A decade or so back I had a new basic academy on the range. There was a very nice, and very small female in the class from one of our local county agencies. I saw that she was carrying a revolver and had one of my instructors pull her off the line as I knew her agency issued Glock G-21's. I told her she had to train and qualify with her issued weapon. She produced a letter from her sheriff stating that this Colt .32 caliber revolver was her issued weapon. I reluctantly allowed her to continue on in the class. Story was that she couldn't shoot or qualify with the .45 but was deadly with her father's old Colt double action. The county had scrounged up every .32 round that they could lay their hands on to come up with the 1,500 rounds she needed for the class.
That young lady was a remarkable shot with that Colt. The .32 may not pack much punch but she had no problems putting them all where they would do the most good. She was going to be an administrative assistant and work in the office, not on the road.
Reminds me of fictional heroine Modesty Blaise, who packed a Colt .32 revolver in the early books. Later ones, she switched to a Star PD .45. Used a S&W .41 Magnum a few times, too and a MAB .25. (Manufacture d' armes d' Bayonne. Copy of 1906 FN .25, but I think maybe minus the grip safety.)
Modesty used Lee-Enfield .303 and Colt AR -15 5.56 mm rifles and a kongo or yawara stick.
Her pal Willie Garvin liked knives and the AR-15 when it could be used.
The movies and a TV show about Modesty were pretty bad. But the novels and the comic strip, read in 57 countries, were superb. I think just one US newspaper ran the comics, which were not family fare by strict US moral codes.
Search for Modesty Blaise if you want her story and scenes from the comics. The author was the late Peter O'Donnell, a former British soldier in a Signals unit.
Modesty has almost a cult fan following and books are snapped up by fans in the USA. You may have to look hard to find them, or try your local library. The books appeared from 1966-1996. Comics persisted for a few more years. Bound comics are available as "graphic novels." My son bought me some in NYC one year in the recent past. Online sellers probably sell them.
I'm a massive fan of Modesty and used to speculate which Colt .32 she used. I ruled out the Courier because of its scarcity and settled on either a Cobra or Detective Special with three-inch barrel. I considered a Pocket Positive, but thought a postwar Colt was more likely.
I read and run images of scenes in my mind as I read. I can "see" her with a Cobra. I don't think Colt made the Agent in .32. Well, they did, but called it the Courier.
