ChalupaCabras
Expert
I have no problems carrying a 32acp, especially in a smaller gun. It makes sense in a gun up to the size of a PPK or a Beretta model 70 ect where you normally get an extra round over 380, and the gun virtually always SHOOTS more accurately more easily.
As a cartridge, the 32 is in a strange place. Looking at the foot pounds of energy at the muzzle DOESN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING about this cartridge: the number of 140fpe fools a lot of people into thinking its like a 22 or a 25, but in reality it significantly outperforms both of those rounds in real world shooting. A 32 acp from a 2.5" barrel mouse gun will EXCEED 16" of jello penetration with an FMJ or a hollow point that fails to expand. It will also penetrate a metal clad exterior door, and still have enough power to punch though multiple interior walls. Real world flesh and barrier penetration from a 32acp handgun is significantly greater than 22lr or 25acp, in a pistol that produces a minimal increase in recoil and muzzle blast... Yes, there are more powerful handgun cartridges out there that will also do these things and a bit more but that's not a logical argument against the 32acp.
The issue is that it doesn't have enough power to reliably expand a hollow point and still achieve serious penetration - you only get one or the other with a 32... This WAS also true of the 380 before the recent explosion in popularity of small / cheap / reliable 380 pocket rockets forced ammo manufacturers to step up their game and start truly tweaking their hollow point designed to work better in the 380... So it's probably possible to make bullets that would perform similarly in 32acp, but I suspect its just not being done because its not profitable.
Yup, we have pistols like the Shield 9 (one of my primary carry pieces) and the Glock 42/ 43 now. Yup, they are great little carry guns. Yup, the ammo is a bit cheaper... But the old metal frame, 3.5" barrel, semi-compact 32 acp pistols carry and shoot SO well that dismissing them out of pocket is a bit foolish - especially if you find one for a good price, or if that is what you have available to you.
As a cartridge, the 32 is in a strange place. Looking at the foot pounds of energy at the muzzle DOESN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING about this cartridge: the number of 140fpe fools a lot of people into thinking its like a 22 or a 25, but in reality it significantly outperforms both of those rounds in real world shooting. A 32 acp from a 2.5" barrel mouse gun will EXCEED 16" of jello penetration with an FMJ or a hollow point that fails to expand. It will also penetrate a metal clad exterior door, and still have enough power to punch though multiple interior walls. Real world flesh and barrier penetration from a 32acp handgun is significantly greater than 22lr or 25acp, in a pistol that produces a minimal increase in recoil and muzzle blast... Yes, there are more powerful handgun cartridges out there that will also do these things and a bit more but that's not a logical argument against the 32acp.
The issue is that it doesn't have enough power to reliably expand a hollow point and still achieve serious penetration - you only get one or the other with a 32... This WAS also true of the 380 before the recent explosion in popularity of small / cheap / reliable 380 pocket rockets forced ammo manufacturers to step up their game and start truly tweaking their hollow point designed to work better in the 380... So it's probably possible to make bullets that would perform similarly in 32acp, but I suspect its just not being done because its not profitable.
Yup, we have pistols like the Shield 9 (one of my primary carry pieces) and the Glock 42/ 43 now. Yup, they are great little carry guns. Yup, the ammo is a bit cheaper... But the old metal frame, 3.5" barrel, semi-compact 32 acp pistols carry and shoot SO well that dismissing them out of pocket is a bit foolish - especially if you find one for a good price, or if that is what you have available to you.
