32 acp for self defense?

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you betcha

get you a good 32 and be happy...all the stuff of bigger calibers etc is true IF you think you are going to carry a pistol as big as your foot and call it concealed!....the first rule of any gunfight is HAVE A GUN...and a pound and a half H-K p2000 is not likely to be there...a seecamp is...and we can argue till doomsday of why the 32 is weak and 44 mag is better...but I am here to
say, get real!...of course a shotgun is better than a 32...but, which you gonna have in your pocket? all this bigger is better tends to defeat the whole notion of a pocket gun and to imagine a 45 in your pocket is "concealed"..yeah, right...concealed like a superbowl "outfit malfunction"...
if you want a pocket gun..get a 32 or 380 and be happy...the key is POCKET GUN....and if you want to pack a hogleg,,join the local PD...
 
What is SOOOO hard...

...about concealing a normal-sized pistol?

I love the Kel-tec/Seecamp pocket-auto guys who act like carrying anything larger than a keychain amounts to lugging around a Desert Eagle with the 10" hunting barrel.

There are plenty of ways/places for a man of any size to carry a medium/compact or even full size pistol, concealed, with no 'exposure' issues. My best buddy is a really small guy. Maybe 5'-2" and 125lbs? He conceals a G21 with ease.

What's the problem?
 
desert eagle?

your buddy with the glock..does he pack it in his cut off jean shorts, on his motorcycle, or does he wear a vest in the mid summer like as if he was a really secret guy?...the notion you can pack a 357, etc as well as a real pocket gun is obviously hog wash...
 
everybody has a "buddy"

seems like everybody has a buddy who packs this or that...
they are the size of herve vallachez ("the plane boss, the plane") and
can carry a sig or a glock or a this or a that and it really is concealed and
really is the way to go? ok..try it...do it...get you one of those things and carry it a week this summer...carry it every day...carry it all day..and when you are done screwing around...and pretending it is concelaed and it is a pocket gun...and that you can recover it quick enough to do you any good...
then get you a pocket gun...I can bet you that if I empty a 32 into you in less than 20 seconds while you try and drag your "whatever it may be" from the not so accessible, wherever you may carry it...that I have won...
the fight is over and you..well, you are dying, and me, well,
I am gone...
 
your buddy with the glock..does he pack it in his cut off jean shorts, on his motorcycle, or does he wear a vest in the mid summer like as if he was a really secret guy
Click to expand...

He has a shoulder rig for colder weather, and an IWB holser for this time of year. We're younger guys, so I guess our style of dress lends itself to concealed carry quite nicely. Jean shorts, a nice belt, and a T-shirt (one size too big) does the trick quite nicely.

The ability to hide a concealed-carry weapon obviously depends on a few things. I've seen guys with pocket pistols show a print, and I've seen (what I consider to be) small guys hide full-size 1911's. I guess it depends on the individual, but I just don't see what is so difficult about carrying something big enough to work well.

Also, the bloodlust is killing me.. everyone can empty their (insert brand name, caliber here) into my forehead in 2.2 seconds while I'm reaching for my big, slow (insert gun type, caliber here), and completely unable to get a shot off, due to their phenominal gun instincts.

Sir, with all due respect, let's get a little real here. Gunfights aren't scripted, and this is not a movie. We are discussing the .32ACP cartridge, and I asked a question about the difficulty of concealing medium, compact or full-sized pistols. Not only is talk of how fast you could blow my head off with your Seecamp a little unecessary, it's not something I would expect from someone your age who claims your experience.
 
me and you

I am approaching 60 and have been in fights...
and "bloodthirsty" is a joke,,why do you carry a
gun?...this is not a game,,it is not mine is bigger than yours
locker room BS...if you and I came toe-to-toe in a fight I'd try to kill
you and it would be quick...so quick your little buddy had better be paying attention...
I promise you I have seen a man hit 8 times with a 25 acp who staggered and fell into a bloody pool and he was dead, really dead when he fell...it took the medical examiner a while to even decide how many times he had been hit...and you can figure hoew muck ballistic BS 8 25';s amount to vs a whatever...
if he had had a big old 9mm/etc he'd have been just as dead because it all hit him so fast he could hardly raise his hands in a defensive gesture, much less defend himself...how do I know?..I am the DA who sent his killer to jail, but not for nearly so long as he had coming...( his killer is dead now...shot by another thug there is justice in this world after all)...caliber is not the key, speed is...speed wins...
 
gringolet, I'm pretty ignorant about carrying normal sized guns concealed. I've only done it for years, and I've only taught several hundred people how to do so while certifying them for CCW.

