Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Beretta Tomcat Question

I have the opportunity to purchase a Beretta Tomcat 32acp (A pistol I have always wanted) for a very reasonable price. I have heard that earlier models of these had problems with frames cracking. I was wondering if any of you all could provide me with information as how to spot those older ones and what serial number range are the beefy frame models?

Thanks, RJ

I don't think you have too much to worry about - every 3032 Tomcat I have ever seen had the heavier frame.
I bought my Beretta Tomcat 'INOX' 32 ACP before they included a warning not to use +P Ammo.
I have had my pistol for many years now and love it - size, feel, looks, accuracy, dependability, etc.
A friend has had a 'blued' model even longer, with absolutely NO problems.

You may find the below link 'Limitations' helpful ...

http://www.thefullwiki.org/Beretta_3032_Tomcat

Glenda has one and she like it, I like it. Accurate and easy to shoot.

FWIW, I carry Winchester Silvertips and Remington UMC 71gr FMJ alternated in the magazine with the FMJ first up.

From the link by P WEED:

The .32 ACP cartridge is considered underpowered by American standards,[2] but considered to be sufficient enough to carry for self defense in other nations. The safety system is very basic. The accuracy of the pistol is best suited for short ranges. Many users of the .32 ACP feel that a FMJ (Full Metel Jacket) type of projectile is preferred over the expanding JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) type of projectile. This thought is based upon the premise that a FMJ is more likely to penetrate clothing and fatty tissue with enough energy remaining to also penetrate into vital organs. Proponents of the .32 ACP round suggest that with expanding projectiles such as the common self defense JHP, much if not all of the projectiles energy will be absorbed during the travel through the clothing and fatty tissues, therefore being unreliable at making way to any vital organs. Because of this, you find many owners of similar small caliber hand guns carrying FMJ (Full Metel Jacket) ammunition inside these "pocket guns" for self defense use.

The pistol lacks an extractor, relying upon the expanding gasses to force the spent casing rearward. This means that racking the slide will not remove either unspent or defective cartridges. This can lead to complications in a self defense situation, but is often balanced out by the tip-up barrel.

Both the aluminum and Inox frames (Significantly less so with the Inox) are prone to cracking around trigger linkage on the lower frame section after as few as 50 rounds. An alarming percentage of Tomcat owners have reported the frame cracking issues. According to Beretta this number is only 1%, but gun owners following this issue suspect that the actual percentage may in fact be higher.

One of the suspected causes of frame cracking is that Beretta does not recommend high powered loads in this particular weapon and does ship the new firearm with a short list of Beretta approved/recommended ammunition. It is suspected that some quantity of the cracked frames and customer complaints may be attributed to the use of non recommended ammunition that would exceed what is recommended by the manufacturer. Also, Beretta has been working with customers, and rumored that even those that are out of their 12 month warranty, to replace the broken Tomcat 3032 black framed pistols with the thicker upper slide Tomcat 3032 INOX version (With an up-charge) that proves to be much less failure prone. Beretta feels that the thicker upper slide on the INOX version of this pistol absorbs more of the energy from the cartridge and this provides an overall slower cycling of the weapon and slower return to battery. It is felt that this slower cyclic rate that is a result of the heavier slide reduces the impact and shock to the lower frame, thus greatly reducing or eliminating the occurrence of the lower frame damage.

The document included with new Tomcat 3032 pistols warns that the owner should never use +P ammo (such as Cor-Bon and others) that exceeds 130 FT/LBs muzzle energy. Some (but not all) of the recommended ammunition for the Beretta Tomcat 3032 that remains at or under the 130 FT/LB limitation would be:

Federal Premium Personal Defense 65gr Hydra-Shok JHP (950 Feet/Sec and 130 FT/LBs)
Winchester Super-X Silver Tip 60gr JHP (970 Feet/Sec and 125 FT/LBs)
Speer Gold Dot JHP (960 Feet/Sec and 123 FT/LBs)
Prvi-Partisn 71gr FMJ (902 Feet/Sec and 129 FT/LBs)
Remington UMC 71gr FMJ (905 Feet/Sec and 129 FT/LBs)
CCI Blazer 71gr FMJ (900 Feet/Sec and 128 FT/LBs)

Note that while purchasing ammunition, it is possible with some of the retail shelf personal defense ammunition to find ammunition that can nearly double that of the allowed 130 FT/LB muzzle energy. Care should be taken to research your ammunition for this pistol prior to purchasing it or firing it with the weapon.

Thanks for the info guys, I think I will move forward with the deal.

I acquired this Tomcat a few weeks ago and have put about 240 rounds through it without a bobble. I have read elsewhere that the frame cracking of this model is more cosmetic than structural, and can safely be fired after cracking. Also the wider slide introduced with the INOX version has reduced this problem substantially.



There are several reasons why I chose to expend hard-earned cash on this model.
1. A new vacation home in SW FL requires a sub compact CCW for use in a tropic climate.
2. Caliber is less important when folks are lightly dressed.
3. In the places I frequent as a civilian I can't envision going up against a large gang of thugs.
4. Any gun is better than none.
5. I believe Beretta is dropping this model in favor of lighter (and cheaper to make) polymer pistols. I believe it's value will increase.

Note that I am choosing to CARRY it with Buffalo Bore +P 75 grain bullets, but practice with normal 71 grain FMC and JHP rounds. The +P in not recommended by Beretta, but IMHO is the best defensive round out there. It should handle one box a year without too many problems. On the other hand, should the frame crack, Oh well...

If you can afford a vacation home you can afford a spare Tomcat or two. First World problem.