Help with the kel-tek 32 auto

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marcodo

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Have been looking for a light pocket pistol for a while. Had my eye on the LCP and just waiting for a deal.

An aquantance of mine wants to sell his Kel-tec .32 auto for $250 + extra mag and some ammo

Can anyone give me feedback on this gun and the .32 cal round in general?

Is there any big differences with the .380 round.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
it is an overall smaller round than the .380. I havent had any experience with the .32 specifically, but the .380 shot surprisingly welll for the size of the gun.. even better after adding a crimson trace laser. Kel tecs are great guns and a great company when it comes to customer service.. right now the only problem is going to be finding one in stock as all of the ones being brought into local gunshops are not even making it to the shelf before being purchased... SERIOUSLY>>>
 
I like the p32 in general. Mine work just fine. One word of caution if using hp ammo - beware of rim lock. The .32acp is a semi-rimmed ctg. and the h/p's are shorter than fmj and will lock up your magazine tighter than a drum. To avoid this you can load 1 hp in the chamber and 1 on top of your mag. No more and your're good to go. You can also get a spacer for your mag from k/t which is supposed to prevent rim lock (I put one in and after months of pocket carry with hp's discovered I had a rim lock so I discarded the spacer and carry only 1 hp on top of the mags. The 380 does not suffer from this problem, but I've known a lot of folks that have had problems with theirs. I don't think there is a lot of difference in so called stopping power between the 2 rounds. Shot placement is the key. I don't buy corbon .32acp anymore as I had 2 boxes that the rims were too big in diamenter and would not feed from a magazine. I don't know if they have corrected this defect or not. Federal hydrashock is decent h/p ammo for the .32. For fmj get s & b, fiocchi or any of the European stuff due to the fact that it's loaded hotter in Europe.
 
Love mine. It is easy to carry. Now, is a 32 enough? I don't know, but I prefer it to being without. A Keltec 32 goes in a lot of places nothing else will fit in.

They also make a slighly bigger PF9 for about $300. Also a good small gun.

They make a 380 too, but the slide doen't lock back. That was a deal breaker for me.
 
Mine is my every day carry. 100% reliable, low recoil, easy to shoot accurately. Put one in your pocket holster, and you never have an excuse to be unarmed. The P32 is Kel-Tec's first pocket pistol. All the bugs were worked out of it years ago. Even with current ammo shortages, I can find .32 ACP available for sale online, and at the local gun store.

351 WINCHESTER is right when he says:
For fmj get s & b, fiocchi or any of the European stuff due to the fact that it's loaded hotter in Europe.
 
Get that P32. I love mine, over 1000 trouble-free rounds. I carry with HP up the spout and at the top of the mag, all the rest hot-ish Euro-FMJ. Spare mag is all FMJ.
 
I previously owned a P32 but ended up trading it because I didn't feel real comfortable with the 32 ACP cartridge (sizewise). It was a good shooter though and reliable. I also own (2) P40s and just a month ago purchased a P3AT. I feel somewhat more comfortable with the .380 auto cartridge at close range. These thoughts are purely subjective, but I do like my Kel-tecs. I've never had to use customer service other than having a slide chromed.
 
Stick with FMJ. Don't expect anything that small & light & shot out of that short of a barrel to expand. What you want in a pistol of this caliber is to maximize penetration so you can hit organs & CNS to do the damage.

I have a KT P32, but I would prefer something in .380 if given the choice.
 
<rant>
Why do people think they can get the smallest, lightest pistol available and then think they are adequately armed? The disadvantages of a small gun far outweigh the advantages. Small guns are typically small caliber, like .32. How much damage is .32acp out of a 2" barrel going to do? THe grip is tiny. How'd you like to haul your gun out of your pocket with extreme adrenaline and then watch it go flying out of your hand because you couldn't get a good grip on it? How would you like to fumble getting your finger in the trigger well because it's tiny?
The sites are next to nothing. What kind of aim will you get at 10ft? 15 ft? Heavy trigger pull, short barrel, minimal sights, insufficient cartridge, small parts that are prone to breakage, small grip that means the gun will more likely jam from limp-wristing. Did I leave anything out?
The issue is that people want to spend $400, 500, or more on a pistol and then get by with a nylon holster and a Wal Mart naugahyde belt. Then they complain the gun is uncomfortable, the gun doesn't conceal well. Duh.
The only bright spot here is that the average guy has little to no chance of being in any kind of confrontation so the downsides of a gun like the kel tec aren't readily apparant. That's it. </Rant>

I hated my P32. It was ammo sensitive and the trigger failed at least once, maybe twice. I couldn't hit anything with any consistency over 8 feet.
 
10 rounds in the pocket is appealing. If the first shot doesn't drop the attacker, squeeze that trigger 9 more times.
 
I own 4 Keltec P32s.

For CCW duty, forget the hollow point ammo. First, 32 acp has a poor track record of reliable expansion. When heavy barriers are encountered, like a leather jacket, expansion and penetration suffers more. Also, pocket pistols live in a harsh environment, namely your pocket, so it WILL pick up dirt and lint. You want High power ammo to reliably cycle the pistol, and you want FMJ for maximum penetration.

I carry exclusively Sellier & Bellot FMJ ammo. At one time Keltec did their own testing solely with S&B. My earliest P32 has had an excess of 3000 rounds thru it.

The Keltec P3AT is essentially the same gun with a larger bullet. My personal belief is that 380 acp is too powerful for the design, limiting useful life to under 1000 rounds. This includes the Ruger LCP.

My own testing has been fairly extensive. In general, a P32 with 2 weeks of pocket lint in it can be expected to fire between 30 and 60 rounds before it will experience a failure. The second generation model is more accurate due to the marginally better sights. (2nd gen guns have a flat steel extractor.)

