NAA Guardian or Beretta Tomcat

I have a 32 acp Guardian. I sent it in to the factory for some custom work: stippled frame, real sights, wood grips and slight melt job. That done, it's a nice little pistol. It's all steel so it's heavy for it's size. It's pretty much a one or two finger at the most grip. The springs are pretty stout, so manipulating the slide could be difficult for some. The trigger is very heavy. The stock sights are just little nubs. There is an extractor on the slide, but no ejector on the frame. I haven't found that to be a real problem. As long as there are more rounds in the mag, but cases eject just fine. When the last shot is fired, the stove pipe tells you to reload.
The Tomcats are interesting little guns. Bigger than the Guardian. They give you a little more to hang on to. I believe they have the tilt up barrels that the other little Berettas do. I've never had the chance to shoot one. Seem I remember reading the Guardians had a better feeding record than the Tomcats, but that's just a memory from long ago.

I have the Beretta Bobcat .22LR (same design) and the NAA Guardian in .32. Both guns have their pros and cons. I personally like the all steel construction of the Guardian.

About a year ago I bought an NAA Black Widow .22LR/22WMR. That's the only pocket pistol I now carry on a daily basis. I just like the reliability of a revolver. Carries like a large pocket knife. The larger magnum frame, two inch heavy barrel, enhanced sights, and oversize grips make it a very accurate pistol.

Like PRM I have a Guardian .32 and Beretta 21 (25 acp). I would never willingly spend money for an NAA again. I want to like it, it looks well built, its nicely machined steel, but the ergonomics are horrible for me (and my daughter and wife) so no one even wants to carry it. It's been relegated to garage gun.

I have nothing but good to say about the Beretta though, I bought it in 1992, and although it has been carried more than shot we've never had any problems with it at all. My wife isn't a gunny and she thinks the tip up barrel is such a smart idea every gun should have one.

Between the two I'd go for the Tomcat.

VooDoo

I'm an unashamed Beretta fan, but the Tomcats are still breaking their frames above the trigger bar. Even the heavier Inox models. It's not worth the risk.

Miked7762 said:

I'm an unashamed Beretta fan, but the Tomcats are still breaking their frames above the trigger bar. Even the heavier Inox models. It's not worth the risk.

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I agree, it has a flawed design and Beretta hasn't fixed it.

If you like pain, the NAA is the way to go, but since there are so many much better choices now, neither would be my choice.

Biggest disadvantage of the Tomcats is the tip-up barrel. If you ever needed to use it against a bad guy, gawd help you if you have a spent case that doesn't eject properly and sits back in the chamber. In that situation, you will have to tip up the barrel, extract the case with your fingernail, and rack the slide to rechamber the round in the traditional way - NOT easy to do with a small gun where the hammer also applies a lot of pressure forward on the slide.

The other disadvantage like others have mentioned is the frame, but it's not a gun that you will shoot thousands of rounds out of.

For a pistol with the grip size of the Tomcat, it should also hold a couple of more rounds. Don't get me wrong, the Tomcat is a fine gun, but you gotta know its quirks.

The Guardian is a SOLID hunk of stainless steel and like the Tomcat, it is straight blowback. It has a traditional extractor, though. It is also easier to rack the slide, IMO. Funny thing is that both guns are the same weight. The Tomcat weighs 14 oz. The Guardian 32 weighs 13.5 oz but is quite a bit smaller.

Accuracy for both is on par with pocket pistol of their size. There really aren't any sights. Grip is better with the Tomcat, but like I'd said, the Tomcat should really be able to hold one or two additional rounds because of the grip size.

They are different beasts...

The Beretta is bigger, wider, is da/sa, doesn't have an extractor and is generally easy to shoot but harder to pocket carry. I had an Inox version that was great at the range, but carrying it was tough due to its width. The frame-cracking issue also gave me pause, although I only carried standard pressure, 71 fmjs in it. I sold it.

I currently have a custom .32 Guardian. It's is dao, very small, very flat but is rather heavy. The trigger is very smooth, and I have the guttersnipe sights that are pretty effective. It is very easy to carry and a decent shooter. It's been extremely reliable with fmjs. I haven't tried hollow points because I don't plan on carrying them in this little blaster.

Hope this helps.

I have owned a .32 Guardian for over 8 years and absolutely recommend it. With a good front panel holster, it simply disappears in your front pocket, even with tight fitting jeans. Yes, the trigger is heavy, but for me, that is good piece of mind, and does not prohibit effective close-in fire. I am NOT a fan of the flyweight/short travel triggers popular on pocket guns today, such as the Kahr .380- too easy for Murphy to work his magic.

I also have a Tomcat, but it is a recent purchase for my wife, and I have NOT shot it extensively yet. Definitely bigger (all dimensions), easier to load/unload, and probably more accurate due to SA capability.

Miked7762 said:

I'm an unashamed Beretta fan, but the Tomcats are still breaking their frames above the trigger bar. Even the heavier Inox models. It's not worth the risk.

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It's mainly a cosmetic issue....the crack does not affect the functionality of the gun as far as I know. I know several folks who have tomcats and shoot them regularly in our group and they all have cracks that have not worsened nor caused any catastrophic failure.

It's an unfortunate problem that I believe Beretta has tried to fix and failed. Hopefully the Pico will not suffer the same fate...but it's not a "show stopper" for the gun.

VooDoo

I have an old Beretta Bobcat in .22LR that I like the contruction, design, and grip size so much that I almost bought the Tomcat in .32 ACP a few years back. It is exactly due to the frame cracking problem that I did not buy a Tomcat and bought a .32 ACP NAA Guardian.

