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I am interested in buying another pistol and the little P32 seems like a nice little piece. I hope its a little better than the sig p238 and the tcp which are marginally reliable. I have a thing for small pocket pistols. Anyone got any opinions on this gun?

As far as reliability goes, mine works fine. It still fits in my pocket with the ten round mag for eleven rounds.

But I always find something to carry with a little more ooomph.

Personally, I would opt for a Ruger LCP (.380) for the reason listed above. I carry it as my primary gun when I simply cannot carry anything else. I'm just leery of the .32.

PeteCamp wrote:Personally, I would opt for a Ruger LCP (.380) for the reason listed above. I carry it as my primary gun when I simply cannot carry anything else. I'm just leery of the .32.

I do like the LCP. My bother has one, but its basically the same thing as a TCP. I am looking for something a little different.

What what I've read, the KelTec just isn't on the same reliability plateau as the Ruger LCP, and the .32 just isn't on the same effectiveness plateau as the .380.

Kel-tec 32 is great. It shoots accurately and reliably. It is fun to shoot. I don't have any trouble maintaining a 3" group at 18 yards. I have been carrying one for years and I don't feel under gunned but then I am sure I can hit my target. I am equally sure that the target won't be happy about being shot with it!

Well can't speak about Kel-tec but I would not depend on a .32 acp. If you are so badly wanting a .32 caliber handgun I would recommend the .32 NAA as a semi auto(I think only Corbon makes ammo for it, I still wouldn't buy it. It is just a .32acp with a .380 cartridge. There is not enough grains for me in .32 acp. In a revolver your options increase. The .32 H&R is a great round (if you can find ammo) or the more powerful .327 federal magnum and yes it is a magnum unlike the .32 H&R which is really only magnum in name. I would look at a .380 in the mouse gun area first. Not that a .32acp can't stop a threat but do you really want to chance it?

I met a retired police officer who was shot in the hip with a .32 acp. He said that it hurt so bad that he would never under estimate the little round again. Luckily for him the BG was reaching for his gun very quickly and didn't aim well. He has a permanent limp for the rest of his life.

When I asked him what happened to the BG he said my aim was better and I had a .45 Colt government model and only needed one round. The sad thing is he said it was just a teenage boy and I could tell that he had killed him in the line of duty from his tone and still wished it never happened. That little .32 ended his career on the beat and he was desk ridden till retirement.

Needless to say with any handgun and especially a .32acp you need to hit center mass or the head with quick follow up shots. Just my 2 cents.

I really like my Kel-Tec chambered in .380. It's reliable and coceals in any outfit.

I have a P32 that I carried for months, then I switched to the Diamondback 380.
I switched because I wanted a bigger round, although the DB380 is one less round.
I don't have any complaints about the P32 though, I can't ever recall a time that it didn't fire when I pulled the trigger, well except for the times I dry fired it, but those times don't count.

The wife carries one most of the time. Sometimes as her BUG and sometimes as the primary. Personally I like the P3AT better but its not as fun to shoot as the 32

E150GT wrote:I am interested in buying another pistol and the little P32 seems like a nice little piece. I hope its a little better than the sig p238 and the tcp which are marginally reliable. I have a thing for small pocket pistols. Anyone got any opinions on this gun?

I have a P32 and carry it all the time. With the new Corbon DPX cartridge, I feel very comfortable that it will "serve its purpose" if the call for it ever happens......

gregthehand wrote:I really like my Kel-Tec chambered in .380. It's reliable and coceals in any outfit.

As long as it matches your shoes...

I've had a P32 for years. Actually, I sold my first one and got to missing it, so I bought another.
I have a safe full of pocket pistols. A few weeks ago I weighed the smallest of them and the P32 was the lightest of them all, loaded with the standard mag. #2 was a NAA Black Widow. #3 was a P3At, #4 was a LCP, #5 was a Seecamp 32.

.32ACp is no "one-shot stop", but it was worked fine in many many alercations over decades. Most recently I recall the attorney who used his P32 on a BG attemping to rob everyone at his weekly AA meeting. Scratch one BG.

I do carry my P32 as a primary when I'm in a lower-risk area, such as around the house. It's also the best choice when I'm wearing tight-fitting slacks or jeans. (Yeah, I know)

My father uses a P32 as his EDC. I considered buying one myself until I saw the issues that the guide rod presented. It is a little dinky plastic thing that is making the pistol work. One day I field stripped his pistol and noticed that the guide rod was bent. I pulled it out and inspected it, then put the pistol back together. The next day I get a call from him telling me that the gun will not feed rounds any more. I go over to take a look at his pistol and notice the bend in the guide rod is aligned differently in the gun. I rotate it around the way it was before and presto, the gun works again. It is almost as though the rod needs to be bent a certain direction to function.

They do offer a metal guide rod for those who insist, but they say the gun is designed to use plastic. I think that's because of the very short distance the slide and barrel has to work in, a little flex in the pin is a good idea.
I have a metal rod for mine, but I've never installed it