Ed Harris
Member
A respected mentor of mine was a career clandestine services officer who served during from the post-WWII cold war period through the Vietnam era, having survived many missions, retiring to die peacefully at home in his bed. He taught me that a concealed handgun's purpose is to neutralize an immediate threat from contact range to ten feet to facilitate escape. Harry carried whatever handgun was common among criminal elements in the country where the mission took him. This often meant a .32 ACP or 7.65mm Browning, because an M1911 variant or S&W revolver made it plainly obvious that he wasn't a local.
While a .32 ACP is not your first choice for defense, the first rule of gun fighting is to HAVE A GUN. In that worst-case scenario any gun is better than no gun at all. A .32 auto pistol is easier to control to produce rapid, accurate double or triple taps, when compared to a .380 pistol of similar size, which usually carries one less round.
When using a marginal caliber shot placement and penetration are most important. Light hollow point bullets which do expand often fail to penetrate bones upon entry, or to defeat winter clothing or intermediate cover needed to reach vital organs. Comparing European CIP specification hardball in the .32 ACP to typical .380 FMJ fired from similarly short barrels any difference in performance not important.
Typical American .32 ACP FMJ ammo features a 71-grain bullet and claims an advertised “catalog velocity” of 905 f.p.s. based upon an industrial test barrel. In my chronograph testing of US ammo RWS, Geco, Fiocchi, Privi Partisan or Sellier & Bellot 73-gr. hardball in .32 ACP produce about 900 f.p.s. from pocket pistols such as the Beretta Tomcat, and 950+ f.p.s. from the Walther PP and approaches 1000 f.p.s. in the 1922 Browning. Typical .380 FMJs fired from a gun of barrel length less than 3 inches slightly exceed 800 f.p.s. European militaries and police organizations carried .32 ACPs for decades and felt they were quite adequate. German police not replace their .32s until after the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attacks.
Improved performance claimed for popular .32 ACP hollowpoints is mostly advertising hype. My own experience testing various .32 pocket guns is that none of the JHP loads available today expand in either water jugs or gelatin when fired from a barrel shorter than 3 inches. While some people believe that the .32 ACP has benefited from improvements in factory ammunition, US loads are more anemic than their European counterparts and much less reliable in function.
Most WWII-era pistols steadfastly refuse to function with American ammo. The popular 60-gr. JHPs, are not reliable for carry in many guns and in my epxerience are a sure recipe for a “Jam-O-Matic.” Only the Fiocchi 60-gr. JHP at 1200 f.p.s. actually chronograhs over 1100 f.op.s. and has enough recoil impulse (when loaded as the first round "up the spout") to positively eject and reliably chamber a hardball load following in the magazine. But its exposed lead nose doesn’t permit rat-tat-tat-tat feeding any more than anemic 900 f.p.s. American 60-gr. JHPs. While it expands in a 10cm barrel, such as from the Walther PP, it does not from the 2.4 inch Beretta Tomcat.
The best pistols for pocket carry should enable safe carry with the chamber loaded, and should be cable of immediate firing by stroking the trigger without having to manipulate an external safety. In the event of a misfire, the trigger mechanism should enable an immediate repeat strike upon the primer by repeating the trigger stroke. Pocket pistols which meet these basic criteria are the Walther PP and PPK. Mauser HSc and Beretta Tomcat.
Ruger's LCP is not available in .32 ACP at this time, and may never be. The simple fact is that it doesn't have one-handed repeat-strike capability, so if you get a misfire it takes two hands to clear, recock and "tap-rack-bang~!" I'll stick to my PP, HSc or Tomcat.
Let’s be clear that the .32 ACP is not my choice as a defense gun against either two-legged or 4-legged predators. However, there are those times when “any gun is better than no gun,” so it is better to take the .32 along than to go unarmed and take your chances. When the cylinder bulge of my usual .38 Special is too obvious, a .32 automatic drops nicely into a pocket holster. I like the fact that it makes a bigger hole than a 22 and presents a low profile.
