Gun Review: Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox .32 ACP Pistol

In a sea of plastic mouse weapons, the decidedly old fashioned Beretta Tomcat stands out with its Inox (AKA “stainless steel”) slide and solid aluminum body. While this makes it a bit thicker and heavier than a contemporary injection molded pocket pistol, it pays dividends elsewhere.

In truth, the 3032 Tomcat has just a few distinctive options that make for an excellent deep concealment piece.

Diminutive in measurement, the Tomcat is simply 3.7″ tall and 4.92″ lengthy. It’s sufficiently small to stash nearly anyplace so long as there’s room for its thick-by-current-standards 1.1″ width. Despite the quick height, it nonetheless holds 7+1 rounds of .32 ACP in a very easy-to-load, single-stack magazine.

Unfortunately, it solely comes with a type of — probably the largest gripe i’ve with this pistol, really. On the plus facet they’re obtainable for about $24 (less for a third party version), so maybe the evaluation can proceed in any case.

It could appear foolish to some, however one of the best characteristic of the Tomcat is its “tip-up” or tilting barrel design. While tiny weapons typically get really useful to small individuals — girls, these with small hands, older people, and so forth. — that’s normally ill-advised. A tiny gun has a tiny slide permitting minimal buy and usually has a stiff recoil spring. That could make racking a problem for some.

In truth, semi-automatic pistols basically may be tough to control for anyone with much less grip energy or dexterity. Just ask the man I purchased my HK P7 from; an older gentleman promoting off his total semi-auto pistol assortment as a result of arthritis that made it too tough to rack a slide.

On the Tomcat, there’s doubtlessly no purpose to ever rack the slide. Push the barrel launch lever forwards and the barrel pops up, offering full entry to the chamber. Simply drop your +1 spherical into it, click on the barrel closed, and also you’re good to go.

This entire course of may be finished with the security lever engaged, making it safer than chambering a spherical in most semi-autos. Plus there’s no worry of bullet setback. Heck, it even permits you to clean the chamber, bore, and breech face with out disassembling the firearm in any respect.

Not that disassembly is tough. Simply tilt the barrel ahead till it stops, raise the entrance of the slide up off the body, then pull the slide forwards off the rear rails. There are not any different items.

No, severely. There’s no information rod or separate recoil spring. On both sides of the body there’s a bit tab sticking up above the grip panel. That tab indexes right into a slot within the slide. The tab is the tip of a lever that drives the recoil spring, which is hiding contained in the grip staying good and clean.

Heck, there’s no extractor. This straight blowback pocket pistol has few elements that want servicing and is a cinch to scrub and lube. It may be discipline stripped, cleaned, lubed, and reassembled correctly by even the slowest clownshoe bloghole within the land.

Or simply don’t wash it. Mine went 250 rounds straight out of the container working like a champ till I made a decision it was too filthy to take a look at and wiped it down. Barrel up, slide off, wipe wipe with some CLP, and again collectively quick sufficient to make a NASCAR pit workforce blush.

Two thumbs up for the Tomcat’s usability, then. Any outdated or crippled codger might load and preserve it and, due to the comparatively vast, metallic body and .32 ACP chambering, comfortably shoot it, too. The Tomcat is an absolute pussycat on recoil. A declawed, sedated pussycat. Oooh, she shoots mushy for her measurement.

She shoots fairly straight, too. At seven yards shooting offhand, I used to be circling across the 1″, 5-shot group mark (crimson bull is 0.75″ on these targets). During speedy hearth, the Tomcat stayed on track and outperformed my expectations with its very stable sensible accuracy.

That’s to not say shooting this little gun precisely isn’t with out its challenges, although. A pocket pistol ought to be usually rounded and snag-free, which the Tomcat is. Even its teeny little sights get the low-pro, low-snag remedy. Great for carry and for drawing from a holster, however not so good for bullseye competitors.

Again, although, I used to be stunned by how properly it shot in observe. The uncooked chrome steel end of the entrance sight — an integral a part of the barrel, by the best way — stands out sufficient within the all-black rear sight that choosing it up was simple. Combined with the low recoil, the Tomcat was a cinch to maintain proper on track.

