davis industries p-32

[focusmaniaczx3]

i picked one of these up a few weeks ago. i traded my old savage .22 rifle for it. just wondering if any of you guys have an opinion on these. i have not had the opportunity to fire it yet as there is no .32 auto to be found in my county so ive ordered some. its a teeny tiny thing and only holds 6 rounds in the clip and it looks like you could get bit by the slide pretty easily if you are not careful. its in great shape, the rifling looks worn to my untrained eye but the firing pin looks to be brand new. does anybody have one of these or have an opinion on them? im thinking it might become my backup CC.

[RJay]

Most have a low opinion of Davis firearms. The were sued so many times and changed ownership as many times to get out out the lawsuits I'm not even sure who is making them now, Cobra Ind.? I consider them a night stand gun. Buy one, fire a couple of magazines through it to make sure it works, then put in the night stand for the next 20 years. They also make a good tackle box gun. They will not hold up under a lot of range work and they are not a pinker. JMHO. Google " Ring of fire ".

[focusmaniaczx3]

well thats basically what my plan is for it. as hard as it is to get ammo for it i dont plan on plinking with it. i got 50 rounds of FMJ coming that ill shoot up just to learn the gun a little bit. i have an ankle holster that it fits perfectly so it will be my backup if it shoots straiter than the old busted .38 snub that i had been carrying.

why did davis industries get sued?

[22WRF]

Should have kept the old Savage

[focusmaniaczx3]

are they really that bad? i didnt think i was getting hurt on the deal. i really wanted to modify my plinking guns and there just isnt anything you can do with the savage. you cant even find high capacity mags for it. i got a bullpup ruger 10/22 a few weeks ago with the original stock and several magazines. i dont need more than one .22 rifle so when the offer came up to trade the savage for a pistol that looked like it could be good for a carry gun i went ahead and grabbed it. if nothing else it will look good as a display piece. its been very well taken care of and is nice and shiny.

so why did davis industries get sued so much?

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by focusmaniaczx3

so why did davis industries get sued so much?

It's my understanding that the lawsuits claimed that Davis guns would break in a manner that, rather than rendering the gun unoperable, would make the gun dangerous to the operator.

[fleetwood1976]

most old savage bolt actions go for less than $100 around here and I have seen these little derringers bring $150 pretty constantly. I have a 25 auto 2 shot davis in nickel and pearl grips. It shoots when I pull the trigger. I do not use it for defense. I just wanted a tip up 2 shot derringer for my collection. I think the proplems are with some of the semi autos. just make sure you check it over before and after shooting to note if there are any problems accuring.

[focusmaniaczx3]

i spent the last few hours trying to dig up some info on davis industries law suits and i am having trouble finding any actual information other than references to lawsuits on different forums like this one. im just concerned about the possibility of the weapon blowing up in my face and dont really care about any lawsuit. i just want to know whether it would be in my best interest to just leave the gun alone, get rid of it, or use it. if this gun could hurt me when i shoot it in any way other than slide bite then it needs to be gone.

[LDBennett]

About 15 years ago a friend of a guy at work sold guns out of his home (legally). A couple of our group bought from him (Davis or one of guns from other members of the same family that suffered family in-fighting). They were pot metal guns and a couple from our group had the slide come off the gun when firing it. No one got hurt but I think it possible that someone else may have. Several returned the guns to him for credit. A couple of our guys bought the NAA mini-revolver, which was a much better made gun and a lot safer than any of the Saturday Nite semi-auto specials that I have ever seen, but the NAA mini-revolver was more money. A safe gun is a better choice no matter that it cost more.

LDBennett

[focusmaniaczx3]

so some of the problems with the p32 is the slide coming off when fired? i can see how that could happen with the way it comes apart but it seems to me that the little plastic piece that the firing pin sets back into in the back of the slide when the gun is cocked would be a much more likely point of failure than the slide itself.

[LDBennett]

focusmaniaczx3:

A gun is no better than the materials from which it is made. Pot metal is not the appropriate material for a gun frame or slide. It is a cast material with the possibility of hidden voids and of very limited strength. While some casting methods are appropriate (investment casting comes to mind) they typically use base materials that are inherently strong whether cast or not (Ruger typically uses 4140 steel and other high strength alloys of steel). Pot metal is described by the Wikipedia dictionary as:

"Pot metal
Pot metal is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings. There is no scientific metallurgical standard for pot metal; common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Due to its low melting temperature no sophisticated foundry equipment is needed and specialized molds are not necessary. It is sometimes used to experiment with molds and ideas before using metals of higher quality. It is sometime referred to as white metal, die-cast zinc, or monkey metal.[1] Examples of items created from pot metal include toys, furniture fittings, tool parts, electronics components, and automotive parts.[citation needed]

Pot metal can be prone to instability over time, as it has a tendency to bend, distort, crack, shatter, and pit with age.[1] The low boiling point of zinc and the fast cooling of the newly-cast part often allow air bubbles to remain within the cast part, weakening the metal.[1] Many of the components of pot metal are susceptible to corrosion from airborne acids and other contaminants, and the internal corrosion of the metal often causes the decorative plating to flake off.[citation needed] Pot metal is not easily glued, soldered or welded.[1]

At one time, "pot metal" referred to a copper alloy that was primarily alloyed with lead. 67% Cu, 29% Pb & 4% Sb and 80 Cu, 20% Pb were common formulations.[2]

The primary component of pot metal is zinc, but often the caster adds other metals to the mix to strengthen the cast part, improve the flow of the molten metal, or to reduce cost. With a low melting point of 419 °C (786 °F), zinc is often alloyed with other metals including lead, tin, aluminium and copper."

