Marko Kloos
Moderator Emeritus
My wife recently switched to a wheelgun, so I got my hands back on the family parlor pistol, our Beretta 3032 Tomcat. For those not familiar with the gun, it's a tilt-barrel pocket gun chambered in .32ACP.
I've been toting the little Tomcat in the pocket for the last few days, and I am pleasantly reminded why I like the design enough to have bought three of 'em over the last six years. Our current Tomcat is one of the early ones with the glossy blue finish, and despite the reliability problems of the early Tomcats, this one has been running like a top for both myself and the previous owner. (Piece of board lore: this is the very same Tomcat carried by Tamara during her infamous bike wreck in 2000. Bidding starts at $500.
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It's not as flat or light as a Kel-Tec P32, but the main quality of the Tomcat is that it's far easier to shoot well than all the other pocket .32s on the market. It feels like a bigger gun in your hand, and it's blessed with actual sights...a questionable benefit on a pocket belly gun for some, but I like having the ability of placing my shots where I want them at more than bad breath distance. I've never owned or fired a mousegun that can hold a candle to the Tomcat in feel and practical shootability, and I've owned most of them.
It carries well in a pocket, not quite as easy as a P32, but easier than a J-frame. One thing about the Tomcat is that it doesn't feel like a mousegun, but rather like a miniaturized "big" pistol, and as a result, it engenders more confidence than most other mosueguns. It's as small as I can go and still feel that I have an actual gun in my hand, and not a plastic keychain that can shoot .32s.
The Tomcat is a pretty bad-ass little pocket gun. It's not the smallest or lightest .32 on the market, but it has a feel and quality to it that's lacking in other .32 mouseguns. You'll find a lot of people slamming the Tomcat, and it's true that some of the early T-cats had reliability and durability issues, but it's a very capable and well-made pocket gun that does the backup/deep concealment job as good as any other, and better than many.
I've been toting the little Tomcat in the pocket for the last few days, and I am pleasantly reminded why I like the design enough to have bought three of 'em over the last six years. Our current Tomcat is one of the early ones with the glossy blue finish, and despite the reliability problems of the early Tomcats, this one has been running like a top for both myself and the previous owner. (Piece of board lore: this is the very same Tomcat carried by Tamara during her infamous bike wreck in 2000. Bidding starts at $500.
)It's not as flat or light as a Kel-Tec P32, but the main quality of the Tomcat is that it's far easier to shoot well than all the other pocket .32s on the market. It feels like a bigger gun in your hand, and it's blessed with actual sights...a questionable benefit on a pocket belly gun for some, but I like having the ability of placing my shots where I want them at more than bad breath distance. I've never owned or fired a mousegun that can hold a candle to the Tomcat in feel and practical shootability, and I've owned most of them.
It carries well in a pocket, not quite as easy as a P32, but easier than a J-frame. One thing about the Tomcat is that it doesn't feel like a mousegun, but rather like a miniaturized "big" pistol, and as a result, it engenders more confidence than most other mosueguns. It's as small as I can go and still feel that I have an actual gun in my hand, and not a plastic keychain that can shoot .32s.
The Tomcat is a pretty bad-ass little pocket gun. It's not the smallest or lightest .32 on the market, but it has a feel and quality to it that's lacking in other .32 mouseguns. You'll find a lot of people slamming the Tomcat, and it's true that some of the early T-cats had reliability and durability issues, but it's a very capable and well-made pocket gun that does the backup/deep concealment job as good as any other, and better than many.