I've owned my Guardian since maybe 2009. I carry it only for those times another pocket pistol won't fit (and be quickly drawn) in certain pants pockets. Like others mention, the slide is stout to retract and the trigger is stiff. Being a little bitty blowback gun, you have to hold it tighter than other semi-autos to prevent slipped grip jamming problems that replicate limped wristing. Mine does fire constistently with Fiocchi ammo, but jams on Winchest FMJ truncated nose and S&B ammo gets light strikes.

Now, considering my ownership of the Guardian, there are better .32 ACP pocket guns. I bought the Taurus TCP732 (now discontinued) which is based off the KelTec P32. The Taurus is so much easier to shoot well over the Guardian due to the locked breech design and the larger grip being much more forgiving with a slightly imperfect grip. Also, the Taurus, and I suspect the KelTec, have deeper rifling than the Guardian. The TCP732 can actually be considered a 15 yard gun as the Guardian is more like a 3 to 5 yard gun in regards to their accuracy potential.

I keep telling myself to get the KelTec P32 to accompany the TCP732. I suspect that even though the KelTec isn't as pretty as the Beretta and the Guardian, it is more than likely the better .32 ACP pocket gun. I know the Taurus TCP732 is over the Guardian, and due to how much thinner it is compared to the Beretta, probably better against it as well.

Just my opinion, of course.

Isn't the Guardian just a close copy of the Seecamp? I carried a Seecamp 32 for years, loved it...still have it. It is terrible to shoot, but was the best choice at the time for a tiny but effective gun. Then along came the Keltec P32, it was lighter and had less perceived recoil...carried that for a long time. Then along came the Keltec 380 P3AT; I'm still carrying one today. The Beretta is a fine gun, but I'm going to chose the Keltec 380 over it every time...it is about the same size/weight (a little thinner even) and has a lot more punch.

mongo4567 said:

Isn't the Guardian just a close copy of the Seecamp?

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Yes, indeed.

I was agonizing over the same choice a year ago. I already had a Keltec P32 which I love. I just wanted another 32. From all I read, I decided on the Guardian, so I bought one. Although, it is a quality well made gun, I don't enjoy carrying or shooting it. The Keltec shoots much better and feels better in my pocket, not to mention about $100 cheaper.
I have since purchased a NAA Black Widow with the conversion cylinder(for less than $300). I love it as well, but the P32 affords you 3 more bullets in a slightly more powerful round.

I had a tomcat and when the 380 micro's got iron out well I dumped the tomcat and bought a tcp380 and never looked back. Got no use for ether a nna or a baby berretta.

Other Tomcat quirks are that the firing pin is prone to breaking easily (don't dry-fire) and you should never take the grip panels off ...

I will say that our 3032 was actually quite accurate (or I should say, was ... let's just admit it's currently in a non-shootable condition).

Never had to send a pistol to Beretta ... anyone with any experience with this out there?

I owned and carried a guardian for several years...but that was several years ago I enjoyed its heft, and it fit my hand surprisingly well. The trigger pull was reeeeal long, but i liked the flush hammer. A very safe gun. It was in 380, not 32 like I think the bearcat is, and that's a definate plus.

I ended up selling it and using the money to put towards a s&w j-frame because my girlfriend couldn't pull the trigger all the way back (odd, I know, but it's true), and since she would occasionally need to carry it, we needed an upgrade.

The naa LOVED corbon powerball, and ran reliably with it 100% of the time. I always liked the guardian. No experience with the bearcat.

Love the Beretta Tomcat own two guns and absolutely love these guns. You need to shoot them both see which one you prefer.

I have no experience with the Beretta. I have owned an NAA Guardian since the late 90's. I had a lot of jams and FTFs so sent it back to the factory. They did a lot of work on the feed ramp and it worked okay although it would not feed S&B FMJ. Lately it sheared off the takedown button so I have to use a screwdriver to field strip. They have offered to fix if I pay shipping but at this point it is not worth the FedEx overnight shipping to fix again. Overall, I have less than 200 rounds through it and it has required two trips back to the factory (one of which I have declined) to fix. If I had to do it again, I would buy something else.

Ive shot both and bought a KelTec P-32 Lighter thinner and less recoil. Than either of those . I now have 4 p-32 in the family and aP3AT(380) The ladies in my family keep grabbing the P-32's for their guns.

I've had the Tomcat, Guardian, Seecamp and KelTec P32 (in that order).

The Tomcat is fun but, a little big, lots of sharp/snagging edges and heavy for a BUG. Mine never had any issues. I looked the .22lr Bobcat, better.

I don't like the Guardian. To heavy for a BUG and the trigger sucks.

The Seecamp is the nicest of the mouse guns. It does have a few quirks but, it's tiny and reliable. If I had more disposable income I'd get another, just to have it.

I still have the P32. It's cheap, reliable, has less recoil (and an extractor) and is SO LIGHT! My first gen is around 10 ounces...loaded! I think it's the best thing KelTec has ever made and is an excellent BUG.
I'd like to get a new one in hard chrome. However like all things KelTec, kind of hard to find.

Not to get the thread TOO far off topic, but have you shot/considered the Ruger LCP? My dad owns one, and while I was VERY skeptical of it (I don't like plastic guns), I was very surprised by its light recoil and ease of shooting. Like the Keltec, it takes up just about as much space and weighs as much your wallet.

All of that said, I still prefer to feel steel, not pocket plastic.

Neither

Both were jam-o-matics for me. Go with a Ruger LCP for a pocket backup. You won't regret it.