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Old 09-26-2018, 01:10 AM
Duigiud Duigiud is offline
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Default .32 S&W Gel Test

It is what it was designed to be and not a 16 inch naval gun from the Battleship Missouri. The .32 s&w round, (not .32 s&w long), was created to be an up close, “across the poker table”, at arms length round to be fired from a equally dimuiative firearm. To be used as an extremely close range, “reach out and touch em”, personal use defense, handgun round and nothing more, period! I found a well researched article written in 2017 by Terril James Herbert in Guns.com entitled “Gun Review: Iver Johnson Safety Automatic Revolver in .32 S&W”. I would care less about the IJ but what I found interesting was for the first time I found someone who ACTUALLY had done ballistics gel testing with the .32 S&W round and had published the results on the net. With Remington factory ammo the 88 grain round nose bullet averaged 660 FPS from the 4 inch barrel IJ. He fired the rounds through 4 layers of denim before they entered the gel. The rounds penetrated between 14 to 18 inches into 10 % ordinance gel. Surprise, surprise! Well what about that folks! That will kill more than a Hamster now won’t it!

https://s14544.pcdn.co/wp-content/up...017/07/iv3.jpg

https://s14544.pcdn.co/wp-content/up...017/07/iv4.jpg

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Old 09-26-2018, 09:07 AM
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I'm not familiar with most calibers and their effects, so these graphical examples are interesting to me.

I don't remember the ammo details about this photo comparison I borrowed from a previous forum thread. It has the .32 you mention in the upper left.

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Old 09-26-2018, 09:18 AM
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The .32 was good enough for Bad bad Leroy Brown, the baddest man in the whole dam town.
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Old 09-26-2018, 09:19 AM
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Well I guess that shows me how misleading ballistics gel can be. A few stories about my early involvement with this caliber. My grandfather had a 32 H&R revolver that he carried when hunting and used it for rats and raccoons on the farm. I had the gun for years and recently gave it to one of my nephews to keep.

The first negative experience my grandfather had with the little 32 was while deer hunting. He shot a deer and as he approached, it appeared dead. As he got there, the deer was immobile but alive. He decided to use his 32 and shoot it through the brain. Well, the bullet bounced off the skull and whizzed past his ear. He never tried that again. He would also tell me about shooting raccoons in the barn and he was never able to kill them, but at least they ran away and never attacked.

That 32 H&R was the first revolver I ever shot. I was probably 10 years old and at the farm when my grandfather was picking up manure. He loaded up the mighty 32 and told me to shoot the rats as they ran from their warm home. Well 5 shots later and I could not hit a thing, so I found a piece of paper, drew a bullseye on it and tacked it to an oak tree. You guessed it . . . I shot from about 10 yards and the boomerang bullet bounced off the tree and hit me below the knee. Broke the skin, but bounced off me as well.

Bottom line, Never - Ever assume you have personal protection if you are carrying a 32 S&W. Chipmunks may even survive the shot and attack!
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Old 09-26-2018, 09:38 AM
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I have a 3" nickeled I frame model 30. its loaded with magtech hollow points. I know they probably will not expand they cost as much as the LRN so why not.
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Old 09-26-2018, 10:26 AM
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I don’t know about escaping barn rats, possum playing deer or hard-headed raccoons but when used at “arms length”, “across the poker table” or in the gut range like it was created for it worked. Just ask President McKinley.


P.S.

It’s not a naval gun! Wasn’t meant to be. Would you go squirrel hunting with a .30-06? When a moving object strikes an stationary one the kenetic energy has to go somewhere. If the moving object can’t penetrate the stationary one and hits it straight on then the kenetic energy is directed back from whence it came. Called a ricochet. Can happen to any caliber, a .32 s&w striking an Oak Tree or a .50 caliber BMG round hitting armored steel.

