I have a confession to make about .32 ACP

Some of the recommended list are fine for a collection, but not for any serious purposes. (Note I did not say, as some do, that no .32 is any good for defense.)

But two makes stand our as especially questionable - the several Mauser pistols and the Ortgies. The Mausers all have a peculiar and unique loading system which is meant to speed reloading but which can create delay and mishandling if one does not practice with it (preferably to the exclusion of other makes). The Ortgies also has serious flaws, the worst being a tendency to break firing pins (nose and "feet"). While the firing pin has two "feet", only one is operative and they have been known to break while under tension, releasing the firing pin on a loaded round, startling anyone in the vicinity, to say the least.

Jim
 
These are mine;
My Seecamp saw daily use for many years. An almost perfect pocket carry gun.
The Walther PP is simply beautiful.
A CZ 83 was a lot of fun but prone to rimlock. Accurate but frustrating.
My favorite is the already mentioned Sig P230. Very reliable and accurate. A Gem.

Love to own but don't;
Sphinx AT-32. Never brought to the U.S. Bigger brother, .380, is a sweet gun. Rimlock too I wonder?
Beretta 81.
PPK, just in case I have to break a plate glass window.
 
I am shocked that no one has mentioned the Colt Model 1903. I have a lot of 32's, and it's my favorite. The little PPK-looking FEG is a sweet pistol that is very well balanced. I got one for about $200 recently.
 
I used to have a 1968 ppk that I spent a bunch to have refinished to mint, wish I kept it. Also did same with a WW2 Beretta pistol. I probably dumped it because it tossed brass in my face! I used to love to mess with vintage .32s. Now all i got is a little CZ 70 that shoots fine and even with the lousy trigger and crappy little sites, shoots nice groups at 50 yards at point of aim. IF you try hard. Fun guns that don't make too much noise or recoil. Practice with fun guns counts, too!
 
OP, I share your enjoyment of 32 cal/ 7.65mm pistols.

I have three: a 1970 Zastava M70 (Yugos version of a Tokarev TT33 but smaller and in 7.65mm), a 1965 Erma Luger KGP68a, and a 1944 Beretta M1935 (Nazi).

On my list to get is a Femaru M37 and a Colt M1903.
 
My late father-in-law was with the Army Quartermasters in WW2, volunteered to be attached to the 101st before D Day, and was with every campaign (Market Garden, Bastogne encirclement, Alsace) all the way into Bavaria etc.

As a 1st LT, he went into Herman Goering's Haus, and liberated a few handguns.
He later traded them to people who had done him a favor during his later 30-year Army career.

Apparently there was no record of who had owned the guns during WW2, and nobody could have proven that Goering had owned them.
I guess that no photos of items were snapped while in Goering's house.

He and a few GIs in a jeep also ''captured" a Bavarian Gasthaus with about 60-80 sleeping German soldiers upstairs (unknown to the GIs, at first), who were glad to have been captured by a few Americans, instead of the Soviets.
 
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tallball said:
I am shocked that no one has mentioned the Colt Model 1903. I have a lot of 32's, and it's my favorite. The little PPK-looking FEG is a sweet pistol that is very well balanced. I got one for about $200 recently.
Click to expand...
My brother owns my Dad's Model 1903 - our Grandpa carried it for 30 years prior to WWII and gave it to him as a back up for his service 1911 while he was in France - 1944-45.
 
Someone mentioned it once and I forgot to add my 2 cents...

The Beratta Model 100 has a 6" barrel and nice big adjustable sights. If you like going to the range and shooting accurately, that's the 32acp you want.

It took me quite a while to find one at a decent price, but I've been very pleased.
 
I had a Walther PPK of WWII vintage that was stolen in 1995 .... I still miss that one and would love to get it back . That was a sweet heart of a pocket pistol.
Gary
 
Just so y'all know--aimsurplus has a shipment of Zastava 1970 32s in stock. The site says they're still packed in grease from storage. Each one comes with an extra magazine. I know nothing about what's desirable in this caliber, but I saw this on their site and thought of this thread. I'll accept paypal fer the modest 10% finder's fee. :D
 
It's always good to see someone with a grand, consuming passion for something and be able to achieve what he wants.
 
Keltec P32, Beretta 3032 and a Colt 1903 are the 32s that I currently own. I carry the P32 sometimes. The Colt 1903 is by far my favorite. It is a beautiful piece of history that still shoots like a dream.
 
I have 4 32 autos and 327 mag. They seem to be my favorites. Don't forget that the 32 auto aka 7.65 Browning seems to continue to be a preferred cartridge for law enforcement in Europe. Also European 32 ammo is more robust than US ammo'
willr
 
I bought a Single Six in .32 H&R in 2010, and have hardly fired a .22 since then. Shortly thereafter got a Marlin 1894CB .32 H&R to go with it. Years ago an uncle gave me an Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless .32 S&W top-break pocket pistol. I had five rounds for it, and used them, along with load book diagrams, to cut-to-length .32H&R cases. Itty bitty powder charges and 71gr bullets for pack rats and larger grass hoppers are safe, low power loads for this old timer. Then the Single Seven showed up, which is what the
.327 should have been chambered in from the git, so I got one in 7.5" and 4 5/8" (my EDC now). Sent the Marlin off to RPP for reaming to .327 and tuning accordingly, what a sweetheart that rifle is. Picked up a Keltec .32 last year in an estate sale, and it is also a daily pocket carrier. I have bullet molds in four weights, thousands of factory cast 71gr lead bullets that really fly out of the .327. In fact, there is a new .314 sizing die at the post office to pick up tomorrow. I need to get to casting and loading the heavier bullets. Got about 2500 cases to fill up (just a little over a pound of powder). I wish I'd gotten the .32H&R S6 when it first came out in '83...would have saved me almost thirty more years of packing around a .22. My great-great grand children will be shooting these guns one day.
I, too, love the Thirty-Two.
 
I like .32 caliber rounds in generally.

I only have one .32 auto, a CZ70, but I have a bunch of .32 revolvers...

A couple of .32 S&Ws, 2 .32 Longs, and 2 .32-20s.
 
So, what's the draw with 32? I don't have one, so that's why I'm asking. Is it like 22, a fun round to plink with but not something you'd necessarily EDC? Well, except for .327 of course. That's a good one for EDC. I know I haven't found a whole lot available in new guns that shoot 32, but judging from this thread, it seems there's quite a few from days gone by. Is that what it is, you just like collecting the 32 guns from the past?
 
I EDC my .32 seecamp.
Better than a speedloader for my wheelies or a mag change for my autos.
Carry it in my left front pocket.
Now carrying five in the LCR is more comforting.
 
Ok, HVR, I can see that making some sense--having one as Plan B. I carry one sometimes two speed strips for my 38 LCR, and one extra mag for my Bersa Thunder 38. Never really thought about just carrying another gun though.
 
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