Good mouseguns in .32 or .380?

O

Ossi

New member
My favorite pistols have been 9mm compacts, but now I am thinking of something really smaller, a gun that can be carried when no larger cannot, and that can be carried even in front pocket without noticing it's weight. I would like to find something reliable (and adequately shootable) in a size of a 6.35 mm, but in a larger caliber.

I am aware of Seecamp in .32, but don't want a gun that only works with one brand of ammo. Also, maybe I am too conservative but I think any gun should have sights. I have also seen Kel-Tec P32 mentioned often as a really lightweight carry gun, how is it's shootability? Beretta Tomcat .32 seems to have real sights, SA/DA trigger and manual safety (sounds like a real gun), but that seems not to be as small, and I have not seen many comments of it lately.

I would prefer a .380 over a .32, but have not noticed many models smaller than Walther PPK. Colt has discontinued .380s, S&W still makes .380 Sigma but that again doesn't have sights.

All comments on mousegun-sized .32s and .380s are wellcome. What seems to make finding the right gun for me difficult is that I want to hit with that gun without having to touch the target.

Ossi
 
Why do you want a mouse gun anyway?
I would look at the Kahr MK-9. Pocket/mouse gun sized, with the sting of a 9mm. My friend carries the MK, and it is really small,yet it has 6+1 capacity!! :)

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BOYCOTT SMITH AND WESSON!!!


Yeah, I got a permit to carry,it's called the friggin Constitution.---Ted Nugent

"Man killing is nasty business"---Finn Aggard

Minor caliber, my arse!!!
9mm rules the roost!!!!
 
I'd recommend the Kel-Tec P32. I have a P32, a NAA Guardian .32 ACP and I've fired my buddy's Beretta Tomcat. Out of all three, the P32 has the best trigger, lightest weight, lightest recoil and lowest cost.

My P32 has been totally reliable with Fiocchi ball. Avoid UMC ammunition if you go with the P32.

HTH,

Justin

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Justin T. Huang, Esq.
late of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
 
I have a Tomcat that I have been pleased with. Carries very well in a Galco front pocket. Has been very dependable with Gold Dots. All the mousegun comments apply. However, always remember the first rule of a gunfight.
 
I have a P32 and like it very much. Very concealable and light. Not much for sights though. I also have a Bersa .380 it is reliable,has good sights,very accurate and very easy to conceal. The price is right on them also.

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"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves againest tyranny in government" Thomas Jefferson
 
I have the NAA Guardian and the Keltec P32. Even though I spent over twice as much on the Guardian and a carry package for it, I prefer the Keltec. It's been dead reliable, has softer recoil, it lighter, and it thinner. Anyone want to buy a Guardian with the SM&A pocket carry package applied? :)
 
Word is that NAA is currently designing a Guardian in .380, similar to the Seecamp .380 which has been recently announced. Check out the forum discussions at NAA's site. If it's like the Seecamp, it will be similar if not identical in size the the .32. Now, whether you'd really want to own a blowback .380 in that size is a separate matter...

Andrew
 
Ossi, I think I got the only lemon in the Kel-Tec P32 pistols. The hammer on mine froze up and when I called the factory I was told it was probably a burr. Prior to this it was a good shooting little pistol. I shot ShallCarry's and like it a lot. I hear they are usually totally reliable. I will see when mine comes back from Florida where it is being repaired. These little pistols are belly or always guns and as such have very small sights. I suspect the way to go is to have night sight inserts installed and this isn't cheap. Regards, your friend, Richard.
 
P32 just went to the front door with me...in a holster, it fits in my tiny bathrobe pocket and was available for use...but did not freak out the visitor. Very useful. I have moved it from my pocket to a briefcase in front of people who did not realize they were seeing a gun. I am sold on the P32 and 1,000+ trouble-free rounds help (mine was an early SN and did go back to KT when I first got it, perfect after that).

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Oleg "peacemonger" Volk

http://dd-b.net/RKBA
 
I have a P32 that is accurate for its range sighting or point shooting.
I also just bought a Colt Pony (used)Pocketlite that I like. It has sights, is lightweight, accurate, and chambered for .380. The only negative is the stiff DO trigger, which I will work on.
I've looked at mouse guns extensively and these are my best finds to date.

Good Luck,
Dave
 
I'll second the P-32 just be willing to work with KT to get it right. Their quality control is pretty loose but hey . . . it's at $240 gun. Should we expect more? Yes. But they're working on it. Glock and Sig aren't rushing out to build pocket guns so Kel Tec is it.

The Pony Pocketlites are nice but the ones I've handled had pretty gritty triggers.

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The Seattle SharpShooter - TFL/GT/UGW/PCT/KTOG
 
Sounds that P32 is the best bet just now, too bad Richard has got a lemon. If there was a polymer framed version of Kahr MK9 I might just stick to my favorite caliber 9mm, but at 24 oz MK9 is a little too heavy to take everywhere and forget it is there, while P9 has a little too large dimensions. Does anyone have real knowledge of a possible polymer framed MK9?

