Beretta 80X Cheetah: A Different Breed of Pistol

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Five hundred years ago, the Renaissance was flourishing, the Reformation was roiling the Christian world, and the concept of a United States of America was still 250 years away. Meanwhile, in a small town in Italy, the Beretta family was founding a firearms company that bears its name to this day—making it by far the world’s oldest gunmaker.

Over that quincentenary, the firm has developed some of the most significant and popular firearms designs ever conceived, from early machine guns to high-end shotguns. On the handgun side of the ledger, of particular significance is the Beretta 92/M9, which captured the U.S. military sidearm contract in the mid-1980s, replacing the iconic 1911.

While the 92 is probably the most notable of Beretta’s semiautos today, it is only one branch of what is a huge family tree, and we could probably do an entire feature article on the branch that brings us to the 80X Cheetah. The latest in the 80 series of medium-frame pistols, the Cheetah name first cropped up in the Beretta catalog in 1994. The Cheetah 83, 84, 85 and 86 were all .380s in various configurations—including double stacks, single stacks, even a tip-up.

The 80X Cheetah designation arrived in 2023, with the X denoting a number of upgrades to previous 80-series guns. One of the newest variants is the Tactical Desert. Like the other Cheetah 80Xs, it is a blowback-operated, open-slide .380 ACP.

Size and Ergonomics

At 7.5 inches long and 5.25 inches high and weighing 25 ounces, you’re not going to mistake it for the current crop of micro .380s. However, even when it comes to concealed carry, smaller is not always better. Larger guns benefit from being more shootable, and with its 4.4-inch barrel and attendant 5.2-inch sight radius, the Cheetah 80X is certainly that. Further, the Tactical Desert model provides an impressive 15-round capacity.

Contributing to the shootability is the forged 7075-T6 aluminum Vertec frame. Older 80-series guns like the .380-chambered 84 featured a rounded grip frame, and while some shooters like that style, I’d say a majority of today’s gunners, including me, prefer a straight grip.

The Vertec frame on the Cheetah 80X isn’t completely straight, though. The frontstrap bells ever so slightly at the base, providing a subtle shelf that helps you apply more pressure with your pinky to keep the muzzle down—a big help when shooting a red dot and when going for rapid follow-up shots regardless of whether you’re using a red dot or irons.

The frontstrap sports a mix of longitudinal grooves and a 0.7-inch section of checkering that works out to about 11 lines per inch. The checkered area hits right where your second and third fingers grip the gun, which is ideal. The entire backstrap is checkered, also at about 11 l.p.i.

Grips and Accessories

The frame sports a generous beavertail at the rear for added control, and the front of the frame incorporates a two-slot Picatinny rail for lights and lasers—another improvement that arrived with the 80X.

The frame is a lighter shade than the flat dark earth Cerakoted slide and polymer grip panels. I love this. The two shades of tan, paired with the open-top slide that shows off the black barrel, and the contrasting controls combine for a sharp-looking gun.

“It was both intentional to design a two-tone look and a byproduct of the two different materials, but the Italian factory works hard to keep both colors within specifications,” Beretta’s Logan Killam told me.

By now you probably noticed that the barrel is threaded, 1/2x28 in this case, and has a knurled thread protector. An orange O-ring prevents the thread protector from working loose during firing.

Threaded For Quiet

Suppressors are the hot ticket today because the process to get one has become a lot easier and a billion times faster than it used to be. While I’ve yet to get a dedicated pistol suppressor, I understand how one would be a boon to a home defense gun—cutting down on disorienting muzzle blast and helping with faster follow-ups.

The carbon-steel slide has aggressive vertical serrations fore and aft. You’ll definitely notice them when cycling the slide, and people who don’t have tough hands might find them to be a bit too aggressive. But they’re definitely a plus for sure operation, especially if you’re wearing gloves.

Further, the serrations are critical because the slide flats are only about a half-inch high, and there’s not a ton of real estate to grab onto, so you want that gripping surface to have some teeth. All that’s moot, of course, if you take advantage of the fact that the slide is cut for optics—another improvement over earlier 80-series guns. Once you install a red dot, you’ve got a lot more to hold onto while racking the slide.

The right side of the slide is engraved “80X Cheetah” and “Beretta USA, Accokeek, MD” while on the left you learn that this pistol was manufactured in the original Beretta home of Gardone, Val Trompia, Italy—which firearms historian R.L. Wilson called “the original Silicon Valley of arms technology.”

Sights

The pistol’s three-dot sights are steel, and unlike the original 80 series, the front is set in a dovetail and not integral with the slide. That would enable you to go with a night or day/night front aftermarket sight.

The rear sight is integral to the slide cover plate, so once you remove that to install a red dot, you’re committed to the optic. Beretta currently offers two adapter plates: one for the Shield RMSc footprint and one for the Holosun K footprint. Killam said there are currently no plans to offer additional plates, but he noted that could change based on customer demand.

The 80X Cheetah incorporates Beretta’s X-Treme S trigger. Critical components are treated to a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) finish, and the trigger group uses tuned springs. The end result is a shorter reset and a lighter pull. With the action decocked, the trigger had 0.6 inch of takeup, and the double-action pull measured six pounds, two ounces on average. In single action I got 0.3 inch of takeup before a three-pound, 11-ounce break.

The 80X Cheetah has an overtravel adjustment screw that allows you to modify the trigger travel even more. Unlike a 1911 setup, the screw is accessed from inside the frame when the gun is field-stripped. There’s no guidance in the manual on adjusting this, so I asked Killam for some advice.

Controls

“The tightening limit is related to the ability to release the hammer both in SA and DA,” he said. “I would recommend keeping at least 1mm of overtravel for accuracy as well. If the trigger stops abruptly right after releasing the hammer, the remaining pull energy may transfer to the grip and shift the point of aim. It’s a tip we usually give to competition shooters using the 92X Performance.”

Out of the box, the reset was about 0.35 inch (approximately 8mm), and I turned the screw a few turns to the point where the shoulder preceding the first thread was just showing inside the trigger guard. That resulted in a reset of just 0.20 inch (5mm), a 40 percent decrease—which I found to be a significant improvement and a good compromise between too much overtravel and too little.

The gun’s controls include an ambidextrous safety that serves as a decocker. The downward tension to Fire is just right. Someone with longer, stronger thumbs may be able decock the gun with their firing-hand thumb, but for me the most effective technique was to remove my non-shooting hand from the grip and use that thumb to push the decocking lever upward.

The grooved slide-lock lever is well designed and easy to use as a slide release if that’s your technique. The round, smooth magazine release is reversible.

Mag Release

The mag release is under a fair amount of tension, and it doesn’t stick out very far past the grip. That’s a good thing for concealed carry because you’re not going to dump your magazine accidentally. It did, however, require me to shift my grip to drop the magazine during reloads. That’s not uncommon for me, and I’ve learned to compensate quickly to the point it doesn’t slow my reloads too much.

In a departure from previous 80s, the 80X dispenses with the magazine disconnect—a fact brought home by the “Fires without magazine” engraving on the left side of the frame.

The extractor protrudes slightly from the slide and shows a red mark when there’s a round in the chamber, and while you can see it and feel it a little bit, it’s only a tiny sliver. I think you’re better off doing a press check to determine the gun’s status.

Disassembly is simple, and you don’t need to press the trigger to remove the slide. After ensuring the gun is unloaded, with the slide all the way forward, press the disassembly latch release button on the left side of the frame and rotate the right-side latch downward to remove the slide.

Reassembly Tip

Push forward on the captured recoil spring/guide unit and then withdraw it, followed by the barrel. Note you’ll have to remove the muzzle thread protector in order to pull the barrel.

One tip on reassembly. If you reinstall the slide as you normally would, the takedown lever won’t automatically reset, and you can’t reset it by hand—or at least I wasn’t able to figure it out. Instead, install the slide as normal and pull it past the rear of the frame to ensure it’s on properly, then place the gun muzzle-down on a flat surface and give a gentle push. The takedown lever will snap back into position.

The standard 80X Cheetah models come with 13-round magazines that have flat base plates, but the Tactical Desert and the all-black Tactical Urban ship with extended 15-round magazines. The metal-body mags have black polymer followers and numbered witness holes from 4 to 13.

The mag extensions are held on with a pin on one corner, and you’ll need to pry out the pin to disassemble the magazine for cleaning. As Killam noted, it does take some force.

Accuracy

I shot the gun on multiple range trips with both iron sights and an optic. For the latter, I mounted a Holosun 507K green dot on the pistol via an adapter plate Beretta sent me separately for testing.

You use the cover plate screws to attach the adapter plate to the slide, and the screws to mount the sight to the plate are provided. All these screws have rather shallow sockets, and I had a hard time getting sufficient torque on them because the sockets wanted to round when I approached 15 inch-pounds. After my first range session, the supplied sight-mounting screws kept working loose despite the use of thread locker, so for my next trip I swapped them out for a pair of more robust screws I had on hand.

Bench 25-yard accuracy with the Holosun was very good, as you can see in the accompanying chart. Bench testing was done with the hammer cocked, the trigger in single action, but the rest of the testing was conducted with the first shot in double action.

The transition from double-action to single-action trigger pull is the main reason so many shooters have moved away from the DA/SA design. However, between the light and smooth DA pull on the Cheetah’s X-Treme S trigger and the ability to adjust the overtravel, I found this one to be great to shoot.

Adjusting

Yes, it took me a few reps to get used to shooting a DA/SA, which I don’t often do, but after that the gun proved easy to make first-round, double-action hits from an inside-the-waistband holster. The transition to single action was fairly seamless, thanks in part to the nice break and short reset.

A 25-ounce .380 is a joy to shoot, and shoot fast, and the Vertec grip provides a full three-finger grip with just the right amount of texturing to keep the gun anchored. Red-dot shooters will especially appreciate the little flare at the bottom of the grip, which helps keep that muzzle down so you can pick up the dot quickly. For those who prefer iron sights, the Cheetah’s three-dot setup provides a clean, sharp sight picture that’s easy to acquire and align.

Reloads were a snap. I worked out of my pocket because that’s how I would carry a spare, and the mag extension provides plenty to grab onto and then smack into the mag well for secure seating.

Is the 80X Cheetah Tactical Desert a carry gun? It could be. I carried it behind the hip, my preferred method, for a few days, and for me the extended 15-round magazine prints too easily. That would be easily remedied by buying a 13-round flush-fit magazine from Beretta and using the 15-rounder as your spare. The threaded barrel does add length, but it doesn’t affect concealment.

Best Application

I think the gun slots better as a home defense pistol. You’ve got the Picatinny rail up front for adding a light or laser, and as I mentioned earlier, I think suppressors are a good choice for home defense. You don’t have to worry much about the added length, and the reduced muzzle blast will make you more effective in enclosed spaces.

The manual of arms likely disqualifies it as a first pistol for most folks, and while Beretta says the cocking force on the 80X slide has been reduced, I found it fairly stiff out of the box—although after 200 or so rounds it smoothed out nicely. Still, those with diminished hand strength might struggle with it.

I think it’s most suitable for shooters who are already in the DA/SA camp and are looking for a soft-shooting .380 that has all the bells and whistles to make it a great all-around defensive pistol. For fans of the Beretta series 80, it would also make a cool addition to a collection, with the modern improvements over older 80s adding utility and value.

Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Desert Specs

• Type: DA/SA semiauto
• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Capacity: two 15-round mags supplied
• Barrel: 4.4 in., threaded 1/2x28 w/thread protector
• OAL/Height: 7.3/4.9 in.
• Width: slide, 1.1 in.; across safeties, 1.4 in.; grip, 1.3 in.
• Weight: 25 oz.
• Construction: Cerakote flat dark earth carbon steel slide; anodized 7075-T6 forged aluminum alloy Vertec frame w/Picatinny rail; polymer grip panels
• Trigger: X-Treme S DA/SA; DA pull, 6 lb., 2 oz.; SA pull, 3 lb., 11 oz. (measured)
• Sights: white 3-dot, rear integral with slide cover plate; slide cut for optics; RMSc, Holosun K plates available from Beretta
• Safety: ambidextrous decocker
• Price: $749
• Manufacturer: Beretta, beretta.com

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