Favorite .32 ACP defense round?

[Brutus57]

Hi,

Doesn't appear that my MAB 7.65 Model D will sell or trade. SOOOOOOO, I think I will use it as a 5th line of defense against the Zombie Apocalypse. Anybody recommend a good .32 ACP round?

Cheers,

Brutus Out

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[Blackcobra]

Probably the hottest FMJ that your gun will shoot; I think most would argue penetration of FMJ over expansion of a .32 HP. Just my opinion, of course!

 

[XSubSailor]

I don't think I've ever heard ".32ACP" and "defense round" used in the same sentence before...

 

[Creeper]

Winchester Silver Tip has been a good round for decades... and the Fiocchi Extrema with Hornady XTP bullet works nicely. Both expand very reliably at the low velocities a .32ACP produces.

 

[hariph creek]

Firmly in the FMJ camp.

 

[SynapticSilence]

My wife has a Beretta Tomcat .32 that's great. I don't want to prejudice you in making your own choice, but here's a nice chart of .32 ammo ballistics that might help. 32 ACP Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

 

[brentb636]

Firmly in the FMJ camp.

I have a FEG AP7 32ACP, and if I were looking at a SD round, I'd pick the Buffalo Bore Hardcast load, and put in a heavier recoil spring from gunsprings.com . Don't know if you have those options.

 

[Twodogs]

RBCD is what I run in mine if not them WW-silvertips.

 

[jrprich]

My wife has a Beretta Tomcat .32 that's great. I don't want to prejudice you in making your own choice, but here's a nice chart of .32 ammo ballistics that might help. 32 ACP Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

Nice charts, thanks for that link

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Both your pistol and my FN Model 1922 are based on the FN Model 1910. These older pistols were designed to run on standard pressure FMJ loads. I shoot the Winchester 71 grain FMJ cartridge through my Model 1922 and have never had a hiccup with it.

 

[Brutus57]

Both your pistol and my FN Model 1922 are based on the FN Model 1910. These older pistols were designed to run on standard pressure FMJ loads. I shoot the Winchester 71 grain FMJ cartridge through my Model 1922 and have never had a hiccup with it.

Thanks, my plans are to plink with it and just one more pistol if I need to give one to somebody during SHTF. My primary is a .45 and my secondary a .380.

Apparently they worked OK for some European police agencies.

Brutus Out

 

[soberups]

My personal experience with a Kel Tec P32 using Winchester Silvertips to humanely put down deer that had been hit by cars ( on two seperate occasions) caused me to get rid of the gun. It took multiple head shots to put the animals down. From what I could see, the rounds barely penetrated the skull. I shot a 3 point buck right between the eyes at a range of about 5 feet and the darn thing proceeded to flail around and actually get up on its feet and walk a couple of steps before falling and trying to crawl away. I seriously think a .22 would have done a better job, when I was kid my stepdad used to poach deer that were in our garden with a .22 rifle at 40 yards. He would hit them in the head and they dropped like a rock. I got rid of that P-32 and now my "pocket gun" is a Ruger LCR loaded with .38+P hollowoints.

 

[Captain O]

Underwood's "Extreme Penetrator" disrupts as much flesh/soft tissue as any JHP without relying upon expansion to accomplish the task. I have dumped all the FMJ and hollowpoint bullet configurations for this truly modern and extremely effective design.

Yes, I have several .32 Autos and enjoy their controllability. This relatively new bullet design has proved itself many times over. It works especially well in the .30 Carbine making it a devastating house load and short-range (50-75 yard) hunting and antipersonnel load.

Look them up. You'll love it!

 

[CountryGent]

Off the top of my head: I run, among several others, Corbon .32 ACP in our pocket pistols. And Geco 7.65x17mmSR in the vz61 SBR. Both to good effect.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Underwood's "Extreme Penetrator" disrupts as much flesh/soft tissue as any JHP without relying upon expansion to accomplish the task. I have dumped all the FMJ and hollowpoint bullet configurations for this truly modern and extremely effective design.

Yes, I have several .32 Autos and enjoy their controllability. This relatively new bullet design has proved itself many times over. It works especially well in the .30 Carbine making it a devastating house load and short-range (50-75 yard) hunting and antipersonnel load.

Look them up. You'll love it!

I think you mean the Defender.. the Penetrator penetrates about three, four times farther/has less tissue disruption than the Defender.
It looks like the only Underwood .32 offering is the Cavitator which is probably kinda like the Defender..

 

[Captain O]

I think you mean the Defender.. the Penetrator penetrates about three, four times farther/has less tissue disruption than the Defender.
It looks like the only Underwood .32 offering is the Cavitator which is probably kinda like the Defender..

My mistake. It is the Defender. Regardless of the nomenclature, the Defender is superior to FMJ (no real tissue disruption) and any JHP of any kind (insufficient penetration). You do not have to surrender penetration (very important) for tissue disruption. The trapezoid-tipped meplat of the Defender bullet is the key to tissue disruption (through hydrostatic displacement). It still penetrates as does a bullet of FMJ construction. This results in a "win-win" situation (you get the best of both worlds). What's not to like?

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

 

[Argonaut]

My favorite 32ACP is a 45...............never had much use for bitty rounds as self defense. They are fun to shoot, my Grandfather used to tell the story about working around the rail road here in Idaho with a bunch of city CCC types. One guy was shooting at a bear with his pocket pistol at about 100 yards. Every time he hit the bear it would swat like he was being stung by bees. Grandpa told him "you better quit shooting at him.....you are going to make him mad"

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

The Kel Tec P32 is my wife's yoga pants gun. She won't be shooting any bears with it.

 

[Captain O]

My favorite 32ACP is a 45...............never had much use for bitty rounds as self defense. They are fun to shoot, my Grandfather used to tell the story about working around the rail road here in Idaho with a bunch of city CCC types. One guy was shooting at a bear with his pocket pistol at about 100 yards. Every time he hit the bear it would swat like he was being stung by bees. Grandpa told him "you better quit shooting at him.....you are going to make him mad"

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