.32 ACP too weak as a defensive round?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

doger5

Member
Joined
May 5, 2003
Messages
62
Location
California
Is .32 ACP too weak a round to defend your self? Even if it's a hollow point round? I picked up a .32 ACP pistol, for my daughter. Granted she's two years old but by the time she's old enough all the Socialists in California will have made it impossible to own a firearm.

Thanks!
 
I think that most consider the .32 ACP as weak for self defense.

From a power standpoint it is not impressive , but with good ammo it can do some damage. Certainly there are better choices and many conclude that .380 auto is at the minimum end of a self defense cartridge.

It realy is part science and part vodoo in my opinion. There are enough variables that a one shot stop is not gauranteed with most calibers . If I ever need to defend myself with a handgun I would prefer my .44 mag. , and yet ,it is not what I carry .

IMO The most important factor is having a gun available if and when it is needed, the second is being willing to use it if need be, and the third is to hit what your aiming at. (or something like that)
 
All handgun rounds are too weak to defend yourself.
The virtue of the handgun is its portability. It can be with you at all times and it beats hitting somebody. Because it must be made portable and relatively unobtrusive, a handgun sacrifices size, weight, and therefore power. You could build a very small, very light gun to fire a .308 Win, but you won't feel good about it.

All your .44 Special - even to the point of .44 Magnum, the .45 ACP on down are inadequate self defense rounds. But you can conceal a .32 ACP if you are wearing clothing. If you are wearing more, you can hide a larger gun.
 
As I so often tell people in my classes: A hit with a .22 is better than 17 misses with a 9mm.
Whatever you carry will be sufficient if you are proficient.
 
The vast majority of the time a criminal's actions will be halted by the mear display of a firearm, criminals do not want a confrontation with an armed, determined defender, what they want is an easy victim who has no means & no desire to defend themselves.

The .32 ACP is lethal, anyone who argues this point has no business owning a firearm in my opinion, and as mentioned previously in this thread, a well placed shot from a pocket gun trumps a miss or poorly placed shot with a large caliber firearm everytime.

A hit to the CNS (central nervous system) with a .32 ACP will drop an attacker "just as quick" as a hit to the CNS with a larger caliber weapon.

So no I do not believe the .32 ACP is "too weak" to be used as a defensive round.
 
Kinda reminds me of a scene from the 13th Warrior in which the character played by Antonio Banderas grinds a Viking sword down into a slimmer, shorter and lighter Arab type sword.
He's swinging it and throwing it around, generally showing off with it when one of the Vikings asks him, "Can I give that to me daughter when you're dead?"

Biker
 
As someone said before handgun cartridges in general are weak. Shot placement is key. One must remember Gavrilo Princip using a FN 1900 .32 auto shot and killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofie in 1914 while they were sitting in a car....killing both and starting WWI. So it can be argued that little FN 1900 killed millions.





PS: I know there is argument as to whether it was a FN 1900 or 1910 pistol,used in the assasination. Most sources site it as a 1900. Either way it was a 7.65mm.
 
But you can conceal a .32 ACP if you are wearing clothing.
Click to expand...
So, if you're not wearing clothing, concealment becomes a bit more difficult....??

Hmmm....... :scrutiny:

Geez.... some things you can take for granted.

:D
 
I haven't yet found a volunteer that would be willing to take a shot from my Seecamp LWS32.:)

As already stated above, shot placement is paramount with any inflicted shot.
 
I have a .32 ACP as my bath robe gun. In regular clothes I carry a Commander sized lightweight 1911 .45 ACP. My feeling is that .32 ACP is bare minimum for reasonably effective self defense. For a quick stop of a determined attacker, you will likely need a solid heart or brain shot, and I would recommend you use FMJ rather than hollowpoints, since with a round that anemic your main concern will be reaching the heart or brain, not larger wound cavities. Those little guns are meant to be pointed at the attackers heart at close range (within a few feet) and emptied in rapid fire. I prefer the heart over the brain, too, since the shape of the skull is designed to deflect every projectile that is not nearly perpendicular to the surface, and the .32 ACP doesn't have enough power to reliably defeat this property.
 
The .32acp is only weak until you get shot with one.
Then you realize it hurts, it hurts a lot.
If you are real lucky, you get to live through the experience.
 
Most defensive firearms instructors will tell you that unless there's some exceptional circumstance, .380 ACP is the smallest caliber that should be used for dedicated self defense.

Given a choice between defending myself with bare hands or a sharp stick, I'll take the sharp stick. Given a choice between a sharp stick and an underpowered caliber of gun, I'll take the underpowered caliber. But that doesn't mean it isn't underpowered.

As for .32 being more concealable than larger calibers, that depends more on the gun than it does on the caliber. Amazing how small of guns the larger calibers can come in these days!

pax
 
"If you shoot someone with a .32, and they find out about it, they will probably get mad." - Col. Jeff Cooper
 
meef, I have seen an x-ray of an incoming inmate who set off the BOSS chair - NAA mini revolver up his wazoo. See, you DO have concealment options!
 
I'm only partially joking here, but if someone shot you thru the left side with a .32acp, and thru your right side with a .380acp, your body wouldn't know the difference. The supposed ballistic advantage of the .380 appears on paper, but not in practical use.

Use .32acp FMJs, and practice, practice, practice! My Keltec P32 (s/n below #350) is my welcome companion very frequently.
 
"If you shoot someone with a .32, and they find out about it, they will probably get mad." - Col. Jeff Cooper
Click to expand...

I wonder how many times Cooper has been shot with a 32, and just gotten mad about it?

Since I'm fresh out of long claws, and sharp teeth, I'd be willing to fight with whatever I happened to have with me.
 
.32 in hand beats a .45 in the safe

I carry a 1903 .32

it digests 71gr fmj and 61 gr jhp with ease.

it feeds first time evey time, I have a mix of fmj x2 and jhp/fmj in each mag under the assumption that firefights (civil versions) last, on average, 3 rounds. Tossing a pair of 145 (ft) lb nails and a 165 (ft) lb bowling ball ought to disinterest all but the most wacked out of miscreants.:evil:

practice practice, practice

for a handgun to do any good at all you have to hit the target.

the 1903 fits my hand like a glove and it spits both 71 gr and 61 gr to same point of aim in 1.25" groups

mag load
fmj
fmj
jhp
fmj
jhp
fmj
jhp
fmj

this works out of this gun (1910 production) with what appear to be WWII production mags (x3)

I think the little lady will enjoy a unique and long term relationship with her her new stalwart and reliable cast iron dobermann.:D

r
 
I always carry my Seecamp 32 ACP in my front pocket whenever I leave the house. Rather have the Seecamp with me in a pair of shorts than my Collt 1911 home on my nightstand. My choice although YMMV.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
32 acp for self defense?
2 3 4 5
Replies
121
Views
40K
Guns and more
G
S
  • Locked
.32 ACP Cartridge -FMJ or Hollowpoint?
2 3
Replies
62
Views
11K
christcorp
C
whatnickname
How effective is the 45 ACP Ball round for self-defense?
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
131
Views
5K
W.E.G.
W.E.G.
O
  • Locked
As promised - 32 Cal tests from this weekend!!!
2 3 4
Replies
79
Views
7K
420Stainless
4
8
  • Locked
32 acp Load Question
Replies
8
Views
891
Walkalong
Walkalong
Back
Top