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Old 09-26-2018, 10:43 AM
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The .32 was good enough for Bad bad Leroy Brown, the baddest man in the whole dam town.
Big Jim Walker may not agree as to who`s the baddest.
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Old 09-26-2018, 12:36 PM
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Well, the 32 S&W and the 25 acp are examples of rounds that they often don't have the kinetic energy to penetrate bone (e.g., skull) and just bounce off. Or, follow the skull around just under the skin and then exit from behind. And leave the bad guy with a flesh wound and a headache.

The trouble with gel tests is there is nothing hard in the gel, so the 32 S&W and 25 acp penetrates OK, but in real life these low end rounds can't get past bones.

You are right, when shot in the belly, most people died back before antibiotics. But McKinley took nine days to die of gangrene. A very poor stopper in a self defense situation.

I think the move to the 32 S&W long just added enough power to break bones, at least most of the time, so they are a lot more effective.

Both 32 S&W Long and 32 acp were just powerful enough that they enjoyed a long run of use by law enforcement.
I agree in part. If the .32 s&w was totally effective as a caliber that would incapacitate a bad guy then we wouldn’t have any of the other calibers now would we? Yes, President McKinley did take 9 days to die but that’s inmaterial to the matter at hand. Was he incapacitated when shot? Yes! No, he wasn’t capapulted backward through the air levitated off his feet to land 15 feet back from where he was standing like you see in Hollywood. Handguns are notoriously questionable as incapacatators. My 33 year, 4 months and 6 day Federal Law Enforcement career has taught me that. I was employed by U.S. Customs and later DHS as a Customs Patrol Officer then Special Agent before I retired. I was a Range Officer/Firearms Instructor my entire career. During my Firearms Training both basic and that of a Range Officer I was trained by the best from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy, (FLETC), to include Jim Cirillo retired NYPD. I had several Firearms Training classes and sessions on the range with him. Jim told us that the best way to immediately incapacitate, (kill), someone with a handgun is shoot them in the CNS or the brain. Civilians are not cops, they are not members of Jim’s NYPD stake-out squad. Civilians should be using a weapon on an assaiant to STOP an action that places them in imminent danger of their life or serious bodily harm. They don’t need something that vaporizes the bad guys like Capt. kirks Phaser. I’m not a cop anymore. I don’t get paid to go in harms way any more. The only way now that I’d use a firearm is at arms length to get the *** the hell off me! If I get shot the bullet holes are going to be in my *** because that’s the direction I’ll be heading! Call it in, wait for the paid cops not the retired ones to arrive, render all assistance and be a good witness and citizen.

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Old 09-26-2018, 02:14 PM
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I had a top break .32 S&W. I shot a Coke can at about 10' with it. It seemed like it barely had enough "oomp" to knock the can over.
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Old 09-26-2018, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by bigwheelzip View Post
I'm not familiar with most calibers and their effects, so these graphical examples are interesting to me.

I don't remember the ammo details about this photo comparison I borrowed from a previous forum thread. It has the .32 you mention in the upper left.

Aren't 9mm Luger and 9mm Parabellum supposed to be the same thang.
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Old 09-26-2018, 07:02 PM
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Muley...don't get caught in front of one of those. Ask oldbear how easily it blew through that rough cut treated 2x12.
Don't worry. I don't even want to be shot with an airsoft gun. I'm a wimp.
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Old 09-26-2018, 09:54 PM
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The .32 was good enough for Bad bad Leroy Brown, the baddest man in the whole dam town.
All we're told is that Leroy had "...a .32 gun in his pocket just for fun...", so we don't know if it was a break-top .32 S&W, a .32 S&W Long Hand Ejector, or a .32 Auto. Unfortunately, Jim Croce died in 1973, so we'll never know. However, if the bullet bounced off of his victim, Leroy also "...had a razor in his shoe...". I doubt that he had a concealed carry permit.
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Old 09-26-2018, 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Duigiud View Post
I don’t know about escaping barn rats, possum playing deer or hard-headed raccoons but when used at “arms length”, “across the poker table” or in the gut range like it was created for it worked. Just ask President McKinley.


