Hornady .32 ACP 60gr XTP in Clear Ballistics Gel.

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Test Gun: Beretta 70
Barrel length: 3.5 inches.
Ammunition: Hornady .32 ACP 60gr XTP
Test media: 10% Clear Ballistics Gel.
Distance: 10 feet.
Chronograph: Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph G2.
Five shot velocity average: 800fps
Gel Temperature 70 degrees.

A new caliber I thought some would be interested in seeing. While the .32 ACP has largely been overshadowed by the .380 there still some people who may consider it as a carry round.

I got a five-shot average velocity of 800fps with a high of 838 and a low of 718fps. Shoots a little low at 5 yards. The one round out of the group was a called flyer.

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Five rounds offhand at 5 yards.

The first round in the bare gel had a velocity of 780fps and penetrated to 12.25 inches. The recovered weight was 59.9 grains and there was no expansion, It tried to expand but didn’t quite make it. Round number two had a velocity of 726fps and penetrated to 20 inches. Odd I know but that’s what it did. Again, there was no expansion and the recovered weight was 60 grains.

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In case you can’t Guess there was no expansion with either of the rounds in the clothed covered gel. The first round had a velocity of 764fps and it penetrated to 14 inches, the recovered weight was 60.1 grains. The second round was very similar and had a velocity of 832fps and penetrated to 13.5 inches with a weight of 60.1 grains also.

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I've never been interested in JHP for .32, I knew long ago that the velocity wasn't there. Maybe there are other .32 hollow points that will expand, but I'm not willing to bet on it.

Lehigh Defense's 50 grain solid copper load still stands out to me as the best .32 ACP defense ammo.
 
TTv2 said:
I've never been interested in JHP for .32, I knew long ago that the velocity wasn't there. Maybe there are other .32 hollow points that will expand, but I'm not willing to bet on it.
Click to expand...
Adequate penetration is critical. Expansion is a bonus. There are .380 JHP cartridges that expand just fine but don't penetrate deeply enough. .32 is the same only worse.

Even through it doesn't expand, the open mouth on this bullet should make a bigger wound than an FMJ. It's similar to loading a .38 revolver with wadcutter target ammunition. The bullet will cut a full caliber hole in the target. In contrast, FMJ just pokes a pinhole around which tissue stretches.
 
Thanks for the test. I have a couple 32s and like to carry them. The 32 auto is a great and fun cartridge. The 327 (my other) is also fun but has some serious punch.
 
Pretty much confirms what I’ve seen on You Tube. Given the relatively minimal expansion, the FMJ round makes the best sense. The Lehigh Defense round may not offer much of an advantage. I’ll reserve judgment on these until I see more tests.
 
I saw a test done with a really odd projectile, forget who made it - the tip was sort of contoured like half way between a Philips head screw driver and a spear … it seemed pretty good. In my old surplus firearms I just use ball ammo, so I don't have to worry about cycling etc, but if I had a new - pocket pistol I carried I would probably try it - it did perform really well in the test I saw them do.
 
film495 said:
I saw a test done with a really odd projectile, forget who made it - the tip was sort of contoured like half way between a Philips head screw driver and a spear … it seemed pretty good. In my old surplus firearms I just use ball ammo, so I don't have to worry about cycling etc, but if I had a new - pocket pistol I carried I would probably try it - it did perform really well in the test I saw them do.
Click to expand...

These bullets are made by Lehigh Defense and are sold as factory ammunition by Black Hills and Underwood. They are monolithic solids. The flutes or nose configuration are designed to produce wound cavitation. Some of the tests I’ve seen on the You Tube channel made them look pretty impressive while others on the channel have called BS on them. I’m still somewhat undecided on the effectiveness of this bullet. Where the 32 ACP is concerned I just don’t think there is sufficient velocity to make these bullets any better than a FMJ round. I would love for someone to prove me wrong. Just don’t think there’s enough velocity behind the 32 ACP to make much difference. Ditto 25 ACP bullets in hollow point configuration. That said the 25 or 32 you have in your pocket is gonna do someone much more good than the 45 that’s still sitting back at home because it was too big to carry concealed.
 
film495 said:
http://ballistics101.com/32_acp.php

velocity seems a little low, a lot of 32 ACP you can see from the link get up around 1,000fps. wonder if they loaded it up a little more if it would expand properly.
Click to expand...

Sub-800 fps does seem low, even in a 3.5” bbl. IIRC, the SAAMI pressure & speed barrel length is 4”. The stated 3.5” bbl length would result in lower speed, but that difference doesn’t seem reasonable for only a 1/2” bbl length reduction.

