I posted the below as a reply to another thread about the .32 Magnum, which I love. However, I thought this would also make a good thread in itself because it illustrates how practice habits affect performance under various conditions.
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Regarding all the doubts about .32 Mag. It's got the penetration and some mass and diameter to work with. If you combine that with marksmenship, you're in good shape.
I do my target practice starting just before dusk so I get in some daylight practice. Then I continue until 30 minutes after dark.
In this way, I get practice in daylight, at dusk, and after dark. I get my most practice after dark.
I started doing this because I live in WA State and it gets dark soon after I get off work in later winter and early spring. In mid-winter it gets dark at 4:30 PM. So I started practicing this way because I couldn't get to the shooting range any sooner.
However, I developed the ability to shoot well in daylight, dusk (twilight), and in the dark by moonlight or even starlight. I don't have a laser or any other gadgets.
I use the sights during daylight at 15 yards. At twilight I used sights until it's tough to see them, then I point shoot. All twilight shooting done at 10 yards. After dark I do all point shooting at 7 yards.
My cousin is an excellent shot with his .44 Magnum in daylight, but he never in his life target practiced after dark.
He and I normally practice solitary, but on a few occasion we shot together.
He can outshoot me in daylight, but that's how he does all his practice. He's really good and put's multiple shots through the same hole at 15 yards.
However, at twilight we are equally decent shots.
After dark I'm still hitting the target point shooting at 7 yards and I'm all in the second ring out or closer. Some bulls eyes too. He's missing the target entirely, but then he never practiced after dark before.
The point is this: Practice under the conditions you might need to shoot for self defense. When I first started practicing in the dark, I couldn't even find the safety to put it off. After practice, I can now draw, knock safety off, and then speed shoot my .32 ACP Firestorm with all center mass hits in second ring and first ring. Same with my .32Mag Ruger SP101.
In the dark, I'm hitting center mass consistently with my .32s and my cousin is missing consistently with his .44 Mag. Sometimes he completely misses the man sized target. He can't do any better with my .32s either. He has no experience in the dark and no experience point shooting. He says the muzzle flash blinds him and he can't see the target at all. That's because he's trying to use the sights by moonlight (big mistake).
My eyes are no better than his, but I don't have any muzzle flash problems after dark. Why? Because I'm only looking at the target, not the gun or sights. It's like when an oncoming car has bright lights aimed at you when you're driving. If you look at the oncoming lights you'll go blind. If you avert your eyes from the oncoming car lights, you can still see the road. Same thing here. I do it without even thinking because I've been practicing this way for some time.
The bottom line is this: A .32 Mag will get it done if you can hit your target center mass consistently in all conditions. I also do this in the rain and cold.
My cousin is an expert marksmen under ideal daylight, warm, dry conditions as he practices in. I'm a decent shot under all conditions.
My .32 Mag or even my .32 ACP are more deadly in my hands at night than his .44 Mag in his.
Accuracy counts more than caliber. So yes, the .32 Mag can get it done.
Incidentally, my cousin's night time performance is worse the bigger the gun he uses because of greater muzzle blast blinding him more. My .32 ACP is best at night, followed by my .32 Mag.
I haven't tried .380 at night, but I'd bet it be a good one too.
I did try my 9x18 at night, but I can't hit much at night because muzzle blast makes it hard for me to see target, even though I'm trying not to look at gun, sights, or blast.
Less muzzle blast is a virtue at night and helps more than increased power. I actually think a .32 ACP is the best gun for near zero visibility night shooting. I can consistently hit best with the .32 ACP and second best with .32 Mag.
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P.S. - My Firestorm came with fantastic sights that work well in twilight. My Ruger SP101 came with good sight for daylight, but useless in twilight because the front sight was black.
I used Loreal finger nail polish to paint the front sight bright orange. This is more highly visible than any of the orange sight paints I ever tried. Model paint is also good for high visibility, but is not as durable as finger nail polish. I like Loreal (bought at Walmart) because it's one of the most durable brands of finger nail polish according to beauty advice gal I consulted.
