Badger Arms
Member
I've come to know and love the KelTec P32. Mine has been 100% reliable and is accurate at combat ranges. I have a P11 for winter carry, but I need something flatter and easier to conceal in the summer. Here's why I like the gun:
- Lightweight. It is lighter than my wallet sometimes. I will grab it with no hesitation.
- Reliable. It hasn't skipped a beat with Silvertips or with FMJ ammo.
- Thin. In the rear pocket, it is thinner than a wallet and prints as a wallet to anybody looking at my rear-end.
- Comfortable. With my recontoured Bersa grip extension, I get two fingers on the grip and one on the trigger for quick recovery.
- Smooth. Presentation of the gun is without snags. All edges are rounded and there is nothing sharp to hurt the hand during rough handling in a life-or-death situation.
- Powerful. Yes, I've heard the statistics. The gun will kill a human and stop him most of the time. That it doesn't knock him backwards onto his behind is not of any concern to me. That's what the second shot is for... and the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth if necessary.
- Flashy. There's no mistaking that a gun is pointing at you with the hard-chrome and relatively big hole you're looking down. The vast majority of fights are stopped when the perpetrator realizes that the 'victim' has a gun and is probably willing to use it.
I have a NAA Black Widow, NAA Guardian and a KT P3AT as well. Here's why I don't carry those:
Guardian: It's heavier and hurts to shoot it. Brass is often tossed back into my face or onto my head. The slide is very difficult to withdraw. Trigger pull is heavier. The grip is smaller. The gun is wider... the primary concern in pocket carry is width and NAA just got it too wide.
Black Widow: Five shots of 22 Magnum, about the same power as a 32 with perhaps more penetration but three less shots. I can shoot the BW straighter, however. It's no heavier really (loaded weight) and is nearly as thin. Mainly, it prints about the same and is reasonably easy to conceal because of this. It's mainly a capacity issue. I like the ammo myself and often put this gun in my pocket in winter in lieu of the heavier and wider P11.
P3AT: Mainly, this slide is very hard to withdraw. I find myself worrying that the force I'm exerting might cause me to slip and pull the trigger. A close second concern is the capacity of this gun. I like the idea of having one more round in the P32. Another concern is the recoil. Because of the significant increase in recoil, I won't be able to get as many shots on target with the P3AT. Finally, my gun shot brass right back into my forehead! Not sure if that's common, but I certainly didn't like it. Statistically, I see the 32 Silvertip has about a 66% Stop percentage vs. a 71% with the .380. Not sure if it's worth the lower capacity and significantly increased recoil.
- Lightweight. It is lighter than my wallet sometimes. I will grab it with no hesitation.
- Reliable. It hasn't skipped a beat with Silvertips or with FMJ ammo.
- Thin. In the rear pocket, it is thinner than a wallet and prints as a wallet to anybody looking at my rear-end.
- Comfortable. With my recontoured Bersa grip extension, I get two fingers on the grip and one on the trigger for quick recovery.
- Smooth. Presentation of the gun is without snags. All edges are rounded and there is nothing sharp to hurt the hand during rough handling in a life-or-death situation.
- Powerful. Yes, I've heard the statistics. The gun will kill a human and stop him most of the time. That it doesn't knock him backwards onto his behind is not of any concern to me. That's what the second shot is for... and the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth if necessary.
- Flashy. There's no mistaking that a gun is pointing at you with the hard-chrome and relatively big hole you're looking down. The vast majority of fights are stopped when the perpetrator realizes that the 'victim' has a gun and is probably willing to use it.
I have a NAA Black Widow, NAA Guardian and a KT P3AT as well. Here's why I don't carry those:
Guardian: It's heavier and hurts to shoot it. Brass is often tossed back into my face or onto my head. The slide is very difficult to withdraw. Trigger pull is heavier. The grip is smaller. The gun is wider... the primary concern in pocket carry is width and NAA just got it too wide.
Black Widow: Five shots of 22 Magnum, about the same power as a 32 with perhaps more penetration but three less shots. I can shoot the BW straighter, however. It's no heavier really (loaded weight) and is nearly as thin. Mainly, it prints about the same and is reasonably easy to conceal because of this. It's mainly a capacity issue. I like the ammo myself and often put this gun in my pocket in winter in lieu of the heavier and wider P11.
P3AT: Mainly, this slide is very hard to withdraw. I find myself worrying that the force I'm exerting might cause me to slip and pull the trigger. A close second concern is the capacity of this gun. I like the idea of having one more round in the P32. Another concern is the recoil. Because of the significant increase in recoil, I won't be able to get as many shots on target with the P3AT. Finally, my gun shot brass right back into my forehead! Not sure if that's common, but I certainly didn't like it. Statistically, I see the 32 Silvertip has about a 66% Stop percentage vs. a 71% with the .380. Not sure if it's worth the lower capacity and significantly increased recoil.
Again, I know these little critters are geared toward minute of bad breath accuracy, but the NAA offers better accuracy at longer range. I customized some oversized wood grips (thinned & reprofiled to maintain concealability), and can manipulate the NAA very well for rapid follow up shots, with deent accuracy to 25 yards. Some can do this with the P32, but I can't.
