Thoughts on .32ACP pocket pistols

[fxvr5]

Those numbers mean absolutely nothing. Never assume factory listed velocities will be correct or even remotely accurate.

So all factory ammo published ballistics are worthless? Okay. If you say so.

 

[Mosin77]

Old conventional wisdom says Fiocchi or S&B are a little hotter than Winchester/Remington/US domestic loadings. Whether that’s true in 2021 I have no idea. Really it would be tough to tell authoritatively based on any published data, but pretty easy to tell with a chrono and one .32 pistol of your choice.

Conventional wisdom also says that you want to use FMJ and enjoy its very adequate penetration, and reliable feeding/less likelihood of rim-lock, and compensate for the lack of expansion with the great accuracy and rapid follow-up you can get from a light-recoiling steel .32 pistol. Seems reasonable to me... nobody says a 32 is the perfect self defense gun but I reckon you could do a lot worse.

I keep my CZ-83 stoked with 15+1 of Sellier&Bellot FMJ.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

So all factory ammo published ballistics are worthless? Okay. If you say so.

They are not useful. Only chronographing them in YOUR particular gun will give you valid data.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Old conventional wisdom says Fiocchi or S&B are a little hotter than Winchester/Remington/US domestic loadings. Whether that’s true in 2021 I have no idea. Really it would be tough to tell authoritatively based on any published data, but pretty easy to tell with a chrono and one .32 pistol of your choice.

Conventional wisdom also says that you want to use FMJ and enjoy its very adequate penetration, and reliable feeding/less likelihood of rim-lock, and compensate for the lack of expansion with the great accuracy and rapid follow-up you can get from a light-recoiling steel .32 pistol. Seems reasonable to me... nobody says a 32 is the perfect self defense gun but I reckon you could do a lot worse.

I keep my CZ-83 stoked with 15+1 of Sellier&Bellot FMJ.

My wife has the CZ-82 in .380 and a refurbished surplus CZ-83 in 9Mak, but not in .32. I'll need to keep an eye out for one. The CZ-70 in .32 is a sweet little pistol if maybe a little stiff in the trigger area.

 

[Outpost75]

Not based on Fiocchi's catalog listings.

Italy made: 73 gr, 984 fps = 157 ft. lbs.

USA made: 73 gr, 1,000 fps = 161 ft. lbs.

Catalog figures are approximate and based on industrial test barrel firings. My chronograph testing in Colt M1903, Cz27, Beretta M1935 and SIG P230 says otherwise.

 

[fxvr5]

Catalog figures are approximate and based on industrial test barrel firings. My chronograph testing in Colt M1903, Cz27, Beretta M1935 and SIG P230 says otherwise.

Please share your data.

 

[milemaker13]

I carry a 32 Seecamp as a backup. Mine was built in the 80s and it is a solid little pistol. I also have a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. They must have had much bigger pockets back then. Fun gun to shoot, buta bit big to call a pocket gun, IMHO

Think coat pockets

 

[Mosin77]

Think coat pockets

Agreed. A 1903 fits brilliantly in a nice roomy tweed overcoat pocket. But a Colt Peacemaker with 7.5” barrel (what was thought of as the standard size service pistol in those days) definitely would not.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Agreed. A 1903 fits brilliantly in a nice roomy tweed overcoat pocket. But a Colt Peacemaker with 7.5” barrel (what was thought of as the standard size service pistol in those days) definitely would not.

It was the end of the Victorian Era and the beginning of the Edwardian Period. Fashions were moving away from the austere practicality of Victorian moralism and towards the more Romantic, Mystical garb of the Luxury Classes. Pockets were for whatever one may wish them to hold - the rules were being rewritten by the minute. Look at Teddy Roosevelt’s 1904 campaign photos; his aides were said to be quite fashionable.

 

[brutus51]

My local GS has recently acquired a 1903 Colt for consignment. They want $875 for an obviously re-blued gun.
Question is that price reasonable or outlandish?

 

[Mosin77]

My local GS has recently acquired a 1903 Colt for consignment. They want $875 for an obviously re-blued gun.
Question is that price reasonable or outlandish?

High but not crazy insane if it’s really nice. But definitely very high. I recently sold a nice reblue on gunbroker in the 750 range. Too much (IMO) but clearly what some are willing to pay. And it was a nice gun. I’d have bought it for my own collection for 550 or even 600. But at 750? No way.