The Beretta 3032 Tomcat and Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox are semi-automatic

pocket pistol In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol (or less commonly referencing either derringers, or small revolvers), and is suitable for concealed carry in either a coat, jacket, or trouser pocket. Pocket ...

s designed and manufactured by

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...

. They are chambered in

.32 ACP .32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...

(a.k.a. 7.65 mm Browning) and are small pistols, designed for concealed-carry and use as backup weapons. The Beretta 3032 Tomcat builds on a long line of small and compact pocket pistols for

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

manufactured by Beretta. The allure and popularity is commonly attributed to the loading procedure, which does not require the user to "rack" the slide to chamber a round, but rather place a round in the

tip-up barrel A tip-up barrel is a type of semi-automatic pistol design in which the barrel can be swung up and away from the firing pin, pivoting around a hinge set into the frame near the muzzle. Such a design allows a round to be inserted directly into th ...

before the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

is inserted. This is especially popular for those with weaker or smaller hands.

Specifications

The Beretta 3032 Tomcat is a simple blowback pistol with a single- and double-action

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

mechanism. It also features a

. It is fitted with a

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

-mounted thumb

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. This safety acts as a slide stop when engaged. The frame is made of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

while the

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

and

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

are

carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

in the standard version and

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

in the "Inox" variant. A document included with all Model 3032 Tomcat pistols warns that the owner should never use ammunition that exceeds of muzzle energy. Notably, even normal factory .32 ACP cartridges have become significantly more powerful in recent decades, and can well exceed the 130 ft-lb limit of the pistol's initial design, one that Beretta continues to use to this day. Representatives of Beretta USA have often recommended that owners purchase their .32 ACP ammunition online, so that the muzzle energy is properly verified in specification charts. Use of any ammunition that exceeds this rating may cause irreparable or prohibitively expensive damage to the firearm, most commonly manifesting as a crack on the frame. Notably, the design omits an extractor mechanism, thus, the firearm relies solely on the blowback energy of the cartridge to extract and eject spent casings. Beretta recommends caution when removing grip panels, as the safety mechanism is retained underneath with spring tension. Parts can be lost during improper removal, making the firearm inoperable until repaired. The barrel should also not be completely removed from the assembly, which may cause frame damage.

Variants

The model 3032 Tomcat is available in an "Inox" variant, with stainless steel barrel and slide and the frame anodized for a similar aesthetic. For a short time, a titanium-framed model was also available. Previously, Beretta offered a variant of the Tomcat possessing

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

night sights referred to as the "Alley Cat," which was discontinued in the late 2000s. In 2020, Beretta began offering a "Covert" model with wooden grip panels and a factory threaded barrel.Wood, Keith.
Beretta 21A Bobcat and 3032 Tomcat Pistols: Two Cool Cats
" ''Handguns Magazine''. March 4, 2021. Beretta Tomcat

References

External links

BerettaUSA Pocket Guns

Manual
{{Beretta firearms Beretta firearms 3032 .32 ACP semi-automatic pistols

Specifications

Variants

See also

References

External links