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The Range
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Kel-Tec P32: Brief Review
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<blockquote data-quote="TallPrairie" data-source="post: 2898033" data-attributes="member: 7815"><p><u>The Plot Thickens: Testing Different Ammo</u></p><p></p><p>Thought I'd post an update, especially given the kind response to the original review.</p><p></p><p>I recently did a 150 round range session with the P32, which brings total round count to 350. This was a chance to broaden out past the Sellier & Bellot 73 gr FMJ and try some different .32 ACP ammo.</p><p></p><p>I started with <strong>PMC Bronze 71 gr FMJ</strong>. As most folks know PMC's a South Korean ammo maker with a large footprint in the US market. I have used a ton of their 9mm for practice/training and it's quite decent. I got this ammo to represent the energy levels of mainstream US .32 ammo, which can chronograph 100 fps or more less than the European FMJ loads such as S&B or Fiocchi.</p><p></p><p>Quite a difference! The soft-shooting PMC made me understand why many people praise the P32 for light recoil. It was very easy to shoot accurately. This target is 3 mags of PMC delivered at 7 yards at a brisk pace -- almost combat speed:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]58706[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><em>However</em>, ... the PMC ammo was not reliable. I had two failures to strip the next round during the 3 mags fired above. Then I shot some other stuff and came back to the PMC near the end of the session (the gun was now at the 300+ round mark without cleaning) and it was a bad scene. Multiple failures to eject, go into battery, really almost every round, especially when fired one-handed.</p><p></p><p>I also tried a box of <strong>Hornady Custom 60 gr XTPs</strong> from curiosity, though I'm not planning to carry hollowpoints. I was curious whether the notorious "rimlock" problem would appear with these shorter length rounds. (The XTP is also the one hollowpoint bullet that interests me for mouseguns, because it balances moderate expansion with more penetration.)</p><p></p><p>Same story here as the PMC ball. The Hornady XTPs were accurate and pleasant to shoot, but not 100% reliable. One failure to go into battery in two-handed shooting; one failure to strip the next round in one-handed shooting. (No rimlock.)</p><p></p><p>Admittedly, the gun was rather dirty at this point. But as soon I turned to a hot European ammo, this time the popular <strong>Fiocchi 73 gr FMJ</strong>, the reliability problems disappeared. Both the Fiocchi and S&B ball rounds fed, fired, and ejected perfectly throughout the session, including one-handed shooting. They are snappier and a bit more challenging to shoot tight groups with than the mainstream fodder, but the superior reliability makes the European rounds a no-brainer.</p><p></p><p>One quirk I notice with the S&B: every so often I get a bullethole with some keyholing at 7 yards, as though the heavy 73 grain bullet is starting to tumble. I didn't see any of that with the Fiocchi in 50 rounds. Will keep an eye on it. Frankly .32 FMJ in general has a propensity to tumble after impact -- this is part of its appeal as a self-defense round, the tumbling bullet gives some of the disruptive effect of an expanding hollowpoint -- so I'm not sure a mild keyholing of the S&B would be a bad thing.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p>When I got home I broke the P32 down for cleaning. Pull the pin and it's a simple, Glocklike field strip. Yep, there was a lot of schmutz in there after 350 rounds. Cleaned it, lightly lubricated with Break-Free CLP, and reassembled. Done in <10 minutes.</p><p></p><p>I've been experimenting with the DeSantis Superfly pocket holster, seen below. It has a detachable concealment flap that goes on the outside. This makes it more conspicuous in the pants pocket than the Nemesis, but the outline looks more like a wallet than a pistol. Right now I'm leaning toward the Nemesis.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]58707[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Conclusions:</p><p></p><p>1. The claims that the P32 is a recoil "pussycat" compared to a P3AT/LCP are actually true when you use mainstream US-market .32 ACP. Unfortunately, in my pistol, that type of ammo is clearly inferior in reliability to the snappier, hotter European FMJ ammo from Fiocchi and S&B, especially when the gun is dirty or is fired one-handed.