Tomcat magazine stacking

[nhlmn]

I can only get 6 rounds in either the magazine that came with the pistol, or a second Beretta made one, and still have the top round clear the mag and reach the bottom of the ramp. Actually, with HP more like 5 rounds. This is an early model Tomcat.

The rim of the .32 cartridges causes each one loaded to tip more forward than the last.

A quick search didn't yield any results on this issue but I'm pretty sure there was a reference to this a couple years ago somewhere on the net.

Perhaps Beretta fixed this at some point? Are there some modifications I can make to the mags?

[390ish]

I have the 22lr version. The 32 was too heavy. Just make do. You have a nice ride.

[thingamajig]

What do you mean by tip? Do you mean you can't insert the round all the way into the magazine? Or that the round you just inserted is pointing upward or downward?

I haven't seen that with either the factory magazine, or the aftermarket (NOT Promag) magazines I have.

It's somewhat difficult to stick the final 2 rounds in the mag, but they seat all the way back.

Are your magazines clean? inside and out?

[nhlmn]

<i>Are your magazines clean? inside and out?</i>

Mags look clean. Some of the ammo is discolored and slightly tacky, probably from handling (wipe them down with some type of cloth?). However, I put the newest looking rounds at the top of the mags. And the problem has been fairly consistent from when I first bought and fired the gun with newly purchased ammo.

<i>What do you mean by tip? Do you mean you can't insert the round all the way into the magazine? Or that the round you just inserted is pointing upward or downward?</i>

I've always been able to put 7 rounds into the mags. It's getting the top one out that's been the problem. From experience I learned to count to 6 and stop loading.

Yesterday I went ahead and put in 7 Magtech FMJ in one mag and 7 Silvertips in the other. The first six FMJ and the first five Silvertips could be easily thumbed out but after that it's more difficult as the rounds tend to butt up against the front of the magazine. For whatever that's worth.

Next, I inserted one of the mags (the FMJ), pulled the slide all the way back and released. It seemed to stop part way so I gave it a little push and then it chambered the round. Similar results with the other mag.

In each case I then flipped up the barrel, removed the round, and tried the next one. In some cases there was a very slight hesitation. The remaining 5 rounds of each type always chambered quickly and smoothly.

That was in the afternoon. In the evening I tried again and produced a couple of jams. Tapping the top of the gun with my hand seemed to clear these (just discovered this). Tried again, this time pulling back the slide "slingshot" style and that worked better.

In any case, since I know I've have had a few failures to feed with a fully loaded magazine while firing the gun, my Tomcat remains a 6+1 for now. I worry about the slight outside chance that the top of 6 rounds might not chamber right away.

I think the problem is with the angle of the mag followers. Given the way .32 acp stacks the followers should have a slight upward angle at the front. Perhaps Beretta changed the design at some point.

Does this make sense? Has anyone else had problems feeding from a fully loaded magazine?

[thingamajig]

That makes it sound more like the slide / frame are not properly lubricated, or that the slide spring is weakening.


What happens when you're firing it? Can you load 7 in the mag, stick a round in the barrel, and then shoot them all off? Or does round 7 in the magazine get hung-up feeding after you've fired the round loaded directly in the barrel?

[nerfman]

I know exactly what you're talking about. I did this same experiment this past weekend as a result of incidents at the range when the first round wouldn't go into battery after I had loaded the mag and was ready to shoot.

With only 6 rounds in the mag you could see that the top round tilted slightly upward and would easily clear the front of the mag, however, if I put that 7th round in there it seemed to lay "flat" and the nose of the round looked like it would catch the lip on its way forward. I played with this for about 15 minutes and determined that 6 is great, 7 is a no no.