thoughts on Beretta 3032 tomcat...

I bought a Tomcat about a month ago. I like small handguns that can just be put in a pocket. I've put about a hundred rounds thru mine and it funtioned flawlessly. I know the 32 auto isn't an ideal round for self defense but its better than a 22 and you ain't getting a .45 auto in a gun that small. I don't have big hands for a guy so its ok for me.

I like mine for winter coat pocket carry. It's easy to handle with gloves on. I usually carry it without a holster with the safety on. It's easy to tip up the barrel and blow the lint out. Mine has been perfect for a few hundred rounds. During the summer I like my P-32.

ladies in my family prefer the KelTec in 32. Have 3 out their. Use the factory 10 round mag and it makes a difference and doesn't really hurt conceal ability. I think Beretta to big and trigger pull terrible and weights to much

Nice guns. Get the Inox version.

Heavy/wide

Not bad ecept for:

Width/caliber/weight

Easier and less expensive to carry a hammer. At least it will take someone out if needed.

actually Swiftak

a .22 is better than a .32!

I think a forum is needed just for Mall Ninjas.

well, I would rather have a 32 over a 22

Joker19 said:

Not bad ecept for:

Width/caliber/weight

Easier and less expensive to carry a hammer. At least it will take someone out if needed.

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A pants pocket sized hammer doesn't have the mass to stop a squirrel. If you could actually hit a squirrel with it.

Joker19 said:

a .22 is better than a .32!

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Not out of a short pistol barrel.

.22LR - http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/22lr/gel22lr.htm

.32 ACP - http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/32acp/gel32acp.htm

One thing I do want to know about the Tomcat is . . . has Beretta finally figured out the frame cracking problem in the blued Tomcats?

I almost got a Tomcat years ago due to my familiarity with my Bobcat. I ended up with a NAA Guardian instead due to the frame cracking issue.

I would still love a Tomcat though. Yes, it is thick but it fits the hand pretty dang well, and it looks like a classic Beretta even though it isn't quite classic yet.

A very good friend of mine carries a Beretta .32. He is very happy with the pistol and it's weird tip up barrel. He has shot many boxes of ammo through it and claims that it has never malfunctioned. It is also surprisingly accurate.

It is fat for its size, but fat guns are easier on the hands. It would not be a very good choice for a pants pocket gun, but women ofter prefer their...... purse..... for concealed carry.

Rimlock

Beside the possibility of rimlock, gun is too thick for its size. Get her a LCP instead. That 380 is not as nasty as you think.

Avoid the Tomcat, this gun will destroy itself when its shot enough, google Beretta Tomcat frame crack and you'll change your mind.

I traded a "lesson learned" purchase last night for an Inox version of the .22 Bobcat. The salesman showed me the Tomcat first, but since I like to practice frequently the cost of feeding a gun is a factor for me. The Bobcat was also on sale and my trade almost covered its price.

I haven't shot it yet but I love the tip-up barrel. See if you can get your fiance to go to a gun store with you and try the feel of several in her hand; it's really hard to predict what someone else will like. I have found that if I like the way a gun looks, it somehow always feels great in my hand (not logical, I know).

+1 on the frame crack. I loved my tomcat (you can find my posts elsewhere on this board). I followed the ammo recommendations (nothing over 130 lbs of pressure) and I still ended up with a crack in the frame.

I loved the feel of the pistol in my hand, that it felt like a full size pistol, it was a da/sa and had a manual safety. It was my ideal pistol, except for the frame crack. The Inox wide body is substantially bigger and was actually uncomfortable to carry. My tomcat is back at the factory for repair and I will be traiding it for a kel-tec .32, its what i should have bought in the first place.

Its a fantastic design for a gun, they just can't execute it.

We had very bad luck w/ the Tomcat (prior to the Inox version). Didn't work very well, and after several calls to Beretta they kept saying it just needed more break-in. Once we'd put enough rounds through it for them to admit is was broken in, they decided it was probably worn out. I shipped it back to them (on my dime) and they discovered the cracked frame. They had the new "improved" version out (which claimed to fix the slide cracking) but gave me a new copy of the old version.

The good news is that Beretta had it for so long that my wife grew to like a S&W 3913, which had much less subjective recoil and was easier to operate (her hands are probably on the large side for a woman). The new improved Tomcat didn't seem much smaller than the 9mm compacts that have since become available. 9mm is cheaper to shoot, so more practice and more oomph.

This was probably 10 years ago, and I'm not sure how the new guns compare, but I wouldn't buy one.

OK

Simply put, stay away from the TomCat. It truely is a mistake. I owned two and wore one out in less than 1500 rounds and sold the other. And yes a .22 is better than a .32. Give up on this caliber.....it will get you killed! I will never use a .32 as a backup so why would I ever use one as an off duty concealed? .380 is the absolute smallest and now I have a Sig P238 I would also say, NEVER BUY ONE!!!!! Out of 100 rounds there were so many FTFs and FTEs that I simply put it in a drawer and hope it stays there. My ankle backup is a Kel Tec P3At and has had at least 2000 rounds through it with absolutely not ONE single FTF or FTE.

I had a Tomcat for quite a few years and it worked fine. But I sold it a few months ago and got a Seecamp LWS 32 and haven't looked back. The difference in quality between the two guns, not to mention the size, is stunning. Just a different league altogether. They are pricey, but I recommend the Seecamp if you are looking for a .32.

For the rare occasions I need such a tiny gun, I like my Seecamp. With lifestyle changes after I retire, my Seecamp LWS-32 may see more carry time, but I tend to pack heavier for now.

Beside the possibility of rimlock, gun is too thick for its size. Get her a LCP instead. That 380 is not as nasty as you think.

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In point of fact, with the locked breech design of the Kel-Tec P3AT and it's Ruger clone, the .380 in those guns is more pleasant to fire than the .32 Tomcat.

I had a Tomcat, it was a nice little pistol, but too bulky for it's chambering in the contemporary market. Sold it, still have my P3AT (and P32).

.32

I have had the blued version for years. I haven't shot it as much as some of you fellows. It has been 100% reliable but I have been wondering if the frame crack is inevitable.
It is a fat little gun, isn't it? I do like it but mostly it sits in the safe.

At the risk of a hijack....I am intrigued by this next idea, which has surfaced twice in this thread:

a .22 is better than a .32!

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And yes a .22 is better than a .32.

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I'd like to see/hear/read the rationale for that. Pistols chambered for the .32 ACP shoot a heavier, fatter, bullet faster - double the ME - than .22s fired from a similar pistol - and you say the .22 is a better round. Explain, please - or in another thread.
Pete

At the risk of a hijack....I am intrigued by this next idea, which has surfaced twice in this thread:

Quote:
a .22 is better than a .32!

Click to expand...

And yes a .22 is better than a .32.

Click to expand...

I'd like to see/hear/read the rationale for that. Pistols chambered for the .32 ACP shoot a heavier, fatter, bullet faster - double the ME - than .22s fired from a similar pistol - and you say the .22 is a better round. Explain, please - or in another thread.
Pete

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There is one simple explanation for such ideology: Ignorance.