Beretta Tomcat .32 acp

Ok, this one is going to be a little out of the normal for a review, but I have to admit, I'm smitten with this little pocket rocket.

As a disclaimer, I like the .32 acp concept. I like small nimble guns with almost no recoil and all that. They look neat, are easily kept at hand, and they are, well, they are just nifty.

Another disclaimer: I haven't fired this weapon.

The Berreta Tomcat is a tilt open barrel design. Which means you can either load your magazine conventionally, but inserting the mag and pulling back on the slide.
This will put a round in the chamber this will pull the hammer back in the "cocked and locked" position. This will give you 7 rounds total in the gun.

The other option is to insert the magazine but then hit the barrel release. This will, literally, flip the barrel up and allow you to load another round in to the barrel directly and it will not cause the hammer to retract and be cocked and locked.
This will give you 7+1... nothing wrong with an extra bullet at your disposal.

As you may have guessed the Tomcat has a DA/SA trigger. That means double action/single action. The meat and potatoes of that is that if the hammer is down and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot. If the hammer is back and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot.

Ergonomics on the Tomcat are great! I know, I know, it is hard to believe, but they really are. The grip is nice and round and easy to get your hands on. It is, of course, short, but for some reason, that's not a problem. It just sits great in the hand.

It has an external safety lever which is easily actuated so you can carry in "condition 1" which is a round chambered and the hammer cocked.

The weight is enough to let you know that you're holding on to something substantial and not some piece of fluff. Which speaks to the materials it is made of. It's metal, not composite or plastic. I'm a fan.

It does have one drawback. It is chambered in the .32 acp caliber. Some people will say that you might as well throw a rock at someone if all you have is a .32. These same people will also say the same to anything that isn't a .45, so consider the source.

No, it won't kill a charging Rhino and no, it probably won't immediately stop a drugged up assailant. However, there have been numerous reports that state a an average man hopped up on PCP can taken dozens of direct hits to the torso and head and still kept coming... If 63 shots from police service pistols aren't going to stop someone, there's nothing you can carry, as a civilian, that would stop someone like that.

Your best bet are head shots and plenty of them.

To me, if your shot placement is good and your training is current and consistent, this little gem will save your life, period. And at the end of the day that's the true test of a defensive handgun. Will it save your life? In my opinion, yes, the Tomcat will.

All in all, I'd give great consideration to this pistol if you want to keep it in your pocket or purse. An extra magazine would be also very easy to carry around too, heck, maybe even a couple. That would be a total of 22 rounds. Not too shabby.