P.S.

It’s not a naval gun! Wasn’t meant to be. Would you go squirrel hunting with a .30-06? When a moving object strikes an stationary one the kenetic energy has to go somewhere. If the moving object can’t penetrate the stationary one and hits it straight on then the kenetic energy is directed back from whence it came. Called a ricochet. Can happen to any caliber, a .32 s&w striking an Oak Tree or a .50 caliber BMG round hitting armored steel.
Thanks a lot for your condescending remarks.
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Old 09-27-2018, 12:40 AM
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Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) uses a .32 caliber nickel Colt Police Positive revolver with a 4-inch barrel as his weapon of choice. This revolver was given to him as a present by Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin) and is used throughout his vigilante encounters. He kills ten street muggers with it.



Death Wish (1974 - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games)

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Old 09-27-2018, 04:13 PM
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Read Chic Gaylord's, Handgunner's Guide (1960) for how the .32
performed in real life shootings in New York City.

It won't encourage you to rely on a .32 S&W.

I don't care what it did in this gel test. I want a caliber that'll more likely quickly deck an attacker.
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:13 AM
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Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) uses a .32 caliber nickel Colt Police Positive revolver with a 4-inch barrel as his weapon of choice. This revolver was given to him as a present by Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin) and is used throughout his vigilante encounters. He kills ten street muggers with it.



Death Wish (1974 - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games)
Ummm, yeah. You do realize that Paul Kersey is a fictional character, right? JK!

And we all know what a great track record Hollyweird has with getting it right when it comes to guns...

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Old 09-28-2018, 03:28 AM
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Thanks a lot for your condescending remarks.
Sorry. Didn’t intend to offend. Apologize if I did.
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Old 09-28-2018, 04:26 AM
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Read Chic Gaylord's, Handgunner's Guide (1960) for how the .32
performed in real life shootings in New York City.

It won't encourage you to rely on a .32 S&W.

I don't care what it did in this gel test. I want a caliber that'll more likely quickly deck an attacker.
Anything bigger and traveling faster than a .32 S&W might incapacitate quicker or it might not. But why bother with a howitzer when something bigger might not increase the odds and as a civilian you shouldn’t be blasting away at anything more than an arms length any away. I said in a earlier part of this thread that I had Jim Cirillo as an Instructor in part of my Firearms Training at FLETC. Jim was part of a NYPD stake out team that went undercover inside of high crime businesses hiding inside to ambush the robbers. One time Jim and his team was in a shootout with one inside a store. The bad guy shot at the cops and the chase was on inside the store. Jim had a revolver and a 12 ga pump shotgun. They both rounded an aisle in the store and came face to face with each other. Jim shot the guy point blank in the chest with a slug. The perp got back up and ran towards the front door where he took another round and died. I had several cases I took to trial here in Tallahassee, FL. An AUSA I worked with allot, Dave McGee, told me one time when he was a State prosecutor in Tallahassee he handled a robbery where a huge guy tried to rob the place with a gun. However, the store owner had his own, an S&W model 29, .44 Mag, and shot the robber in the head with it. The idiot ran out of the store while the owner called the cops. Dave said that when the Tallahassee Police came they found the guy sitting down on the curb outside the store holding his head. A cop came up to him and the robber said, “Owee, my head hurts!”. They found out at the hospital that the round entered through the skin on his head and followed the curvature of his skull and didn’t penetrate. That’s two point blank shootings from large caliber weapons that should have done the Capt. Kirk vaporized thing immediately but didn’t. One did die but had enough time to do some damage to others if he wasn’t too busy trying to escape. The other was too busy holding his head. The point is neither caliber nor feet per second velocity will guarantee immediate incapacitation. It wasn’t too long ago that I read that FBI statistics showed that more people are murdered with .22’s and .25’s than any other calibers. Big is not always better.
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Old 09-28-2018, 04:35 AM
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Anything bigger and traveling faster than a .32 S&W might incapacitate quicker or it might not. But why bother with a howitzer when something bigger might not increase the odds and as a civilian you shouldn’t be blasting away at anything more than an arms length any away. I said in a earlier part of this thread that I had Jim Cirillo as an Instructor in part of my Firearms Training at FLETC. Jim was part of a NYPD stake out team that went undercover inside of high crime businesses hiding inside to ambush the robbers. One time Jim and his team was in a shootout with one inside a store. The bad guy shot at the cops and the chase was on inside the store. Jim had a revolver and a 12 ga pump shotgun. They both rounded an aisle in the store and came face to face with each other. Jim shot the guy point blank in the chest with a slug. The perp got back up and ran towards the front door where he took another round and died. I had several cases I took to trial here in Tallahassee, FL. An AUSA I worked with allot, Dave McGee, told me one time when he was a State prosecutor in Tallahassee he handled a robbery where a huge guy tried to rob the place with a gun. However, the store owner had his own, an S&W model 29, .44 Mag, and shot the robber in the head with it. The idiot ran out of the store while the owner called the cops. Dave said that when the Tallahassee Police came they found the guy sitting down on the curb outside the store holding his head. A cop came up to him and the robber said, “Owee, my head hurts!”. They found out at the hospital that the round entered through the skin on his head and followed the curvature of his skull and didn’t penetrate. That’s two point blank shootings from large caliber weapons that should have done the Capt. Kirk vaporized thing immediately but didn’t. One did die but had enough time to do some damage to others if he wasn’t too busy trying to escape. The other was too busy holding his head. The point is neither caliber nor feet per second velocity will guarantee immediate incapacitation. It wasn’t too long ago that I read that FBI statistics showed that more people are murdered with .22’s and .25’s than any other calibers. Big is not always better.
P.S.

