Beretta Tomcat, frame problem fixed?

[Autodidactic]

I paid $450 and mine was a later model with the beefed up slide that was done for the .380 version, so my .32 was pretty solid, but the gun was nasty and would smack my finger with the trigger guard. In 4 or 5 range trips i mostly has jam fests, until I finally got it to run 150 rounds of PPU without jams and then the last trip a few mags of hollow point without jams. Not sure what was going on, maybe I was finally getting to hold the gun tightly enough. Limp wrist seems to magnify with smaller pistols. If I were to do it again I might have tried the NAA Guardian, but not now. Traded the Seacamp .32 in for my Beretta Tomcat (new) and got $250 off, which was good considering the gun shops were offering about $150 for it outright or not even wanting it, said might do better in the fall as gun sales were lower in summer. Good riddance to the nasty little thing.

It just goes to show that many nice, pricey, overengineered things aren't always better or more useable.

 

[jar]

Today's 7.65.



Fits in a pocket or an IWB and shoots any ammo you put in it.

To compare size:

 

[Autodidactic]

Here’s mine

 

[aaaaa]

Four magazines of PPU .32 ACP jacketed round nose went through my new Tomcat at the range today. Performed flawlessly. One problem I have to get used to is that the first shot being DA, the second shot is a big surprise, sometimes going off unintentionally because the trigger for SA is so, so light. Kick is not bad at all I think as the gun is a bit heavier than the Seacamp and Kel Tech.

 

[Autodidactic]

Four magazines of PPU .32 ACP jacketed round nose went through my new Tomcat at the range today. Performed flawlessly. One problem I have to get used to is that the first shot being DA, the second shot is a big surprise, sometimes going off unintentionally because the trigger for SA is so, so light. Kick is not bad at all I think as the gun is a bit heavier than the Seacamp and Kel Tech.

Nice. Glad to hear it’s running well. I often forget the Tomcat is double and single action. One can cock the hammer like a 1911 or revolver. Yes, when cocked the trigger pull is very light. Kick isn’t bad at all in the gun.

Also, another thing, people complain about how fat it is. Actually, because it’s pocket pistol sized the little bit of extra width means I can get a better grip on it.

 

[aaaaa]

Nice. Glad to hear it’s running well. I often forget the Tomcat is double and single action. One can cock the hammer like a 1911 or revolver. Yes, when cocked the trigger pull is very light. Kick isn’t bad at all in the gun.

Also, another thing, people complain about how fat it is. Actually, because it’s pocket pistol sized the little bit of extra width means I can get a better grip on it.

Definitely like that fatness. I think it contributes to the perfect reach to the trigger.

Yeah, that DA to SA transition practically gives you a double tap. Maybe I should practice that way. Not a bad opening salvo for a SD situation, especially with a .32.

 

[Autodidactic]

Definitely like that fatness. I think it contributes to the perfect reach to the trigger.

Yeah, that DA to SA transition practically gives you a double tap. Maybe I should practice that way. Not a bad opening salvo for a SD situation, especially with a .32.

For sure. I like mine.

Also, one thing people forget is that when it comes to FMJ, .32 ACP penetrates sufficiently for sure. With FMJ there isn't a huge difference in efficacy between a .32 ACP penetrating let's say 16 inches versus a .380 ACP/9mm FMJ piercing more. Unless one is shooting through barriers.

 

[aaaaa]

Ppu works, and so does the underwood. FYI, one reason the “screwdriver tips” work is they are basically shaped like an FMJ with channels cut out. I have some and shot it through the tomcat. Supposedly, they do more damage than FMJ. The fun part is they put cross shaped holes in the target. Almost none of the HP options are good out of the pocket .32 ACPs. I suspect the critical defense is from Hornady, but I bet it only penetrates like 9 inches.

On those screwdriver tipped Underwoods, one user found they did not cycle well in the Tomcat:

[The Tomcat] was completely reliable for me except with the Underwood loads featuring Lehigh’s Xtreme Cavitator projectile... Although it would have been nice to see it function without the occasional feeding problem, it’s hard to hold that against the Tomcat considering that very unique bullet design.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/gun-review-beretta-tomcat/

 

[Autodidactic]

I

On those screwdriver tipped Underwoods, one user found they did not cycle well in the Tomcat:

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/gun-review-beretta-tomcat/

Interesting. They aren’t all identical. I bought the extreme defender. And it cycled. But there is the cavitator, penetrator, etc. For the penetrator, it’s got more of a flat tip. The defender is shaped a bit more like a FMJ or round nose. To be fair, it was only a 20 round box and I only shot 10.




See the cavitator is a different design up top. Not the same as the defender and penetrator.

 

[aaaaa]

Underwood's site is now only showing the Extreme Defender for .32 ACP. Wonder if they stopped making the others in that caliber.

 

[Autodidactic]

Underwood's site is now only showing the Extreme Defender for .32 ACP. Wonder if they stopped making the others in that caliber.

Yeah I only see the defender on there for .32 acp. They do consistently have the extreme penetrator also in other calibers, mostly more powerful ones. I also have the defender in 9mm, but usually carry HST or Gold Dot in 9mm. I’ve yet to see the cavitator for sale, making me think they don’t make much of it or stopped.

 

[average gun guy]

I just bought a brand new Beretta Tomcat and there is a card in the box that says not to shoot any ammo that is more than 71 grain bullet and more than 130 ft-lbs muzzle energy. Maybe this is the solution to the frame cracking--prevention. There is a lot of .32 ACP ammo out there that exceeds the 130 ft-lbs by a huge margin. I have PPU which is 71 grain and 128 at the muzzle.

I bought one and I was caught between a rock and a hard place. It wouldn’t cycle the recommended ammo, only ammo that was just outside their recommended foot lb. range. Frame cracked. Customer service was non existent. No answers to phone calls. Put in a service request on their website. Heard back from them four months later, well after I had disposed of the gun.

I hate that this happened because I really liked shooting it, but given my experience, I won’t buy another one.

 

[Old Dog]

It wouldn’t cycle the recommended ammo, only ammo that was just outside their recommended foot lb. range. Frame cracked.

So you fired ammunition more powerful than the owner's manual recommended and experienced a frame crack?

Customer service was non existent. No answers to phone calls. Put in a service request on their website. Heard back from them four months later, well after I had disposed of the gun.

Just curious, was this during the height of the COVID stuff? Because not my recent (within past three months) experience.

 

[Mosin77]

It’s (IMO) beyond ridiculous to have a limit on common, weak .32acp ammo, and a design that cracks major components. Beretta is probably only able to get away with this because of legal constraints like the California roster which lock people into buying guns that the rest of the country stopped buying decades ago. We’ve only been making 32acp guns for 120 years. And KelTec has a smaller one that doesn’t crack its slide…. The 3032 is simply poorly designed and engineered.

Too bad, because it’s a very pretty gun.