Beretta Bobcat military version?

[SKS Ray]

Anyone hear of a military version of this pistol? I was at Richies Sporting Supply a while back and he was logging in some new guns he received and one of them was a Beretta .25 auto pistol that looked like a Bobcat but had no markings, just the serial number and Beretta grips. He said it was probably a military version because of the grey park and no markings, but I've seen these with a dull finish before on auction sites, only they have all the usual markings. When I went back last week the pistol was gone, someone bought it.
I had told him I never saw one like that for military use and he went into how the military used all kinds of small caliber weapons for concealment, etc.
Any input from the people here? Did I miss out on a rare collectable?

 

[FPrice]

I had told him I never saw one like that for military use and he went into how the military used all kinds of small caliber weapons for concealment, etc.
Any input from the people here? Did I miss out on a rare collectable?

The chances that the US military acquired this pistol for it's use, official or otherwise, are so small as to be approaching zero. The Beretta was used by several nations but I think that the smallest caliber normally found was the 7.65mm (.32ACP).

Unless you can find some corroborating documentation I doubt that you missed anything significant.

 

[Nashmack]

During the first and second world wars .32s and even .25s were carried by Axis officers. How new was it? Are you sure it's a bobncat and not a 1934?

 

[SKS Ray]

During the first and second world wars .32s and even .25s were carried by Axis officers. How new was it? Are you sure it's a bobncat and not a 1934?

Only thing I could make out on it was the serial number. The finish was grey parkerizing like seen on many GI 45s. There were no other markings. One of the old timers there said that there was a civilian version of the same gun called a Bobcat.

 

[FPrice]

Do you know if it had a "tip-up" barrel? I think this would make it a Bobcat. If not, the 1934 would be a good guess.

 

[SKS Ray]

Do you know if it had a "tip-up" barrel? I think this would make it a Bobcat. If not, the 1934 would be a good guess.

Unfortunately no I never got a chance to check it out. I'll have to ask Richie more about it the next time I go up there because now the pistol's history is bugging me that I don't know about it.