Beretta 20X Bobcat Review: A Tip-Up .22 With Upgrades

From the ashes rises the Bobcat. Beretta’s famed tip-up .22LR firearm met its fate in 2023, only for Beretta to resurrect the pocket rocket in 2024. We’ve got hands-on with the new Beretta 20X Bobcat and want to see if it improves on an old design. 

Beretta 20X Bobcat

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Beretta’s New and Improved 20X 

The Beretta 20X joins the many X series guns from Beretta. These guns are classic designs with a facelift. The older 21A had long been Beretta’s .22LR pocket pistol, but in my experience, it was never all that reliable. I’m a tip-up fan; I’d almost call myself an expert, and at the very least, I’m a subject matter enthusiast. 

Tip-ups have a neat feature that disconnects the rear of the barrel from the gun. With the press of a button, the barrel tips up and reveals the chamber. The idea is that you can easily load the chamber without ever having to work the slide. You can also clear the gun with ease, which makes it appealing to shooters with poor hand strength. 

I love these little guns and patiently awaited the 20X after seeing it premiere at SHOT 2025. The Beretta 20X builds on the Beretta 21A, but it’s evident from the jump Beretta wasn’t aiming to make a lightweight pocket pistol. The Beretta 20X series is quite large compared to the 21A, and they added width and height to make a better shooting gun. 

The frame is much larger overall and resembles Beretta’s 30X, a .32 ACP. Additionally, it wears G10 grips, which, while great looking and feeling nice in the hand, add a bit of bulk. Beretta went with a seven-round magazine with an integrated inky rest, which adds height to the gun. It’s small and easily concealable but a bit large for pocket carry, especially compared to its competitor, the .22LR LCP 2 Literack. 

As a tip-up fan, I still enjoy shooting tip-ups and find their novelty endearing. While the 20X Bobcat won’t fit in my pocket, I’m still excited to take a few shots with it.

Beretta 20X Bobcat Features

1 Tip-Up Barrel

2 DA/SA Action

3 Flat Trigger

4 G10 Grips

The Bobcat – Does It Purr? 

The old 21As and I never had much luck. A mix of my big hands and the ammo-picky nature of the guns made them range guns and nothing else. At first, I thought the 20X might be resigned to the same fate. At the beginning of my shooting, I was plagued by failures: failures to eject, failures to feed, and light strikes in single-action. 

The low price of the .22LR kept me shooting, and eventually, the gun cleaned up. The modern era of firearm design has phased out the need for any break-in period. We don’t see it often, but you will see it with the Bobcat 20X. It took about 150 rounds for the gun to stop failing so much. After the 150 rounds, I only had problems with CCI Velocitors, which I didn’t expect since these guns run hot. 

The Velcoitor’s projectile design does not seem to align with the Bobcat’s feed ramp. I expected the weapon to prefer hot ammo, but standard velocity ammo worked as well as hot stuff. I used a lot of cheap Blazer .22LR and Federal Automatch, and the gun ran fine post-break-in period. That said, I was still getting light strikes every so often with the single-action trigger press. 

Since it’s a DA/SA gun, I could restrike it, and every time I used a double-action pull, the gun worked fine. The double-action hammer is undoubtedly hitting harder. I shot Federal Automatch, Blazer, CCI AR Tactical, and Federal Punch without any problems beyond the break-in. 

Little Gun, Big Potential 

What did impress the hell out of me was the gun’s accuracy potential. Gone are the micro-sized 21A sights. These guns have easy-to-see and aligned three-dot metal sights. Easy-to-see sights mean it’s an easy-to-shoot gun. Up close, you can print tiny groups. At seven yards, I could punch the eye out of a Sage Dynamic target. 

At 25 yards, I shot a group at an 8-inch circle, and every round easily stayed within that eight inches. At 50 yards, I hit seven out of nine times on an IPSC steel target. For a gun this tiny, that’s absolutely impressive. I think it’s as accurate as a tip-up barrel can get. 

