What ever happened to the .32 auto?

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Wheres the 32 ACP ? still around , along with the demands for new NAA , Seecamps , etc ; just try and get a decent Colt M1903 for less than one of those . I waited 5 years to find one and shooting its a blast , it'll never replace my favorite caliber (10MM ) but you won't find me lookin down my nose at someone who carries it .

P.S. I'm with those people wishing someone would bring back the COlt Hammerless Pocket pistols again
 
Where's the .32 ACP?

Well, there's one in my back pocket right now! :D

It's there whenever I have my pants on, sometimes accompanied by it's big brother .45 ACP on my hip for "serious social occasions.";)
 
Here in the USA, we like to hot-rod things, and get the most out of a given design. IMHO, that is why the .380 has become more popular than the .32, as most guns available in .32 are available in larger calibers on the same frame size. It also seems to me, at least, that the rimfire mini-revolvers had largely taken over the role of the tiny hideout gun for quite a while. So, the .32 was caught in the middle, not small enough for the micro-gun crowd, and too small for the hot-rod crowd. But, the "thinking men" never gave up on the .32, therefore the Seecamp LWS-32, followed by the other small .32 autos that capitalized on the rarity of the Seecamp. I recently purchased an SP101 in .32 H&R, and have an S&W M631 in .32 H&R on layaway. I am not sure I will ever want to carry less than a .357 or larger bore for primary defensive armament, but a do like the .32, and as I get older, it looks better all the time.
 
I carry a S&W 432PD .32H&R Magnum and don't feel undergunned. Before that I carried a walther PPK .32acp, and a Seecamp LWS .32acp.

I think I remember reading somewhere that JMB invented the .32acp and was quite fond of the cartridge. It was also enough bullet to start a world war.

Good enough for JMB, James Bond, and a world war initiator, good enough for nero32acp....;)



nero
 
For me, it's like this:today it was 96F, my TomCat rides well in my back pocket, stoked with Federal HydraShocks. My Govt. Model sits in my gun vault, my Model 60, same place, my Super Redhawk (9.5bbl.) same place. I DO have the .32 in my pocket, without additional sweat HA!! A gun in your pocket beats the heck out of a big bore at home!!
 
I have noticed several folks in this thread who have brutally scorned the .32. They were obviously exclusive fans of the .45acp.

Well, my thoughts are that handgun effectiveness... in all calibers and configurations... are based on shot placement first and foremost. To put it plainly, there is just not enough velocity in handguns to create a large temporary wound cavity (rifles are a different story) regardless of bullet size.

It seems like many .45 fans refuse to accept the validity of anything smaller (I can't tell you how many times I have heard mockery of the 9X19... which happens to be the most common round at any local morgue). I still don't know what anatomical entities these folks are lacking to require such overcompensation.??

So, for whatever reason you choose to carry a .32, just remember that the round has killed a lot of people. I believe that the low recoil per size of gun makes it a viable alternative for a tiny gun. I doubt I would want to be anywhere near the firing of a .45 out of something the size of a P32. Granted, I would not count on a one-shot-drop with a .32... but who only shoots one shot in a gunfight anyway?

For me, my biggest problem with .32's is that it is hard to shoot accurately with such a tiny gun. Thats why I picked a G26. However, if it is size that matters (aka, conceal ability), then I see no problem with the .32 as far as caliber is concerned.

For all of you .45 lovers. I would have nothing less than a .45 out of a full sized 1911. But out of a pocket gun, I might be more scared to shoot one than to be shot at by one (exaggeration).
 
I carry a .32 Beretta Tomcat as a Bug occasionally as something is better than nothing but you will not find me with ONLY the .32 Someone once said..... Bring Enough GUN!
 
FWIW:

I don't know what happened to ALL the 32cal pistols.. But I have a very good clue where 4 of them are..

100_5268.gif

100_6909.jpg

The first photo shows my older KelTec P32, NAA Guardian (32cal.) and a 22cal S&W Escort. (Just hanging around for protection?)
The second photo shows my LWS32, and JoAnn's LWS32.

