Any (other) Kel-Tec P32 and Taurus TCP owners here?

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ABTOMAT

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I recently bought a pair of lightly-used pocket pistols, a P32 from around 1996 (one of the first) and a TCP from around 2012. Got a good deal in a state where they're not officially sold.

Haven't had a chance to fire either, but I'm curious to hear experiences from people who've had a chance to compare these guns. The P32 is amazingly tiny and light but the TCP appears much better made. Both brands receive a fair amount of negative press depending on who you talk to.
 
I don't have a P32 but the TCP is in my pocket as often as possible, can't carry at work. I trust it to go bang when I need it to.
 
I have had a P32 for about 8 years and shoot it at least once a month. It has been 100% reliable and a great deep cover pistol. 6.6oz empty is extremely light too.
 
Taurus TCP 738 is made in the USA.

I have the stainless steel slide model and the DAO trigger is the smoothest and lightest I have shot. It also has last round slide lock hold open which is convenient.

It produces about 1" shot groups at 7 yards and has been very reliable - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=748320

Here's an article about TCP range rental with 10,000+ rounds without breakage - http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/05/jeremy-s/gun-review-taurus-738-tcp/

[YOUTUBE]BAnEJ8rUVGU[/YOUTUBE]

Comparison review of 380 pistols

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I have seen ZERO negative press of either of these pistols in .32acp. All I have ever seen is positive. (I own/have experience with neither)
 
I have a P32, fairly older model. Bought it well used in 2004. I don't really like it, looks wise and all. But it can be carried anytime in any clothing type and always shoots.
 
I have a 1st Gen P32 that I acquired a couple months ago. Small enough to conceal in any clothing... I am convinced a stripper could conceal one in her string bikini during a pole dance... it goes bang every time... and recoil is surprisingly pleasant.

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
 
I'm not sure where you've heard negative comments about the P32, maybe the 32 acp cartridge, but the Kel-Tec P32 is a Gem. I've had mine for years now, it replaced a terrible Ruger LCP as my backup pocket rocket, and its been absolutely 100% for function, and accuracy. I have somewhere around 800 rounds through mine, and I love the little thing. Its what a micro gun should be. Its tiny, shoots easily, and is very controllable. My daughter and I were shooting one day, and she asked me to take the best shot I could with it. I shot the lid off an empty coffee creamer container at 25 yards. Its exactly where I was aiming.
 
I have a first gen P32. It went back to KT for a replacement slide early on, but it has been 100% ever since. It is the gun that I carry when I can't carry anything else, like at weddings and funerals while wearing a light weight dress suit. (Those are "hugging" events, and pocket carry using a BORAII pocket holster does the trick.)
 
I have the 380 version of the P32. It has gone bang every single time for five years or more. I carry it often and intend to get the 32acp version, just for fun, whenever I come across one at a good price.

I think that the Taurus and Ruger ones, and some others, are more or less copies of the P32, which came out first and changed the market for pocket pistols.

Please correct me if I am mistaken about the above.

Here is my P3AT. It ain't pretty, but it works.

Kel-TecP3AT_zpsf00f75b1.jpg
 
I have the P32, Gen-2, that I got new in 2011. I'm glad I have it, but I usually carry a PF9 on the belt. Sometimes, the P32 comes along in a pocket. It was originally bought as more of a deep-conceal piece, but the only situation calling for that that occurs with any regularity is while traveling to and from my no-carry uniformed profession in EMS. I also carry it when bicycling and sometimes while hiking. If I'm not actually carrying it when I leave the house, it at least comes with me in a small "man-bag" that stays in whatever I'm driving.

It's an easy shooter, and I'd certainly trust it to save my bacon.

A friend has the TCP and, though I've not shot it, it feels pretty solid and well-made in the hand. I've decided that, should I ever feel the want for a micro-380, that's probably the way I'd go. I already have two other Taurus pocket guns, a PT-22 and a PT-25, bth from the 1990s, and they're both neat little pistols.
 
I had a P32 until the P3AT came out. The 32 was fine with the acception of a couple of instances of rimlock which is why I upgraded to the P3AT.

I also have a TCP and think it is the most under rated of all the micro pistols.

