Kel Tec P32 OR NAA Guardian? Opinions please.

4

45automan

New member
Hey guys I need a small gun for "always" carry. Now my .45ACP is great but does me no good if I have to leave it home or in the car in a lock box right? Anyway my dealer can sell me a NAA Guardian for $350 out the door. He has not been able to get a P 32 for 3 months now. I need to know what works best here. I am going by the shop tommorow to check out the NAA I have already handled the P 32. What do you all think?
Thanks,45automan
 
Here is another idea: Glock 26/27. Its pocket sized, very lightweight, and has decent power (9mm or .40 S&W). I could get away with concealing my G26 in any weather/clothing combo.
 
I had the Guardian and no complaints. Great little gun. But I sold it and got the P-32 and I like it better. They're both good guns,
I just prefered the Kel-Tec.
You can't go wrong either way. At least try to handle both first. Good luck!

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Knee deep in brass, still shootin fast!
 
too close to call, both are good. you have no choice but to get both types. that's what i did, P-32 & Autauga .32 - very similiar to the guardian.
 
I happen to have the Guardian and the P32, and my preference is the P32. It's an easier gun to live with, day in and day out. My P32 has also been more reliable than my Guardian.
 
I have a feeling the NAA will be a more solid and better constructed piece. It's certainly a lot classier looking. And I've seen NAA Guardians for pretty cheap lately too ;) They make a new .380 that's the same size as the 32 if you're interested.

Ben

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Almost Online IM: BenK911
ICQ # 53788523
"Gun Control Is Being Able To Hit Your Target"
Different, just like everyone else. (Ben Original)
 
Ben, I knew Seecamp was making it in .380, but I didn't know NAA did. My choice was the p-32. Easy to live with. Can carry it anywhere from gym to work. Easy to breakdown and clean with few moving parts to misplace.
 
I am lucky enough to own both a P-32 and a Guardian. Lately, since I purchased a RJ Hedley back pocket holster for my Guardian, I have carried it more often. But it really just comes down to what is the most comfortable in the type of pants I happen to be wearing. (Sometimes it is more comfortable to carry a Beretta Jetfire loaded with .25ACP Magsafes.) As I've said before, my Guardian is a little more ammo sensitive, but runs just fine on Silvertips or Fiocchi FMJ/SJHP.
So far the P-32 has fired everything that I've stuffed into the mag. However, I keep it loaded with Hydra-Shoks.
It's a tough decision to make. You would probably be happy with either pistol. However, I agree with Alamo. Buy them both. :)

Will
 
I selected the P-32 because: It's much lighter & thinner. It conceals easier, specially with the pocket clip. It fires almost every kind of ammo available including +p. It breaks down for cleaning in about 5 seconds. The Hard Chrome option is great for only $20. The company has great customer service. The gun has a lifetime guaranty.
Mike

[This message has been edited by MIKE10538 (edited October 05, 2000).]
 
ak9,

Oops... I think you're right. They sure do look similar though. Thanx for the correction.

Ben

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Almost Online IM: BenK911
ICQ # 53788523
"Gun Control Is Being Able To Hit Your Target"
Different, just like everyone else. (Ben Original)
 
I went with the P-32 for the following reasons:

(1)P-32 is much lighter and thinner than the Guardian. A guy at a gun show had both the P-32 and the Guardian, and let me fool a bit with them. The P-32 is almost weightless compared to the Guardian; I usually forget I have my P-32 with me when I carry it holstered in my watch pocket or behind my wallet. For me, the Guardian feels like a chunk of lead when carried in similar places. I recently got a stainless clip for my P-32, and now it can be put anywhere I carry my Spyderco knife.

(2)The P-32 holds 7+1 rounds of pretty much anything I want to fire through it, compared to the Guardian's 6+1 "finicky" capacity. When carrying a mousegun, I want as many rounds as possible - because one round is almost definitely NOT going to do it. When I practice with the little spitwad, I try the "spray for the face" technique, trying to make all the shots fast as possible while keeping them in the upper torso/face area. The P-32's locked breech design softens recoil when compared to straight blowback designs like the Guardian, lending itself better to the rapid-fire technique I prefer.

(3)PRICE! Before all the scalping started, I was looking for a P-32 for about 6 months. Finally Oleg Volk turned me on to a place in Minnesota that had a hard-chrome model - I ended up paying 255$ total for the gun and all the shipping and transfer fees to get it here to WV. The local dealers were quoting me prices of 275$+ before taxes for the same gun, and were never able to get one! Guardians start for about 375$ around here, so I ended up saving 120$+ by going with the P-32. I will admit, the Guardian is extremely well made and looks like an absolute jewel, but I'm a "Glock person" so for me "beautiful is as beautiful does". I guess I was a little biased to begin with, because I love the light weight of polymer-framed guns.

(4)Everyone raves about Kel-Tec's customer service. Even though I haven't had so much as a single jam or misfire out of my P-32, I'm confident that they'll be glad to fix it if it ever does mess up.

(5)Disassembly is really easy and thorough, which makes is easier to clean the gun top-to-bottom than a fixed-barrel design.

The only advantage I can see to the Guardian is the quality fit and finish, but if your considering a serious carry piece reliability and firepower should be your main concerns. Bad guys won't give a damn how pretty your gun is if it fails to go "bang" when you pull the trigger. Again, that's my "Glock mentality" showing itself again.

I hope all my long winded-opinions helps you out! If you can wait for a P-32, I think that it's clearly the superior choice (in my book, at least). Opt for the hard-chrome option if possible, but if you're limited to a blued model you can send the slide assembly back to Kel-Tec and exchange them for a hard chrome assembly for 20$. As I recall, the guys at Kel-Tec let slides in all three finish options sit in a bucket of water for a week to test rust resistance; the blued and parkerized slides rusted quite a bit, but the hard chrome didn't rust at all. I'd say the hard chrome is the best for daily pocket carry.

Good luck!



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Glock 19
S&W 629 Classic
KelTec P32

"Oh yeah? Well I talk LOOOUDLY! And I carry a BIIIGGER stick! And I'll use it, too." -Yoesemite Sam
 
I bought my P-32 as a backup gun for my Glock 21 and it is more than I expected from such an inexpensive gun. Mine has been 100% reliable, very light (6.6 0unces) and very flat. You can conceal the little mother in a bathing suit if need be. I paid $240.00 and min has the chrome slide which looks quite trick compared to the flat black or blued version. The Seacamp, Autuga Arms and the other small .32's are far to heavy in comparison to the P-32. If you can find one buy it.

7th

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
Oleg is right about the sights.
The white sights on my black slide were hard to see and looked like someone just "slopped" white paint on. When I got the hard chrome slide, the red sights looked like they had been painted on with care. They're perfect and MUCH easier to see.

Will
 
I went to the Louisville gun show today and, for the first time, I saw P-32's for sale. ($259-$269 and all in the black finish.) Also some Guardians. There were a few Autagua's also. (But none for under $300.00.) I saw one NIB Seecamp for $795.00. (I think he would have taken less.) I examined the Seecamp "up close". The one that I looked at was finished very well indeed. Still, to me it wasn't worth $795.00. It was nice, but not that nice!

Will
 
i had one of my p-32s nickel plated by jack fuselier. i want to make the sites red like the kel-tec chrome version.
anyone know what type of paint to use that will stick and not be affected by lube or solvents?
 
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