Let me begin by saying that I fully expected some kind of malfunction with the gun. After all, it is a brand new pistol that has already suffered a recall because of serious failure to feed problems. But now, two months later, and after the forth delay, the Tomcat is out. I fired 50 rounds of Winchester 71 gr. FMJ and 55 rounds of Winchester 60 gr. Silvertip HP without a single malfunction of any kind. The gun performed flawlessly! Time will tell if this reliability trend continues, but it's a heck of a start. I would also like to point out that I fired almost all of the Silvertips from a fully loaded 7 round magazine to insure proper feeding from top to bottom. With an eighth bullet in the chamber via the tip-up barrel, you have the option of shooting the first round double action without having to rack the slide, or you can thumb-cock the hammer for all single action fire. The small slide pulled back easily with the help of about 13 grooves at the rear. The safety is frame mounted and easily manipulated with the thumb.
So what about accuracy? I was told by my dealer not to expect too much from this little gun. It has a very short barrel and small, all matte sights - notch in the rear and a blade up front with no dots to line up. No problem, the piece is meant for close range work where aiming isn't likely anyway. Now that I had my excuses lined up, I was ready to shoot. I used a 25 yard slow-fire pistol target with a 9.5" outer ring, taped to the heart area of a torso size cardboard silhouette. (Before I reveal the results of my shooting, let me stress that I am no Annie Oakley. I am normally a fair shot on a very good day.) At 7 yards and 1 shot/second deliberate aiming, my worst groups were always within about a 5" area. My best group to this point at 7 yards was 8 shots in 1.5" with the Silvertips. Most of the groups were low/left of center, but within the 6 ring. I moved the target out to 50 feet to see if I could qualify at that range with this little gun. I put 5 out of 7 in a 2.5" group with two flyers, the farthest being 7" from the group.
Okay, I took a moment to regain consciousness and decided to try some "real-life" drills. At ranges varying from 7 to 15 feet I "point-shot" rapid fire two to the body (vital area) one to the head successfully 5 out of 7 times. Once I nipped the left ear, and once I missed the head by about 2", again to the right of the left ear.
My hour was about up, and my target was full of tape, so I decided to take seven last shots at the head from 25'. I keyholed 4 out of 7 in a 1.25" group, and left the range more than satisfied.
Just a couple final comments: The two types of ammo I used both performed comparably, the only clear difference being the appearance of the hole it left in the paper. I expect more manufacturers to come out with a .32 round soon. I hear Hornady and Cor-Bon are ready to go with competition for Winchester. It will be tough to beat the performance of the silvertips though.
Although I wore hearing protection, it was obvious that the blast was considerably more than a .22, I would estimate it to be comparable to a light .38 round. Recoil was minimal, and made follow up shots fast and easy. (Probably a major contributing factor to my accuracy improvement, considering my other two handguns are a .357 snubbie and a .45)
Only two minor complaints: My double action first shots tended to end up about 6" below point of aim. The double action trigger pull seemed a little heavy, but I usually do pull down in double action anyway. Also in double action shots, the bottom of the trigger crowds my finger a bit, but in single action the trigger is perfect. Secondly, after 105 shots, my grips are a little loose, but I think I'll overlook that and keep the gun - real close.
I'm looking forward to hearing the reviews of other Tomcat owners as they receive this fine little Beretta.