The Seecamps are our daily carry choices simply because they seem easier to conceal, are extremely reliable, and "as up close and personal" last ditch mouseguns we consider them the cream of the crop..

My wife and I are senior citizens (I've been cc legally since 1966) and live in what we consider an extremely low threat environment (rural SE Ga). We don't visit bad neighborhoods (our drugs come via usps from Merck-Medco), we generally are tucked in and asleep at those times of the night predators are out and about, and if we need eggs or milk we buy them before sundown at a grocery store and not at the local "stop 'n rob"..

I don't advocate a mousegun for everyone. In fact when my wife and I are out in unknown territory and circumstances allow I carry my Walther P99c/AS, and JoAnn still carries her LWS32. (Actually I still have my LWS32 also in a rear wallet holster.)
100_6832.jpg

LEO's and the like have different threat levels so what works for us old farts might not for them.. Even for folks in law enforcement however I would think the LWS32 (or better yet, LWS380) would make a fantastic b/u. That's not for me to decide.

But I DO feel adequately armed with just my LWS32 under most circumstances...

All personal opinion of course/YMMV. :D

J. Pomeroy
 
back in the '70's I worked with a guy. . . . .

Gene stood about 6'3" and weighed in the neighborhood of 250 pounds. He was a former star athlete in pretty good shape still for a man on the back side of forty. One night he ran into trouble with someone carrying a five shot .32 S&W revolver. Gene took 5 shots to the torso at close range and died on the spot. Any questions?
 
.32 is Plenty!

I have two .32 revolvers, and two .380 autos. I do not want anything bigger.

Please, I'm not trying to kill anyone, even a bad guy. Just stop him or turn him away. And I certainly do not want to kill someone by infection! :confused:

.32 will do the job. I can shoot a coyote if necessary (I'd rather not), or run away from a wounded robber, screaming like a little girl! :uhoh:

I personally want just enough firepower to get the job done, with minimal intrusion into my daily life. That means I need a small, reliable weapon that I can shoot effectively and with some reasonable accuracy at close range, nothing more.

gtd
 
The .32 ACP will still do what it always has done. The graveyards are full of people killed by them. There are better choices and yet still reasons for its selection.

Many people cannot hit as well with my .45 ACP, but can be spot on with a .32 ACP. It is not what you shoot the gremlin with, but where you shoot him. Put it into the boiler room, or on the tip of his nose, he is going to go away as a threat, by and large. Most thugs will vacate the area at the appearance of any gun. At least that has been my experience. Maybe I am just a Lucky Irishman?

I used to have a Walther PP in .32 ACP. It was reliable and accurate. It killed rabbits well. I had found the European FMJ loads were better performers. They were hotter and more accurate. Wish I had kept that gun.

Still, I do prefer the 1911 type .45 ACP. I just plain shoot it better. But, if you have a .32 and can shoot that puppy, I am not going to put you down for it. I might ask if you have tried the .45 and can afford one. That is as far as I will go.

This castigation of people and their picks is just another form of snobbery.

Jerry
 
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I own several .32's, auto and revolver, and have never felt under-gunned with any of them. All are extreamly accurate, and along with mild recoil and report are very easy to shoot. I also have 1911's and 9mm platforms to include .38/.357 and .44 revolvers. My little PPK .32 still gets the nod for carry.
 
I don't like the semi rim design of the 32 auto. What is the purpose of the semi-rim? Can it be fired in a 32 S&W Long revolver?
 
Yes you can shoot .32 ACP from a revolver. At least my S&W model 31 will do it. These were the first rounds i shot out of it because i had no .32 S&W long.

The rim to me is the biggest drawback to the 32 auto. I bought a 10 round mag for my Kel-Tec and had a lot of rimlock problems. I got the bright idea to chuck up the rounds in a hand drill and reduce the rim diameter from .355 to about .343. This solved my rim lock. My Kel-Tec and PP work fine with this mod. Actually they work very well and feed noticeably slicker.