Stick to hardball. AND don't stop shooting after the first shot. We aren't looking for any "one-shot stops" here, but to quickly and accurately put double or triple taps on target. Multiple hits increase stopping power. Think of a .32 ACP as a 00 buckshot pattern which arrives sequentially rather than concurrently. Do you want to stand in front of it?
While a .32 ACP is not your first choice for defense, the first rule of gun fighting is to HAVE A GUN. In that worst-case scenario any gun is better than no gun at all. A .32 auto pistol is easier to control to produce rapid, accurate double or triple taps, when compared to a .380 pistol of similar size, which usually carries one less round.
When using a marginal caliber shot placement and penetration are most important. Light hollow point bullets which do expand often fail to penetrate bones upon entry, or to defeat winter clothing or intermediate cover needed to reach vital organs. Comparing European CIP specification hardball in the .32 ACP to typical .380 FMJ fired from similarly short barrels any difference in performance not important.
Typical American .32 ACP FMJ ammo features a 71-grain bullet and claims an advertised “catalog velocity” of 905 f.p.s. based upon an industrial test barrel. In my chronograph testing of US ammo RWS, Geco, Fiocchi, Privi Partisan or Sellier & Bellot 73-gr. hardball in .32 ACP produce about 900 f.p.s. from pocket pistols such as the Beretta Tomcat, and 950+ f.p.s. from the Walther PP and approaches 1000 f.p.s. in the 1922 Browning. Typical .380 FMJs fired from a gun of barrel length less than 3 inches slightly exceed 800 f.p.s. European militaries and police organizations carried .32 ACPs for decades and felt they were quite adequate. German police not replace their .32s until after the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attacks.
Improved performance claimed for popular .32 ACP hollowpoints is mostly advertising hype. My own experience testing various .32 pocket guns is that none of the JHP loads available today expand in either water jugs or gelatin when fired from a barrel shorter than 3 inches. While some people believe that the .32 ACP has benefited from improvements in factory ammunition, US loads are more anemic than their European counterparts and much less reliable in function.
Most WWII-era pistols steadfastly refuse to function with American ammo. The popular 60-gr. JHPs, are not reliable for carry in many guns and in my epxerience are a sure recipe for a “Jam-O-Matic.” Only the Fiocchi 60-gr. JHP at 1200 f.p.s. actually chronograhs over 1100 f.op.s. and has enough recoil impulse (when loaded as the first round "up the spout") to positively eject and reliably chamber a hardball load following in the magazine. But its exposed lead nose doesn’t permit rat-tat-tat-tat feeding any more than anemic 900 f.p.s. American 60-gr. JHPs. While it expands in a 10cm barrel, such as from the Walther PP, it does not from the 2.4 inch Beretta Tomcat.
The best pistols for pocket carry should enable safe carry with the chamber loaded, and should be cable of immediate firing by stroking the trigger without having to manipulate an external safety. In the event of a misfire, the trigger mechanism should enable an immediate repeat strike upon the primer by repeating the trigger stroke. Pocket pistols which meet these basic criteria are the Walther PP and PPK. Mauser HSc and Beretta Tomcat.
Ruger's LCP is not available in .32 ACP at this time, and may never be. The simple fact is that it doesn't have one-handed repeat-strike capability, so if you get a misfire it takes two hands to clear, recock and "tap-rack-bang~!" I'll stick to my PP, HSc or Tomcat.
Let’s be clear that the .32 ACP is not my choice as a defense gun against either two-legged or 4-legged predators. However, there are those times when “any gun is better than no gun,” so it is better to take the .32 along than to go unarmed and take your chances. When the cylinder bulge of my usual .38 Special is too obvious, a .32 automatic drops nicely into a pocket holster. I like the fact that it makes a bigger hole than a 22 and presents a low profile.
Stick to hardball. AND don't stop shooting after the first shot. We aren't looking for any "one-shot stops" here, but to quickly and accurately put double or triple taps on target. Multiple hits increase stopping power. Think of a .32 ACP as a 00 buckshot pattern which arrives sequentially rather than concurrently. Do you want to stand in front of it?
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