Anyone else think a .32 NAA barrel in a full sized .380 pistol would work for SD?

[gunfan]

I was thinking if someone fabricated a nice, accurate (and powerful) self defense pistol. This may be the perfect solution to the "not as powerful as it could be" aspect of the .32 ACP. A longer barrel would place the power of the .32 into the higher load levels .32 H&R Magnum.

Any takers?

Scott

[gunfan]

Here's a test that was conducted in a converted 9mm Makarov. (.32 NAA Barrel Conversion.)

Test 1
.32 NAA

CorBon
Makarov

3.65"

60 gr JHP

1444.2 FPS

91.0 FPS

29.8 FPS

277.8 ft-lbs

2.4 ft-lbs

2.1 inchs

[429421Cowboy]

I have been very curious about the .32 NAA, seems like a powerhouse, as well as having the added feeding relyability of being a bottlenecked pistol round. I have seen guys on the net that have converted something along the lines of an LCP with a new barrel, in what you are talking about i would wonder if the new LC380 would be even better!

[gunfan]

The longer the barrel, the higher the velocity and the deeper the penetration. that's where I would go with this. Can you imagine a 4" barreled .32 NAA loaded with a 89 grain cast boolit at 1300 fps? 333 fpe is nothing to sneeze at!

Scott

[subsonic]

Sounds a lot like the 7.62x25's little brother.

[gunfan]

For a proverbial "Pea-coat Pocket auto" (Walther PPK, PPK/S, Makarov, Bersa Model 95) size pistol, it would beat the pants off the same cambered for the .380 and the 9mm Makarov. Deeper penetration, higher energy and if you are inclined, you could use 89-grain JHP projectiles that would blossom like a buttercup on a spring morning!

Scott

[leftiye]

Yuh gotta remember that the pressures remain the same whilst the bore gets smaller in these kinds of catridges. Net result, less energy imparted to the boolit. Though in some cases this results in enough powder for the bore volume, usually this does not constitute an improvement. In other words, the same gun using the smaller diameter (.32) case loaded to higher pressures (and able to take the pressure due to thicker chamber, etc - you might need a much heavier operating spring) would produce more energy than the larger case would. Then you need to consider that a bigger hole is a bigger hole. Ah jus' loves my Beretta Tomcat .32 acp. But if'n mah harse is on the line I'm gonna go with insurance, and not take chances. Nice toy.

[Lonegun1894]

While I think this would be a very interesting experiment, and would be worthwhile testing, I think it would be more of a target round capable of 100+ yd pistol accuracy with low recoil. And I have to wonder at the accuracy of the comments regarding the more velocity = more penetration. While this would be true with some bullets, we have to keep in mind that most of the .32 bullets in this weight range are designed for .32 ACP velocities so may act like a varmint bullet and blow up and cause shallow but nasty wounds if driven too fast. Now where I think this could get very interesting is that I also dont think that most .32 ACP loads drive these bullets fast enough to expand reliably, which is where the .32 NAA comes into its own. It seems to have enough case capacity to get the velocity required, but may have enough to drive these fairly weakly constructed bullets too quickly. However I have played with .32 ACP, but not the .32 NAA, so I may be overthinking this and barking up the wrong tree. Keep this going as it is interesting and I would like to know more. I think y'all are on to something with some interesting possibilities. I would like to see this chambered in a TC Contender, see what this little round is capable of with a 10-14" barrel--maybe with a can on it, but I'll quit thinking before I hijack this thread too much. Sorry everyone. I'm going back to my corner now.

[gunfan]

I would really like to see what this cartridge could do if it were chambered in a Beretta Model 100 (originally chambered in .32 ACP, that had a 6" barrel.) The longer tube would permit the NAA cartridge to reach peak performance, well into the 9mm energy territory.

Scott

[Mohillbilly]

I too have looked at a 1903 Colt conversion to 32 NAA ( a simple chamber job ) . Dies are very hard to find ( Lee use to makem , custom now ) . I have shot 30 Luger ( in a Luger ) , 30 Mauser ( in a Broomhandle ) 7.62x25 Tok , 30 carbine in a BlkHawk ,Automag III , and a Rocl-ola , 327 Fed in an SP101, and BLKHWK . I think the best power for size would be the SP101 , or do my trick Automag III to 9mm mag conversion .