LDBennett

[old semperfi]

NO OFFENCE BUT TO USE IT AS A BACK UP IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER TO TURN IT OVER TO THE BAD GUY AND LET HIM HURT HISSELF.NO I REALLY WOULDNT DO THAT HE WOULD PROBABLY SUE YOU.SELL IT,TRADE IT,GIVE IT AWAY.I WOULD NOT DEPEND ON A BACK UP GUN THAT MAY HAVE PROBLEMS OLD SEMPERFI

[fleetwood1976]

It seems all you hear is Hear say. "A buddy of friend of a prostitutes three legged dog's verternarian's red headed stepson knew a guy who heard that one blew up." I have had experience with a lot of cheap guns and many that have a bad name are allright for recreational shooting. It don't have to be a colt or smith to be a good gun. you have to asses each gun on its own merit and not take someone elses word for it. Granted I would not carry or use my davis for home protection, but I would take it out to shoot and have fun with any day of the week.

[LDBennett]

fleetwood1976:

It was not "A buddy of friend of a prostitutes three legged dog's verternarian's red headed stepson" this time. I witnessed one of the failures myself. We were all gathered for a day of shooting near Big bear CA. As I said no one got hurt, but by the grace of god.

LDBennett

[RJay]

And my know it all Brother- in- Law bought one against my advise, less than two hundred rounds later it malfunctioned. Cracked slide.

[Slabsides]

Focus,

Davis, Lorcin, Jennings (Bryco), older Phoenix (read:Raven) were all pretty much the same thing. They were all of similar design and made of a zinc alloy (NOT potmetal!). They all went away after a major lawsuit against Jennings by some idiot that shot himself. Some numbnutz took out a clip and was trying to clear a round and shot himself, not because he pulled the trigger while pointing it at himself, no, it was because the gun should have been made not to fire with a clip removed.

This happened in Kali, so you can imagine what the court decided.....this is also a big reason Kali's gun laws are so screwed up today.

Jennings went belly up and a man named Jimenez bought the tools and produces them under the name Jennings Arms. The rest are gone except for Phoenix which does not make the old style guns any more.

They are decent plinkers, but I would not carry as a primary. Mainly because to carry with a round chambered, the striker is fully back and under full tension. I do not trust this for carry. Not with the type of release that is used on these.

[focusmaniaczx3]

oohh yeah thats is definitely true. but this is NOT going to be my primary. it is going to be a backup that goes into an ankle holster. it will sit in there with the chamber clear and the safety on. i dont trust that thing on safety with a round in the chamber either.

[army mp]

Focus it pretty much sounds like you don’t have much faith in. the gun. And I sure would not have a gun I have little faith in for primary or back up carry. I bought one of those guns About 20 years ago. I got it for my wife as a night stand gun. I was working the late shift. At the time I paid $65.00 for it new. I sold it a month later. My wife had trouble with the slid. And I had several jams with it. Not what I would trust my life too. Others may have had better luck with them. You don’t need a $1000.00 gun. But you do get what you pay for. Personally I would unload it. And you can pick up a cheap kel-tec, or Taurus for back up if you feel the need for it..

[TheGunClinger]

I am thinking that if you want a backup weapon for whatever the reason, jam, outa ammo, etc, then your back-up gun should be as good as you think your primary weapon should be. Just my .2 cents worth which is what a crap backup might be worth to your heirs.

[focusmaniaczx3]

agreed. at the time i was unaware of the issues with the gun. i picked it up and handled it some, was offered it in trade for my old busted .22 rifle and thought what the hell. my only reason for thinking about carrying it as a backup was because i thought it might be a bit more accurate than my .38 snub which i found out last night that it is. i shot it into some wet phone books and got just as much over all damage with a HP as i do with the .38 but you have to hand feed it hollow points. it wont chamber anything from the clip except for ball ammo. like i said im going to get rid of it as soon as i find someone that wants it. what do you guys think of the Kel-tec p32s? i currently have 3 .32 cal revolvers and im kinda partial to that caliber now, dont really know why so i think i might end up wanting another .32 automatic like the kel-tec if they are alright guns. i think i might be done impulse buying guns from now on tho

[army mp]

I don’t know much about the Kel-tec other than what I have read, And most was good. A friend bought a kel-tec in 9MM and loves it. The 32 Ammo may still be a little hard to find. And as far as not compulsion buying any more guns. That’s easier said than done.

[CampingJosh]

I have the Kel-tec in .380, and it's a great gun. I've only put 100 rounds through it, but I've only had it a couple weeks.
The .32 is basically identical. I think you will be very pleased with it, and you should be able to find one for about $270 new, less if you can find someone willing to get rid of a used one.

[focusmaniaczx3]

well im going to pick up the hobby of reloading pretty soon so having difficulty finding ammo for my guns should be a thing of the past in the very near future.