Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns * THE BARETTA TOMCAT *

Hello, would like to know if anyone has any experience with this hangun, as far as reliability, and quality...Thank-You...MVGS

Had one for about three years now. Goes any where, stick it in your pocket and forget it. Realize the limitations of the 32 and act accordingly. Mine shoots any thing and likes silvertips the best. Never had a problem yet with function.
<br>BCR

Hello Boggy Creek Ranger, I hear you, I saw one at the local gun shop and looked nice...The price was around 299, the other guns that I was looking at were the S&W 642 at $429, and the glock 27 at $530...It does seem that the prices are going up some over here in CA. Anyways good to hear you'r advice on the Tomcat. Take Care...MVGS

MVGS -
<br>I wear a Tomcat daily. As Boggy says, it's handy and easy to carry, but has limitations. On the other hand, a light handy easy to carry .32 in my hand is better than a bulky, but more potent, .45 at home. Mine likes Hornady 60 grain XTP-HP's. At 7 yards, it keeps 'em all in the black.
<br>
<br>The trigger pull and overall action functioning was a little gritty at first, so, a disassembly, cleanup, and evening spent watching TV and working the action and trigger a few hundred times smoothed it up considerably.
<br>
<br>Hard to beat for the price.
<br>
<br>R-WEST

I'm a little surprised by the positive responses on the Tomcat. I know a woman who carried one for a couple years in a purse (no holster). The safety would disengage about once a month. One time a grip screw had fell out. And, the last straw was when the magazine had ejected. Of course, much of this could may have been avoided with a holster, however, that would have taken up more room in the purse. Also, the Tomcat had a lot of trouble feeding. She now owns a S&W 642LS .38+P and is far more comfortable. She can get a better grip on the gun, it weighs 2oz. less and is more potent. Overall dimensions on the 642LS are only slightly larger than the 3032.
<br>
<br>For concealed carry, for a woman, I would highly recommend the S&W 642LS .38+P ... for men, I would highly recommend the S&W 360 (exposed hammer) or 340 (concealed hammer) .357mag. The S&W 360 and 340 are both 12oz and, of course, if .357mag is little too much, you can shoot .38+P, or even .38spl. There are semi-autos which are very reliable (some possibly moreso than good quality revolvers), however, BASED ON WHAT I'VE SEEN, the Tomcat doesn't come close. If you'd really like a semi-auto, check out the Kahr P9 Covert 9mm @ 17oz. I've heard nothing but good things about them and I just got mine last Friday ... only managed to shoot 13 rounds so far ... very manageable considering the power/weight.
<br>
<br>You can get a 642 for $400, 642LS for $450, 360/340 for around $550 and the Kahr P9 with nite sites was $620.
<br>
<br>It looks like Kahr is coming out with a new P9 (PM9093A) which will take 0.5" off the bbl and weigh in at 1oz less, if you care.
<br>
<br>Also, I own a SigP232 .380 ... it's never jammed and has a decocking lever ... very nice gun ... a little on the the heavy side at 22.5oz (SS). My only problem with it, and, consequently, the reason I never shoot it, is that the top of the grip is too close to the bottom of the slide (for the low profile) and when the gun fires and kicks up a bit, the slide ends up scraping my hand.
<br>
<br>The bottom line for a concealed carry semi-auto is that, well, for any concealed carry gun, it must be, somewhat, very light, and yet have enough power to do considerable damage to a 200lb+ human. Because of these two factors, invariably, recoil becomes an important concern (that's why a lot of people don't carry a .44mag for concealed carry). In light of this, with regard to semi-autos, you can't beat a polymer frame gun (at least, until they come up with something better). A polymer frame semi-auto puts the large majority of the weight of the gun (that you must carry) in the slide which, consequently, does a better job of "absorbing" recoil. Therefore, when considering a semi-auto for concealed carry (unless you just don't have the money and your only other alternative is to carry nothing), a polymer frame pistol is the best way to go (be it Glock, Kahr, H&K, or whatever).
<br>
<br>For those of you carrying Tomcats, or any other non-polymer-frame semi-auto who may take offense to what I've stated here, let me say this: If you're comfortable with your gun and it has proven itself at the range, then I have no doubt it will serve you well.
<br>
<br>Later.

Well had one for a couple of years as replacement for my bigger Colt 1903, then I found a Keltec P-32. I much prefer it for every day carry when bigger is not an option or as backup to my 3" Colt Cobra. Never had a hiccup with the Beretta or the Keltec, the Keltec is soooooo much lighter. and I always have at least it with me.
<br>Any gun is better than no gun when you need one.

Beats harsh words and chunking rocks all to hollow don't it?
<br>BCR