I also have a G42 and a P238 that are IMO the best of all the small pocket guns, but carry the TCP most of the time because it is smaller and functions with every brand of ammo I have fed it. It also has a better trigger than the P3AT.
 
Thanks for the input. Taurus certainly has its share of criticism, and I've heard enough people complaining about problems with the old P32 it was worth mentioning.

The P32 is considerably thinner and lighter than the TCP. One of the TCP's strong points is that it has a very beefy plastic frame--you can't bend it around like the Kel-Tec. But it does add a little size and weight. It's still one of the lightest .380s you can get, though. One downside to the TCP is that it's a copy of first generation Kel-Tecs, not 2nd gen like the Ruger LCP. That means it has the same trigger reset problem as older Kel-Tecs like my P32.

Has anyone here dealt with Kel-Tec's support since they changed the warranty policy? Apparently they're not supposed to send out replacement parts, and they won't honor the warranty unless you have a receipt. When I got the TCP I called Taurus and a few days later I got a bunch of stuff in the mail no-questions-asked.

Used to own a Sig P238. It was big/heavy enough that I'd put it into the IWB category, and if you're using a belt holster might as well carry a 9mm.
 
I bought a 1st gen P32 used, years ago, and initially the magazine would drop with every shot. I took advantage of Kel-Tec's lifetime warranty - which follows the gun, not the owner - and they sent me back a new pistol with the same serial number. Worked perfectly until I sold it in a misguided bit of safe-cleaning.

But it was a great little pocket gun!
 
Kel-Tec changed their warranty in 2014. Officially it only applies to the original owner and only with proof of purchase. They also require you send a gun in instead of selling you spare parts.

Unless they've changed back recently.
 
Had my 1st gen Kel-Tec P32 since early 90s? and never a problem. Only have several hundred rounds through it. Fired a couple of magazines weeks ago for grins and it's still fine.
 
You've got to be kidding me. I just bought a TCP from Buds ( stainless slide) to replace my P32 as a pocket pistol while mowing. I was pleased how the TCP compared in size to the P32.

I bought some Underwood 90gr Penetrators to squeeze out as much performance as I could from non-expanding rounds and found them accurate and feed perfectly from the TCP.

I'm even thinking about getting a pink TCP for my wife.

Both are awesome. I can post some side by side pictures should anyone need an idea just how small the TCP is.

I also had a Sig P238 (HD, the heavier stainless model) and found it wasn't light enough for pocket carry. Though I loved it, I had to let it go.

It's interesting how others seemed to have gone the same route.
 
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Bought a blue colored P32 back when they first came out in colors in the 90's. Still have it, works fine.
 
Wife and I both have a TCP, hers is pink with a stainless slide, mine is black. I carry mine when I absolutely can't carry anything bigger because of clothing or whatever. I never feel undergunned with it if I need to carry it. I keep a spare mag in my left pocket just in case.
 
Laser equipped P32 rides in my right front pocket most days and I don't even feel it. I've had it for several years and it is trouble free. I shoot it about once a month.

Stu
 
I had a rim lock once with an old model P32.

Now I make an issue of checking the magazine and how it is loaded and continue to march.

My biggest "issue" with the P32.....though I continue to pocket carry.....is the sights. Perhaps I should say sight as there is no actual rear sight.

I recently carried on a brief exchange of e-mails with KT where in I asked about maybe getting a newer model slide that DOES have teenie tiny rear sights and the external extractor of the P3AT. They said the guns are different and will not inter change that there were changes in the P32 between Gen I and Gen II that make most major parts not interchange.

While I carry the P32 most every day, I think of it as a 7 yard gun. Certainly not going to win, place or show ( or even honorable mention) on any eight inch steel plate matches at 15 yards with one.

-kBob
 
Rimlock 'shouldn't' be an issue with ball ammo that fills the mag properly, but if you want to use HP's that are shorter they CAN move forward enough to get their rims over one another. KelTec used to sell a mag spacer to correct this problem, but I've only ever used FMJ that fit the mags and in such a tiny caliber as 32 ACP I believe this is a good choice.
 
^^ When I installed that spacer in one of my magazines, that magazine became horribly unreliable. I removed it and have stuck with FMJ since.
 
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