You may want to back up a split second and think about your audience on this forum. While you are spouting off nonsense about how fast your are, we've got guys on here who are world class professional shooters, IPSC and IDPA Masters, hard core 3gunners, and veterans from every armed conflict from WWII to Iraq and Afghanistan.

So we don't give a crap how fast you think you are. Chill out. That isn't what the thread is about.

The idea about only carry a pocket gun, and big guns being somehow inferior, slower, or left home, is nonsense. I don't have an imaginary friend, I've got hundreds of people that I've taught, learned from, or worked with, who carry guns bigger than a Seacamp every single day. I know for a fact that you can carry a 1911 in a bellyband, under a tucked in dress shirt at a place that would fire you for carrying, piece of cake.

Where do you get this idea that the draw times are slow? Tell you what, let's have a little quick draw contest, from the buzzer, draw your mouse gun from your pocket and do a Mozambique on a target at ten yards, all hits. I can do it from concealment, (with my full size gun) under three seconds all day long. Big fricking whoop. I'm usually around 2.5, down 0.

If speed is a tactic (which I agree by the way) then a bigger gun is easier to manipulate and shoot accuratly, at greater speed than any mouse gun with a short sight radius and abbreviated grip.

If you are happy carrying a tiny gun, good for you. Just don't delude yourself that you have a superior piece of gear, or that somehow your super warrior mindset is going to carry the day.

I don't give a crap if you are Wyatt Earp crossed with Rob Leatham and a dash of Genghis fricking Kahn. If you are twenty yards away from a badguy with a modicum of marksmanship skills and a real gun, you are dead meat.
 
bs

I call bull**** on that.
don't want to start a fight,\
but I know what I know, have seen what I have seen...
and if you think you can stick a sig 239 in your pocket and
put it in the game as quick as a man with a 32 you got to be
dreaming.
 
Yes, bloodlust...

I am 26. I have also been in a fight. I agree, speed is key, but caliber also has something to do with the outcome of a gunfight. You asked why I carry, I carry for the same reasons we all do. To keep us safe from what's out there. That's also the reason I choose calibers that rate higher than "annoying" on the damage scale.

The .32 is probably a great round to use, if you intend to shoot a purse-snatcher in the butt after the fact. But if I'm trying to legally stop someone who is determined to do me harm, I want to poke a BIG hole in something important, and ideally crush a few bones on the way... not poke a little hole in something not-so important, and piss the bad guy off. I also don't want to have to worry about something crazy and virtually unfixable happening with my firearm, like rimlock, which seems to be pretty unique to the .32ACP.

In the 'ambush' type, criminal-on-criminal murder scenario you just cited as a reason for carrying a .32 - the case you prosecuted. Things like that happen all the time, as I'm sure you know. In those situations, it doesn't matter what you're carrying. The attack is coming from behind, often from more than one person... If you're being fired on from behind, or surprised at point blank range before you even know what's happening, it really doesn't matter what you have on you... it won't help.
 
reply?

I am so old that I am not sure who I am talking to!
if we end up friends cool...I mean no offense..my job is to share a
life's experience...as you will I hope in your time...
I do not accept the notion a hog leg under your arm is either concealed
or accessible...try it someday...you may discover it is a clumsy thing...especially in a panic ( as all life fights are)
and I promise a man can empty a 32 into you so quick you will hardly have time to blink...would I want to engage across a parking lot with a 32, no...
would I prefer one on the bar-rail..you betcha...but we are talking pocket guns...killing at a personal level....
 
Why the hell would I carry a Sig 239 in my pocket? That is why God gave us holsters. I carry a 1911 in a pancake holster under an untucked shirt. I can do 1.5 second draws out of that any time. Call BS all you want. It isn't like I'm anonymous on this board. I've shot with about 50 THR people at this point, some on the clock in organized matches.

You probably won't get to pick your next gunfight, so much for assuming it will be at a bar instead of across a parking lot. The last time I pulled a gun on somebody the distance was about fifteen yards. My wife pulled a gun on a guy at about ten. Last time I checked, neither one of us got to choose the range.

