I just finished reading an article about refitting a Browning .380 in...

C

CaptainO

Moderator
.32 NAA. (Look it up. It's true)! I think that this is a superb idea for the Browning Black Label .380. This places the .32 NAA in the upper range of the .32 H&R Magnum, even concievably a +p version.

The .32 NAA 71 grain FMJ leaves a 2.5" barrel at 1000 fps, generating 158 fpe. From a 4" barrel it will likely generate more from the same or slower buring propellants. (I believe velocities of 1050 fps (173 fpe) or 1175 fps (217 fpe) is quite possible. All achieved without excessive pressures. JB Wood has an ecellent cartridge. All it needs is the runway to extract the full potential from the shell.
 
yup they fly pretty fast. i like those wildcat cartridges they made based on the more or less straight walled handgun cartridges. .32 naa is copied by the poor street gangsters in my country by putting .25 acp projectiles in 9mm P.A.K. blank cartridges instead of using .380 acp.

p.s. those necked down cartridges like .32naa also have less feed problems than straight walled cartridges so it could also make some guns more reliable if they have poor feedramp design or otherwise require a large unsupported part of the cartridge in the chamber to improve feeding
 
When you can get a 71 grain bullet to fog along at those velocities, I would start considering going to a hollow point. Hornady's 80 grain FTX Critical Defense load flies from a 2.5" barrel at 1000 fps (177 fpe). I'd be willing to gamble that you could obtain 1070 fps (203.4 fpe) from The 4.25" barrel fitted to a Browning Black Label 1911 .380. Penetration would be enhanced and felt recoil should be reduced.
 
This .32NAA is new to me, but I assume it is some sort of .380 necked down to .32?

If so, is it strictly a locked breech round or could it be fired in a blowback?
 
That it is. What's confusing about NAA is they insist on chambering it in their Guardian "mini" autos. Since they are a "blowback" proposition, I can't see any reason not to install it in a Bersa/Walther/Browning type arrangement.

I really think that in a 3.8"- 4.25" barrel the .32 NAA shows real promise.
 
You would be surprised what this chambering can do when the "runway" is long enough and the propellants burn slowly enough to develop sufficient velocity. To the devil with the "pocket pistols", I want to see velocities high enough that penetration will be without question.

The accuracy will be there, and there's enough power (and low recoil) in this cartridge to both penetrate and expand if desired. (IMHO, the penetration provided by the velocity will make the difference).

That works for me.

dailycaller.com/2013/10/03/build-your-own-the-32-naa-browning-guns/
 
The accuracy will be there, and there's enough power (and low recoil) in this cartridge to both penetrate and expand if desired. (IMHO, the penetration provided by the velocity will make the difference).
Click to expand...
Velocity != penetration


Increased velocity, under most circumstances, simply makes bullets expand and/or fragment even faster. ...Thus reducing mass and/or increasing resistance. Often, the result is reduced penetration.

If you want increased penetration to come with increased velocity, bullet construction needs to change along with the velocity bump.
 
dailycaller.com/2013/10/03/build-your-own-the-32-naa-browning-guns/

Does this answer your question?
Click to expand...

I'm in. I've got some 1910s that had less than stellar previous lives that are just screaming for this conversion. All I need is the reamer and some ammo.
 
In this day of the Internet and relatively inexpensive shipping, the inability to "run down to Wal-Mart and pick it up" shouldn't stop you from making a conversion that can benefit you all around. Dies, bullets, brass and loading data can help you make ammunition more availble. NAA has more loaded ammuntion options now than ever before.

Check out NAA's website and read the load perfromance data for a 4" barrel. The results may surprise you.
 
Is there anything realistic to be gained with a switch to a hard to find caliber?
Click to expand...

Probably not, but it sure sounds like fun.:cool:

Spare barrels for my particular CCW are easy to find and fairly cheap, so it would give me a third possibility for an interchangeable calibre gun.
 
I am looking to do this with my Browning 1910, but stumbling to find a source to rechamber my spare barrel. It may not be the "be all, end all" cartridge but it sounds like a fun project to give me three options for the 1910.
 
That it is. What's confusing about NAA is they insist on chambering it in their Guardian "mini" autos. Since they are a "blowback" proposition, I can't see any reason not to install it in a Bersa/Walther/Browning type arrangement.
Click to expand...

There were .32 NAA barrels for the Makarov, back in the late 90s/early 2000s.
 
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