Opinions of the Kel-Tec P32

Between the Keltec 32 and between the Keltec 380 and all the LCP's. The 32 is far ahead of all of them. The 32.cal Imo is what these two (Ruger and Keltec) should have made instead of the 380. The 32. is a sweet shooting little Pocket gun and at only 6 1/2 oz. is really light and easy to shoot and carry. For 380 there are much better choices than the Keltc and Ruger.

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Don't worry about a JHP in 32. There isn't a quality JHP when compared to 380. So use FMJ. Because FMJ isn't recommended for defense in any other caliber.

:)

I think you have to want go in liking 32 to (ever) pick it over 380.
 
dgludwig said:
If you're concerned with adequate penetration, why not just use hardball? JHP bullets aren't likely to expand anyway, given the relatively low velocity offered by typical .32 ACP ammunition, and hardball is not only cheaper but, imo, less likely to cause trouble chambering a cartridge than most any other type of bullet.
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Because Hornady XTPs penetrate 12" into ballistics gel, generally expand reliably even out of short barrels like that of the P32, (see the link I posted) and even on the occassion that they don't, they function like FMJs anyway, ergo there's no valid reason to choose FMJ over XTPs.
Also, the more conical profile and narrow cavity of the XTP bullet's design mitigates the risk of rimlock.

Carl the Floor Walker said:
Between the Keltec 32 and between the Keltec 380 and all the LCP's. The 32 is far ahead of all of them. The 32.cal Imo is what these two (Ruger and Keltec) should have made instead of the 380. The 32. is a sweet shooting little Pocket gun and at only 6 1/2 oz. is really light and easy to shoot and carry. For 380 there are much better choices than the Keltc and Ruger.
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I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I myself carry a Ruger LCP, which I choose because based on my research, it was the best all around .380 ACP Pocket Pistol because it was inexpensive yet high quality, with over a decade of proven reliability to its name, and made by a company which stands by its product with industry-leading customer service.

Honestly, I'm a Smith & Wesson guy, yet I chose the Ruger LCP over the S&W M&P380 Bodyguard because it had a better track record. In addition, the LCP replaced my Walther PPK/S for carry, which is one of my favorite pistols of all time, so it had big shoes to fill, yet filled them well.

Also, even if Ruger had offered the LCP in .32 ACP as well as .380 ACP, I still would have bought it in .380 ACP because I like the cartridge better.
 
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Between the Keltec 32 and between the Keltec 380 and all the LCP's. The 32 is far ahead of all of them. The 32.cal Imo is what these two (Ruger and Keltec) should have made instead of the 380. The 32. is a sweet shooting little Pocket gun and at only 6 1/2 oz. is really light and easy to shoot and carry. For 380 there are much better choices than the Keltc and Ruger.
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Do those "Extream" rounds work in your P32. They turn my 8 shot 32 into a single shooter. The round in the tube goes bang, and the next round is rim locked. No matter how careful I am at properly "stacking" the rounds in the mag. Or have you done the Flyer Wire mod?
 
As mentioned above, dont worry about hollow points in .32, they rarely expand and don't penetrate nearly deep enough. FMJ is still the best choice for .32acp.
(Or so I've been told).
 
The extream rounds feed fine in my P32. Last round out of the magazine misfeeds, so I load a fmj. It chrono's about 900 fps out of the KelTec, so I really doubt there's much hydraulic action. Still, as long as it feeds, it should penetrate at least as good as a fmj. The European fmj's are much better than American fmj. Italian Fiocci and German Geco were the best.
 
2002ish I replaced a Beretta M21a with a Kel-Tec 32. Lighter handgun - more powerful than 22lr. Replaced the back pin with a pin and clip for inside waistBand carry. Picked up an extended magazine. Learned hollow pints didn’t always function. Went to one hollow point in the barrel and Fiocchi hardball in the magazine. I took it apart for clean and lube bi-weekly. Always felt it was delicate - the holder for the recoil rod spring was dovetailed in (and would fall out during cleaning). The guide rod was a thin plastic one. And the spring felt weak. I replaced it with a first gen LCP - which was replaced with a Kahr CM 380. Anyway for it’s time - I think it was an excellent option for carry at all times, but not today.
 
The P32 is far from delicate.
The gun was designed to be as lightweight and thin as possible. They are locked breech guns, so the recoil spring does not have to be as strong as a blowback gun.

The LCP was an almost direct copy of the KT P3AT, except they made it heavier and slicked up the plastic frame a little. It was marketing genius. People think that because it's heavier, that it's better (it's not.) Plus it was a Ruger.....

The P32 is still the thinnest, lightest .32 auto ever made. Bigger is not always better.
 
The LCP is heavier because it has an aluminum chassis embedded in the frame whereas the P3AT does not. Dunno if that makes it "better" per se, but it certainly makes it more durable, so it's not like the added weight does nothing or was added for the sole purpose of making the gun artificially feel more durable.

