Description
The Beretta 80X Cheetah in 380 ACP, part number SPEC0716A, is a two tone special run of the gun that brought the Cheetah name back. The slide is black stainless with an optic cut and serrations, the frame is gray anodised aluminium with a Picatinny rail, and the grips are black Vertec panels. The barrel is 3.90 inches of stainless, the magazine holds thirteen, and the action is the single and double action tilt barrel design Beretta introduced with the 80X rather than the old fixed barrel blowback of the 84 series.
That matters more than the colour. A locked breech 380 recoils noticeably less than a blowback one and the slide is far easier to rack, which is the reason most people buy a 380 in the first place.
Why the 80X is not just a modernised 84
The original Cheetah was a straight blowback. It worked, but the recoil spring had to be stiff enough to hold the breech shut, which made the slide heavy to operate for exactly the shooters a 380 is aimed at.
The 80X uses a locked breech tilt barrel. The spring can be lighter, the slide racks with far less effort, and felt recoil drops because the action absorbs part of it rather than the shooter’s hand.
Thirteen rounds in a single stack 380 is unusually generous. Most carry guns in this chambering give you six or seven.
The optic cut is factory, not aftermarket, so a micro red dot mounts without machining the slide and voiding anything.
What the Beretta 80X Cheetah gives you day to day
A 3.90 inch barrel is long enough to get real velocity out of a 380 load, which matters in a cartridge with very little margin.
The aluminium frame keeps weight down for carry while giving the gun enough mass to stay controllable, unlike the polymer pocket 380s it competes with.
A Picatinny rail on a 380 is rare and genuinely useful if this is a nightstand gun rather than a pocket gun.
Vertec grips are thinner than the old wraparound panels, which shortens the reach to the trigger for smaller hands.
Specifications
- Model: Beretta 80X Cheetah, part number SPEC0716A
- Caliber: 380 ACP
- Capacity: 13+1 rounds
- Barrel length: 3.90 inches, stainless
- Slide: black stainless, optic ready and serrated
- Frame: gray anodised aluminium with Picatinny rail
- Grips: black Vertec
- Action: single and double action, locked breech tilt barrel
- Safety: manual
- Left handed: controls are reversible
Cartridge dimensions and pressures are standardized by SAAMI. For practice we stock 95 grain 380 ACP full metal jacket, and for carry 95 grain jacketed hollow point. Run at least a box of your chosen carry load through the gun before you trust it, because 380 hollow points vary more in feeding reliability than any other common pistol cartridge. Buyers who want the all black version should compare the black 13 round build, and the threaded barrel models are listed in 15 round and 10 round black and bronze.
Every handgun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
Why it is worth considering
- A locked breech action, so the slide racks easily and recoil stays mild.
- Thirteen rounds of 380, roughly double what most carry guns in the chambering hold.
- A factory optic cut, so a micro red dot goes on without machining.
- An aluminium frame with a rail, which is unusual on a 380 and useful on a home gun.
- Two tone finish that is easy to tell apart from an identical black stablemate in the safe.
Who it suits
This suits a shooter who wants a 380 because of recoil or slide effort rather than because of size, and who would rather carry a real pistol than a pocket gun. Anyone looking for the smallest possible carry piece should look elsewhere, since the 80X is a full sized compact. Every handgun we sell ships to a licensed FFL for transfer.
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