I've been carrying my new P-32 with 71gr Fiocchi FMJ. From what I understand, it's the second-hottest FMJ load, right behind S&B. However, I've been stocking up on 32ACP hollow points when I can find them. I've bought a few different HP brands and I'm going to do some penetration testing with them alongside of some new 9mm rounds for my Glock 19.
I have four different brands so far: Cor-Bon 60gr HP, Speer Gold Dot 60gr HP, Winchester Silver Tip 60gr HP, and Federal Hydra-Shok 65gr HP. I got lucky and found some info on www.geocities.com/goldenloki/ which listed FPS and ft/lbs data for these rounds when fired from the P-32, along with the Fiocchi 60gr and Hornady XTP 60gr HPs.
The Cor-Bon HPs are at the top of the list, with over 1000 fps and over 130 ft/lbs. To my surprise, the Speer Gold Dots are at the bottom of the list. After the Fiocchis and the Hornadys (2nd and 3rd) the Hydra-Shocks were 4th, the Silver Tips 5th, and the Gold Dots in 6th.
I've never done any penetration testing with 32ACP HPs, but the Fiocchi FMJ I carry now penetrates almost as deeply as a 95gr 9mm PMC Starfire (with FAR less damage, naturally). I've done penetration tests with various brands of 9mm HPs, all in stacks for water-soaked newspaper and magazines from 7 yards.
My question is this - will the performance of 32ACP HPs mimic the performance of 9mm HPs by the same maker? (I'm not expecting similar wound channels or penetration, mind you, I'm just wondering if the bullets will expand or fragment similarly).
My Cor-Bon 124gr+P 9mm round is very hot, and the bullets seem to shed their jackets and fragment with a minimum of penetration. The same thing happens with the Win. SiverTip in 9mm. Can I expect my 32ACP Cor-Bons and SilverTips to do the same? The Cor-Bons are the best on paper, and the SilverTips have the best stopping record, buy I'm pretty leery of a frangible round in such a small caliber.
Conversely, the Speer Gold Dot 124gr+P 9mm round I keep loaded when I carry seems almost as hot as the Cor-Bon, and the 147gr Hydra-Shoks seem to pack a bit more punch than usual. Both of these bullets hold together perfectly, with almost 100% weight retention and nice even mushrooming. Their initial wound channels aren't as messy as the Cor-Bons or SilverTips, but they penetrate much deeper and hold together instead of fragmenting. The Gold Dots penetrate deeper than any other round of any weight I've tried, but they still expand nicely. I bought the 32ACP Gold Dots thinking that it would provide me with a compromise between expansion and penetration. Looking at the aforementioned charts, however, they seem to be underpowered even for a 32ACP round, coming in dead last to all other HP brands in terms of velocity and energy. I thought Speer ammo in general was supposed to be loaded pretty hot, but it seems to be the opposite in this case.
Have any of you ever done any actual penetration testing with these 32ACP rounds? If so, what conclusions did you come to? What kind of observations did you make?
Sorry to be so long winded!
Thanks!
I have four different brands so far: Cor-Bon 60gr HP, Speer Gold Dot 60gr HP, Winchester Silver Tip 60gr HP, and Federal Hydra-Shok 65gr HP. I got lucky and found some info on www.geocities.com/goldenloki/ which listed FPS and ft/lbs data for these rounds when fired from the P-32, along with the Fiocchi 60gr and Hornady XTP 60gr HPs.
The Cor-Bon HPs are at the top of the list, with over 1000 fps and over 130 ft/lbs. To my surprise, the Speer Gold Dots are at the bottom of the list. After the Fiocchis and the Hornadys (2nd and 3rd) the Hydra-Shocks were 4th, the Silver Tips 5th, and the Gold Dots in 6th.
I've never done any penetration testing with 32ACP HPs, but the Fiocchi FMJ I carry now penetrates almost as deeply as a 95gr 9mm PMC Starfire (with FAR less damage, naturally). I've done penetration tests with various brands of 9mm HPs, all in stacks for water-soaked newspaper and magazines from 7 yards.
My question is this - will the performance of 32ACP HPs mimic the performance of 9mm HPs by the same maker? (I'm not expecting similar wound channels or penetration, mind you, I'm just wondering if the bullets will expand or fragment similarly).
My Cor-Bon 124gr+P 9mm round is very hot, and the bullets seem to shed their jackets and fragment with a minimum of penetration. The same thing happens with the Win. SiverTip in 9mm. Can I expect my 32ACP Cor-Bons and SilverTips to do the same? The Cor-Bons are the best on paper, and the SilverTips have the best stopping record, buy I'm pretty leery of a frangible round in such a small caliber.
Conversely, the Speer Gold Dot 124gr+P 9mm round I keep loaded when I carry seems almost as hot as the Cor-Bon, and the 147gr Hydra-Shoks seem to pack a bit more punch than usual. Both of these bullets hold together perfectly, with almost 100% weight retention and nice even mushrooming. Their initial wound channels aren't as messy as the Cor-Bons or SilverTips, but they penetrate much deeper and hold together instead of fragmenting. The Gold Dots penetrate deeper than any other round of any weight I've tried, but they still expand nicely. I bought the 32ACP Gold Dots thinking that it would provide me with a compromise between expansion and penetration. Looking at the aforementioned charts, however, they seem to be underpowered even for a 32ACP round, coming in dead last to all other HP brands in terms of velocity and energy. I thought Speer ammo in general was supposed to be loaded pretty hot, but it seems to be the opposite in this case.
Have any of you ever done any actual penetration testing with these 32ACP rounds? If so, what conclusions did you come to? What kind of observations did you make?
Sorry to be so long winded!
Thanks!
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