'HOT' 32 acp ammo

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telewinz

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Within the next month I will be getting a Kel-Tec P32 pistol. Size and the locked breech are my main reasons. However I want to take full advantage of the P32's ability to operate at higher pressures/velocities to make the .32acp more effective for self- defense. Whats the hottest load available over the counter or do I need to pull the bullets and charge the cases myself with Bullseye powder? Ammo would not be for range use so wear and tear would not be a factor.
 
Check out this ammo:

www.rbcd.net

It is loaded at standard pressures, law enforcement all over the country is buying it and the real life stories behind it are incredible.

If you do a look up over at www.thefiringline.com there is some testimony from real field use on hogs and dogs. There is also some testimony for experimentation with other inanimate objects that is pretty incredible.
 
It just so happens I have given the question of "which .32acp ammo is best" a bit of consideration.


Here is a link to what I found:

http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/32acp/gel32acp.htm

My P32 is loaded with Fiocchi FMJ. Main reasons:

Reliability, FMJ feed well, no issue of rims getting locked due to semi-rim design of .32acp and shorter OAL of JHP.

Penetration. JHPs either did not expand well, or if they did, did not penetrate enough.

Price and availability, cheap enough so I practice with it a lot and easy to get locally.

GL
 
Ditto on GoldenLoki's tip.

My P-32 only carries hot FMJ's and right now I carry Fiocchi FMJ as well.

Geco looks great too.

Anybody selling you hollowpoints in 32 acp just doesn't "understand" that if you can't penetrate 12 inches with at least 450 fpe, those hollowpoints may not expand. All that fancy ultra fast stuff is just going to piss off an attacker instead of getting him/her to stop, drop, and flee.

So with the HPs, they lose much of their energy digging into the target with a clogged HP. Look at GoldenLoki's data.

Cops at my range won't carry HPs in 32 ACP because of tags on perps with leather jackets that deflected the Hydrashoks in 32 ACP.

FMJ becuase penetration is all you really have.
 
We tried RCBD in Thelma's P32, but it didn't feed consistently. Our carry load for that gun is Cor-Bon 60 gr. JHP. Advertised velocity is 1050 FPS. The Kel-Tec may get a bit more speed because, unlike most .32s, it's a locked breech design.
 
I have used Win. silver tips but also have loaded my own ammo using the Hornady hollow points that I believe weighed about 60 some grains. I used red dot powder and also have tried bulleye. Both worked rather well.

One note of advice on defense ammo.

Wether you shoot reloads or shoot factory ammo I always put a drop of ployeurethane varnish on the primer and I paint it around the juncture of the bullet and case mouth to oil and water proof the round. NO factory ammo I have ever used was entirely water or oil proof but after using the polyurethane treatment I was able to soak the rounds in oil and they still all fired flawlessly.
 
I would use the Winchester Silvertip 60 gr. JHP (or Corbon 60 gr. JHP) if it is 100% reliable in your pistol. I use Speer Gold Dot in my .32 Walther because the above ammunition was not 100% reliable.
 
I settled on S&B fmj for my P-32, primarily for feed reliability. I did encounter rimlock once with hollow points, and it was a bear to clear the magazine. I have had 100% reliability so far with the S&B rounds. Their website shows 1000 fps for this round. I chronographed a mag full and got between 960 & 1000 fps. I doubt I can improve on that with anything else.

Mark
 
RBCD 32 ACP is a 37 gr. , TFSP at 1815 fps / 271 flbs with 8" of penetration, although GoldenLoki shows 11.4". duncan, I don't know how you are built, but I have a BUNCH of vital parts of my body within 8" of my skin, including by brain, throat, spine at the throat, heart, both lungs, kidneys, liver, and a much of other things that I don't want a hole in. Remember, most of us are not cops, so the parameters set forth by the almighty FBI as being the gospel for cops does not necessarily apply to the rest of us. I don't find 12" of penetration necessary, but Loki only puts me a half inch short.