</p><p></p><p>2. The Fiocchi and S&B ball loads are the way to go. Possibly the S&B is a bit prone to keyholing at 7 yards.</p><p></p><p>3. Every 200 rounds will be my maintenance interval for the P32.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TallPrairie, post: 2898033, member: 7815"] [U]The Plot Thickens: Testing Different Ammo[/U] Thought I'd post an update, especially given the kind response to the original review. I recently did a 150 round range session with the P32, which brings total round count to 350. This was a chance to broaden out past the Sellier & Bellot 73 gr FMJ and try some different .32 ACP ammo. I started with [B]PMC Bronze 71 gr FMJ[/B]. As most folks know PMC's a South Korean ammo maker with a large footprint in the US market. I have used a ton of their 9mm for practice/training and it's quite decent. I got this ammo to represent the energy levels of mainstream US .32 ammo, which can chronograph 100 fps or more less than the European FMJ loads such as S&B or Fiocchi. Quite a difference! The soft-shooting PMC made me understand why many people praise the P32 for light recoil. It was very easy to shoot accurately. This target is 3 mags of PMC delivered at 7 yards at a brisk pace -- almost combat speed: [ATTACH]58706[/ATTACH] [I]However[/I], ... the PMC ammo was not reliable. I had two failures to strip the next round during the 3 mags fired above. Then I shot some other stuff and came back to the PMC near the end of the session (the gun was now at the 300+ round mark without cleaning) and it was a bad scene. Multiple failures to eject, go into battery, really almost every round, especially when fired one-handed. I also tried a box of [B]Hornady Custom 60 gr XTPs[/B] from curiosity, though I'm not planning to carry hollowpoints. I was curious whether the notorious "rimlock" problem would appear with these shorter length rounds. (The XTP is also the one hollowpoint bullet that interests me for mouseguns, because it balances moderate expansion with more penetration.) Same story here as the PMC ball. The Hornady XTPs were accurate and pleasant to shoot, but not 100% reliable. One failure to go into battery in two-handed shooting; one failure to strip the next round in one-handed shooting. (No rimlock.) Admittedly, the gun was rather dirty at this point. But as soon I turned to a hot European ammo, this time the popular [B]Fiocchi 73 gr FMJ[/B], the reliability problems disappeared. Both the Fiocchi and S&B ball rounds fed, fired, and ejected perfectly throughout the session, including one-handed shooting. They are snappier and a bit more challenging to shoot tight groups with than the mainstream fodder, but the superior reliability makes the European rounds a no-brainer. One quirk I notice with the S&B: every so often I get a bullethole with some keyholing at 7 yards, as though the heavy 73 grain bullet is starting to tumble. I didn't see any of that with the Fiocchi in 50 rounds. Will keep an eye on it. Frankly .32 FMJ in general has a propensity to tumble after impact -- this is part of its appeal as a self-defense round, the tumbling bullet gives some of the disruptive effect of an expanding hollowpoint -- so I'm not sure a mild keyholing of the S&B would be a bad thing. * * * When I got home I broke the P32 down for cleaning. Pull the pin and it's a simple, Glocklike field strip. Yep, there was a lot of schmutz in there after 350 rounds. Cleaned it, lightly lubricated with Break-Free CLP, and reassembled. Done in <10 minutes. I've been experimenting with the DeSantis Superfly pocket holster, seen below. It has a detachable concealment flap that goes on the outside. This makes it more conspicuous in the pants pocket than the Nemesis, but the outline looks more like a wallet than a pistol. Right now I'm leaning toward the Nemesis. [ATTACH]58707[/ATTACH] Conclusions: 1. The claims that the P32 is a recoil "pussycat" compared to a P3AT/LCP are actually true when you use mainstream US-market .32 ACP. Unfortunately, in my pistol, that type of ammo is clearly inferior in reliability to the snappier, hotter European FMJ ammo from Fiocchi and S&B, especially when the gun is dirty or is fired one-handed. 2. The Fiocchi and S&B ball loads are the way to go. Possibly the S&B is a bit prone to keyholing at 7 yards. 3. Every 200 rounds will be my maintenance interval for the P32. [/QUOTE]
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