through a variety of drills to gauge performance.

    PHLster Floodlight OWB

    Aside from that, I’ve spent a lifetime shooting that started in a family that hunted every season they legally could. From there, I joined the United States Marine Corps and spent five years as an infantryman. I am also an NRA-certified instructor and concealed carry trainer out of Florida, and over the years, I’ve tested various concealed-carry handguns, holsters, and accessories for a myriad of publications, including Pew Pew Tactical.

    $399
    at EuroOptic

    Prices accurate at time of writing

    Prices accurate at time of writing

    Available Coupons

    Beretta 21A Bobcat Background

    Colt has the Snake guns, and Beretta has the kitten guns. The kitten guns are all micro-sized Berettas with the familiar open slide design and a tip-up barrel.

    They descend from the original Beretta 950, known as the Minx, which was designed in 1952.

    Beretta 950 Minx (Photo: Scott60)

    Since then, Beretta designed a few different micro-sized pistols. The Tomcat is the .32 ACP variant, and the 21A Bobcat comes in .22 LR or .25 ACP.

    Initially designed as a backup for police officers, these micro-sized handguns became favorites for concealed carry quite quickly.

    These guns were tiny for their era but admittedly struggle to keep up in 2023. Guns like KelTec P32, Ruger LCP, and S&W Bodyguard are much thinner and lighter and don’t rely on a blowback mechanism.

    KelTec P32
    The KelTec P32 is smaller, lighter, and doesn’t rely on a direct blowback action.

    Tip-up barrels allow you to put a round directly into the chamber and to easily clear the chamber. This makes it easier to operate than grabbing a very small, stiff-moving slide. It’s a neat feature and one of the big reasons why I wanted the 21A.

    The all-metal design, tip-up barrels, and the DA/SA trigger system make the Beretta 21A standout, but it still feels awfully dated.

    Who Is the Bobcat For?

    It’s advertised as a concealed carry and backup weapon, and that’s been the job of these pistols for decades. They can certainly be very easily carried and concealed.

    In reality, and after my testing, I wouldn’t suggest the 21A for serious use. I’ll elaborate later, but it does seem prudent to mention you shouldn’t risk your life on this gun.

    It is a fun-to-shoot pistol with lots of bark and muzzle flash but little to no recoil or muzzle rise. Like all .22 LRs, it’s just a fun gun.

    Ergonomics: Fit & Feel

    Beretta makes excellent-looking guns, no question. The Beretta 21A Bobcat is available in numerous finish options, and mine is the stainless “Inox” variant, and it looks fantastic.

    A stainless Inox vs the black Covert model. (Photo: u/SmallGratimo)

    The black grips are simple and look and feel great. It’s quite comfy and sports a 1.1-inch wide grip that’s rounded and sits nicely in hand. Even though it’s a short grip, the lack of recoil still makes it easy to shoot.

    There are some sights across the top that are miserably small and not exactly fast to use. In a self-defense situation, using these sights efficiently would be a challenge.

    Controls

    The controls all respond instantly when pressed. The barrel flies upward, and the safety pops up and in place with a satisfying click.

    The magazine release is on the bottom rear of the grip. It’s awkward to reach, and the magazine doesn’t fall free. This isn’t likely a weapon you’d carry a spare mag for anyway. You get a magazine capacity of seven rounds, but you can fit eight into it. If you put eight, it will malfunction, so pay attention to how many you’re loading.

    The gun also has a manual safety on the frame. However, it’s not exactly a drop-safe design when cocked to single-action. The proper way to carry the gun is with the hammer down to ensure it drop safe.

    Hammer

    The hammer is textured and moves back easily into single-action mode. There is no decocker, but you can lower the hammer with the barrel in the tipped-up position, so you aren’t lowering on a live chamber. You can also load the gun without operating the slide via the tip-up barrel, so it easily stays in double action.

    A view of a chambered round with the barrel tipped up.

    Overall, the gun feels solid and well-made. It certainly lives up to Beretta’s often high standards in that department.

    How Does the Beretta 21A Bobcat Shoot?

    Firing the Beretta Bobcat is an interesting experience. While the recoil is nearly nothing, it’s the loudest .22 LR handgun I’ve ever fired — likely due to the short barrel.

    You get a nice fireball at the end of the barrel with high-velocity loads.

    As you can see, the barrel is quite small.

    Despite the blast and flash, the sights barely move after the hammer drops. It’s effortless to shoot, and even an amateur could handle the gun with ease.

    Could they shoot it accurately with ease? That’s a tougher one to affirm. The double-action trigger pull is incredibly long and quite heavy, heavier than most others.

    The single action is much lighter and much shorter, but still quite long and heavy for a single action trigger.

    I’m no pro or expert, but I can shoot pretty decently. I could hit a 10-inch gong consistently out to 25 yards with single-action slow fire. Mechanically, the gun’s accuracy is fine, but the sights and trigger do not help reduce human error.

    At close range, it’s easy to dump every round on target due to the light recoil, which is nice. Handling the gun one-handed was also enjoyable.

    The Beretta 21A is capable of being reliable, but it’s very finicky about getting there.

    Ammo choice is important.

    First, you need hot ammo; subsonic ammo ain’t gonna fly here. Federal Automatch, Mini Mags, Federal Punch, and Aguila Super Extra work great.

    Standard bulk .22 LR, like the Remington Gold Bullet and standard Federal bulk pack, doesn’t yield promising results. They tend to fail to cycle and leave your gun going click.

