Keltec p32 vs p3AT

A

adamBomb

New member
Looking for a spring/summer carry gun that I can carry no matter what. I had my mind set on the bodyguard or glock 42 but have since decided that I need something tiny that I will take when wearing shorts, biking, at the pool, etc.

So it cant be bigger than my wallet. Anyway, I believe that the keltecs are my best bet. They are cheap, have been around for enough years that their reliability issues have been ironed out, and are super small. Now the question is are there really advantages over the 380 vs the 32? The thing pushing me to the 32 is that its 7+1 and a tad lighter. Ammo prices seem about the same. I normally carry a glock 26, which I love and its great for jeans/tshirt. But when I am wearing gym shorts and going biking, its just too much. I want something I will carry always. As they say carrying a .22 is better than a .45 sitting in a safe.
 
I'd get the P-32. The free recoil energy is half that of the P-3AT; thus, it is more pleasant to shoot, so you'll practice with it and get better accuracy and precision. With FMJ ammo you will get adequate penetration. The big disadvantage is it punches holes that are 25% smaller in cross-sectional area than the P-3AT does.
 
My P32 works very well and in such as thunderwear and hotjocks it just disappears with jogging clothes. In fact you can carry two of them!

Deaf
 
I used to have a P3AT, it wasn't a bad little pistol but you really have to hold on to that sucker as it tries to leap out of your hands with every shot and seeing
How you can really only get 2 fingers on the grip it's not too easy to hang onto. But, call me irrational but I'd still rather have the larger .380 projectile, also there seem to be more varieties in ammo for 380 as to the 32 which seems to be dying out similar to the 25acp.
 
A Keltec 3AT is my Gym carry gun. My EDC is a G19 carried AIWB. In the Gym the 3AT with the clip carried in the same place work great for me.

I use Rem FMJ's as my carry ammo for that gun. Choosing penetration over expansion
 
I carry a NAA 32acp and it is my pocket pistol, it is always with me. I know alot of people will say to get the 380 and it is a good option, if you have never shot one of the small 380's then you should borrow/rent one and give it a try. The can be a handful for some people.
 
if I were in the market for such a small gun, I'd choose the P32 over the P3AT because in such a gun there are negligible ballistic differences, however the recoil is noticeably less with the .32 with the benefit of an additional shot without adding to the size of the gun.
 
[A] P3AT ... tries to leap out of your hands with every shot ... .
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Compare that to shooting the essentially same size P-3AT with twice the recoil energy.

[T]here seem to be more varieties in ammo for 380 as to the 32 which seems to be dying out similar to the 25acp.
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As long as .32 Auto and .25 Auto pistols are being manufactured, and for sometime afterwards, ammunition will be available. Variety of ammo is not of much use in these calibers, because anything other than FMJ will be ineffective penetrators; thus, poor choices for self defense.
 
P32 was my choice and no regrets.
Got it for the same reason as the OP.
I was not going to change my clothing habits or activities.

7+1 and it is comfortable to shoot.

I've read where folks gripe about the trigger pull.
Mine is just a smooth (albeit heavy) pull to the break.

You will be able to shoot/plink with it much better than you might imagine.

JT
 
The P32 is a tiny bit smaller than the P3AT. But not enough to really make much difference as to concealability, or carry weight. The 32 offers one additional round capacity over the P3AT. But the P3AT is chambered in a more powerful round. With modern bullet technology there are several 380 HP rounds that do penetrate to an acceptable depth, and exhibit some degree of expansion.
Not really confident in HP rounds out of a tiny 32, so I stick with fmj in that gun.
The improved performance of the 380 does come at the cost of a snappier recoil that some find objectionable in the tiny mouseguns.
 
With modern bullet technology there are several 380 HP rounds that do penetrate to an acceptable depth, and exhibit some degree of expansion
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ShootingTheBull410 concluded, as I recall, that the only .380 Auto JHPs that expanded reliably while penetrating adequately are rounds tipped with a Hornady XTP bullet. That was from a Taurus PT-738 TCP, but the P-3AT's barrel is only 0.14-in shorter, so performance from the latter should be similar.

I find it interesting that none of the top premium lines of JHPs -- Fexeral HST, Hornady Critical Defense, Speer Gold Dot -- penetrate adequately. The HST expands beautifully, but it's like deploying a parachute in terms of bringing penetration up short.
 
Several tests show in excess of 10.5 inches, and most very close to the magical FBI 12" number for Speer Gold Dot 90gr. 380. With pretty consistant, and at times very impressive expansion.
For the intended purpose of close up, civilian SD, that sounds pretty acceptable.

