DAO .32 Pocket Rocket

Mr. Mosin

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Jun 26, 2019
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Debating between a Keltec P-32, or an NAA Guardian in .32 Auto. Acquiring a S&W 686 and NAA mini-mag, parting with my Colt Junior… need a replacement pocket-auto. Had a Zastava M70 in .32 Auto, and while a fine gun, it’s just a hair too large for pocket carry… fine compact belt gun; but not suitable for a pocket.
In passing, I like the genuine DAO of the NAA, but the weight of the KelTec is a hard thing to pass up
 
The Seecamp can handle more than just Silvertips if that is your concern, many HP's will run in it, they have a list on their website of some known to be fine. Or, you can remove the spacer in the mag if you want to try FMJ's in it. They went the HP route with the spacer in it to address possible rim lock issues.

I address that with the Kel Tec by just using FMJ's in it. I keep HP's for the Seecamp as I didn't want to mod that mag. Yes, I have both so am not just echoing things I have read.
You can also buy a spacer for the Kel Tec if you want to run only HP's in it. Running HP's in it without the spacer may give one the rim lock issue. But, I think FMJ's in the 32 is likely the best option so just go with those.

Hope that makes sense.

I would likely go with the Kel Tec for daily carry. The weight and cost is a real plus for it. My Seecamp is an older one and is just a thing of beauty to me. Wanted one in the 90's when it was THE back up but they were $$$ and you had to be on a wait list to get one often.

The one NAA .32 I shot stung my trigger finger bad, maybe worse than I have experienced with anything else. I also like them, and that was only one range session I had with one but I never got back around to seriously look at one. Could be a one off thing. Not a deal breaker either as I don't think you're going to shoot it a ton. Not sure how their mags are set up or if they just ignore the potential rim lock issue.
 
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Choose the P32. I have one that replaced my Ruger LCP. The .32 acp is nice to shoot due to the locked breech. The NAA is a hand stinger! I've had one of those years ago. It went bye bye. All steel blowback. Also a bit of a chunk in the pocket. You are correct about the M70. Even big for tactical carpenter jeans. But I kept mine for my older years. The P32 is easy to carry as well. Good luck in your choice!
 
The Keltec is the lightest smallest pistol you can buy today, other tha NAA mini revolvers.

It is for wear anything, hide it anywear. You can even hide it in the folds of a wide necktie. You can hide it in the palm of your hand. Or grow your hair long and hide it in a man bun.

The NAA is beautiful, but a heavy brick to carry.
 
I have the Seecamp 32 (original), Keltec, NAA, and Beretta. When it comes to quality of make the Seecamp and Beretta are the top end, but the features and utility of all of these fit differently into what a person might want.

For absolute discretion the Seecamp works great for me. In a pocket holster it is there if needed and virtually undetectable in non-permissive environments (but only where legal). With the heel mag release the mag is not getting dropped accidentally, and it works just fine with available and relatively cheap PMC JHP. This is a kind of special event pistol when nothing else will do, and when elegant matters.

For a lighter but slightly larger choice, but at lower quality, the Kel-tec with euro FMJ works well, is flatter and lighter than the Seecamp. I like it and when I need thin and light its does fine.

I don't recommend the NAA 32 because it is very harsh to shoot, has broken parts and springs from what might be considered excessive round count by me, and in general it is kind of a cruder, larger, heavier knock off of the seecamp. But I did buy it first and enjoyed shooting it while trying to ensure it was reliable. It's cool as far as it goes but I don't carry it, and in retrospect probably should not have bought it back in the day.

The Beretta is nifty, but a design that is larger and limited in what rounds you can use without fear of damaging the pistol. Others have said it was scaled up from the 22lr design to 32 acp and its too much for it. I tend to agree, but it's still iconic and I like my skinny original tomcat with it's inevitable cracked frame. Still works, don't carry it.
 
Have owned three p32's since they first came out. Still have the first (if you count the wife snatching it mine). All run well and a cream puff to shoot.

If you don't have Shrek hands and can handle a bit more recoil the P3AT by keltec is a marked step up
 
I have a Keltec .32 and a Glock 43 9mm P for pocket carry.
I have looked at .380s, most recently the S&W BG 2, and it is just too narrow a niche to bother trying to fill.
 
Debating between a Keltec P-32, or an NAA Guardian in .32 Auto. Acquiring a S&W 686 and NAA mini-mag, parting with my Colt Junior… need a replacement pocket-auto. Had a Zastava M70 in .32 Auto, and while a fine gun, it’s just a hair too large for pocket carry… fine compact belt gun; but not suitable for a pocket.
In passing, I like the genuine DAO of the NAA, but the weight of the KelTec is a hard thing to pass up
I own both. My NAA guardian hasn't seen the inside of my pocket in over a decade. My P32 was my daily carry when I worked for a place that CCWs weren't banned but nobody wanted to test being allowed to carry by flashing or printing.

The Guardian is an excellently crafted heavy chunk of stainless. I bought mine when they first came out to replace me CZ 25acp. The P32 is thinner and MUCH lighter, so lite that I don't even notice it when I am carrying it. The height and length of the P32 are bigger than the Guardian but the P32 is still smaller than an original LCP and easily pocketable for me. The P32 is what I would recommend.

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P.S. I have never had a problem shooting my Guardian. I don't know where the "hand stinger" reputation comes from? The slightly longer grip on the P32 does make it easier for me to shoot then my Guardian but the Guardian is plenty controllable in my hand. My XDs in 45acp is a hand stinger!
 