Loreal has the brightest orange of any brand I've seen. Loreal also makes a bright yellow. I used orange because it works well in daylight and twilight. I suppose yellow would be better for twilight, but I don't think as good for daylight. Actually, I'm not sure about the yellow. I know the orange works great.
I used a new, clean toothbrush and 99% rubbing alchohol to clean the front sight before painting it. The trick is to buy some finger nail polish thinner before you start to clean the brush (I learned the hard way). It took me 6 tries to get it right, but it looks factory done now.
If you screw it up, wipe it off with toweling paper, then repeat the alcohol toothbrush scrubbing. Then start over.
Also, it is imperative that you keep the lid on the bottle when not using it. This stuff gets tacky in about 30 seconds at room temperature in humid weather.
The trick is to use a very thin coat and then let it dry 30 minutes. Then use a second thin coat. If you get lumps, you used to much and/or messed with it to long. You can only work with it about 20 seconds before it gets tacky and then lumpy. The thinner will be needed to clean lumps from paint brush.
The best idea would be to clean the sights with alcohol and a new toothbrush yourself, then let a chick paint the sight for you. They are finger nail polish experts. I learned the hard way. I should have hired an experienced young lady to paint the sight for me. However, I'm now a wiz at painting gun sights. I'll bet I could paint finger nails now too.
That Loreal stuff is considered expensive compared to other brands of finger nail polish, but at $2.95 a bottle at Walmart, it's dirt cheap compared to buying official sight paint. Loreal is also better than any commercial, official gun sight paint.
The sight painting is intended for shooting at twilight, and in daylight when a dark background is behind target. In daylight with a light background behind target, I can still see the orange front sight fine (which is why I didn't use yellow or white).
After dark, DO NOT look at the sights because the muzzle blast will blind you. You probably couldn't see the sights in the dark anyway no matter what color they are painted. Incidentally, I think glowing night sights (like Tritium) are a bad idea because looking at sights in the dark will result in muzzle blast blinding you. After dark, forget about sights and just look at target and point shoot.
Those are my experiences.
======================================================
Regarding all the doubts about .32 Mag. It's got the penetration and some mass and diameter to work with. If you combine that with marksmenship, you're in good shape.
I do my target practice starting just before dusk so I get in some daylight practice. Then I continue until 30 minutes after dark.
In this way, I get practice in daylight, at dusk, and after dark. I get my most practice after dark.
I started doing this because I live in WA State and it gets dark soon after I get off work in later winter and early spring. In mid-winter it gets dark at 4:30 PM. So I started practicing this way because I couldn't get to the shooting range any sooner.
However, I developed the ability to shoot well in daylight, dusk (twilight), and in the dark by moonlight or even starlight. I don't have a laser or any other gadgets.
I use the sights during daylight at 15 yards. At twilight I used sights until it's tough to see them, then I point shoot. All twilight shooting done at 10 yards. After dark I do all point shooting at 7 yards.
My cousin is an excellent shot with his .44 Magnum in daylight, but he never in his life target practiced after dark.
He and I normally practice solitary, but on a few occasion we shot together.
He can outshoot me in daylight, but that's how he does all his practice. He's really good and put's multiple shots through the same hole at 15 yards.
However, at twilight we are equally decent shots.
After dark I'm still hitting the target point shooting at 7 yards and I'm all in the second ring out or closer. Some bulls eyes too. He's missing the target entirely, but then he never practiced after dark before.
The point is this: Practice under the conditions you might need to shoot for self defense. When I first started practicing in the dark, I couldn't even find the safety to put it off. After practice, I can now draw, knock safety off, and then speed shoot my .32 ACP Firestorm with all center mass hits in second ring and first ring. Same with my .32Mag Ruger SP101.
In the dark, I'm hitting center mass consistently with my .32s and my cousin is missing consistently with his .44 Mag. Sometimes he completely misses the man sized target. He can't do any better with my .32s either. He has no experience in the dark and no experience point shooting. He says the muzzle flash blinds him and he can't see the target at all. That's because he's trying to use the sights by moonlight (big mistake).
