Seecamp LWS 32

As I could not find a Seecamp thread that was not closed, I had to start this new one.

So, I got the pistol just last Monday. These are meant to fire hollow point and will not fit the FMJ round nose unless you pull out the spacer from the magazine. Since I don't want to go HP, I ordered some Winchester white box (Target) loads as they are flat nose and fit with the spacer intact. These will be for defense, and of course I will runs some at the range to make sure they feed and eject properly.

Also, I bought some fmj round nose for a little more range fun at a lower price (~50 cents a round vs ~84 cents for the flat nose Winchester). I also grabbed a bag of 10 rounds at the gun shop. The 10 rounds are PPU brand and fit with the magazine spacer removed and feed and eject fine by hand, so presumably will in actual firing.

But the Fiocchi Range Dynamics loads arrived today and when I tried loading the magazine with them (with the spacer removed) only two would fit, then the next one would not go in and actually jammed one in the mag temporarily. Upon further investigation I see that the PPU are approximately 24.5 mm long but the Fiocchi are 25 mm. It appears that some of the difference is a slightly longer bullet in the Fiocchi, but the larger difference is the case in the Fiocchi is actually longer.

Camera angle makes them look taller than 25 mm but they measure ~25 and ~24.5. However, this image does show the length differences. Also the red line was pasted after checking both ends of it were at the same height on the scale. Fiocchi on the left. PPU on the right.

 

Yes- The Fiocchi and S&B are full OAL and my preference for guns with a standard size magazine.

 

The cost of making that Seecamp so small. NAA Guardian would not have that problem but is a little bigger. Guess the flat nose Winchesters will be what I shoot at the range. Need to anyway. I have 2 boxes of 50 on the way, so saving out 13 rounds from each box for SD ammo, I can shoot 37 of each box or 74 rounds plus the 10 PPUs. That is plenty for a range session to get used to the gun and verify if the Winchester flat nose reliably chamber and eject. I prefer the flat nose anyway because running without the magazine spacer is dicey since the magazine end cap will not lock in as the spacer is part of the locking plate for the bottom.

No problems, but I do have some Fiocchi 32 ACP to get rid of some day, unless I pick up a NAA Guardian or a Beretta Tomcat in 32 ACP. I do like both of those guns. My local shop has two Berettas but they are 22 caliber.

 

I have a Seecamp also. Shoot the recommended ammo, you will have no problems. When originally designed, the Winchester Silvertip HP was the only round the gun would fire. I'm guessing this was because the intended use for this pistol was self protection, and the HP was a bit better than the round nose for this.

 

http://www.seecamp.com/ammunition.htm

Up until recently, I was using the Silvertips with mine for the most part. Boy have they got stupid silly price-wise!

I found the 60 grain PMC Bronze recommendation on the Seecamp site above, and have been using them with good results. I forget what I paid for them, but they were considerably cheaper than the Silvertips.

 

One of the reasons I went with the keltec P32 is that it shoots any .32acp round. I prefer fmj in the 32, and mine is loaded with S&B hot euro spec fmj when I carry it. I also like that it is locked breech, super light, and incredibly thin.

 

I notice the ammo listed on Seacamp's ammo page is "personal preferences":



To me, that means we can run whatever works for us. These flat nosed Winchesters seem to be a great option and I saw a video where a guy shot two magazines (6 in one and 4 in the other) and it cycled flawlessly. These are what I plan to use for defensive carry. I have not received these yet, but comparing some I have in 9mm with the 9mm HP and they are basically the same length as HP, so would be a perfect fit in the Seecamp LWS32 with the magazine Restrictor. When they arrive I will have to post a photo of them beside the other two shown above.

 

I'm thinking those truncated nose Winchester FMJs were pretty much made for Seecamp practice ammo.

They never ran well in my Guardian or TCP732. Seemed too weak for the springs in those two guns. Might run just fine in the Seecamp, though.

 

Yes, ideal for the Seecamp. On their website, it sounds like they feel a squib is near-impossible:

So it appears that any ammo that will fit the magazine and cycle is game. Pull the magazine spacer and some round nose loads will fit. I can even fit the too-long loads (2 max) in the magazine and if they cycle, good enough for the range. The extra time monkeying with the magazine will give more cooling time as they do say not to let this little gun get too hot.

I question the barrel being too short for a bullet to get stuck, but if I were a re-loader, would be curious to try an empty case with just the primer.

 

Speaking of rifling, the rifling in my Guardian was so shallow that it seemed to only exist to keep the gun from being classified as a smoothbore weapon. Lol.

So, I can imagine a primer only load pushing a bullet out. Kinda like a rimfire Colibri cartridge.

 

Never knew they sold anything like that, and it has pretty good muzzle velocity for no powder!
https://www.aguilaammo.com/products/22-colibr-i-long-rifle-subsonic-powderless-lead-bullet

Do they make powderless in other calibers? I could likely shoot those in my basement!
Now I have good reason to buy a NAA mini-revolver!

 

Watch which ammo you use in Tomcats.

Beretta Tomcat 3032 Cracked Frame after 100 rounds! - Florida Shooters Network

 

With a Kel Tec I use FMJ as that mag doesn't have the spacer in it (they are made though) so may get rim lock with HP's.

With the Seecamp I just stick to HP's. Not something I'm going to shoot that much in this lifetime. Is a great little pistol though!

 

Right, 100-200 rounds of HP or WWB. Run most at the range, saving 7 from each box for SD and you are all set.

 

I just pulled out the Fiocchi and tried to fill the mag and 6 went in no problem. Now I am lining these rounds up on the shelf and it seems some are shorter than others, so I need to make a frame to the desired length, and lay them in. If they fit, all good, if not they can go in the top of the mag. Further evaluation and maybe some more photos are in order if I can find the time.

 

I bought a used Seecamp .32 about 10 years ago and I've shot a lot of Winchester white box flat nose FMJ through it with zero issues. It's my carry load.

I've also shot Gold Dot and XTP through it and they've functioned without fail too, but they don't penetrate to vital depths if they expand. These loads are backups in case I can't get the Winchester load.

 

I made a cheap gauge by bending some angle iron and the Fiocchi rounds that fit under it should fit the magazine. Out of 200 rounds, looks like about 1/3 fit.

The disparity in the Fiocchi was considerable, about 2% in length as shown with the two Fiocchi 32 ACP rounds below. Wouldn't matter one bit for a NAA Guardian.

 

I shoot Colibris and Super Colibris out of my rimfire revolvers on occasion. 3" to 6" barrels. Never had a bullet not reach the target.

 

Standard Colibris will sometimes stop in a long rifle barrel (personal experience with my Remington 33), so I limit them to revolvers. The Super Colibris, while excellent for rifles, have significantly more noise level in revolvers, so they get limited to the longer barrel guns when being quiet is the goal.

 

I thought I had read somewhere that the heavier weight of the WWB may accelerate wear on the Seecamp. It might have even been on their site, or on its discussion board.

I have one, but I have yet to shoot it. I have already owned a P32 for well over a decade. The WWB ammunition in that gun taught me what rimlock is.

 

I've owned and carried my Seecamp LWS-32 for many years when wearing summer attire (shorts and t-shirts). I always use the Speer Gold Dot ammo as recommended by Seecamp and have never had one single problem when practicing on the range. Have never had a reason to try another ammo and do recommend the Speer Gold Dot's.

 

I would hope these guns are not that weakly engineered to where a 71 grain bullet (WWB) over a recommended (highest in his list is 65 grain) would do that.

 

Winchester Silvertip HOLLOW POINT has the highest one stop shot rating of any .32 ACP load.