AlansFirearms: Beretta TomCat Basics, Field Strip, Clean, Lube, and Reassemble

Beretta TomCat Basics Field Strip Clean Lube and Reassemble
Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta of Italy, is the world’s oldest privately owned firearms manufacturers. Founded Bartolomeo Beretta in 1526. Beretta’s product over the centuries included every conceivable type of firearm from matchlocks to modern assault rifles. But since 1915 the company has probably been best known for its handguns.
During World War I Beretta produced a line of blowback-operated 7.65mm (.32 ACP) semi-auto pistols that were widely used by the Italian and various Allied armies. The years after the war saw Beretta develop a series of 6.35mm (.25 ACP), 7.65mm, and 9mm Corto (.380 ACP) pistols that gained worldwide acceptance by civilians, police, and the military. In 1984 the company introduced the Model 21A Bobcat chambered in .22 LR and .25 ACP. The Bobcat was unique among the breed of so-called “mouse guns” in that it had a DA/SA trigger mechanism, but its most revolutionary feature was a tip-up barrel. Of necessity, blowback-operated pistols have rather strong recoil springs and the tip-up barrel allowed the shooter to load and unload the pistol without having to rack the slide. This was convenient and a major bonus for small or weaker hands. For those who wanted a similarly sized pistol that fired a more powerful cartridge, Beretta introduced the Tomcat.32 ACP. in 1890s John Moses Browning developed for Fabrique Nationale’s Mle. 1900 pistol, the 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) semi-rimmed case 17mm long with a 71-grain full-metal-jacketed (FMJ) bullet propelled muzzle velocity of approximately 900 feet per second. The .32 ACP was well suited to blowback-operated pistols and was immediately embraced by European military and police forces. In the more turbulent 1990s most European police agencies switched to 9mm pistols, although .32 ACP handguns are still widely used by Continental undercover officers. Before WWII .32 caliber pistols produced in the U.S. by Colt, Harrington & Richardson, Savage, and Remington also saw limited use by American undercover officers.