[Type39]

1923 Beretta cut for stock.

Last weekend one of our daughters & her husband visited & we ended up shooting all my 9mm Glisenti reloads. They both enjoy shooting my M1918–1930 semi auto carbine. Almost no recoil & it knocks over the steel plates easily. When I reload I always try out the first half a dozen to make sure they function my weapons. So this time, of my Glisenti, Brixia, M1915 & 1923 Berettas I grabbed the M1923.

As I was shooting it, it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen one in the Italian section of the Luger site. So here are a few pictures of it. The markings didn’t come out very clear with my camera. It only has the commercial proofs along with a 1935 date in an oval. J. B. Wood in his book Beretta Automatic Pistols states that the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry bought 250 M1923s with stocks in 1935. This is probably one of those pistols. He also states that the serial numbers started at 300,000 & that about 8000 were produced. Jan Still in Axis Pistols estimates about 10,000 were made. My pistol is S/N 310485 so it would appear that Jan’s estimate is closer to the total.

Does anyone out there have a stock or good photos of one? I have the ones in Wood’s Beretta Automatic Pistols, Wilson’s World of Beretta & Ezell’s Handguns of the World but they just show the 2 sides & the bottom from an angle. It appears to be a fairly complex design. From the one photo it looks like the stock has a cylinder, apparently with a spring to lock the folding joint, that goes into the holster through a hole in the side. I’m also curious if there is any reinforcement in the holster that goes across under the flap to make it more rigid when it’s used or if the holster alone is stiff enough to support the recoil.

Cliff



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[Olefogey]

Nice looking 1923. How is the bore? Most 1923's I have seen have terrible bores. I have one with a great bore, but it isn't quite as nice as yours and isn't cut for the stock. I visited the Beretta family museum about 4years ago. I was invited by a Beretta family friend. There was a beautiful 1923 with the attached stock holster. I did get to pick it up and examine it, but for the life of me I can't remember anything about the attachments.


Dave

 

[Type39]

Hi Dave,

It has a nice, bright bore. If it's been shot with corrosive ammo, they cleaned it well afterwords. My 1915 has a badly pitted bore but it goes along with the rest of the gun. Pitts all over. Your trip to the Beretta Museum must have been great. The World of Beretta book has a lot of photos of the stuff they have.

Cliff

 

[Dgiz]

Cliff,
Hey, could you do me a favor?
Could you post a photo of the top rear portion of your 1915 and 1923 mags side by side. I know they are interchangable but different...I can't tell which one I have in my 1923 with out a 1915 to compare it too!
Thanks, Dean

 

[Olefogey]

Dean,
You don't need a photo!! The 1915 has holes in the sides and the 1923 has the cut outs like all other Beretta mags. I have both so I looked at them before!! They are interchangeable as you say.

Dave

 

[Dgiz]

Dave,
Thanks for the info. I am/was confused. I don't have the mags to compare, but here is how this started. Reading your post, I looked back at J.B. Wood's book and see the photo of the 1915 mag on Page 23. But if you read page 54, it states both the 1915 and 1923 mags are identical with the open sides. Only difference is a wider follower on top and no ejector notch. I am easy to confuse! So, if it has an open side....1923 mag?
Thanks, Dean

 

[Olefogey]

Dean,
I have seen 1915 mags with the long side openings, but my 1915 came with two mags that have holes in the sides. Now you have me confused!! The 1923 does have a wider follower and no ejector notch. I sold the 1915 gun and kept the worst mag. The floor plate is incorrect but it works. I 've attached a few pictures.

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Now I'm confused!! I am checking with a magazine dealer friend of mine to see if I am crazy. If I get more info I will e-mail you.

Dave