[banshee]

Hey guys I went to purchase the p3at tonight and am now at square one again. I have researched for a week or so and new i wanted a p3at after seeing one compared to the beretta tomcat it seemed cheaply made. Has anyone owned both and experienced the differences in the two as far as carry, shooting, etc.... thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Packer]

  The Tomcat is much thicker, heavier, more expensive and much less powerful than the P3AT. It weighs as much as the 9mm PF9. It would be like a rock in your pocket compared to the P3AT.

  If you aren't physically able to rack the slide, then the tip barrel Tomcat would be your option.

  It may look a little rough, but the P3At is the best (and only) pistol in its class.

Packer.

 

[rjhauser]

p3at

hands down

 

[rjhauser]

ps - i don't care about looks, just function.

looks can be taken care of....

;D

 

[always1stnline]

Better look at the ballistics of a .32 vs a .380. This might lead you to conclude that you are willing to do whatever it takes to carry a 12 oz(loaded) .380. Most sources consider the .380 to be marginal, or absolute minimum for personal protection. They dismiss a.32 or smaller.

 

[peaceful99]

If you intend to carry all of the time, you will appreciate the P3AT vs the Tomcat. 8)

 

[Rubb]

Welcome banshee,

During my pocket pistol research the
gun's you speak of are also what I
boiled my choices down to.

Power to size/weight ratio
Warranty
Price
KTOG

I have the 3AT in my pocket, FWIW

Rob

 

[TxCajun]

If you intend to carry all of the time, you will appreciate the P3AT vs the Tomcat.   8)

True. The P3AT has an empty weight of 8.3 oz. At 14.5 oz empty, the TC outweighs the P11. Add 7 rounds of 32apc and that's over a pound in your pocket. :-/

 

[rover]

While Beretta makes a fine product, the Kel Tec is hands down superior for it's size/weight/power ratio, not to mention the price. Looking over this bb you will see a lot of complaints and problems with the KT, but consider that the vast majority of them function reliably right out of the box. If you invest a little time in a F&B even better. The KT warranty and customer service are both excellent and should you get one that fails the intitial 200 round test you can send it back. Even if you did this a few times it is still worth the effort. My family currently has four KTs - a P-32, 1st Gen P3AT and two 2nd Gen P3ATs. All have worked flawlessly and are carried daily by myself, wife and son. Now we own dozens of pistols including Glocks (19s and 23s), Walthers (PPk, PPkS, TPH), Sigs (226, 228) and others. Yet the little KTs are our daily carry weapons due to their size and weight. In the pocket it's little more than a large folding knife. Go with the P3AT, hope for the best during breakin but if it's not perfect KT will make it so.

 

[rcmodel]

There was a lot of controversy in the gun press a few years ago about the Tomcat only having a 1,200 round expected service life, (according to published letters from Beretta) and only a 1 year warranty.

People were writing in and complaining about cracked frames, etc. in a very short amount of shooting, and then Beretta wouldn't do anything about it after the 1 year warranty had expired.

Don't know how that deal all turned out?

rcmodel

 

[rover]

Our Local PD went with the 9mm Beretta some years ago and had major problems with the frames cracking. Since they still issue them I imagine that Berretta must have addressed this problem. However, my son is issued a Berretta M9 (92F) in his Army unit and said it shoots 2 feet off at 25 yards. When he complained the armourer told him to count himself lucky to have gotten "one of the better M9s".

 

[CHW111]

I can't say anything moore to what has already been said.K-T's are great little guns.I had a Bertta in .25 a few years ago and had 20 jams in the first 50 rounds,I also had a Raven .25 at the same time ,I shoot 50 rounds with it and it was 100%,so I gave the Raven to my mother and sold the Bertta.I have heard horror storiescome out of the military about the Bertta. 8)

 

[banshee]

Thanks for your suggestions, my mind is made up. I was thinking about the parkerized does this help the as fart as the quality and look.

 

[TxCajun]

Parkerizing is more rust resistent than blueing, less so than the hard chrome. KT tends to park inside the barrell and that bothers some. Also, the parked barrel will wear where it rubs on the slide while caming down. The other finsihes do too but it may show more on the parked guns. :-/

Here is my parkerized P32NAA:

And a hard chrome P3AT next to a blued P32.
Sorry - too much flash.

 

[BadThad]

I did a lot of research (a year's worth) before I settled on the P3AT. The biggest selling point....WEIGHT. I can put this gun in my pocket and hardly notice it. I love my P3AT!

 

[Lynnsky]

I had a Beretta Tomcat for two years some time back. I loved the workmanship and the overall feel of the gun -- just felt substantial. Oh, and I liked the tip-up barrel, too. On the downside, two things: it's quite wide and it hurt like a son of a gun to shoot -- it had a nasty snap to it that made it very unpleasant and uncomfortable. Ain't no contest between the two -- P-3AT all the way! I agree with others, however, that persons with trouble racking slides could really do well with that tip up barrel. If it were me, and it might be someday (I am no spring chicken), I might be tempted to look into the Cheetah that Beretta no longer makes that has a tip up barrel. It's a large heavy gun that I imagine shoots very well, though it would be hard to conceal. Maybe make a decent HD firearm (it comes in .380).

Regards,
Lynnsky

 

[DetroitMatt]

I have a Beretta Bobcat in .22LR, and a P-3AT. The Bobcat is smaller than the Tomcat, but similar in design in many ways. I was lucky enough to get a P-3AT that was perfect out of the box. My little Beretta is perfect too, once I found a few brands of ammo that worked with it. Rimfires are just like that.
The fit and finish of the Beretta is much nicer than Kel-Tec's, but they're two completly different kinds of companies and two completely different types of firearms.
I love the design (tip up barrel) and the fit and finish of the Berettas, but I would recommend that you get the Kel-Tec. Much less expensive, still very durable and reliable, and it's extreme light weight and svelt dimensions make it the better choice, if you have to choose. Plus the .380 round if far superior and much less expensive. The money you'd save in buying .380 over .32 will pay for the gun after a year or so of shooting.
Get the Kel-Tec!
Disclaimer: This is just opinions remember. You need to go out and shoot both if possible, or at the very least hold and play around with them. You need to find the gun that fits you perfectly and that you can shoot when it comes time to shoot. Guns are kinda like women, when you find the perfect one, you just sorta know.