Beretta Tomcat 3032 question

[knoxemt1983]

I have a Beretta Tomcat 3032 that I purchased a couple years ago but haven't really used much until lately. I had a kel-tec p3at as a daily carry weapon but had to return it for warranty work, so I pulled out the tomcat, I took it to the range and ran about 50 rounds through it. I have seen the posts about the frame cracking and it is the blued version, not the INOX unfortunately, but hey i bought it still NIB for $125 from an acquaintance so I now assume it was a replacement gun but am not sure. I inspected the frame and found no crack that I could readily see, so I reassembled it after a good cleaning and carried it until I got caught in a downpour rain shower, so I took it apart when I got home and cleaned and oiled it well. Now here comes the question.
after cleaning it everything went back on correct (i guess the grips went back on ok lol) but when I replaced the slide it would seat back into the correct position and will not allow the barrel to be lowered into position. I can't figure out why though, nothing appears to be stopping it and I can still find no cracks or defects in the frame.
Any ideas on what could be causing it or has anybody else experienced this issue? all I can figure is a small crack not visible yet has let it shift enough to block the slide from being locked into position.

thanks for any help or advice in advance. if this is in the wrong place or anything please let me know, I am a long time lurker but noob poster on here.


edit for more info: I removed both recoil springs after several hours of fooling with it. I then tried to move the slide into position still without success.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Slide not correct position If like my 950 and model 20 . your slide might not have picked up the recoil springs and look on but isn't Re move and replace slide
Thats my guess

 

[knoxemt1983]

Slide not correct position If like my 950 and model 20 . your slide might not have picked up the recoil springs and look on but isn't Re move and replace slide
Thats my guess

yeah I thought about that so I removed both recoil springs after several hours of fooling with it. I then tried to move the slide into position still without success. should've put that in the first post, I'll add it. thanks for the reply. I am really at sa total loss on this, I'm sure its something simple and I am overcomplicating it like an idiot lol

 

[chicharrones]

I'm not saying this is your problem, but the two little pins that hold on the ejector can interfere with the slide removal or installation. The pins must be flush or below the surface of the frame.

 

[knoxemt1983]

I'm not saying this is your problem, but the two little pins that hold on the ejector can interfere with the slide removal or installation. The pins must be flush or below the surface of the frame.

thanks for the reply, I checked the pins but they appear to be just slightly below the frame and don't seem to be blocking it. I honestly can't for the life of me can't see anything blocking it. I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall on this one.

 

[Phantom Captain]

I've seen many recommendations NOT to remove the grips when cleaning. Apparently there are a couple very small springs as well as the safety stop that can get away from you quite easy. I even saw one recommendation that if you are going to remove them do it in a plastic bag as the tiny springs fly away without you even noticing.

I'm thinking this probably has to do with your problem, especially since you said you "think the grips went back on ok". I would find a parts list if I was you, disassemble and make sure you still have all the parts.

For what it's worth, I have the INOX version that is my summer carry when in shorts etc. I do love it for what it is! Never took the grips off though!

 

[knoxemt1983]

I've seen many recommendations NOT to remove the grips when cleaning. Apparently there are a couple very small springs as well as the safety stop that can get away from you quite easy. I even saw one recommendation that if you are going to remove them do it in a plastic bag as the tiny springs fly away without you even noticing.

I'm thinking this probably has to do with your problem, especially since you said you "think the grips went back on ok". I would find a parts list if I was you, disassemble and make sure you still have all the parts.

For what it's worth, I have the INOX version that is my summer carry when in shorts etc. I do love it for what it is! Never took the grips off though!

I just looked at the diagrams of it and nothing is missing, there's only a few parts to lose under the grip[s and the only reason I took them off was to inspect for cracks, no cleaning was done. I think you are talking about the recoil springs, they have little groove pieces on top pf them and are very tightly packed, they are both intact as they should be, the only other thing under the grip is the trigger mechanism but it too is intact and stayds just below the surface of the frame, and isn't even making contact with the slide.

I guess theres no luck there either, thanks for the reply

 

[Phantom Captain]

Hmmm,

Well I'll take a look at mine when I get home and see if there is anything else I can think of that may be causing your problem. Sorry you are having such trouble.

 

[rmfnla]

Cigar box gun; I used to love when those came into the shop!

 

[Plas62]

You may want to post your question over on www.berettaforum.net. There is probably someone over there who has ran into this issue.

 

[knoxemt1983]

Cigar box gun; I used to love when those came into the shop!

just a bug, once it's repaired it will be gone and replaced with something more dependable for sure.

 

[knoxemt1983]

You may want to post your question over on www.berettaforum.net. There is probably someone over there who has ran into this issue.

ok i'll check it out. I may have found the culprit, but don't know what caused it to happen

in the pics below you can see the trigger mechanism, the side with the circled place is shifted out a fraction of a mm. if i push it in and put the slide on it the everything will go back together but it can't be racked so I guess I'll take it to the shop tomorrow and see if they can fix whatever it is because I think it's beyond my current expertise. thanks for all these replies and any more are more than welcome, and I'll get this posted on the other forum tonight.







btw forgive me for all the dirt, i wiped it with a cotton rag as I worked on it. it'll be all taken care of when its fixed though