# Ballistics 101..and being a newbie



## Tomcat (Sep 30, 2010)

I found out that my new .32 Beretta tomcat is sensitive to ammo.

specifically they want a ammo with not over a 130ft-lbs muzzle energy.

These guns had problems with the frames cracking. Of course I had to google

muzzle energy. I hadnt had my gun for over two weeks and I went to the range.

On the 90 round I started to get failure to feeds and stove piping...This cause me to

research...I sent the gun back to Beretta and they adjusted the muzzle and polished
the chamber...

Im ready to go back to the range with the correct ammo. I will be using Winchester .32 auto

71 grain. Online I found out that the muzzle energy is below 130ft-lbs...

Thats my newbie story.:smt083

Tomcat.


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## DanP_from_AZ (May 8, 2009)

*My Tomcat*



Tomcat said:


> I found out that my new .32 Beretta tomcat is sensitive to ammo . . .
> . . . Online I found out that the muzzle energy is below 130ft-lbs . . .
> Tomcat.


You have what you have. Probably "many" will say "it's a mousegun, not enough". Lets talk about what you have right now.

I got my Tomcat in a going out of business firesale as "a curosity". Just to be a companion to my 92 FS Beretta I've had since 1992.
I like the Tomcat tipup feature. Racking the slide in any small blowback auto is "a REAL BEAR".
Because the recoil spring must be strong enough to offset the initial cartridge pressure buildup.
I have not shot many rounds through mine. I've used three different types of ammo (below). No failures of any kind so far.

I know about the "cracking problem". None are visible on my gun.
If I was depending on it to save my life, I would need to have the slide and frame "Magna-fluxed" for internal cracks.
It is not my CCW gun, and never will be. For many reasons.

And everything below is what happens when a retired mechanical engineer is waiting for the football games to begin.

Ballistics 101: Kinetic Energy = mass (weight) times velocity squared. For ammo, weight is in grains, velocity in feet per second.
Conversion factors are needed to get to energy in ft.-lbs. Don't worry about it.

Here is info for ammo I have fired, and your Win. ammo. I am assuming you have 71 grain "Whitebox". 
The first two are "personal defense" rounds. Data from Midway USA.

I can't make a table, so the data order is Muzzle Velocity (fps ), Weight ( grains ), Kinetic Energy ( ft.-lbs ), Cost, Ammo Maker/Type
960 60 123 $19.99/20 Speer Gold Dot jacketed hollowpoint 
950 65 130 $20.49/20  Federal Personal Defense Hydra-Shok
905 71 129 $19.53/50 Magtech FMC A ( Full Metal Case ) means Full Metal Jacket ( FMJ )
905 71 129 $22.99/50 Winchester Whitebox FMJ

You can see it appears that manufacters have "adjusted the powder amount" to meet the nominal 130 ft-lbs criteria.
I doubt this has anything to do with the Tomcat. 
More likely it is to meet the SAAMI ( Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute ) pressure requirements
for the "regular" .32 ACP cartridge which is 20,500 psi. 
So, any of "this stuff" should meet Beretta's recommendation for the Tomcat.

Cor-Bon markets their stuff as "hottest" on the market.
1050 60 147 $29.99/20 Cor-Bon DPX Barnes XPB all copper hollowpoint

Notice the velocity increase of over Speer ( 1050 - 960 = 90 ) needed to gain the energy increase ( 147 - 123 = 24 ).
A 9.38% increase in velocity gets a 19.51% increase in energy. Because of "velocity squared".
Once again, the laws of physics "work". :mrgreen:
The little Tomcat does not need this increase in felt recoil. It has enough "bark" with regular stuff.

Here's a bit on why folks recommend "more gun", even for little guns. First, a 380 ACP ( say the Ruger LCP )
900 90 196 Speer Gold Dot
Next, a .38 Special "snubby" ( say the Ruger LCR )
860 135 222 Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel +P ( higher pressure than "normal" )

Compared to the .32 ACP, the .380 ACP has ( 196 - 123 = 73 ) 59.3% more energy. 
Compared to the .32 ACP, the .38 Special +P has ( 222 - 123 = 99 ) 80.5% more energy.

And, now we have info to debate "how does more energy translate into more stopping power".
This discussion and just plain arguments have been going on since firearms replaced bows and arrows.

We'll save THAT for another time. :smt1099


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## Tomcat (Sep 30, 2010)

*Thanks: DanP_from_AZ*

I love all the technical feedback....I will definitely use it.

Tomcat


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## TexEsq (Aug 22, 2011)

*New Winchester .32 Auto Not Good For Beretta Tomcat*

I've owed a Tomcat for about 6 years and have put about 500 rounds through it without fail ... until yesterday. (Spare me the .45/.32 debate! If I could fit a .45 in my front pocket and still comply the CHL requirements, I would.) I have always used the Winchester .32 Auto FMJ round at the range and have had good luck. After not using the gun for a couple of years, I purchased a couple of boxes of the Winchester in the last few weeks and tried to use them. I fired 21 rounds (3 clips) with at least one failure in each clip. It stovepiped once and jammed at least twice. When it cycled, it also bumped the slide off its track, pinning a live round between the barrel and slide. When I finished at the range, I explained the problem to one of the employees. He examined the gun and found no obvious issues. Then it dawned on me. *The FMJ round from Winchester now has a blunted tip that, I think, is preventing the round from feeding smoothly into the barrel.* Why the change to the round? I guess it doesn't matter. I can't use it. If I carry a .32 at times, it had better damn well fire, and the Winchester ammo is a no go for the Tomcat. I have no problem with any JHP rounds that I have used.


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## TexEsq (Aug 22, 2011)

I have also checked the Winchester website regarding the blunt nose rounds. The website does not list the .32 Auto round as being made with the blunt nose. And, the box doesn't show any difference between the rounded FMJ rounds and the blunt tip. At least the website shows that Winchester still makes the rounded FMJ round.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

If you have the Inox or the wide slide Tomcat I wouldn't worry too much about the frame cracking issue. I've run Corbon and Fiocchi Hp's with no issue along with most 32 cal rounds out there and my Tomcat handles and cycles them all w/o a hitch. Very reliable and so far very durable handgun. FYI, I wouldn't consider and would not use the Tomcat as a 1000 round per week range gun.


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