My eyes are no better than his, but I don't have any muzzle flash problems after dark. Why? Because I'm only looking at the target, not the gun or sights. It's like when an oncoming car has bright lights aimed at you when you're driving. If you look at the oncoming lights you'll go blind. If you avert your eyes from the oncoming car lights, you can still see the road. Same thing here. I do it without even thinking because I've been practicing this way for some time.
The bottom line is this: A .32 Mag will get it done if you can hit your target center mass consistently in all conditions. I also do this in the rain and cold.
My cousin is an expert marksmen under ideal daylight, warm, dry conditions as he practices in. I'm a decent shot under all conditions.
My .32 Mag or even my .32 ACP are more deadly in my hands at night than his .44 Mag in his.
Accuracy counts more than caliber. So yes, the .32 Mag can get it done.
Incidentally, my cousin's night time performance is worse the bigger the gun he uses because of greater muzzle blast blinding him more. My .32 ACP is best at night, followed by my .32 Mag.
I haven't tried .380 at night, but I'd bet it be a good one too.
I did try my 9x18 at night, but I can't hit much at night because muzzle blast makes it hard for me to see target, even though I'm trying not to look at gun, sights, or blast.
Less muzzle blast is a virtue at night and helps more than increased power. I actually think a .32 ACP is the best gun for near zero visibility night shooting. I can consistently hit best with the .32 ACP and second best with .32 Mag.
===========================
P.S. - My Firestorm came with fantastic sights that work well in twilight. My Ruger SP101 came with good sight for daylight, but useless in twilight because the front sight was black.
I used Loreal finger nail polish to paint the front sight bright orange. This is more highly visible than any of the orange sight paints I ever tried. Model paint is also good for high visibility, but is not as durable as finger nail polish. I like Loreal (bought at Walmart) because it's one of the most durable brands of finger nail polish according to beauty advice gal I consulted.
Loreal has the brightest orange of any brand I've seen. Loreal also makes a bright yellow. I used orange because it works well in daylight and twilight. I suppose yellow would be better for twilight, but I don't think as good for daylight. Actually, I'm not sure about the yellow. I know the orange works great.
I used a new, clean toothbrush and 99% rubbing alchohol to clean the front sight before painting it. The trick is to buy some finger nail polish thinner before you start to clean the brush (I learned the hard way). It took me 6 tries to get it right, but it looks factory done now.
If you screw it up, wipe it off with toweling paper, then repeat the alcohol toothbrush scrubbing. Then start over.
Also, it is imperative that you keep the lid on the bottle when not using it. This stuff gets tacky in about 30 seconds at room temperature in humid weather.
The trick is to use a very thin coat and then let it dry 30 minutes. Then use a second thin coat. If you get lumps, you used to much and/or messed with it to long. You can only work with it about 20 seconds before it gets tacky and then lumpy. The thinner will be needed to clean lumps from paint brush.
The best idea would be to clean the sights with alcohol and a new toothbrush yourself, then let a chick paint the sight for you. They are finger nail polish experts. I learned the hard way. I should have hired an experienced young lady to paint the sight for me. However, I'm now a wiz at painting gun sights. I'll bet I could paint finger nails now too.
That Loreal stuff is considered expensive compared to other brands of finger nail polish, but at $2.95 a bottle at Walmart, it's dirt cheap compared to buying official sight paint. Loreal is also better than any commercial, official gun sight paint.
The sight painting is intended for shooting at twilight, and in daylight when a dark background is behind target. In daylight with a light background behind target, I can still see the orange front sight fine (which is why I didn't use yellow or white).
After dark, DO NOT look at the sights because the muzzle blast will blind you. You probably couldn't see the sights in the dark anyway no matter what color they are painted. Incidentally, I think glowing night sights (like Tritium) are a bad idea because looking at sights in the dark will result in muzzle blast blinding you. After dark, forget about sights and just look at target and point shoot.
Those are my experiences.
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Well, you can start with moonlight the first couple times. I did. However, we are under trees in the forest, so not that much light gets through from the sky. When I say "dark", I mean pretty darn dark, but not quite pitch black.