Forgot to mention that Jim’s handgun and ammo of choice was the .38 revolver with wad cutters. He said the best way to incapacitate, i.e. kill, a bad guy was to shoot them in the eye, (shot placement), there’s no hard headed skull to deflect a bullet behind an eyeball is there?

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Old 09-28-2018, 12:30 PM
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P.S.

Forgot to mention that Jim’s handgun and ammo of choice was the .38 revolver with wad cutters. He said the best way to incapacitate, i.e. kill, a bad guy was to shoot them in the eye, (shot placement), there’s no hard headed skull to deflect a bullet behind an eyeball is there?
Yeah, I've always heard the quickest way to a one-shot stop is to hit the triangle formed by the eyes and mouth.

Unfortunately that is a pretty small moving target. So for me putting multiple rounds into center mass seems like the best bet, and using the biggest caliber you can reliably do that with makes the most sense.

More holes and bigger holes seems like a more realistic goal than trying to achieve a one-shot stop to me.
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Old 09-29-2018, 02:56 PM
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Yeah, I've always heard the quickest way to a one-shot stop is to hit the triangle formed by the eyes and mouth.

Unfortunately that is a pretty small moving target. So for me putting multiple rounds into center mass seems like the best bet, and using the biggest caliber you can reliably do that with makes the most sense.

