Why do you think a .32 ACP is not a good carry gun?

[warren5421]

I agree a .45 ACP is one whale of a lot better than the .32 but reloading to the top end makes the .32 ACP a good round. I would like to have a .454 but if you have arthritis or other hand problems it is better IMO than a .22 or .380 ACP. I have been to places that the .32 was about all you could get in years past. About the only manufactured round I would look at is Buffalo Bore today. I load to about what was used in the late 1940’s-mid 1950’s, rounds that the OSS used. Due to the junk guns in the 60’s and 70’s .32’s are down loaded.

 

[Expat]

I have a .32. It is one of those old Brownings. I would never carry it for self defense. Same goes for a .380.
I get nervous about carrying a single stack 9....

 

[cce1302]

To OP: @warren5421

What is your standard for "good?"

Do you have an objective standard, or are you just throwing out a subjective hypothetical?

If it's just a subjective hypothetical, then, yeah, it's "good." Hypothetically carry it all you want.

If you're looking for an objective standard, measured against, say, the 5 most effective commonly carried calibers, then post up your data.

 

[oldpink]

I believe when Massad Ayoob was researching data for his 1 shot percentage report he mentioned that the lowest caliber he was going to include was the 380. However, he kept finding data on the 32acp. I believe it was shown, according to Mas, as having a higher 1 shot stop percentage than the 380. Besides, James Bond always carried one.

Bzzt!
The gun carried by James Bond, Walther PPK, was chambered in .380 ACP.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Bzzt!
The gun carried by James Bond, Walther PPK, was chambered in .380 ACP.

.
I hate myself a little for knowing this, but Bond's carry gun changed guns and caliber during his story line. His first "issued gun" was a Beretta .25, followed by a Walther PPK in 7.62, ie .32.

 

[walleyepw]

Are you sure Bonds PPK was a .380? I believe it was 7.65 which was a .32 acp.

 

[oldpink]

.
I hate myself a little for knowing this, but Bond's carry gun changed guns and caliber during his story line. His first "issued gun" was a Beretta .25, followed by a Walther PPK in 7.62, ie .32.

Well, no one ever said that Ian Fleming was a real authority on guns.
I stand corrected, though.

 

[KellyinAvon]

It seems like in Dr. No M made him give up a Beretta for a PPK in 7.65. The 9mm Short came later.

 

[ru44mag]

I ran across a bunch of youtube videos on the .32ACP recently. I was interested in one particular old CZ that is currently being sold on gunbroker. The 1914 Mauser, and of course the PPK and 1903 Colt also hold interest. I watched several ballistics tests including one using ribs and a pigs head. I was actually impressed with the little round. I would never bad mouth someone wanting to carry the .32. It has proven itself in the dim and distant past. A lot of caliber snobs will say differently. I do have to agree with the others, with so many tiny 9mm pistols out there, unless the Seecamp is all the bigger handgun you can carry, the .380 or 9mm is probably a better choice, and my CM9 is barely noticed on my hip. Besides, I really don't want to buy anymore dies for reloading.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

I've pocket carried one for years on end in the past. (In a pocket holster, Kirk.)
I seldom felt like I didn't have enough gun.
After all, it was SOMETHING.
And something is almost always better than nothing.

 

[Route 45]

I'd not heard that before (about the rim lock). The 32 always looked the same as the 380 or 9mm to me.

The rim of the .32 ACP is slightly larger in diameter than the case, hence the designation as a semi-rimmed cartridge.

More info on rim lock, for those not familiar: Clarification on Rim Lock

 

[Hkindiana]

.
I hate myself a little for knowing this, but Bond's carry gun changed guns and caliber during his story line. His first "issued gun" was a Beretta .25, followed by a Walther PPK in 7.62, ie .32.

Actually James Bond started wirh a Beretta in .380, but due to reliability issues, Q made him switch to the Walther PPK in.32 caliber. On a side note, all of Ian Flemming's books had James Bond as the main character except one. That one starred a car, but STILL reads like a James Bond novel. That cars name was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ALL of my book reports in grade school were about Ian Flemming novels, lol.

 

[maxmayhem]

380 is the smallest i will carry. I think 32 is a viable round due to its velocity but there is no reason to use it today due to cost, moderm ammo ballistics, and 9mm pocket guns rivalling the size of many 32 acp pistols. I would collect them due to their interesting qualities but their time has passed.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

The rim of the .32 ACP is slightly larger in diameter than the case, hence the designation as a semi-rimmed cartridge.

