Is the Seecamp a good pistol for $350?

[TTv2]

Paul Harrell did another video on .32 this weekend and again he's not impressed with the caliber (of course the Beretta 3032 is a terrible platform for a pocket .32) so it got me to thinking about alternative .32's. I've wanted a Kel Tec .32 for a long time, but they're pretty hard to come by these days, so the other small .32 I know of is Seecamp.

I've never really been interested in them, the lack of sights, DAO trigger, and heavy all steel construction doesn't appeal to me, but I took a look online and used ones are going for under $350.

That seems like a good price, but I've never looked into these pistols much and would like to know what previous or current owners think about them.

 

[earlthegoat2]

They are picky with ammo.

They were designed around the Winchester Silvertip and they do work well with those.

The trick is to be able to find them.

The Seecamp is not a platform you want to dive into when ammo is scarce and you need to find a particular round.

Nothing says it won’t happen to work with others. The ones I have experience with will usually shoot FMJ fine which may be a better self defense choice anyway in 32.

 

[toivo]

They are very well-made pistols. I have a .25. I think you'd be surprised at how well you can shoot them at self-defense distances even without sights.

My only gripe is that you can't rack the slide with no magazine in the pistol. That makes it hard to unload it. What you have to do is drop the mag a tiny bit, just enough to prevent the slide from picking up the next round but not enough to engage the "no-mag slide lock" or whatever they call it. Then you can rack out the round in the chamber before dropping the mag all the way. Alternatively, you can drop the mag and empty it, then reinsert the empty mag into the pistol and rack the slide to clear the chamber. Or have an empty mag on hand just for unloading.

This goes against what's been drummed into my head about unloading a semi-auto pistol: remove the magazine first, then clear the chamber. I'm not sure why Seecamp made them this way. Is it a safety feature? Doesn't seem like one to me.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

They are fine little pistols.

Their website lists the suggested ammo for them. Designed to shoot HP to prevent rimlock, which does make sense. With a Kel Tec I go FMJ as their mags have more room in them. Or, you can put a spacer in the Kel Tec mag and stick with HP.

 

[TTv2]

They are picky with ammo.

They were designed around the Winchester Silvertip and they do work well with those.

The trick is to be able to find them.

The Seecamp is not a platform you want to dive into when ammo is scarce and you need to find a particular round.

Nothing says it won’t happen to work with others. The ones I have experience with will usually shoot FMJ fine which may be a better self defense choice anyway in 32.

I reload, Berry's plated bullet is my favorite for .32 ACP and I doubt I'd have issues using it. For any defense use the Lehigh would be my preference, but if it doesn't work then back to FMJ.

I've yet to find a hollow point in .32 that performs well from a micro pistol. Long barrels like the Beretta 81, the Hornady looks good.

 

[TTv2]

They are fine little pistols.

Their website lists the suggested ammo for them. Designed to shoot HP to prevent rimlock, which does make sense. With a Kel Tec I go FMJ as their mags have more room in them. Or, you can put a spacer in the Kel Tec mag and stick with HP.

I found this interesting:

Even a severely reduced load will cycle the LWS 32 action. The barrel is too short for a bullet to get stuck ~ a primer alone will launch the bullet ~ and the gun is strong enough to survive a proof load. (I have had guns cycle and feed the next round on just a primer load.)

So as long as the primer goes bang the only concerns the Seecamp has is feeding the cartridge into the chamber, which goes back to the ammo length.

This might just be interesting enough of a pistol to reload for to justify getting.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Wow, I hadn't seen that info before. Interesting.

 

[railroader]

I had a seecamp 32. I didn't love it. I wasn't very accurate shooting without sights. It was very reliable but it threw the brass every direction. I reload and I was always losing brass. Here's the bullets I used.
https://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/-3...ml?category_id=11#product-details-tab-reviews

 

[Mark_Mark]

my local has one used for right at $500

so @ $350! good price

 

[earlthegoat2]

My LGS has one for $350 as well currently.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I would buy one for $350.

 

[Pat Riot]

Paul Harrell did another video on .32 this weekend and again he's not impressed with the caliber (of course the Beretta 3032 is a terrible platform for a pocket .32) so it got me to thinking about alternative .32's. I've wanted a Kel Tec .32 for a long time, but they're pretty hard to come by these days, so the other small .32 I know of is Seecamp.

I've never really been interested in them, the lack of sights, DAO trigger, and heavy all steel construction doesn't appeal to me, but I took a look online and used ones are going for under $350.

That seems like a good price, but I've never looked into these pistols much and would like to know what previous or current owners think about them.

