Originally Posted by
Chuck Haggard
Kind of what Tam said.
My wife started out as a total anti handgun person (handguns are just for killing people, ya know?). Later she saw the error of her ways and eventually wanted her own CCH and a carry piece. She wanted the smallest and lightest thing she could get, which ended up being a P32 because I had one (I have this sick fascination with micro pistols…) and she shot it decently.
One day we are in NOLA and I come very, very close to having to shoot a dude that is like 6’5 and 350lbs. Wife decides that maybe she wants bigger bullets. P32 gets sold and she carries my G26 for awhile. She isn’t really happy with it, we end up with a Kahr CW9 and eventually a PM9. Wife is happy for several years.
Then she decides she wants something really small again for times when she needs a gun smaller than the Kahr. We are at a local gun shop/indoor range. Owner knows us, while he and I are talking she takes the .32 TCP he handed her out to the range for a test shot. She burns the whole box of Fiocchi .32, walks back in to the shop and tells me “buy this”.
Wife was never really happy with the P32 except for the size. With the TCP in .32 we find that the trigger is MUCH better, and due to the tweeks Taurus from the P32 design there is very little recoil. Wife did not like the P3AT or the LCP at all because she found the .380 too snappy (she has a history of carpal tunnel BTW). The TCP .32 recoils about like a Beretta 21. Yes, seriously.
Testing I have seen, backed by real world shootings I have worked involving .32s, tells me that .32 FMJ clearly penetrates enough to work well if shots have good placement. I have also noted that .32 FMJ tends to yaw rather reliably.
Is it a good idea to carry vs a service caliber pistol? No. Is it vastly better than a sharp stick and harsh language? Yes, very much so.