Colt Mustang, Pony, Kel-Tec or OTHER??

F

Florida Deputy

New member
After a very sobering experience where one of our Deputies ran thru 46 rounds of ammo in a fight for his life, the locker room argument has once again turned towards "back-up" guns. The "powers that be" limit our choices (of course they all ride desks) to either a .380 auto or a .32 auto. Our service weapons are limited to GLOCK 40 cals. Believe it or not, we are no longer able to carry G27s as back-ups. Keeping in mind that we are in Florida (very warm and humid), any ideas on a good back-up weapon? As always...BE SAFE!! John
 
Kel-tec P32 with Corbon is one good backup. You can get a blued slide exchanged for a chromed slide for $20 from the factory. A long barreled .380 would have the most punch. Maybe a Sig or Beretta. Mustang pocketlite is not a bad choice if you can find one.
 
Hey Neighbor!

I shoot over at Port Malabar beside the LEO range down in Palm Bay. I have had a Colt Mustang Stainless for several years now and it has proven to be a reliable little gun.

I never could warm up to the Pony because of the DAO trigger pull.

The Gun Store over in St. Cloud has a new Mustang Stainless in their shop if you are interested.

I recently picked up a Beretta Model 86 with a tip-up 4 inch barrel(approximate length) in .380. It has proven to be an excellent grouper, has a great trigger, and is reliable so far with 500 rounds of mixed JHP and ball through it. It was shooting about 6 inches high so I had to drop back to 90 grainers loaded hot as hell to drop the impact point to an acceptable area at 50 feet.

I prefer the .380 to the .32.
 
If you like the 1911, you will like the Colt Mustang/Government/Mustang +2 series guns. All the controls are identical to the 1911. They are reasonably accurate, VERY light recoiling (fast to shoot) and very flat and small--the Mustang +2 is smaller in every dimension and lighter than a Walther PPK in .380.

The Beretta .380s are very nice and hold a round or two more than the Colts--but they're pretty big for a .380.

As an LEO, you may be able to acquire a Glock 25 which is the .380 version of the Glock 19. 16 rounds of .380 in a pretty small package--maybe you could get the department to do a group buy. This gun is not usually importable to the U.S.

A .380 Makarov would be a pretty good choice and very reasonably priced.

If you can get a good one, the Walther PPK can be good. I have one that has never malfunctioned--I've heard others with different experiences.

The Kel-Tec P32 pistol is pretty nice if you like .32ACP. VERY small, light and easy to shoot. IMO, if more people knew how good this gun was, the .32 ACP would experience a big popularity boom and the .25ACP would disappear from the market. It's so small and light, it obsoletes every .25 on the market.
 
Well I am no expert, but my Mustang pocketlite is always gun.
Its light, flat, easy to shoot, and super reliable.
 
Because you are asking about something that presupposes, for whatever reason, a lot of rounds being fired and no larger than .380; I go ONLY with the Beretta .380 hi-cap full size. It has the tip-up barrel and has decades of success as the premier weapon of International LEOs (that is spelled Spooks by the way)

The longer barrel and larger capacity magazine will give the advantages that seem needed. Then I'd load with the Quik-Shok Triton ammo that is made to split in three. http://www.TritonAmmo.com which will give you the punch in such situations akin to larger caliber.

Good luck.
 
It would be hard to go wrong with the Colt Mustang, I love mine to death. :) The Keltec P32 is also a reasonable choice, though you do give up some firepower. I suspect you want something reasonable small, since you mentioned the Florida weather. :)
 
I'm not in LE, but have both a Colt Mustang and KelTec P32. I've owned the Colt for years, just picked up the P32 a few weeks ago.

The Mustang is a sweet little piece. I have the Pocketlite; with a SS slide & alloy frame it truly is an easy gun to carry. You do have to be comfortable with a single action auto though. In a simple Uncle Mike's Pocket holster, it will hide in the front pocket of a pair of Dockers at least until you sit down - depending on how tight the pants are & your build will determine if it will print then. In the hot summer months, it is a constant companion. Colt does not make the Mustang anymore, you'll have to locate old stock or buy used.

The KelTec was an impulse buy, as used the price was right. This little gun is a true featherweight, and the trigger action is similar to that of the Glock where the rearward movement of the slide partially loads the hammer and leaves a shorter, lighter pull for the trigger. This is a true back-up gun - smaller than the Mustang, no sights (to speak of) and 7+1 rounds of .32ACP; KelTec does sell a mag extension that increases the capacity of the factory supplied Mec-Gar by 1 round & allows for a full 2 fingers on the grip. It is available with a blued, parkerized, or hard chrome slide finish & multiple color options on the poly grip frame.

I'd definetly feel better armed with the .380ACP load of the Mustang, although capacity is only 6+1. The KelTec will hide better - I think you can even buy a neck holster for it. Best to carry only FMJ in the P32; there is a condition referred to as "Rim Lock" where HP rounds can slip forward in the mag & the rims of the cartridges can engage each other in such a way as to lock up the mag. Supposedly, this does not occur with longer & fatter FMJ loads.
 
The 32ACP rimlock problem is largely a function of the ammunition brand. Various brands have very different rim diameters.

I don't think I've heard of any problems with Winchester Silvertips in the P32s--mine loves 'em.
 
FloDep

I've got two Colt Govt., one FEG .380 Walther clone and a P-32. I carry my .380 Govt. or my FEG almost constantly.

I would not carry a Colt Govt. or Mustang as a back up because it is like a 1911 and does not come with an ambidextrous safety. You might be SOL if you needed to reach your gun with your left hand quick.

I really like my FEG and would like you to consider carrying something like the Beretta or a CZ as a back up.

Take care. Regards.
 
I have a Colt Pocket Nine and a Kel-Tek P32 for carry. The Pocket Nine is a nice light package for a Nine. The Kel-Tek is so small and light you can put it in your shirt pocket and forget it's there.
 
If you get a Mustang or a Mustang PocketLite (I have one of each. I love them. No, they are not for sale.) Cylinder & Slide can put an ambidextrous safety on it. They can also put some Novak sights on it for you.
 
JohnKSa,

If you examine .32ACP rounds, I think you'll find that the rims are not a different diameter, if they were, it would no longer be .32ACP ammo! The difference comes in the COAL (overall length) of the round. The shorter rounds can be loaded into the magazine so that the upper round has it's rim "locked" over the rim of the round below it. Longer rounds that are are a tighter fit in the magazine are more difficult (or impossible) to load with rimlock. This problem exists because the .32ACP is a semi-rimmed round, and the rim is slightly larger than the case.

FYI, the rim on the .32ACP is .358 and the case is .3375. Doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to cause the problem. That's also why you don't hear about this problem with other semi-auto rounds...
 
I have your Hedley front pocket holster for my P32 and Pocket nine. Also have a Wild Bill,s undercover IWB for pocket nine also
thanks
 
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