Hogleg in the armpit? What the heck are you talking about? From what I've seen the majority of people who have a clue carry strong side, behind the point of the hip, on an actual holster, on an actual belt.

Look, gringolet, you won't convince anybody that your .32 is superior. It is smaller, lighter, and more convenient, but as an actual firearm, it is the bottom of the totem pole. Deal with it. If you are happy, good for you, but don't expect reality to fit your preconceived notions.
 
Original Post

I was wondering how the 32 acp stacks up with some of the other popular self defense rounds. I really am not looking for "throw out the 32 and get a 9 or 45" i am a fan of the 45 but there is a pretty good deal on a kel tec 32 that im thinking about. I personally think that a 32 should be a decent self defense round as any bullet will do enough damage to take down an attacker. Prove me right or wrong.
Click to expand...

Well we got pretty heated on this one. My conclusion:
Will 32 ACP work for SD? Yes
Should it be a primary carry gun? No
Is it an acceptable back up gun? Yes
Are other handgun calibers better? Yes

Treat it as what it is Pat and decide for yourself on the 32 ACP; let us know what you think/decide.
 
"progunner1957,
What? Marines I meet at Quantico were and are using Berettas not 1911s. Where did you hear that information?"

Progunner1957 is referring to SOC Marines attached to MEU's. The standard issue sidearm is still the M9. I'm not sure which marine corps, (Bohemian?), he is quoting but in the U.S.M.C. the primary purpose of a sidearm is to get you to a rifle, (or crew served weapon!). That doesn't mean that it isn't a really, really good idea to know how to proficiently operate with a sidearm.

Oh yeah, I think a little 32 would make a fine back up gun. It wouldn't be my first choice for a primary defensive weapon. The mini 32's are "belly guns" and are designed to be used when fighing at arm's length. Then again it worked pretty well for James Bond.
 
hog wash?

<<<the notion you can pack a 357, etc as well as a real pocket gun is obviously hog wash...>>>

Well, I have a 3" 5 shot 357 that conceals quite easily and comfortably in a Bianchi pancake type holster. I wear shorts all the time in summer. All it needs is a loose shirt over it. I do have a Keltec P32 and a Sig P230 but I only carried them very rarely, I find that the larger guns are just as easy to conceal and I shoot them better. Typically I carry a Sig 228 although I've also carried a compact 1911.

In a pocket? That would have advantages if you were walking, it would allow you to casually get your hand on the gun. But it might be difficult to draw if you are seated, especially in a car with a seat belt on. I can't imagine doing that while wearing jeans. (Here in Ohio pocket carry would difficult to be legal since the gun must be in a holster in plain sight when in a vehicle.)

Ken
 
Just curious, so in Ohio you have to take your gun off when you get in the car? Or can you still have the gun on you, but open-carry?
Click to expand...

In Ohio car carry is in a holster in plain sight or locked in the glove box or a locked case that is in plain sight.

Plain sight is not defined. (open to interpretation of the LEO on site) I carry mine in a IWB strong side in front of the hip mostly. When get in a car I "buckeye tuck" tuck the seat belt and my shirt behind the exposed grip of the gun.

IMO the way Ohio law is written today pocket holsters and guns are of little value. If you are going to be exposing it in the car anyway may as well carry something bigger. Smallest I carry is a .38 snubby
 
Ohio

<<<Just curious, so in Ohio you have to take your gun off when you get in the car? Or can you still have the gun on you, but open-carry?>>>

It must be ON your person and IN a holster and IN PLAIN SIGHT. It is a felony to touch a firearm while in the car, so therefore you have to handle it before you get in the car. This is if you have a CHL. Without a CHL you cannot have a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

(And yes, if you legally use the firearm for permitted, legitimate self defense while the a car, just as an armed carjacking, you are guilty of a felony for touching the gun. Ohio law provides an "affirmative defense" which I understand means that an expensive lawyer can get the case dropped AFTER you are jailed and taken to court. I could be wrong as to what "affirmative defense" means.)

The most common way to legally carry in Ohio is with an untucked shirt or jacket which can be tucked behind the gun while in the car. But it pretty much demands carry on the hip or foreward, no behind the hip or SOB or pocket carry. One anti CCW sheriff has stated that he will arrest anyone using an IWB holster even if the gun is plainly visible (a holster is required by law and the law does not say that the holster must be visible.)