Colt's .380s are out because they are not made any more and I have not seen any used Ponys or Mustangs sold here.

Now I should find a way to buy a P32. As far as I know, no-one imports any Keltec models to Finland. I e-mailed Keltec factory a few days ago and asked for European dealers, no answer so far. Ordering from another European Union country should not be a big problem, since contrary to the USA mail order gun purchases are totally legal and common here.

Here in Finland we need a permit from local police before each gun purchase. Contrary to the USA buying small CCW guns has been made even more difficult than it was a few years ago so Finnsih gun dealers are not interested to keep in stock small pistols that do not sell. Otherwise we do have quite a lot of guns to the population, more than 2 million legal, and (estimated) some hundreds of thousands illegal, firearms for 5 million people, and that 50 % is one of the highest proportions in Europe, but still probably short of the USA. Most guns here are shotguns and hunting rifles.

If you happen to know gundealers that do export business to Europe and can sell me a P32 please let me know.

Ossi
 
Bersa Series 95 in .380. I can't say enough about this little package. The gun is well built and the accuracy is excellent.
 
Ossi, depending on how much you want to spend and how important this is to you, there IS a polymer framed version of Kahr MK9 available from Scott, McDougall & Associates. You can check out their web page for more details but basicly it works something like this ... you send them a P9 (they are a FFL so there's legal problems with shipping) and for several hundred dollars, they chop it down to the size of a MK9. From several second-hand reports, I understand that they do a good job and it's hard to tell that the new gun didn't come this was from Kahr originally -- if Kahr wanted to make some more money, they would introduce a polymer framed version of Kahr MK9 with a titanium slide (now, that would sell like hotcakes).

Back to your originally question ... when my MK9 is too big to carry, I bring my NAA Guardian along -- it's the gun that I carry when I'm not carrying a gun (a .32 is better than nothing although I do not feel well armed with it). I would recommend that you stay away from .380's in such a small package as they are difficult to shoot accurately except at really close distance.

Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
fud-nra.gif
 
FUD, thanks for the link to that custom shop, but a P9 and the modifications fee plus our customs taxes and VAT when imported here would make a modified Kahr all too expensive. And it still would be front pocket size just marginally, but in a potent caliber of course.

I got e-mail from Keltec. They said RSR in Rochester, NY takes care of exports so I will contact that company.

Too bad many European gun dealers do not have homepages. I found a Swiss company selling P32 in the Internet, but since Switzerland is not a EU member country ordering from there is much more costly then from for example Germany. For some reason Germany is a laggard in Internet and e-business, years behind compared for example to the USA, Britain and Scandinavian countries.

Ossi
 
Add another score to the P32 column. I got to fire Morgan's this weekend.

SWEET little peashooter. I couldn't believe how small it is. The sights are fine for the purpose. The trigger is long but light. Recoil is completely managable. And MSRP on the blued model is <$295, so figure about $250 for street price.
 
Ossi,
I also have a Kel-Tec P-32 and a NAA Guardian. The P-32 fires every type of ammunition that I've tried. (I keep the mag filled with .32 caliber Hydra-Shoks) The Guardian is perfectly reliable with Silvertips and Fiocchi FMJ. The nice thing about the P-32 is that it is so light and flat as a pancake. I purchased a Hogue rubber grip two weeks ago and it added very little to the width, but makes the pistol very much more comfortable in my hand.
For a .380 I have a Colt Mustang Pocketlite. Very accurate with Hydra-Shoks, always reliable, and weighs only 12.5 ounces. It just can't be beat.
I even own a Beretta .25 caliber Jetfire. People say the .25ACP is a dog, but I'd sure hate to get shot by one of the Speer Gold Dot hollow points that I keep it loaded with.
What it boils down to is that I enjoy a "mouse gun" in my front pocket and I feel pretty good regarding my ability to put a round where it needs to go. This is not to say that I don't feel very well protected with my Glock 27. I guess it all depends on where I'm going to be and the type of clothes I'm going to have on.
If I had to choose a .32, it would definately be the P-32. It offers the best in light weight, flexibility of ammunition, and just plain "shootability".

Good luck,
Will

P.S. You can still find new Mustangs and Ponies. They're just a little more expensive since Colt no longer Makes them.
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Mendacity is the system we live in.

[This message has been edited by WLM (edited June 28, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by WLM (edited June 28, 2000).]
 
The best mousegun that can be found anywhere near yer trailer park is a Sig trailside ( mouse taste like doodoo but well prepared paossum is excellent). No offence intended, hell I live in a trailer.
 
Ossi, Kel-Tec sent me a new pistol to replace my broken P32. I picked it up yesterday and I will shoot it over the weekend and report on it next week. This says a lot for their customer service. Regards, Richard.
 
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