Outpost75, many people bad mouth the 32 acp in comparsion to the 380 acp. I read some where many years ago when talking about these small calibers and small pistols that the CIA actually preferred the 32 acp, and in their words, because it penetrated deeper and raddled around inside the rib cage doing more damage then the 380 would do. In many years of having 32 acp's I have a good appreciation of the round. I too have loaded 100 round cast loads for mine too.
Good write up sir!
vzerone, you are correct in your assessment. If you have searched the open literature you probably heard the story of the Chinese boat captain playing "whack a mole" between Kemoy and Matsu islands in the South China sea, using a 1922 Browning, and as the story went, he pronounced the .32 ACP "entirely adequate for dispatching hypothermic combat swimmers armed with knives."
Much of the time the choice of weapon is not what is "best" for the job, but what will "blend in" with the locals and not attract attention. As Harry Archer once told me, "when in Rome do as the Romans do..."
Most of the time during the cold war clandestine services folks used whatever was normally used by the criminal elements in the target region. If anyone had carried a .357 or a .45 he would have been "made." A .32 ACP with Italian, German or Czech ammo is expected and ordinary. And in much of Europe civilians wouldn't have had .380 ACPs, as those were used by the police or army and they couldn't be owned by the general public. The .32 ACP is ubitquitious.
The ENEMY is listening.
HE wants to know what YOU know.
Keep it to yourself.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |