HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Nickel and Gold or Tired and Old?

Welcome everyone to the 200th Edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have Fudd appeal? Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

In our last edition, our poll showed that you, the readers, decided the LAR Grizzly was a very hot gat.

At this time the original auction has ended with a final bid of $1,575. To the buyer, we say congratulations on the purchase of your certified hot gat.

In this week’s 200th Edition of HGFC, we look at a custom gold plated Beretta 84 chambered in .380 Auto. As is tradition, this flashy gat is currently up for sale on GunBroker for $405 Current Bid or $1,600 Buy It Now.

Let’s see what the Staff had to say about this week’s offering:

After I win this auction, I’m naming this gun “Shah Luigi Escobar”” – James Reeves

“No matter what you do to a Beretta 84, it’s still a hot gat.” – Daniel Y.

“Ostentatious, unnecessary, gauche, excessive, maybe even a bit lewd, not my typical style whatsoever, and I absolutely want one. Hot gat.” – Will P.

“I have the perfect watch to match. Hot gat.” – Nick L.

It’s certainly far from the most elaborate item description we’ve seen in this series, but for our purposes, it’ll do. For those not familiar with the Beretta Cheetah line of handguns, well let me fill you in. The Beretta Cheetah is a small blowback-operated semi-automatic handgun originally designated the “Series 81”. Series 81 pistols were introduced in 1976 and come in three calibers: .22 LR (Models 87, 87 Target, and 89),.380 ACP, and.32 ACP (Models 81 and 82).

With modern advances in ammunition, it seems like smaller cartridges like 380 Auto are on the rise. Beretta’s release of the 80X earlier this year shows us that what’s old is new again. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited to see more utility out of classic guns like this. Well, maybe not this exact one that may be seen in a police seizure photo at a later date, but I digress.

So what do you think? Is this nickel and gold Beretta 84 worth it for the price or is this all just too over the top? As always I leave it up to you, the readers, to decide.

Author’s Note: As this is the 200th Edition, I want to say thank you to everyone whos been involved in this series. A lot of items featured in this series have been suggestions from readers and staff, and I can’t thank you enough for your emails and feedback. Take care, and I’ll see you in the next edition.