More info on rim lock, for those not familiar: Clarification on Rim Lock

Thanks for that link. It illustrates it much better than my old eyes were seeing it! Again, I'd not heard of that with the 32 acp. Always learning something new on .

 

[rob63]

.
I hate myself a little for knowing this, but Bond's carry gun changed guns and caliber during his story line. His first "issued gun" was a Beretta .25, followed by a Walther PPK in 7.62, ie .32.

This is how I picture you on the job.

 

[YoungMilsurpGuy]

IDK .32 is expensive, it pretty much is ball only, and the guns are often old. Personally if I wanted to carry an interesting caliber I would carry a 9x18 makarov, which I actually do. And even with my Bulgarian makarov using 9x18 ball which I can shoot very accurately to me that feels like the minimum caliber and gun I would want to carry to go through the hassle of carrying a gun.

TBH fam unless you got a good deal on a surplus 9x18 pistol or want a tiny tiny pistol in .380(which I find too small to shoot with any accuracy that would make me comfortable shooting that caliber), just go with a 9mm. Its so cheap, the loads they have today work great and there is alot of different choices, alot of different guns, and they can carry very well. For example if I can get together the shekels I would not mind getting my hands on a Walther CCP, fixed barrel very accurate, nice recoil absorbing gas delayed blowback, small enough to conceal but big enough to fight with

Though if you had a colt 1903 for whatever reason, even though .32 sucks in *current year* I could not knock if for nothing else but style and also the 1903 is a phenomenal gun both in shooting and carrying characteristics

 

[88E30M50]

My thinking is: Why would you base your current carry gun on anecdotal information from the 1930's and 1940's? We live in a time of abundance in choices of what we can carry. It does not matter if you are a fan of steel, aluminum or polymer, big frame, small frame or midsize. Every category has options that allow someone to carry a modern, reliable pistol that's easy to shoot. Once you choose a modern gun, you will most likely have the ability to add whatever sighting system fits you the best, be it 3 dots, night sights or reflex sights. With everything that's available to the American gun buyer today, why in the world would someone choose a weapon based on data that's many decades old? Most of the people that carried those guns in the 1930s and 40s are now gone and cannot say what it was that caused them to choose that over something larger. In other words, we don't know what their situation was and what tools they had to choose from to meet it. If we are going to base decisions today on ancient fact, why stop at the 1930s? Black powder revolvers were very effective in the civil war, so should that be a choice on the table today? Probably not.

OP, you challenge us to 'Think for yourself'. There have been a couple of guys in this thread that have posted about first hand experience with the .32. What is it that helped you to form your opinion of the .32? You site a lot of examples of the use of .32. If you were members of any of those groups, then I applaud your service and would love to hear more of your travels and why it was that you chose the .32.

BTW, I'm not a .32 hater and own a Colt 1903 in .32. I'd love to add a .32 PPK to the family some day too, but neither are, nor would be, a choice I'd make for carry unless there were few alternatives. I'm quite happy with a modern DA/SA 9mm aluminum framed pistol with grippy G10 grips and night sights. I don't choose vehicles based on 1940s road tests and will not choose my EDC using old anecdotal data either.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Actually James Bond started wirh a Beretta in .380, but due to reliability issues, Q made him switch to the Walther PPK in.32 caliber. On a side note, all of Ian Flemming's books had James Bond as the main character except one. That one starred a car, but STILL reads like a James Bond novel. That cars name was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ALL of my book reports in grade school were about Ian Flemming novels, lol.

List of firearms | James Bond Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Quote:
When Ian Fleming wrote the first of the James Bond novels, Casino Royale, he had no idea the direction in which the stories would go, let alone how many he would eventually write. So when he introduced, Bond as using a Beretta 418 in a flat chamois leather holster he probably didn't think too much about it

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_418

 

[Leadeye]

Colt 1903 is one of my favorites.

 

[gglass]

32 makes about ~140 ft lbs
380 makes about ~ 210 ft lbs
9mm makes about ~320 ft lbs
45acp makes about ~ 410ft lbs

Why would.anyone carry a 32 when you can carry a 380 in the same general sized firearm like a Ruger LCP? Not very many guns are even made for 32 anymore, plus the other calibers mentioned are easier to find generally as well. It might be sufficient to get the job done but I would have no idea why anyone would choose it currently.

Those are the exact points that I was going to make.

All that I really get out of this thread is that the OP has a .32 ACP, and that everyone must like the .32 ACP too, or you are not Thinking for Yourself!