Beretta redesigned the trigger to make it 30% lighter. It certainly shows, and the gun’s flat design looks and feels fantastic. I’m assuming the lighter trigger is also why we get light strikes. As good as the double action is, I wouldn’t mind seeing a low-profile version with a bobbed DAO hammer. 

That said, I’m getting fewer light strikes. The more I shoot it, the more reliable it becomes. 

In The Hand 

Ergonomically, it’s mostly fantastic. The larger grip makes the gun easier to hold, and the weight makes the little recoil of a .22LR even less. It’s super easy to control, and I can draw and empty the magazine from my pocket in less than two seconds and keep all of my shots on a torso-sized target. 

The redesigned controls put the magazine release in a more traditional location, making it easier to swap magazines. The barrel tip-up device is now a button rather than a lever. The wider grip is more comfortable, and the G10 grips are sticks and fantastic overall. The thumb safety is larger and easier to engage. 

The ergonomics are solid, except for the slide bite. This gun will chew my hand up if I choke up on the grip. At this point, I assume the highest grip possible on a handgun, and every time I do, I get bitten by the slide. Between this and Bodyguard 2.0, I get a nice callous of built-up scar tissue on my hands. 

Show Me the Money 

The 20X Bobcat isn’t a cheap gun—Beretta doesn’t make cheap guns. The 20X has an MSRP of $599, but the street price is around $499. It’s not overly expensive, but it’s a fair bit of money for a specialized and niche gun. This isn’t a pocket gun, so where does the 20X fit? 

It still falls into the realm of a kit gun and a working gun. It’s ultra-light and well-suited for general outdoor use. Although there are better options, it can be carried concealed. At this size point, if I wanted a defensive firearm, I’d just get the 30X with the .32 ACP for the extra penetration and reliable ignition. 

Overall, I like the 20X, and as a tip-up enthusiast, I hope to buy it from Beretta. However, it’s a very niche gun, and you’d be smart to know what you’re getting into. For me, it’s a shooter. It’s a micro-sized DA/SA gun, and it’s fun. 

Beretta 20x Bobcat Pros and Cons

Report Card
Shootability	The little gun has hardly any recoil and handles just fine, but the slide bite lowers it a point.	B+
Reliability	I’m torn. The gun runs mostly fine with the rare light strike but did require a hefty break-in fair. I think a C is a fair grade that encapsulates its current and past performance.	C+
Ergonomics	Beretta made solid changes to the Bobcat, making it a more ergonomic platform.	A+
Accuracy	For a little gun, this thing is downright impressive. I can’t believe it performs so well.	A+
Value	It’s not overpriced, but it’s not budget-friendly either. It’s a capable but niche gun.	C

Beretta 20X Bobcat

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Our Grade

B+

Reviewed by Travis Pike

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TBD

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The Beretta 20x Bobcat is a great gun, and has made some key changes to the model over the years. Handling quite impressively it will definitely be one I hope to buy.

Beretta 20x Bobcat Ammo

Hollow Point

Remington Golden Hunter 40 Gr Plated Hollow Point

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Silvertip Hollow Point

Winchester Wildcat 37 Gr Silvertip Hollow Point

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Beretta 20x Bobcat Upgrades and Accessories

1. Do-All Outdoors Steel Resetting Target		Rated For . 38 – . 44 Caliber Pistols High Visibility Targets Reset Without Walking Down Range	Check Amazon
2. 100 Round Ammo Box		100 Round Capacity Scuff-resistant textured surface Snap lock latch	Check Amazon
3. Pineworld Biometric Gun Safe		Reliable Biometric Scanner Sturdy and Well Built Cheaper Than Most Biometrics	Check Amazon
4. Decibullz Custom Molded Earplugs		Great In-Ear option Custom molded – super easy and comfortable NRR: 31	Check Amazon

Caring for your Beretta 20x Bobcat

It’s critical not only to keep your guns secure, but also to understand how to care for your firearms properly. We’ve located a fantastic video below on this subject.

Important Links and Manuals

• Bobcat Manual
• Beretta Bobcat Do-It-Yourself