Then once more, the aforementioned codger might run into points staying on track whereas pulling the Tomcat’s set off. Seen above at high is the set off place with the hammer down, prepared for a double-action pull, and above at backside with the hammer cocked for a single-action pull. In each situations the shooter is offered with a comparatively heavy, not notably easy set off pull.

Eventually I managed to clamp the lilliputian mohaska into TTAG’s Dvorak TriggerScan to supply y’all with a greater concept of precisely what a 3032 Tomcat set off looks like. In blue above is the graph of an extended, gritty double motion pull weighing in at a peak of just below 10.5 lbs, and in crimson is a significantly better — nonetheless vital room for enhancement — single motion pull of about 5.Four lbs.

Actually, apart from a little bit of sharpening to take away the roughness and grit, I feel these set off pulls in each weight and journey distance are mainly splendid for such a self-defense pistol.

Also on the subject of security, when the Tomcat’s guide thumb security is engaged it blocks the sear, locks the slide, and prevents a decocked hammer — sure, the security may be engaged with the hammer down — from being totally cocked (although it may be half-cocked). The gun will also be carried cocked-and-locked.

While there isn’t a de-cocker operate, the tip-up barrel design can enhance security right here as properly. Simply tilt the barrel to maneuver the chambered spherical out of the hazard zone earlier than manually decreasing the hammer.

There’s one other hazard zone proper behind the Tomcat, although, particularly for a shooter with dude-sized hands who’s used to gripping a pistol good and excessive.

I needed to consciously maintain it decrease than my muscle reminiscence dictates, until I needed a kiss from the slide.

A ultimate, distinctive notice which will warrant some coaching time is the placement of the journal launch. It isn’t in the usual spot simply rear of the set off guard. And it isn’t a European-style heel launch, both.

The button finds itself floating someplace in-between, low and to the rear of the left-side grip panel. I discovered it greatest to make use of my left thumb to press the button whereas utilizing the remainder of my left hand to strip the magazine from the gun.

On the vary this tiny pistol feels surprisingly good within the hand. Even a man hand. I feel it simply might properly work for anyone. It actually shoots mushy and straight sufficient to go well with any shooter.

It was fully dependable for me besides with the Underwood hundreds that includes Lehigh’s Xtreme Cavitator projectile (review with gel block results here). Although it might have been good to see it operate with out the occasional feeding drawback, it’s laborious to carry that towards the Tomcat contemplating that very distinctive bullet design.

The pistol fed each different FMJ and hollow-point I received my hands on.

Overall, selecting a metallic gun in a polymer age may be about greater than nostalgia. The Tomcat’s width and mass make it extremely soft-shooting, and the tip-up barrel design means it’s accessible to shooters of any energy or dexterity degree.

Specifications: Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox

Chambering: .32 ACP
Magazine Capacity: 7+1
Slide & Frame Build: Inox (chrome steel) slide, solid aluminum body
Trigger Mech: DA/SA hammer-fired
Sights: Metal. Fixed entrance, drift-adjustable rear
Barrel Length: 2.4 in
Overall Length: 4.92 in
Overall Height: 3.7 in
Weight: 14.5 oz
MSRP: $485

Ratings (out of 5 stars):

Accuracy * * * * 
It ain’t an Olympic pistol, however contemplating the scale of the gun and its sights, I’m fairly impressed. Especially on the vary whereas shooting in additional of a sensible type, its accuracy was nice.

Reliability * * * * 
Other than having some points feeding these odd Xtreme Cavitator bullets reliably sufficient to, properly, depend on them past dropping one into the chamber as my +1, the Tomcat ran easily and confidently. Its easy motion works properly.

Concealed Carry * * * * 
It isn’t as mild or as skinny because the polymer .32 ACP options in the marketplace (heck, there’s no scarcity of lighter, skinnier .380s), but it surely’s nonetheless a teeny tiny “mouse gun” and it conceals simple as pie.

Ergonomics * * * 
Totally advantageous, simply be careful for slide chew.

Customize This * *
Other than substitute elements, there are a pair wood grip choices and varied holsters, however not way more.

Overall * * * * 
The Beretta Tomcat is a deep concealment basic and it’s simple to see why. It’s one of many softest-shooting, most correct little pocket pistols I’ve encountered and the tip-up barrel design is fantastic.