So your comment: 'All that fancy ultra fast stuff is just going to piss off an attacker instead of getting him/her to stop, drop, and flee.' I don't buy it. Loki showed the RBCD doing 1434 fps, yet the Fiocchi FMJ is only going 859 fps. I think I will piss off my attacker with RBCD, you go ahead and piss yours off with FMJ.
 
Doesn't someone make a flat-top .32 round? That might be an interesting compromise between FMJ and JHP. Anyone try that?
 
I use RWS and S&B in my CZ-70. Not only is it noticably hotter than the U.S. made stuff I've tried, but it's more accurate as well.

I like Fiocci too, but don't trust HPs in this caliber even though my trusty CZ has never bobbled..
 
You are KIDDING, right? When you can

have a 16 oz, 6", single stack 9mm (Kahr PM) you really want to settle for having 1/4 as much power? The 9mm is feeble enough, if you ever really need to stop someone (as vs bluff him, without having to shoot him.) The PM is as carryable as your wallet. Just get a front pants pocket holster, and velcro on both the rig and each pants pocket and coat pocket in which it will be carried. Load it with PlusP CorBon 90 gr jhp's, 1450 fps in that 3" barrel, 400 ft lbs, and real expansion of the jhp. There's no reason in the world to settle for less of a carry gun or load.
 
GoldenLoki, I'm honored to be on the same forum with you! :D

FMJ in my P-32 as well.
 
I carry the South African made 75gr PMP FMJ in my PPK. The company rates it at 945/188 at the muzzle.

I am certainly not the best informed on firearms, but don’t you want the heaviest FMJ bullet (irrespective of velocity) for maximum penetration, and the fastest HP for expansion? Or do I have this whole thing wrong?

According to my dealer there is now a new .32ACP HP on the market with some unpronounceable name, made in Czechoslovakia. Does anyone know about this?
 
When I "carry" my Kel-Tec P-32, it's also loaded with Fiocchi's 73 grain FMJ ammo.

My Kahr PM9 is currently settled with Federal's 124 grain +p EFMJ... needless to say, my P-32 doesn't see anymore "primary carry". ;)
 
RBCD is what is in my Seecamp and Guardian. Even though it's never happened to me, the "rim-lock talk" kinda freaks me out. (Mr. Murphy and all.) So I do use the longer Fiocchi FMJ's in my P-32. If Kel-Tec ever gets those dedicated HP mags out, you can bet I'll have RBCD in the P-32 also!

KR
 
FMJ for me as well. I'm not as choosy on brands as long as it's FMJ.

Duncan summarised it the best, so I'll just ditto what he said.
 
For Factory loads, I too would go with the Corbons, Win Silvertips, or Gold Dots.

Personally I started loading my own with 60 gr XTPs and Gold Dots
3.1gr of Hod Universal Clays for XTPs and 2.6gr of IMR 700X for Gold Dots.
 
Anybody selling you hollowpoints in 32 acp just doesn't "understand" that if you can't penetrate 12 inches with at least 450 fpe, those hollowpoints may not expand. All that fancy ultra fast stuff is just going to piss off an attacker instead of getting him/her to stop, drop, and flee.
Click to expand...

That leaves most self-defense loads out of the picture. Ever seen ANY .38 Special load with 450 fpe? How about a 9mm load in a short-barreled gun? Where do these people come up with these "facts"??

Does anyone here know the theory behind the 12" minimum penetration? Not the "experts all say it" mumbo-jumbo, but the actual science. Before we worry about photos of calibration, temperature variables, and anything else, what method of scientifically repeatable means was used to determine the 12" figure? Odd, also, that the scientists arrived at exactly 12" as a minimum, and not 11.87", or 12.44".

People constantly quote this as an accepted fact, because the FBI announced that this was what they had DECIDED upon. Yet, the FBI never explained exactly how that criterion was arrived at. The actual meetings and seminars that lead to the FBI tests NEVER resulted in a cohesive, or even majority, opinion about the various sections of the test.

It always seemed funny that the same people who had such derision for Marshall & Sanow evidently arrived at their own mandated criterion via experience, instead of scientific analysis. Sort of the pot calling the kettle black.
 
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