Best Defense .32 ACP Ammo

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centralpadoug

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I am very close to buying a Beretta Tomcat in .32ACP. What is allowing me to make this leap from my .45 (only when absolutely necessary) is that I understand that .32 acp ammo has gotten better as of late. I hear good things about Magsafe, and Speer Golddots...any other ammo options I should consider?

In addition, I like to shoot what I own...is there going to be any challenges that I haven't seen with .45 and 9 MM in finding reloading supplies for the .32?

Thank you in advance for your help!:)
 
For the .32 ACP...

Suggest that you use the Winchester Silvertip, if your gun can feed it. The Gold Dot is another good choice.
 
I carry Cor-Bon or Fiochi 60-gr HPs in my Kel-Tec. They are loaded significantly hotter than US-mfgd rounds.

If I can't get them, would carry Hydra-Shoks or Gold Dots.
 
The Cor-Bon 60gr JHP is listed at 1050 FPS, which I believe to be the hottest conventional JHP .32acp on the market today.
It's what lives in my P32.
 
Adequate penetration in a 32 is a little iffy.

If your bullet doesnt penetrate enough, nothing else matters.

I urge you to consider hardball in this caliber. This will maximize penetration.

In love and war, penetration is everything.
 
RBCD

RBCD ammo makes an outstanding round in 32. Check out their site at www.rbcd.net.

I have put a couple of hundred rounds of it thru my Seecamp and it is extremely reliable and the test results are impressive.
 
I go with Firearms Tactical Institute on this one.

JHP's are a bad idea for .32ACP as they shallow out (assuming they expand in the first place which they rarely seem to anyway), the relatively hot and heavy Fiocchi FMJ's are a good choice IMO.

Mike H
 
Well, the .32NAA is really a necked-down .380, so the guns that fire it are larger than the .32's that we're talking about...
 
Thanks for the good info...I'm going to be researching ammo further especially as it relates to penetration. Mike H's point regarding FMJ may be something to examine.

Any experience with the newer Magsafe ammo...do they even make 32 acp?
 
I use Fiocchi or Corbons in my Kel-Tec P-32 but they may be to hot for the unlocked breech Tomcats and may have been what's causing the Tomcats frame problems.

7th
 
.32 AMMO

Cor-Bon .32 is my choice go with the new stuff in cor-bon brass it is loaded a bit longer to feed better when shot out of anything ut a seecamp
 

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When I think of my 32, I dont associate penetration much with it. I know it;s gonna be pretty bad with anything. I still load mine with COR-BONs. I figure if I shoot someone with it, I'm gonna be shooting for the face and hopefully get an eye hit. I dont think penetration is gonna matter there! I do know that they may expand due to their increased velocity and I'll take that any day with a shot to that area.
 
If I thought I could reliably shoot someone in the eye under stress with a gun with a 1.5" barrel, and no sights, you better believe I would carry hollowpoints...

but since I can't do that... I am gonna go with FMJs so I get as much penetration as I can.

And if I am lucky enough to get an eye hit, it wont matter that I am not carrying JHPs!
 
About a month ago, I did a completely unscientific test of some S&B 73 gr. FMJ and Fiocchi 60 gr. SJHP with my CZ-70.

Test 1 - I shot one round each into a water filled hard plastic Anti-freeze container (oriented so I was shooting the thin, deeper profile). Distance was 10 yards.

The HP blew the side out of the container, and exited out the back. The FMJ punched a nice neat round hole straight through both sides, didn't even knock it over.

Test 2 - I shot one round each into two water filled milk jugs in line. Distance was 10 yards.

The HP blew up the first jug, entered the second but just put a dent in the back of it. I was able to recover the bullet which expanded perfectly. The FMJ punched a nice neat round hole straight through both jugs.

Test 3 - In an effort to test the FMJ for overpenetration, I lined up the remaining three milk jugs and tried to plug one of the others to make four jugs in line. Distance was 10 yards.

The FMJ punched a nice neat round hole straight through all four jugs but the last one had already leaked half it's water out so it probably doesn't count.


Draw your own conclusions...
 
centralpadoug,

If you really "like to shoot what you own," I don't recommend the Tomcat. Those rumors about the slides cracking and the frames breaking are true. The frame on one I owned broke.

For target and frequent shooting, I recommend either a SIGArms P230 or CZ 83. For carry and occasional shooting, I think the Seecamp is the best.

The 32 acp Cor Bon is a great round, a noticeable kick to it. But, especially for the Tomcat, the Winchester silvertip is probably the best choice.

Redding is the only die maker I'm aware of who makes 32 acp dies. Order a set with a taper crimp sizing die. Dillon Precision carries 32 acp dies but only with a roll crimp sizing die.

Remington brass and 71 grain FMJ bullets can be bought in bulk at reasonable prices.

Dennis D. Carter
 
The only conclusion I can draw from the milk jug test is that JHPs perform fine against milk jugs.

I dont think the results of that can be extrapolated to live targets.

Interesting info, but I don't see the point it makes.
 
"Interesting info, but I don't see the point it makes."

I probably don't have one. That's why I said draw your own conclusions! :p

I do know that if I'm ever attacked by Killer milk jugs, I'm grabbing my CZ-70 stoked with Fiocci. For anything bigger and more mobile it's going to be a 9mm or 12ga.
 
More unscientific data:

I live on a farm that has a busy road running through it. Near my house, the woods between two large fields come to a "neck" that makes a natural crossing point for deer. During the rut, it's not uncommong for me to find two dead or injured deer a week in the field below my house, hit by cars on the road in the early morning.

Wondering what the Fiocchi SJHPs would do to a rib cage, over the course of a month or so I hung several carcasses from tree limbs and shot them from various angles and distances. No failures to penetrate into the chest cavity, usually breaking ribs and sending fragments into the organs (as discovered on opening the chest). One shot even blasted its way through the breast bone from 5 yards. Recovered bullets had all mushroomed. I used a number of firearms for this: Walther PPK, Colt 1903, Orteigs Pocket Pistol and a Beretta M1934.

Next year I plan to do the same thing, but will take photos and log the results a bit more carefully.

So, if you are ever attacked by a dead or injured deer, a .32 will work fine.
 
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