I had a CZ model 70 ( i think) that didn't like the change. But that gun didn't eject well with anything and got sold.

The new .25 NAA round based on a .32 case necked down has the reduced rim diameter.
 
Well a .32 in the pocket is much better than a .45 in the safe. Yes the .32 is an anemic round, but it's better than nothing.
 
You know, I'm really glad to hear the support for the .32 round (in all its forms) and the importance of shot placement. I've had several people make fun of my choice of 9mm for my primary carry pistol, but I can accurately and repeatedly place shots in tight groups with quick recovery between shots.

I also regularly carry my Beretta Tomcat. It's pretty much always with me, even when I can't carry my full size. I've never felt under-gunned with just having it. As has already been mentioned, the Tomcat is an accurate little piece if you do your job. The weapon's weight also allows for quick recovery, but isn't so much as to be annoying in the pocket.
 
I too am tired of hearing the .32 Auto is a mouse gun and inadequate for SD. I guess the .32 Auto isn't the style of gun the younger "spray-n-pray" generation likes. Since it doesn't carry 17 rounds I guess it's no good. BS! European Police Departments carried the 7.65mm Browning for over 100 years and it did the job.

I will admit I prefer to carry a .38 Special J frame in my front pocket but when the J frame is inappropriate I do carry a Kel-Tec P-32 and I'm comfortable doing so since I know I can hit what I aim at with it.
 
It is still alive and well. I am about to buy 2 of them (One for me and one for the wife), and I hear I'm not the only one. They won't replace the 9mm, but they will make it less likely that we go out in public unarmed on warm days when sporting the speedo.
 
For me, my biggest problem with .32's is that it is hard to shoot accurately with such a tiny gun.
Click to expand...
I took out my older Mauser yesterday and the sights being what they are really lends itself to unsighted fire....At short distances, I'm more prone to point shooting and the .32 not being a punishing round: rapid adjustments can be made after the 1st shot....
In my case, the ergonomics of this HSc are so good that it will shoot P.O.A.:)
 
I fired a .32acp from my k31 with an auxiliary cartridge. Wouldn't even penetrate the gatorate bottle. Hell, at first I didn't even hear it (thought it misfired), had to take off the hearing protection to even hear it (fired again with hearing protection off, I'd swear my paintball gun makes more noise).

Of course, I love my little Ortgies, amazing safety design.
 
Where's my .32 auto?

It's in the safe.

It's a Colt 1903 Pocket Pistol and at one time I thought seriously about using it as, well, a pocket pistol.

But the ergonomics suck and I had some problems with the pistol, one of which was a scary misfire/bullet stuck in the barrel.

A friend convinced me to treat the piece as an antique and if I wanted a pocket pistol to get something modern.

It's a neat design though. If the ergonomics were better I would have stuck with it.


I've got my grandad's .32 H&R revolver. It's beat up from daily carry but that's also a neat little piece.
 
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Isn't the .32 still fairly popular in Europe?


I'm not sure what happened to the caliber in the US. It is not wildly popular, but it is definitely still around. I am thinking that ammo cost and availability relative to other calibers in the ballpark does not help.
 
Last I heard, it was in my pocket.

My take is that the smaller calibers (.25, .32, .380, etc.) have fallen by the wayside with respect to mainstream advertising/production in recent years as the 'big three' (.45, .40, 9mm) and runners up have become more popular with lighter and smaller firearms in those calibers. Not to say that the smaller ones don't have their place, they certainly do, and many people still carry them.

I carried .22 magnum for a while, and just upgraded to a P32 for pocket carry. It fit my budget, carries when nothing else will, and I'm sure will do the job (assuming I do my part by practicing) if need be.
 
I have one .32acp pistol

1903_1.jpg


she's off getting a bit of a makeover with David Sams. I'll post pics when I get her back (should be soon).
 
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