My wife is by far the most accurate shot with a P32 that I have ever seen. She can consistant shoot all 8 rounds (no finger extension mag) into the 10 ring at 7 yards, quick fire (slower than rapid fire).

The P32 can be carried in the skimpiest conditions. In a Galco pocket holster, it literally carries as easy as your wallet. If a female is adequately endowed, it can be carried in a soft holster, tucked inside a bra. My wife sometimes carries in this manner.

When firing, hold on tight. A push-pull 2 handed grip works well. A fingertip trigger position is often not realistic, so don't worry about using less finger.

If you do some research, you are going to come across the "Fluff & Buff". Ignore it. You will get far better results with a 250 roung break-in period. The one modification I would consider is to file down the magazine release. IMHO it tends to stick out a little too much.
 
Not a huge difference in energy between the .32acp and the .380acp.

Some people swear the .32 has slightly better penetration but I have not seen that in ballistic testing. It looks like the best .380 has slightly more penetration than the best .32acp. However I think they are close enough.
 
I have 2 KT P32's and I love them. A lot of folks will tell you "why a 32 when you can have a 380 the same size"... I personally don't find any empirical evidence that says a difference exists in the real world.
Both are pocket pistol rounds that only work if you hit the right spot. I prefer the lighter recoiling P32... plus you can get a 10-round mag for the P32.

I load mine up with Fiocchi or S&B ball in the stack and maybe a Corbon JHP or Buffalo Bore HCFP +P in the pipe and atop the stack.

Neither of my P32's have ever failed to fire/feed/eject. They are great pocket guns for when I cant carry my Glock, and I would trust them to work when needed.

The one modification I would consider is to file down the magazine release. IMHO it tends to stick out a little too much.
Ditto... it will keep you from accidentally popping out your mag.
 
Mine took some fluff and buff after what I considered reasonable breakin did not gain reliability. It now shoots well. I have gone to Fiocchi FMJ after concluding that it was likely to be more reliable in operation and more likely to penetrate to the vitals of an assailant.

I have shot the .380 and it has a nasty kick. As do the various blowback pocket pistols of either caliber. Recoil operation and .32 caliber are a good combination in a pistol this small.
 
Thanks Guys...

I guess the question then is ...

A new LCP at $330 plus tax or
A used Kel-tec $250 plus extra mag

Ahh so many big questions in Life....
 
according to brass fetcher, Fiocchi hollow points will blow completely through a 16" block of ballistics gel. Thats what i carry in my P32.
 
FMJ all the way. They penetrate until they slow down and then tumble. FMJ is the only way to be sure they will exit. Ask any hunter. . .exit holes are the ones that bleed!
 
go with the kel tec.. the rugers have been nothing but trouble and are not a more reliable gun than the kel tec... definitely not nearly 100 dollars better.... LCP was 50 dollars cheaper than the kel tec, I'd go for it.. but otherwise... kel tec all the way.
 
nksmfamjp said:
FMJ all the way. They penetrate until they slow down and then tumble. FMJ is the only way to be sure they will exit. Ask any hunter. . .exit holes are the ones that bleed!

Do much hunting? I don't know of any hunter that uses FMj ammo; it has the worst lethality possible in a bullet. The only exception to this are fur hunters who don't want to ruin pelts.

Look at the gelatin tests. Fiocchi 60gr hollow points penetrate MORE THAN 2" father than FMJ ammunition. Why? because they are loaded MUCH hotter than the fmj rounds, and they don't expand.
 
Had my Kel Tc for several years. Have friends that have both. It is my normal carry gun. I do have one negative. I have large hands and because of this my accuracy suffers with this gun. But, it is easy to carry.

Just a little gun to get you to a big gun.
 
I keep hearing penetration, penetration, penetration concerning the .32ACP. And that HPs don't expand in .32ACP.

So the question has to be asked - just WHAT is the HP doing if it isn't expanding??? Answer: PENETRATING. And that tiny little hole on a .32 JHP is not gonna carry enough tissue in it to affect the bullet penetration more than a 1/4"

So any .32 bullet that is carrying enough energy to cycle the gun well and penetrate at all is all you need.

But sadly, the .32 does not penetrate as well as a .50 Beowolf. :(
 
Do much hunting? I don't know of any hunter that uses FMj ammo; it has the worst lethality possible in a bullet. . . .
Look at the gelatin tests. Fiocchi 60gr hollow points penetrate MORE THAN 2" father than FMJ ammunition. Why? because they are loaded MUCH hotter than the fmj rounds, and they don't expand.

Actually, I do hunt. Are you familiar with handgun hunting? Generally handgun hunters use large lead slugs which will go all the way through. . . .or Cape Buffal0 hunters. . .Large solids which go all the way through. In any marginal situation, good hunter choose penetration over expansion. Look at 32 ACP gelatin tests. . .In general the HP's expand and penetrate 8 - 9 inches. The FMJ's get more like 12 - 14 inches with similar wound channels due to tumbling, if memory is serving me correct. You suggest the Fiocchi beats them all. . .great, if you know it does, that is the one to get. So the HP doesn't work? uh, great selling point! If it out penetrates a FMJ, it must be higher pressure or something. I don't know, can you post a link to this round's testing?

I keep hearing penetration, penetration, penetration concerning the .32ACP. And that HPs don't expand in .32ACP.

. . . .

Penetration is the key because the round is maginal. Animals die from their exit wounds. So that is priority 1. Something with under 10" of penetration needs to be seen as having limited effectiveness. 32 FMJ's are just over this.

Ballistis testing
 
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