Any .32 NAA fans out there?

[Rapidrob]

Year's ago when the NAA company came out with their two new cartridges, The now defunct web site Makarov.com got together with their members and offered replacement barrels in the new .32 NAA. Which is a .380 necked down to .32
As with most of the bottle necked pistol cartridge's you get performance that goes far beyond what it should.
I ordered several of the barrels at that time as you could get the Russian made .380 Mak's for under 125 bucks new in the box.
With the much longer barrel than the NAA made pistol, the Mak was the ideal platform for this cartridge. You could push the bullet far beyond what the factory loaded it to without getting into trouble.
I spent the better part of a summer loading all sorts of bullet types and powders to see just what could be safely done with this little cartridge.
with the 60 grain FMJ bullet for the .32 ACP you could easily get more than 1,600 fps without really trying to do so.
I had taken several of the commercially made ammo apart to see if I could figure out what powder they used.
They would not confirm that the powder they used was in fact a Blank powder. What ever they were using it was at the beginning of the Burn Rate Chart to be sure and really fast burning.
The cartridge never really caught on as it was the "puny .32 which is not a good CCW caliber."
That is a shame.
When I went to the range to test my loads there were always many other shooters close by. When I touched off one of my hand loads the pistol always got the attention of the other shooters. The pistol is loud and the fireball is impressive.
My loads are not factory and the Mak being as strong as it is can handle the loads with no issues. The barrel is so thick it looks comical.
Bullets have to be crimped and Lee will not make a crimp die for this cartridge. It is too short.
I use a cannelure tool to crimp in the bullet ( it has to be crimped to work/feed) and this tool does a good job of it.
Fired cases show no signs of pressure problems,but the .32 caliber neck is almost blown out of the case. I have reached the maximum safe loading.
I can safely get three reloads out of the brass before the necks will develop a slight crack at the crimp. The case being so short it is hard to anneal the brass without softening the base of the case.
The .32 NAA being made of .380 the brass is so plentiful it is no big deal/cost to replace them.
Accuracy is just crazy. The bullets are so fast that trajectory out to 50 yards is flat. You can hit a man torso target at 200 meters without trying.
Up close and personal, the bullet is devastating. It will blast through a 1/4" steel plate at 25 yards and that being a hollow point.
The pistol has been my "truck gun" forgoing on two decades now and is just fun to shoot.
Using Super-Vel or Cor-Bon factory ammo you'd have a very nice CCW pistol.
The cartridge is interesting and very powerful for it's size. It's a shame it never really caught on.
Here is a 25 yard rapid fire target:

[Jniedbalski]

Sounds cool

[Rapidrob]

Reloading for this cartridge is fun and very rewarding. In the Makarov pistol you can really push the bullet to some very impressive velocities. While the original NAA pistol may not be safe with my loads, the MAK is built like a T-34 Tank.
The only real limiting factor is the quality of the brass. I have never has a blown primer,but have cracked cases in the neck and body which is a good sign I've pushed the limit too far. The replacement barrel is so thick you could never blow it. The brass would fail way before the barrel would be under any dangerous strain.
I had worked with the owner of the old Makarov.com site and we had discussed the rifling depth in the barrels. I found that the original .002 just would not stabilize any cast bullet load at .32 NAA velocities. The jacketed bullets shot very well though. The highest velocities with the lowest pressures were obtained with these barrels.
We had the factory increase the rifling lands to .005 and the cast bullets could be shot, but only with the hardest alloys to prevent stripping.
The Makarov frame literately jumps the cartridge into the chamber. Bullet shape/weight has never been a factor. While I have not tried a .32 Wad-cutter, I think it would feed and chamber.
The original loads were 60 grain bullets. This made the little NAA pistol easy to hold onto with the sharp recoil.
Later on the bullet was increased to 80 grains. This load is a "hand-full" in the NAA pistol,but a real cream puff in the Makarov pistol.
The 60 grain bullet is really moving, the jacket is very thin and the bullet fragments when it strikes flesh or bone. I'm not sure what it would do if it went through a thick winter coat.
The 80 grain hollow point really opens up well and penetrates deeply into ballistic gel. The plastic tipped bullet penetrates far more than the minim FBI requirements. The FMJ passes through the block of gel.
Any of the loads would make for a very good CCW fodder.
With today's powders and bullets, it is easy to equal or surpass the .32 Magnum in the Makarov pistol. While not up to the .327 Magnum velocities the little .32 NAA is no slouch by any means.
I've often thought the .32 NAA would make for a nasty sub-machine gun round in a room clearing using expanding bullets.
Here are a few photos:
A converted Makarov.

Here you can see how thick the barrel is.The pistol having a pinned barrel makes for a very accurate shot.

Here is the .32 NAA cartridge. a "mouse-gun" caliber it is not out of the Makarov pistol.

Original loading of a 60 grain hollow point bullet.

And the later type 80 grain plastic point ammunition.

Left to right: 72 gr cast, 73 gr FMJ, early 80 gr HP, and early 60 gr HP bullets as reloads.

[Texas by God]

Reminds me of the .30 Luger, another neat cartridge rarely seen.

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