Before purchasing one of these I would look into spare parts availability. Gun Parts Corp has a few of the parts that I would consider normal “wear parts” but many are out of stock.
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/lw-seecamp-co/lws-32

 

[.455_Hunter]

I believe that any of the "short nose" .32 auto loading are viable candidates for a Seecamp, especially the WWB flat nose FMJ loading. Of course, any given gun will have it's preferences.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Before purchasing one of these I would look into spare parts availability. Gun Parts Corp has a few of the parts that I would consider normal “wear parts” but many are out of stock.
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/lw-seecamp-co/lws-32

Seecamp sells spare parts directly - https://l-w-seecamp-co.myshopify.com/collections/spare-parts

I've had a Seecamp LWS 32 for about 10 years. I bought it to have a pistol small enough to pocket carry in my Levi's and as an "quick, out the door to run an errand" pistol.

So far, so good. I load it with Winchester USA (white box) FMJ flat nose. Never had any issues with this ammo functioning in it.

 

[Pat Riot]

Seecamp sells spare parts directly - https://l-w-seecamp-co.myshopify.com/collections/spare-parts

I've had a Seecamp LWS 32 for about 10 years. I bought it to have a pistol small enough to pocket carry in my Levi's and as an "quick, out the door to run an errand" pistol.

So far, so good. I load it with Winchester USA (white box) FMJ flat nose. Never had any issues with this ammo functioning in it.

That is good information. Thanks.

 

[ctdair1]

Seecamp in pocket everywhere it’s legal.

 

[TTv2]

Seems that bullet selection is important with the Seecamp. Since I intend to reload does anyone know if the Seecamp headspaces off the .32's rim or the case mouth?

If it goes off the rim I could use some flat nose lead 78gr bullets with a slight roll crimp.

 

[ctdair1]

Don’t know the answer to headspace but it’s the COAL that’s important to the Seecamp.

 

[usp9]

That's a very good price for a Seecamp. It is a gun with some quirks though. If that puts you off then leave it alone. If you can put up with the takedown method, lack of conventional sights and limit to certain sized ammo, (many brands fit and work well), then the Seecamp offers reliability and ultra concealability, as it is a very small gun. Parts come from Seecamp directly. If I were you, I'd read up on the care and feeding of the little jewel and then decide if you want one. I have a very early production sample, 1986, that has never failed me. But... it is quirky.

"My only gripe is that you can't rack the slide with no magazine in the pistol."
The mag serves as a support for a spring. Without the mag that spring may twist and break. Lowering the mag allows cycling the slide without damage.

 

[TonyAngel]

The Seecamp is a nifty little piece, but heavy. I had one for a while, years ago, but with the baby .380s from companies like Kahr, it just didn't make much sense.

 

[TTv2]

Thinking more on .32's, NAA still makes the Guardian and that actually has sights and afaik no ammo length issues.

The Seecamp has the chamber ring delay blowback, the NAA doesn't, so how does brass hold up for reloading with the Seecamp? Is it even reloadable?

 

[Armybrat]

Second the NAA Guardian.
Quality little pistols.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Before I bought my Seecamp, I was leaning towards buying the NAA Guardian. Fortunately a local gunshop had both in stock and I was able to compare them side-by-side.

I discovered the sights on the Guardian were so tiny that they were practically unusable.

Also, the Guardian weighed slightly more, and for pocket carry, that slight difference made a big difference to me.

I ended up buying the Seecamp.

 

[aaaaa]

Bought a Seacamp LWS 32 about a year ago. It would jam a lot but I did not use the recommended ammo. After about 5 trips to the range I finally got it to run without jamming, but that was with FMJs after I had removed the magazine spacer (not cut, just made a new piece to go in the bottom to lock the magazine cap in). The magazines will only fit FMJ or Winchester White Box flat nose FMJs unless the spacer is removed. I had Fiocchi FMJ and they varied slightly in length, many would not fit the Seacamp with the spacer removed. PPU FMJ fit the magazine without spacer and ran great. I think part of my problem was limp wristing because you get about 1.5 fingers on the grip, so not much to hold onto. The gun is pretty sassy, probably due to the snappiness and the minimal grip. I don't know if it was the FMJ or that I finally got past the limp wrist thing that got the gun to run good. The thing threw brass in my face, even giving me a small cut in the forehead one time. Even though I finally got it to run, it just ended up being a gun I loathed so I got of it at a loss, trading it in on a Beretta Tomcat .32. Another thing with the Seacamp is that it is a chore to field strip.

I have not tried the NAA Guardian but for about the same small size, if you can stomach plastic, the Kel Tec P-32 is an awesome gun.

 

[TTv2]

I would like the Kel Tec, it's locked breech, lower recoil, 10 rd mags are available, it's very light, but it's hard to find now and it's physically bigger than the Seecamp or NAA .32's.