When John Browning does something, it typically works out fairly well. He designed numerous firearms, including many of the first successful different types of firearms, from lever action rifles to semi-auto shotguns. Along the way, he designed numerous calibers as well. This includes the famed 45 ACP, the anemic 25 ACP, and something that falls somewhere in the middle, the 32 ACP.
The 32 ACP came to life in 1899, and John Browning initially designed it for use with the FN Herstal FN M1900. It bears mentioning that the FN M1900 was designed as early as 1896 and was released in 1899. It was the first pistol to use a slide, and it’s easy to see how pistols developed after the introduction of the M1900.
The .32 caliber as a projectile was already popular with the small handguns of the day. S&W and Colt both produced small revolvers with 32 projectiles, like the 32 S&W and 32 Short Colt. Larger duty calibers like the 7.65x21mm also used a 32 caliber projectile.
In this time period, .32 caliber projectiles were popular with various guns and the .32 ACP offered a small cartridge for small automatic pistols. Almost immediately, the cartridge became quite popular. Companies could produce simple but reliable blowback action pistols that chambered the little fella. It developed a steady following and became favored because of its small size but adequate performance. Across the world, arms companies embraced the caliber and produced various pistols of various sizes for several different purposes.
Defining A Duty Gun
In the United States, a Duty Pistol has almost always been a full-sized pistol of a fairly powerful caliber like the 45 ACP, the .45 Colt, and various .38 caliber cartridges. In Europe, the idea of a police and military pistol was a bit different. It wasn’t uncommon for something like the Walther PP to be a police pistol. In fact, that’s what PP stands for. Guns like the Beretta Model 70 and the vz. 50/70, and many more served as police pistols.
The .32 ACP was popular amongst civilians in the United States for concealed carry, vehicle, and home defense and were fairly handy in the hands of the storekeeper and banker who might face stick-up men.
It’s tough to really get across how popular this little cartridge was. Across Europe it was popular with both police and civilians. Nearly every major European power produced a .32 ACP pistol, and they spread across the world. It was seen as a do-it-all round, and much like the 9mm today, it dominated several markets.
The 32 ACP — Performance and Power
So, what can the little round do? Well, modern loadings aren’t a whole lot different than older loadings. Projectile weights fall between 60 and 73 grains with velocities reaching 1,100 FPS to 1,043 FPS, respectively. In terms of energy transfer, the round is fairly meek and delivers between 161 ft-lbs and 171 ft-lbs on target. When it comes to handguns, energy transfer doesn’t tell the whole story.
Most handgun cartridges poke tiny holes in people, especially small guns with short barrels. The way to win a gunfight is to poke holes in the right spot, and you can do that with the .32 ACP. Hitting the right spot has to be backed by proper penetration. The FBI ballistic gel standard is 12 inches of properly calibrated gel.
Several modern loads can reach that distance reliably and get even deeper. The folks at Lucky Gunner did tests with several loads and found that Hornady XTP rounds can make the distance. Although due to the small round and low velocity, the best penetrators are standard FMJs. Most expanding rounds tend to penetrate poorly, barely making it beyond 10 inches.
If one was to carry a little .32 ACP for defensive purposes, they would likely be best suited to carrying an FMJ or XTP load.
Several modern loads can reach that distance reliably and get even deeper. The folks at Lucky Gunner did tests with several loads and found that Hornady XTP rounds can make the distance. Although due to the small round and low velocity, the best penetrators are standard FMJs. Most expanding rounds tend to penetrate poorly, barely making it beyond 10 inches.
If one was to carry a little .32 ACP for defensive purposes, they would likely be best suited to carrying an FMJ or XTP load.
Notable Guns
I refer to the little .32 caliber round as the 9mm of 1899 because of the numerous guns that chambered the round. We had little guns, obviously, but we also had some moderate-sized guns. The Glock 19 is the moderately sized gun of choice these days, but in the early 1900s, that position was occupied by the Colt Model 1903 with its four or 3.75-inch barrel.
The most popular carry gun is currently the Sig P365, with its 10-round magazine and ultra-compact design. Back in 1907, the Savage M1907 offered the first double-stack pistol magazine that held ten rounds of the little .32. And was pocketable. In fact, it was often advertised with the tagline ’10 shots quick!’
Guns like the Remington Model 51 offered locked breach weapons, and the first handgun HK produced was the HK 4, which used John Browning’s little cartridge. The .32 ACP was revolutionary at the time and offered the most bang for your buck if you needed a small, concealable, but capable firearm.
The End of the .32 ACP
These days the little cartridge just isn’t that popular. Cartridges like .380 ACP proved to be substantially more powerful, but they could still be squeezed into super tiny platforms. Cartridges like the 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP dominated the military and duty market. Over time the .32 ACP became a bit more niche and was often seen as underpowered.
When terms like stopping power dominated the conversation, the 32 ACP saw itself edged out. People started proclaiming the 380 ACP as the absolute minimum. Thus, the market for Browning’s little round dropped off steadily as the times changed. It didn’t help that manufacturers found ways to make 380s and 9mms much smaller.
Some of these 380s and even 9mms became as small or smaller as some of the more popular .32 ACP guns of yesteryear. That’s not to say it’s totally dead. Beretta produces the tip-up Tomcat, and Seecamp makes the LWS in .32 ACP as well. These guns are ultra-small and even smaller than the littlest .380s.
It’s not like the .32 ACP will come back but imagine a ten-shot .32 ACP and how small it could be! The new .30 Super Carry is as close as we’ll likely get to a .32 ACP comeback. I like the .32 ACP and have considered a Tomcat for a deep concealment gun. It might not be optimal, but it makes little holes deep enough to matter.