As the other reply said, you can have the gun locked in a glove compartment (but not a locked console) or in a locked container in plain sight.

Oh, also, the state attorney general has decided that "IN a vehicle" also applies to a motorcycle. If ON a motorcycle, the firearm must be in plain sight. Tends to generate "man with a gun" calls to police.

Ohio law was 1) either written by idiots or 2) written to cause legitimate people to give up. A further example, if you leave the gun in the car (such as to go into a prohibitied building) and do not have a locking glove compartment, you must leave it in a locked container IN PLAIN SIGHT and the container cannot be permanently attached. IOW, make it attractive and easy to steal for criminals! That also applies to motorcycles, the AG has stated that locking the gun in a PERMANENTLY ATTACHED saddle bag would be illegal! Geesh!

The good news is that at least we have a shall issue ccw law. Also open carry is generally legal so we don't have to worry about printing or accidental exposure. We live only a few minutes away from Kentucky where the legislature has more intelligence. We do most of our shopping and dining in Kentucky.

Ken
 
Some one mentioned that not too long ago 32 S&W or 32 Colts were official police issue, that is true, but the true decline in their popularity came when penicillin was made available.

Prior to that, almost any gun shot had the opportunity to kill you, and usually did from infection. a belly shot was uniformly fatal as the likely hood of peritonitis was nearly 100%. Also, Hospitals were not nice places, read about what the conditions were like in pre WW1 wards and you think we were barbarians.

Yes .32's will kill you, if you doubt that, ask the Poles at Katyn, but that was not combat and for the most part, as a combat round or self defense round, it is a failure.





Gringolet, How many matches have you shot? Very few .32's have the kind of sights and triggers that allow for fast, accurate shooting. Shooting well from an holster is a skill that many here have spent many many hours and $$$ learning.
 
Referring to the original post, "I personally think that a 32 should be a decent self defense round as any bullet will do enough damage to take down an attacker. Prove me right or wrong."
I love the .32 acp because a friend of mine was shot 3 times with it at around 10 yards, twice in the face and once where the neck meets the shoulder. I don't know what ammo was used, but anything more powerful could have changed the outcome. He is alive and well with one bullet still lodged in his face. He sat down after he was shot, but he was conscious and aware the enitire time. Said it felt like getting stung by bees.
I always had my doubts about that caliber, and that was enough for me to disregard it as a viable caliber for self defense.
 
My brother, who is bigger, older and better looking than me, has always said, "If anybody ever shoots me with a .32, and I find out about it, they're in big trouble." :D

Lemme tell ya, a .32 in the calf stings like a SOB! :cuss:
But it's still assault and two .357s COM was an appropriate response. :eek:
 
I have been thinking about picking up a .32 Keltec to throw in my pocket for those times when I feel my 642 is too big to carry. I know it is not the best caliber but I would rather have it then nothing.

On the stopping power issue I will add this, my cousin was shot to death by 3 kids during a robbery. He was 6'6 and 280 pounds, he took one .25 to the head from about 10 feet away and dropped like a stone, he was washing his truck at the time and never even released his grip on the spray wand. I used to ride weekends with a cop buddy and we got a call for a shooting at the local hospital. A 16 year old kid that weighed about 160 pounds took four .45's to the chest and drove himself to the hospital, walked in and said he had been shot. He walked out of the hospital 3 days later.

You have to hit them in the right place for anything to work.
 
32acp for self def.

It is a great round, Performance is adequet for self defence senerios were you are not shooting through heavy media as car doors or car windows. For up close and personal with the BG its great.
 
As far as the .32 for defense goes - I can learn to live quite handily with a .38 snub. It is far more reassuring than any .32. I like the .32 and I feel it makes a lot of sense - as an intermediate round.

In a nice litte 4" revolver, for instance, the .32 is a great camp/pot gun. More power than any .22, controllable and generally accurate it is well suited to the role.

For personal defense, however, the .32 falls into mouse gun territory. Sorry. Not to be dismissed totally, of course, but certainly not delivering the energy needed to be a serious fight stopper. Since the First Rule of Gunfighting is:

"Bring a gun"

...any .32 is better than nothing. But I suggest it be considered more of a really loud pepper spray, for only the closest of encounters.
 
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