More holes and bigger holes seems like a more realistic goal than trying to achieve a one-shot stop to me.
Can’t argue with common sense logic. But why couldn’t one pull the trigger multiple times on his .32 S&W as well? But you’re right a bigger bullet will come in contact with more substance and if it has the velocity, which a snub nose usually won’t, might expand increasing that contact. The bigger the bullet the bigger the hole. But the bigger the bullet the bigger the gun required to carry it too. That’s a concederation for CCW. If you have to “dress for the gun” just to carry one you’re likely to one day just say “oh the hell with it” and leave it at home, and that’s when you’ll need it. Centuries ago when I was a Special Agent with Customs in Key West assigned to the FL Joint Task Group I thought bigger the better too so I got myself a .45 cal Detonics. Remember those? They were a 1911 Colt .45 that was chopped down in size and the grip Safety deactivated. The thing was 7 inches long and weighed 34 ounces unloaded. I tried to tote it around when working but couldn’t. Customs had a reg where all weapons had to be worn concealed. In tropical Key West one didn’t wear jackets. I tried to wear it in an ankle holster that didn’t work out. It kept on rotating to the front of my ankle. It went from my ankle to my briefcase then one day as I was pulling into the office parking lot I realized that I had left it at home! A Federal Narc and he left his gun at home! Moron! But ain’t we all human? Drove the 20 odd miles back to the house to fetch it and had to fill out a leave slip for being late for work. That made my mind up to sell it and went to a Beretta model 84 .380 14 shot. Carried it with Winchester silver tips. The Beretta was light enough to carry in an ankle holster but after awhile that got ridiculous too so I went back to the tried a true S&W model 60. If you are going to carry, carry something that’s not a hindrance, something that’s no more troublesome than picking up your car keys on your way out the door. If you have to “dress” just to wear your gun chances are you will leave it at home. How do you wear an ankle holster with shorts in the summer? Are you going to wear pants in the summertime during the day when it’s 100 + degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel even hotter just so you can wear your ankle holster? Are you going to be able to carry your 30 + ounce gun in the pants pocket of your shorts when you slip on a tee shirt and flip flops and drive down to your local stop-n-rob to pick up something for the wife? Bigger sometimes is not always better. First rule of gun fighting, rule #1. Bring a gun, any gun, even a puny, runty .32 S&W!

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Old 09-29-2018, 03:25 PM
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The shape of the round matter, too. I would prefer to use target wadcutters over RN all day, in any caliber. It is entirely possible that the .32 would work adequately under some or many conditions - but all pistol rounds suck.
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Old 09-29-2018, 05:13 PM
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Can’t argue with common sense logic. But why couldn’t one pull the trigger multiple times on his .32 S&W as well? But you’re right a bigger bullet will come in contact with more substance and if it has the velocity, which a snub nose usually won’t, might expand increasing that contact. The bigger the bullet the bigger the hole. But the bigger the bullet the bigger the gun required to carry it too. That’s a concederation for CCW. If you have to “dress for the gun” just to carry one you’re likely to one day just say “oh the hell with it” and leave it at home, and that’s when you’ll need it. Centuries ago when I was a Special Agent with Customs in Key West assigned to the FL Joint Task Group I thought bigger the better too so I got myself a .45 cal Detonics. Remember those? They were a 1911 Colt .45 that was chopped down in size and the grip Safety deactivated. The thing was 7 inches long and weighed 34 ounces unloaded. I tried to tote it around when working but couldn’t. Customs had a reg where all weapons had to be worn concealed. In tropical Key West one didn’t wear jackets. I tried to wear it in an ankle holster that didn’t work out. It kept on rotating to the front of my ankle. It went from my ankle to my briefcase then one day as I was pulling into the office parking lot I realized that I had left it at home! A Federal Narc and he left his gun at home! Moron! But ain’t we all human? Drove the 20 odd miles back to the house to fetch it and had to fill out a leave slip for being late for work. That made my mind up to sell it and went to a Beretta model 84 .380 14 shot. Carried it with Winchester silver tips. The Beretta was light enough to carry in an ankle holster but after awhile that got ridiculous too so I went back to the tried a true S&W model 60. If you are going to carry, carry something that’s not a hindrance, something that’s no more troublesome than picking up your car keys on your way out the door. If you have to “dress” just to wear your gun chances are you will leave it at home. How do you wear an ankle holster with shorts in the summer? Are you going to wear pants in the summertime during the day when it’s 100 + degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel even hotter just so you can wear your ankle holster? Are you going to be able to carry your 30 + ounce gun in the pants pocket of your shorts when you slip on a tee shirt and flip flops and drive down to your local stop-n-rob to pick up something for the wife? Bigger sometimes is not always better. First rule of gun fighting, rule #1. Bring a gun, any gun, even a puny, runty .32 S&W!
There was never any assumption that you couldn't/wouldn't fire multiple rounds from a .32. I was contrasting the ability to put multiple shots center mass vs trying to make a 1 shot stop to the face. If a 32 is what you can punch multiple center mass holes in a bad guy with, then it fits the bill.