    .22LR Ammo In Stock

    Deal
    Grain
    Cost Per Round
    Notes
    40gr
    $0.06
    CYBERWEEK 8% off, Free Ship $149+
    36gr HP
    $0.10
    CYBERWEEK 8% off, Free Ship $149+
    40gr
    $0.11+
    CYBERWEEK 8% off, Free Ship $149+
    Various
    $0.36
    Various
    $0.16

    Once you have the right ammo, ensure the gun is clean and lubricated. It doesn’t like running dry and dirty.

    The gun lacks an extractor, so it relies on blowback gas to free the empty case. When the chamber gets dirty, the cartridges tend to stick and fail to extract.

    You also need to be careful how you hold the gun. It’s sensitive to limp writing, which isn’t all that surprising, but it’s also sensitive to holding it too tight. Holding it too high can cause slide interference as well.

    When shooting with my less grip-intensive, non-dominant hand, the gun ran much better. I loosened my grip with my two-handed shooting, and what do you know…the gun became mostly reliable.

    The slide is very hard to rack, but the tip-up barrel makes loading easy. The slide only becomes an issue when addressing malfunctions. That same slide will take a bite out of your hand if you hold it too high.

    Even with a clean gun, high-velocity ammo, and the just-right grip, the gun wasn’t always reliable. Every couple of magazines, I would get some form of failure. Because the gun lacks an extractor, it’s difficult to fix malfunctions, and it takes time and a pinky nail in most cases.

    What Sets It Apart

    The Bobcat’s tip-up barrel and micro DA/SA design make it a unique firearm. You rarely see a pocket-sized pistol with a DA/SA action, and the tip-up barrel is also uncommon.

    It’s just kind of neat. It’s not necessarily the most useful firearm, but its unique features appeal to me. I feel I’ve given it a fair review, and while it’s a bit harsh, I still like the gun.

    While it’s cool and interesting, it’s not necessarily effective or appealing for defensive use.

    Beretta Bobcat 21A By the Numbers

    Accuracy

    3/5

    Mechanically, it’s accurate, but small sights and a rough trigger make it tough to be practically accurate.

    Reliability

    2/5

    If the USAF Zip is a 1 star, then this is slightly better at two stars. Conditions have to be just right for the gun to work, and even then, it can be spotty.

    Customization

    1/5

    You can swap the grips, and that’s about it.

    Ergonomics

    2.5/5

    It’s mostly fine, but the slide bite takes a chunk out of both my hand and this score.

    Value

    2/5

    The Beretta kitten series are expensive guns, and when compared to the cheaper LCP in 22LR, it’s tough to find value.

    Overall

    2/5

    $399
    at EuroOptic

    Prices accurate at time of writing

    Prices accurate at time of writing

    Available Coupons

    Final Verdict

    This is a gun for gun nerds — people like me who find it neat and interesting.

    It’s not a practical carry choice, and It costs nearly double what the LCP II in .22 LR costs while being worse in most ways. But at the end of the day, it’s fun to shoot when it works, but it doesn’t work well enough.

    Do you have any experience with the Beretta Bobcat? Let us know in the comments below! Like .22 LR, but aren’t big on the Beretta? Check our article on the Best .22 LR Pistols & Revolvers for Pocket Carry!

    Latest Updates

    April 08, 2024: Added more information to how we tested the Beretta 21A Bobcat, and added section headers for Ergonomics.

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    4 Leave a Reply

    • Mike U

      Thank you for the comprehensive review of the Beretta 21A! We're excited to introduce our new grip extension base plate, designed specifically for Beretta 21A .22LR pistols. It enhances handling with added grip grooves for easier magazine extraction, while maintaining the original magazine capacity. The extension provides a fuller hand placement for better control and comfort during shooting, and its slim, snag-free profile ensures a smooth fit. Available in both Black and FDE, it's a seamless replacement for the existing base plate. We look forward to hearing your feedback. Happy shooting!

      You can find them for sale on eBay by searching "Beretta 21a Grip Extension Base Plate" .

      September 17, 2024 12:01 pm
    • Greg

      The .25 version does not jam because it has a better feed ramp. The .25 ACP will also not bend or deform while feeding unlike the .22 LR which has a soft lead bullet and a thin case. You get 9 shots with the .25, and the 35 grain offerings with XTP or Gold Dot give surprisingly good performance.

      December 19, 2023 2:01 am
    • DDD

      I have one of these and really enjoy shooting it - especially one-handed.
      The first downside is the safety. It does not work. I have to use pliers to move the safety on or off.
      The second is ammo - mine needs high velocity or it will not cycle.
      I thought it would be a good replacement for my Ruger LCP II .380 because of my worsening arthritis, but it cost $130 more and not worth the difference.
      But at the outdoor range, it is fun to plink cans and bottles one-handed.

      December 17, 2023 7:32 pm
    • Scott Anthony

      You’re spot on with your review…very neat gun to have in one’s collection but NOT reliable at all. I purchased the Covert model a few months ago and discovered the wood grips were in fact “out-of-spec”. Have now replaced them with the stock black plastic ones and seems to be “a little better” but as you state…it is almost all ammo related. Having some luck with the CCI mini-mags. My overall rating…a 1.5…mostly on the the cool looks of this pocket pistol. For a gun they have been making for many years….one would think Beretta would have the bugs worked out. To end on a positive note…when it does cycle and perform…it is a lot of fun.

      December 5, 2023 6:54 pm
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