Читать книгу Gun Digest Book of Beretta Pistols. Function | Accuracy | Performance онлайн

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A frontal view of the Beretta 3032 Tomcat. The barrel cannot move back if the muzzle is pressed into the target, an important consideration at the distances at which small pocket pistols are likely to be used, and an advantage it shares with smaller frame Berettas.

A push forward on this lever with the thumb pops the barrel up for cartridge insertion or removal, saving you from working the slide. This can be a godsend for those with limited strength in hands and upper body. Note also that chamber can be loaded or emptied

The Tomcat is bigger, significantly bigger, than the Seecamp .32. However, it’s smaller than any other .32 automatic on the market. (Yeah, I know, at least two companies are supposed to be offering Seecamp clones. Call me if you see one in a gunshop. I haven’t.)

Comparing the new Beretta .32 to my preferred off-duty backup gun, the S&W 442 Centennial Airweight .38 Special, the Beretta is a little smaller in height and distinctly smaller in overall length. Remove the barrel from your J-frame revolver, and what’s left of your gun will be the length of a fully assembled Tomcat. Weight, however, is less dramatically favorable to the .32. Empty, the Tomcat weighs 13.1 ounces and the S&W Airweight hammerless, 15.2 ounces. Fully loaded there’s even less difference. With five 158-grain +P lead hollow-points in the chambers, my favorite pocket .38 weighs 17.9 ounces. With seven Federal ball rounds in the magazine and a 60-grain Gold Dot hollow-point in the chamber, the Beretta .32 weighs 16.6 ounces. One and three-tenths ounces ain’t a helluva lot of difference.