On the other hand, would you prefer multiple shots of lighter slower .312 (32acp) or the same number of heavier, faster moving .355 (9mm)? When trying to incapacitate by center mass hits, obviously bigger, heavier, faster projectiles have an advantage.


FWIW, I carry my LC9 in a pants or shorts pocket all the time - when I'm not carrying it IWB or in an inside vest pocket. for me, 8 rounds of hot 9mm SD (124gr HP) ammo inspire a lot of confidence.
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Old 09-29-2018, 05:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Doug M. View Post
The shape of the round matter, too. I would prefer to use target wadcutters over RN all day, in any caliber. It is entirely possible that the .32 would work adequately under some or many conditions - but all pistol rounds suck.
Absolutely! Especially the round nose ones as they push past visceral tissues and organs. Our human innards are remarkably elastic and when moved spring back into place. Round nose bullets tend to push and poke their way through us and as soon as they pass by everything falls back into place. Wadcutters and semi wadcutter bullets on the other hand with their sharp shoulders and edges cut and “punch” their way through us just like they do in a paper target. Round nose bullets poke a hole, wadcutters and semi wadcutters punch a hole. Much less permanent tissue and organ damage is done with a “poked” hole in something because it tends to self seal when the torn edges fold back in place sealing the hole sort of like a cork. A “punched” through hole can’t seal itself because the tissue has been cut away there’s no “cork”.

P.S.

After I wrote the above I emailed Buffalo Bore and asked them if they would consider making a load for the .32 S&W like they have for the .32 S&W Long. I suggested SAAMI standards with a SWC instead of a RNL like current offerings. I was surprised when I believe the president of the company responded the next day. He stated that he had thought about doing it in the past but decided not to because the .32 S&W predates that of the the .32 S&W Long and there are too many older guns chambered in .32 S&W still out there being used. The legal risk would be too great.

Last edited by Duigiud; 09-30-2018 at 11:14 AM. Reason: New Information To Add
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Old 09-29-2018, 07:03 PM
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I recall a story I once heard of a guy that was treed by a bear and all he had was a 32 S&W and a box of ammo. THe bear would start climbing the tree and the guy would discourage it by popping it with the 32.


He finally killed the bear, and it only took 30 some rounds......
(It bled to death).......
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Old 09-29-2018, 11:01 PM
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I recall a story I once heard of a guy that was treed by a bear and all he had was a 32 S&W and a box of ammo. THe bear would start climbing the tree and the guy would discourage it by popping it with the 32.


He finally killed the bear, and it only took 30 some rounds......
(It bled to death).......
now THAT is some bad shot placement.
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Old 09-29-2018, 11:08 PM
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now THAT is some bad shot placement.
I think it is more of an example of a caliber that wasn't up to the task it was being asked to perform. A .32 against a bear? No thank you. The only way that would work well enough to suit me would be if the bear were standing still enough to hit him in the eye, or to stuff it in his ear or mouth. Anything else and you get the kind of results described in this story.
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Old 09-30-2018, 12:02 AM
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I think it is more of an example of a caliber that wasn't up to the task it was being asked to perform. A .32 against a bear? No thank you. The only way that would work well enough to suit me would be if the bear were standing still enough to hit him in the eye, or to stuff it in his ear or mouth. Anything else and you get the kind of results described in this story.
a black bear climbing up to you and you cant hit it in the nose or eye?
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Old 09-30-2018, 12:49 AM
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a black bear climbing up to you and you cant hit it in the nose or eye?
Depends on how high up the tree the shooter is, how many branches are between the shooter and the bear, and how fast & how much the bear's moving.

