Beretta Tomcat Issues!

[jjboogie]

Unfortunately my wife did not want her .38 S&W anymore and decided to get a .32 Beretta Tomcat. We went to the range and the thing nearly fell apart. Many many fte and the slide popped up on a stovepipe several times too. Anyone else have any issues with this gun? We emailed Beretta and they said that we need to send it to them to have one of their gunsmiths take a look at it. I don't feel great about her carrying a .32 but it is better than nothing.

thanks
jj

 

[Hawk]

Mine has been good but it's the Titanium Tomcat that I bought just for the novelty. No reliability issues but the trigger is awful - it "pegged" my RCBS trigger gauge (fishing scale).

There's an urban legend that Winchester Silvertips get along better than most with the Tomcat. I use 'em and all's well but the connection is unclear and anecdotal.

I've had spotty luck with Beretta service - it can be good. 'Twere me, I'd send it in.

 

[AnthonyRSS]

My Tomcat has been reliable with most any fmjs. I have shot only a little hps in it and they had a ftf. I don't believe hps are a good choice for the .32 anyway, so I stick with fmjs.

Trigger does suck in DA mode. However, the gun is surprisingly accurate given its size.

Anthony

 

[Prince Yamato]

I have the .22 tomcat so I believe our guns are similar. Try using FMJ rounds. Instead of inserting a round in the tip-up barrel, load only the magazine and rack the slide (cock hammer, pull slide- makes it easier ). Unless you are maticulous about loading the one shot in the barrel, the gun tends to FTE or stovepipe. I've had ZERO problems if I loaded it like a regular handgun. (ie insert mag, rack slide).

 

[russtang]

Mine was pretty accurate but had stovepipes every clip I shot through it.

Beretta sent me a new mag and had the same problems.

It also hurt my hand to shoot it. It would "slap" my hand sharply no matter how I held it.

My wife shot it 1 round and sound "NO. I hate it"

I sold it.

 

[Coronach]

Tomcats have a reputation of being either very good in the reliability department or very, very bad. If you have a good one, you're probably golden. If you have a bad one, I have yet to hear of one that could be "fixed". They either work, or are jammomatics. Anyone out there can feel free to correct me if this differs from your personal experience.

Beretta made some design changes that seem to coincide with increased reliability. My PD stopped approving them for off-duty carry due to their reputation of not working. Once the design changes went into effect, the issue was raised of putting them back on the approved list. Ordnance said "Thank you, no." Whether that second denial is deserved or not, I do not know. The first, however, certainly was.

Mike

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

With mine I have had no problem with FMJ, but hollow points have been somewhat of a issue finding ones the gun liked. I finally found some that have worked great, Speer Gold Dot 60 gr.

 

[Coronach]

That I should add as well. The gun is finicky with ammo. I do not consider that a negative, as long as you can find a good self-defense load and cheap ball ammo for practice. So, if your Tomcat is jamming, try switching ammo. Yours might be fine with something else to chew on.

Mike

 

[jjboogie]

I appreciate all your responses! At this point we are going to send it back to Beretta and wait to see if they can fix the problem but my wife's confidence in the gun has been complelely diminished and mine too....

 

[igor455]

tomcats

I have an inox one that i carry as a deep backup and it works fine with most ammo ive put through it
I was a bike cop for seven years after my first retirement and i couldnt fit naything bigger in the side pockets of my bike shorts. i shot it every couple of months 50 or 100 rds and it always worked great. I carry it with a spare mag and have enough mags to rotate
I have heard that some dont work very well . I dont worry about service cause living in Md. I just drive to the factory which is only a county away.

 

[NMGlocker]

Mine FTE's constantly with Remington fmj's.
But if I shoot Winchester fmj's or MagTech jhp's it runs like a sewing machine.
I'd try several brands, bullet shapes, and bullet weights before I gave up on it.
I exclusively shoot the MagTech jhp's in mine and it's been 100%.

 

[tuckerdog1]

I "had" one in 22LR

A real junker. My Jennings J22 was a more reliable gun. Sent the Tomcat back to Beretta twice, and it still wouldn't feed worth a darn.

Tuckerdog1

 

[4v50 Gary]

My buddy had the firing pin pop out at him when it was recoiling. He stopped carrying it as a back-up gun.

 

[106rr]

It's the most accurate mouse gun I have seen. If you get a good one they are very good. It packs a lot of firepower in a small cheap package. KelTecs are not approved for sale in CA. With one extra mag you have 15 shots to get you out of a jam. Mine was most accurate with PMC ball ammo. I don't think jhps expand very often out of a short barrel. The newer models are way better than the early ones like mine. Don't worry about the diameter of the bullet, let the other guy do the worrying for you.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I considered one to many horror stories I bought 2 New 2nd Gen KelTecs P-32 instead. Both have been flawless and wife carries hers daily in her Jewerly store . Mine sees duty now and then as I went to the 380 Because the 32's were so relieable Been same also with the 380.. Hope Beretta can get yours working.

 

[jjboogie]

Well we think we have the problem solved. Someone suggested trying a more quality ammo instead of the Walmart special or Lawman provided by the range. We tried the Federal Hydrashoks and the gun worked flawlessly! Go figure. I hope that stays the same. I heard of guns being finicky with ammo but never experienced it myself. My wife was just about to sell that Beretta and now she wants to keep it.

Thanks for all your input!

Happy New Year!

 

[Anna's Dad]

Hmmmm. Mine feeds the cheap stuff just fine--only tried FMJ, however. I have the INOX version, but I'm assuming the internals are basically the same.

 

[NORTEXED]

I fired Hydros and Win. Silvers out of mine with great reliability. The double action trigger was terrible (partially because the hammer spring is part of the retarder for the blowback action. My main concern was that in my back pocket, sitting down kept activating the mag release and I would find the mag 1/8 - 1/4" out when I pulled the gun out (not good in a S.D. situation). The Keltec P32 I replaced it with has had no problems at all, I love it and it's been 100% reliable without the mag release problem. I sold the Tomcat to my boss, who doesn't carry concealed anyway and he likes it.