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As a past owner of a NAA Guardian in .32 ACP and a still present owner of a discontinued Taurus TCP732 in .32 ACP, I can whole heartedly say that I'd be buying the ugly duckling Kel-Tec over another Guardian.

The Guardian is pretty to look at, but it's a small blowback gun that can shift in your grip under recoil and cause limp wrist jams. I'd much rather have a locked breech version with a little more to hold onto when firing as the Kel-Tec offers. Plus, the Kel-Tec holds 7 in the mag versus the Guardian's 6 (not counting the long 10 round "practice mags").

I keep going back and forth on buying a Kel-Tec P32, but it makes my Taurus look downright nicely made.
 
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Let me throw in a pitch for the original BG1.0, literally LCP sized, if a schosh heavier, in .380, and it is DAO.
The current BG2.0 is lighter, longer, and thinner.
Understand the desire for really discrete carry, in some circumstances, but not carrying a gun that is too unpleasant/intolerant of much shooting for steady practice. We are talking a minimal caliber for a start.
Moon
 
I keep going back and forth on buying a Kel-Tec P32, but it makes my Taurus look downright nicely made.
Agree.
I'm sure that is the charm of the stainless North American/Seecamp guns. Most of the other, really small ones, are built down to a price.
Moon
 
I have been looking at 32s for years and have gotten somewhat frustrated with the whole pocket pistol scene. The seecamp and naa guardian appear to be the same pistol just branded differently and with a different price tag. Main issue there is that they seem to be a .380 pistol just with a different barrel. That’s fine because it works, it just makes it a .380 size when it doesn’t need to be and the result is that even for a tiny gun it is fairly chunky and heavy because the gun was designed for a heavier and larger round. The Keltec is clearly the right choice here because it’s a .32 gun built to be a .32 gun and it’s tiny. The downside to that is that it’s so tiny that you can barely get enough grip of the gun to control it. It really needed about +2 magazine capacity to extend the magwell enough for another finger. There are mag extensions but they seem kinda klutzy so that leaves me out.
 
The seecamp and naa guardian appear to be the same pistol just branded differently

There’s quite a difference really. The NAA is thicker and chunkier. It also wears out my trigger finger on recoil. I own both.

I owned a Keltec P 32. Trade it off the get the brand new P3AT. That was a mistake. I loved the .32. The .380, meh.

If I need a drop in my pocket and hide it gun, it’s either the Seecamp .32 or .25 ACP.
 
The naa guardian in 380 was terrible.

Lots of support here for the p32
 
I noticed Tallball’s KelTec is the earlier model.

I would like to know how folks use the early ofel pyramidal sights for “accuracy” and how the newer KelTec P32 sights compare in usability and accuracy.

Oddly, Speaking to someone at KelTec by phone they opined that the Pyramidal sights actually are better and that the post a notch of the external extractor guns is “what buyers wanted”

Comments?

-kBob
 
I noticed Tallball’s KelTec is the earlier model.

I would like to know how folks use the early ofel pyramidal sights for “accuracy” and how the newer KelTec P32 sights compare in usability and accuracy.

Oddly, Speaking to someone at KelTec by phone they opined that the Pyramidal sights actually are better and that the post a notch of the external extractor guns is “what buyers wanted”

Comments?

-kBob

What I'd personally like is the 1st Gen "pyramidal" sights with the 2nd Gen external extractor and one piece slide (instead of that slip fit front recoil spring retainer).
 
I have been looking at 32s for years and have gotten somewhat frustrated with the whole pocket pistol scene. The seecamp and naa guardian appear to be the same pistol just branded differently and with a different price tag. Main issue there is that they seem to be a .380 pistol just with a different barrel. That’s fine because it works, it just makes it a .380 size when it doesn’t need to be and the result is that even for a tiny gun it is fairly chunky and heavy because the gun was designed for a heavier and larger round. The Keltec is clearly the right choice here because it’s a .32 gun built to be a .32 gun and it’s tiny. The downside to that is that it’s so tiny that you can barely get enough grip of the gun to control it. It really needed about +2 magazine capacity to extend the magwell enough for another finger. There are mag extensions but they seem kinda klutzy so that leaves me out.

The Guardian and Seecamp are quite different, from two completely independent manufactures. The Seecamp is physically a smaller pistol than the Guardian and the designs are considerably different.

One thing the the Seecamp and Guradian do have in common is they both were designed as .32 acp pistols and the manufactures later came out with .380 versions.

The P32 really is the right choice. I have very long hands and have not had any problems controlling my P32 with flush magazine or Guardian. I do have the Keltec 10 round extended magazine with grip extension for my P32. It does give a considerably longer grip to hang onto. I usually shoot my p32 like I carry it, with a flush factory magazine. If I have room for a larger gun I will usually carry my LCP or DB9 rather than the extended magazine in the P32.
 
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I'm 6'6" and have large hands for my height. If I can shoot a P32 okay, almost anyone can. :)
 
My P32 has been completely reliable. My only issue was that during pocket carry (in a holster) it frequently manages to press the magazine release and partially eject the magazine. It was common enough that I stopped carrying it. If I decide to carry it again I’ll grind down the button to nearly flush, since it’s not likely I’ll ever be doing a tactical reload with it.
 
I had thought to do like Bill Jordan and carry my hideout in the offside pocket. But I tended to bump into things and trip the magazine release.
Doesn’t happen in the right pocket.
 
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