Beretta .32 Tomcat

[heavyshooter]

I am a little concerned about all these reports of cracking slides.

JoefromTN,

It's not the slide that cracks, its the frame. I purchased one for my wife in July of 2007 and the first trip to the range resulted in regular jamming. We were unable to get through a mag without at least one jam. I was checking out some videos on YouTube and I ran across a video of a guy explaining the cracked frame and showing his weapon. Here is a link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVeXUpBOfpc

After watching this video I retrieved our Tomcat and discovered that the frame had broken in the same place. It had cracked in less than 50 rounds. I called Beretta and the guy accused me of using "hot ammo." I was using the Winchester Silver Tip ammo that they recommend in the owners manuel. I returned it to them and they sent an INOX about 6 weeks later. But my wife had lost faith in the gun due to the jamming. And I was unwilling to trust my wife's life to it. I traded the INOX and got her something that she preferred.

I must tell you that I was willing to overlook the cracked frame. Lemmons slip through during production. But the customer service has made me reject Beretta products. After asking if I was using hot ammo, he asked if I was limp risting the gun. .32 acp is the smallest caliber I own. I was not limp risting it. I asked why he was assuming that the cracked frame was my fault in light of the fact that there are so many Tomcat owners complaining about cracked frames. He said that we are all using the wrong ammo. That's when they lost me.

The Tomcat is a POS and I do NOT recommend it. I do have a NAA Guardian .32 and it is a gem; not to mention the fact that the customer service at NAA is awsome.

Heavy

 

[benderx4]

I think this particular gun is the Ford Pinto of Beretta. It is simply a bad design. Period. Dot.

 

[mward58]

I have blued version with CT grips. Like mine. I shoot the recommended ammo. Eagle fmj and winchester silver tips. no problems. Do have to hold it steady and firm so no ftf's once I mastered that. I have read extensively on the Tomcat and would buy the inox if CT grips are not a must have. I also have a used beretta Jetfire that I picked up for 125 bucks a few months ago. That is really thin and easy to carry but 25 acp. much easier to cock than the Tomcat.

 

[Mark whiz]

Hey now - Don't knock the Pinto................. I had a '73 that was as good of a car a teenager could ever want. And got better gas mileage out of a 2 liter carburated engine than most of the little "green" cars sold today for 10X the price. Wish I still had the old girl.
The Tomcat - it's frame broke and I let the Ex have it in the divorce.

 

[nelson133]

A couple that I see regularly at the club range decided that a new tomcat was just the thing for her. I was there when they tried it for the first time and the frame cracked and the pistol stopped working in the first box of shells. She tried my P3-AT and decided she could learn to handle it, and that's what she ended up with. Due to her job she has to have something very small.

 

[Shadan7]

Shot one during our ballistics testing of that caliber, as the "real world" gun for comparison. It was, in a word, brutal to shoot. Worse than my Rohrbaugh 9mm in terms of felt recoil. Didn't strike me as terribly accurate, but that wasn't what we were testing for. My buddy who owns the gun rarely shoots it because it is so unpleasant. I'd suggest that if she is interested in one, see if you can find one for her to shoot before you buy.

7

 

[MICHAEL T]

we went with the 32 kel Tec lighter cheaper easy to rack . she carries every day and loves it. Took 18 years and several pistols but made it

 

[SwampWolf]

Hey now - Don't knock the Pinto.................

Are you kidding? Have you ever heard the term "crispy critter"?

 

[Newton]

If you really have to get one, get the Inox version, it may last a few hundred rounds that way.

I had a blued version and it lasted about 13 rounds before the trigger bar broke - can't say I wasn't warned.

Without question the worst handgun that Beretta has produced in modern times.

 

[NDN-MAN]

Have you tried to geta BERSA 32 cal. pistol?? My local shop says they don't exist. When I showed them the web site, they said the distributr they use can't get them. Mabey yours can??

 

[PTK]

I'm now up to four digits in rounds fired without more than a handful of ammo-related malfunctions...

 

[Mark whiz]

The Crispy Critter was WAY over played SwampWolf.............hell if you hit ANY car from behind at 80 MPH that is likely to happen. And the big recall to "fix" the problem was nothing more than a 1/8 inch thick sheet of ABS plastic - so it couldn't have been a major issue.