Also, it helps that the LCP comes in a variety of different colors and configurations.

My Ruger LCP is actually the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition with a Stainless Steel slide with front/rear serrations and an skeletonized aluminum trigger.
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As a fan of the low maintenance of Stainless Steel as well as the aesthetic of duotone pistols, the LCP 10th Anniversary Edition appealed to me on both a practical and aesthetic level.

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Cheapshooter said:
Do those "Extream" rounds work in your P32. They turn my 8 shot 32 into a single shooter. The round in the tube goes bang, and the next round is rim locked. No matter how careful I am at properly "stacking" the rounds in the mag. Or have you done the Flyer Wire mod?
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Actually they work fine no misfeeds at all. I made sure that it would handle the ammo and shot quite a few rds through the gun. Not a lot, something like 5 or 6 boxes. But I also do not get and problems with range ammo either. I do use the extra poundage recoil springs. and careful to load each round. Pocket gun shooting has been my hobby since the First LCP came out. I think it is possible people maybe limp wristing the P32 without realizing it.
I put some where around 12-15,000 rounds through multiple LCP's. Nice little guns, reliable, but just do not hold up very well like others in the same class. And not as smooth shooting, more harsh than others. They really need to get a front night sight. (but Ruger will replace them when they do go down, to a point anyway),
 
Forte S+W said:
The LCP is heavier because it has an aluminum chassis embedded in the frame whereas the P3AT does not. Dunno if that makes it "better" per se, but it certainly makes it more durable, so it's not like the added weight does nothing or was added for the sole purpose of making the gun artificially feel more durable.

Also, it helps that the LCP comes in a variety of different colors and configurations.

My Ruger LCP is actually the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition with a Stainless Steel slide with front/rear serrations and an skeletonized aluminum trigger.
attachment.php


As a fan of the low maintenance of Stainless Steel as well as the aesthetic of duotone pistols, the LCP 10th Anniversary Edition appealed to me on both a practical and aesthetic level.

attachment.php
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You are mistaken about the P32.
Of course the P32 has an aluminum frame in the plastic grip frame! The P3AT has an aluminum frame, too.
Keltec even sells different colored grip frames that the consumer can swap out.
The P32 has been available with blued, hard chromed, and parkerized slides.
 
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I must have been thinking of something else then, but I thought that the P32/P3AT only had aluminum in the frame rails, not a full aluminum chassis embedded into the frame. I guess it's just because Ruger felt the need to call attention to it in their description for the LCP while Kel-Tec doesn't for the P3AT.
 
unclenunzie said:
Yes. Though I would further venture to say the LCP II is superior to both in the .380 class.
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Why would the LCPll be superior to both in class? Having owned many I have never seen any difference other than cosmetic. I recently bought the LCPll 22 as well. Nothing special in the build quality but good enough for the 22.cal.

All the LCP 380's will fall apart like cheap lawn chair's once any reasonable amount of rounds fired through them. I suspect the Keltec will as well, but at least you can buy a new grip if one cracks and they will.

The LCP's got a lot of attention because they came out when Pocket guns were a hit with the public and Ruger threw millions of dollars into ads.
This new LCP ll 22 I have has a trigger that down right sucks for a Pocket gun. And all these years later Ruger will not invest in a frigging front sight that can be changed out to a night sight. Lame.
 
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Having done a fair amount of tinker work on the P3AT (springs, grip, frame, filing, filling, etc) before the LCP, it's not totally drop safe when you start tinkering. The gen2 LCP is about it for upgrades while keeping it safe.

That the LCPII hasn't appeared to suffer reported drop fire issues means nothing to me. It's either pure luck or coming at an angle that will happen. Frankly, it's probably not a dropped a lot of times type of pistol. I think that matters for reporting an issue but doesn't mitigate the risk to the individual user.

The kel tec forum has done extensive testing on the P3AT which is the exact copy Ruger used in the LCP. The consensus? There isn't' much you can do to improve the trigger and keep it safe. Drop tests kept me from the P11 as well when that was the only 10rnd small 9mm. Now own a P365. So I do buy a lot based on features.

I personally, with great effort on the P3AT to improve it, wouldn't touch the LCPII as I do not believe Ruger found a way to make it completely safe. The gen2 LCP took improvements well. The LCPII? No. The blade is the only safety. So that makes it totally different than a PPQ/VP9/60% cocked Glock with a dingus trigger block with an additional physical block.

Page 30 of the LCPII manual confirms the blade is the only fire pin block in the gun (http://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/LCPII-Ls6Gb8Dsk45.pdf). That's fine when it's the LCP, LCP gen2 trigger. It is not when it's the LCPII trigger. Also, I care not a fig about the warning on page 26 about drop safety, I'm just referencing the manual over the parts. To full cock the LCPII takes like 1.8mm. So it's sprung ready to fire.

Recall, even the LCP was recalled for drop safety issues. https://ruger.com/LCPRecall/

I do expect the LCPII will have this issue again.
 
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