I certainly would not be happy to have a hole ripped through ten to eleven inches of my body.:eek:
 
I have fired a keltec .32, a keltec PF9 and a glock 42. Of all of them, I like the g42 best for me it was extremely accurate, single hole magazine groups at 10 yds/ hit you in the eyeball every single shot. The price is a bit high for such a small gun, but its seriously a rrrrrreally nice gun. For me the keltec .32 wasn't nearly as accurate but not bad, the keltec feels cheaper and it is cheaper, by about 200 dollars or more, but it has aluminum frame rails with a steel slide riding on them. The glock is very small. Easily the size of a wallet, keltec only a tiny bit smaller.

I like the PF9 but does have some recoil, and a heavy trigger, and aluminum frame rails
 
I have a P3AT. It isn't fun to shoot (I have XL hands), but I can hit a paper plate with it virtually every time at 20 feet, and that is good enough for its intended purpose. It is extremely easy to conceal. I have had it for about five years and it has yet to malfunction.

I have several 32acp pistols and they are fun to shoot, but I would be reluctant to trust them for SD.
 
Several tests show in excess of 10.5 inches, and most very close to the magical FBI 12" number for Speer Gold Dot 90gr. 380. With pretty consistant, and at times very impressive expansion.
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The IWBA ammunition specification, which I can no longer find online, is meant to be used by a LE department to tailor specifications for its purpose, but it contains examples that can be interpreted as an IWBA recommendation:

- a sample size of 10 shots;
- an average penetration into bare, calibrated, standard gel no less than 12.5 in; and,
- a penetration standard deviation no more than 0.6 in (a metric of expansion reliability).

The IWBA's goal is to ensure that most shots will penetrate deeply enough (while expanding reliably) to reach a bad guy's highly vascularized vital tissues from a suboptimal angle even with obstructions (such as bone) in the path. Assuming the minimum average penetration, the maximum standard deviation, and a desire to see 90% of the shots penetrate adequately with a 90% degree of confidence, the lower, one-sided tolerance limit is:

LTL = 12.5 - 2.066(0.6) = 11.3 in.

The statistical constant is found in Table C5: https://www.safaribooksonline.com/l...odeling-prediction/9780471184508/35_appc.html. If you don't like 90% confidence and 90% confidence, pick your own values, substitute your constant for 2.066, and recalculate. But, the IWBA is effectively stating, per this interpretation, that a penetration of 11.3 in in gel should get the job done.

If you relax your acceptable mean penetration to 10.5 in, your lower tolerance limit drops:

LTL = 10.5 - 2.066(0.6) = 9.3 in.

In other words, with an average penetration of 10.5 in, you can be 90% confident that 90% of the shots will penetrate at least 9.3 in. As best I can tell, my chest depth is about 8 in, so a round that can penetrate at least 9.3 in with a high degree of confidence would probably tickle my vitals, even with my sternum in the way -- if I conveniently present you with a note ce frontal target and don't interpose my arms between me and your muzzle.

For the intended purpose of close up, civilian SD, that sounds pretty acceptable.
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Civilian SD targets are the same as LE targets -- bad guys. I see no basis for relaxing terminal ballistics performance standards just because you don't carry a badge.
 
Having owned all three, I would still purchase the LCP over the two kel tecs.

Though my since sold P3AT with a grey grip and hard chrome slide was my aesthetic favorite and the hard chrome held up amazing, the 2012+ LCP gen2 is just better. The sights are sill small but miles better. The trigger lacks a distinct break, but is 50% lighter and break in the middle. The P3AT breaks at the very back of the grip.

I agree Ruger copied the design and that's pretty crappy of Ruger. I do think the improved LCP is better than the P3AT by a large measure. I believe the LCP is going for less than the P3AT now too.
 
I bought a box or two of buffalo bore hot semi wad cutter hardcast for my P-32. I did get rim lock once because I pushed the follower down too much while loading the mag. I plan to rectify the situation by having my gunsmith install a flyer wire.

Other than that the P32 is reliable and works when even a snubby is too big.
 
I have had a P32 since before the 3AT came out and see no reason to change.
Mine had to have a bit of "fluff and buff" to get the roughness out of the action but it is now reliable. I load it with Fiocchi hardball for feeding and penetration.

I find the midget .380s to be hard kickers, and want nothing in between the P32 and the Kahr CW9.
 
I own and carry a P3AT. I have seen a lot of LCPs being shot, and consider them more reliable. My Keltec was cheap, but I had to do the "fluff & buff" to make it work. Squared the sights up while I was at it. At less than 10 yards it will do the job, 15 if I am careful, but the sights and possibly a laser on the LCP are much better.
 
I like my P32 for summer carry. It does not like hollow points, though. It rimlocked frequently with HP ammo. Shoots ball just fine. I carry it with Sellier & Bellot 71 gr. FMJ with an advertised muzzle velocity of over 1000 fps.
 
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