If I were that guy I'd be WAY up the tree, and shooting at the bear every time I saw a patch of fur between the branches. I certainly wouldn't be waiting until I got a clear shot at its eye or nose. That might not happen until it's got a hold of your leg

Last edited by BC38; 09-30-2018 at 12:53 AM.
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Old 10-01-2018, 10:33 PM
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...More holes and bigger holes seems like a more realistic goal than trying to achieve a one-shot stop to me.
Depending on the person doing the shooting, sometimes more holes (getting back on target quickly) and bigger holes (more recoil) can be in opposition to each other.
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Old 10-01-2018, 11:39 PM
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Depending on the person doing the shooting, sometimes more holes (getting back on target quickly) and bigger holes (more recoil) can be in opposition to each other.
Yessir, hence the preceding part of my statement which you didn't quote. Specifically
Quote:
...putting multiple rounds into center mass seems like the best bet, and using the biggest caliber you can reliably do that with makes the most sense.
As that statement implies, if the .32 is the biggest caliber you can handle and still put multiple rounds on target with, then that's what makes the most sense for you to be carrying.

HOWEVER, if you have the ability to do it with a 380, or better yet, a 38, a 9mm, or best of all a 357, then that is even better.

Wouldn't you agree?
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Old 10-02-2018, 12:29 AM
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Yessir, hence the preceding part of my statement which you didn't quote. Specifically

As that statement implies, if the .32 is the biggest caliber you can handle and still put multiple rounds on target with, then that's what makes the most sense for you to be carrying.

HOWEVER, if you have the ability to do it with a 380, or better yet, a 38, a 9mm, or best of all a 357, then that is even better.

Wouldn't you agree?
Why yes I do. Sorry I edited your quote. A daughter EDCs a .327, if I did not have a history with .38 Spl, I would seriously consider the .327, it is quite the package.
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Old 10-02-2018, 10:32 AM
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Why yes I do. Sorry I edited your quote. A daughter EDCs a .327, if I did not have a history with .38 Spl, I would seriously consider the .327, it is quite the package.
No problem.

I've heard great things about the 327.
Better ballistics than the 38+P but much more manageable than the 357. Sounds like a fine choice. I just wish they were more common so they weren't so pricey. Though the LCR at least seems to be fairly affordable.
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Old 10-07-2018, 02:18 PM
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"Are you going to wear pants in the summertime during the day when it’s 100 + degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel even hotter just so you can wear your ankle holster?"

I was a police officer in Alabama for twenty five years. 95F with 95% humidity was the norm every summer, unless it was hotter! Wearing shorts was NOT an option. I wore combat boots with an ankle holster. I carried a Glock 19 9mm in that ankle holster for several years.
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Old 10-07-2018, 02:41 PM
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I have a S&W .32 Double Action that came to me with a bent barrel. I bobbed it to 1-1/2" and refinished it and made some grips I can actually use.

I've carried it- as an alternative to a .22 or .25 pocket auto. I even used it to zap a Norway Rat in the backyard at eight yards. Rat went down and didn't even twitch. I load a 96gr. LFP over 2.0gr. of Red Dot- a load I am fine with using in a S&W, but I wouldn't feed a gun of a lesser brand a steady diet of them.

Would this be my gun of choice for primary carry? It isn't, in fact. But I'd certainly carry it before nothing.
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Old 10-07-2018, 03:56 PM
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"Are you going to wear pants in the summertime during the day when it’s 100 + degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel even hotter just so you can wear your ankle holster?"

I was a police officer in Alabama for twenty five years. 95F with 95% humidity was the norm every summer, unless it was hotter! Wearing shorts was NOT an option. I wore combat boots with an ankle holster. I carried a Glock 19 9mm in that ankle holster for several years.
I wasn’t referring to uniformed L.E. But a civilian with a CCW in shorts. When “on the job” I too had to contend with ankle holsters and long pants or jeans to cover it. Sometimes wearing boots. I carried a Glock 26 as my last primary weapon and it rode both on an ankle and belt depending on the job at hand.
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