I have to say that I’ve always had Hornady ammo, both pistol and rifle, noticeably underperform the advertised speed, EXCEPT their 6.5 Creedmoor rifle ammo. That has always been right on the money for me.
 
film495 said:
http://ballistics101.com/32_acp.php

velocity seems a little low, a lot of 32 ACP you can see from the link get up around 1,000fps. wonder if they loaded it up a little more if it would expand properly.
Click to expand...

Hornady XTP 60 gr @ 800 fps out of 3.5"

S&B FMJ 73 gr @ 875 fps out of 2.675".

Does seem a little weak compared to the Hardball I carry in the little Keltec P32. Kind of reinforces my impressions of US .32 ACP ammo.
 
MZ5 said:
Sub-800 fps does seem low, even in a 3.5” bbl. IIRC, the SAAMI pressure & speed barrel length is 4”. The stated 3.5” bbl length would result in lower speed, but that difference doesn’t seem reasonable for only a 1/2” bbl length reduction.

I have to say that I’ve always had Hornady ammo, both pistol and rifle, noticeably underperform the advertised speed, EXCEPT their 6.5 Creedmoor rifle ammo. That has always been right on the money for me.
Click to expand...

this test shows the Hornady round at 200 fps slower than advertised, and this test used a full length bbl.
 
JERRY said:
this test shows the Hornady round at 200 fps slower than advertised, and this test used a full length bbl.
Click to expand...

I just looked it up, and as I had recollected the SAAMI V&P barrel spec for the 32 Auto is 4", so the Beretta's bbl is half an inch short.

A 200 ft/sec. deficit is not reasonable for a 1/2" shorter barrel. What that Beretta's barrel measures internally I do not know. I may have missed it, but was this fired outside in the cold, or indoors? Was gun and ammo very cold, or room temp?
Like I said, I've always found Hornady ammo, with the one mentioned exception, to noticeably underperform their claims in real-life firearms. Have you found the same, or is this something unusual for you?

OTOH, penetration was still good so that's a plus. I wonder what expansion and penetration would have been like had the ammo performed to spec.
 
My experience with the cheaper Hornady 380 HP ammo is it expands so much it doesn't penetrate well at all. Other hollow point ammo penetrates better including the Underwood ammo. This was in water jugs though. We had some Winchester soft point ammo (flat tip with lead fill, but not hollow) that penetrated well. Some of the ARX 380 with the polymer matrix bullet penetrated very well.

I would just say be careful with your ammo selection. I like the comment above about going for penetration first then expansion or added tissue damage secondary at least with 32 and 380.
 
...unless you have a Seecamp. Those won’t rim lock with the shorter ammo, and in fact they’re designed around the short ammo and the magazine won’t accept longer stuff (including most FMJ).
 
MechAg94 said:
My experience with the cheaper Hornady 380 HP ammo is it expands so much it doesn't penetrate well at all. Other hollow point ammo penetrates better including the Underwood ammo. This was in water jugs though. We had some Winchester soft point ammo (flat tip with lead fill, but not hollow) that penetrated well. Some of the ARX 380 with the polymer matrix bullet penetrated very well.

I would just say be careful with your ammo selection. I like the comment above about going for penetration first then expansion or added tissue damage secondary at least with 32 and 380.
Click to expand...

That's strange. XTP is a controlled expansion bullet originally developed for hunting. It's generally the only .380 round I can depend on going 12" + if it expands in a 2.75" barrel. If it doesn't it usually tumbles and goes 14-17". The Critical Defense usually works well in 3.25"+ barrel as the pedals fold back reducing frontal area and allowing deeper penetration. So far I haven't found an expanding .32 ACP with adequate penetration.
 
That velocity looks really low for a 60gr bullet from a 3.5" barrel. I would have have thought it would have gotten closer to 1,000fps or maybe even a little more. I like XTP bullets and have around 800 of them in 357 158gr for loading in my 357 rifle and 357 handguns because I think they are about the toughest HP bullets you can get and stand up to high velocity.

But in 32acp you're going to need more speed than that to open about any hollow point except maybe a Silver tip. The Speer 60gr GD may open but I have never tried them. Like the rest of you I just use FMJ and try to buy the European 32s when I can find them since they are supposed to be loaded a little hotter than the American loads.
 
I like fmj's for their reliability and penetration. If h/p do expand they probably won't penetrate enough and you may very well end up with a rim loc. Why take a chance. Buffalo Bore makes a hard cast round for the .32, but it's too short and will rim lock also. I talked to the owner, Tim asking him to seat the bullet out a little more to avoid the rim lock but since he never had a rim lock he declined. It's ok to load one in the chamber and one on top of the mag, but that's it. Sorry Tim, but them's the breaks.
 
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