Kel Tec P32

[johnlives4christ]

been thinking about getting one of these little rascals. i haven't had any experience with them though but have heard they're pretty good guns.

i had a pf9 for a while but i had problems with it. like anything else i reckon i just got a lemon.

[Zane71464]

Ive never owned one myself John, but there was a question brought up about the Kel-Tec .32acp over in tech. questions that might be worth reading.

http://thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=82054

[johnlives4christ]

yeah i seen that thread. doesnt make sense to me

[Zane71464]

As I said, Ive never owned one but, from the people I know that have Kel Tec pistols, I havent heard anything bad about them.
My BIL called me the other day and said he was thinking of buying a P-32 at a flea market at a decent price. The only advice/input I could give him was the .32ACP ammo availability? Ive seen that Wal-mart seels the .32 ammo, but never really payed much attention as to their availability, as Ive never owned a .32 (acp).

[johnlives4christ]

32 is available here.. seen it at ammo once or twice.... aint seen 380 but once in the last year at walmart.

[3/2 STA SS]

I carry mine every day in my front pocket of my cargo shorts and it leaves no visible print. Very light and at times forget it is there. I have auto folders that weigh more than it does. Shoots like a dream and I use 71 grn Speer HP in it. Have the extended 10 round mag as well and keep that for a re load if need be. MY 2 cents.

[graehaven]

Owned mine for several years now. It shoots just fine, and spends it's time in my front right pocket in a pocket holster. I've also got the belt clip on it, so I can tuck it IWB if I want - hardly know its there - and that's without a holster.

[RJay]

I have and carry a Kel-Tec P-32. It has never given me any trouble, it has been reliable. It is very easy to carry with a pocket holster and is the one gun I slip into my pocket when I'm out and around. You will hear that a .32 is not good for self defence, I say bull hockey. A .32 in your pocket for fun is much better than a heavier pistol left in the safe because it is uncomfortable to carry just to go out for a quart of milk. Yes I know they make it in 380 but I think the 32 is just dandy and under rated. JMO and I have others

[Toney]

We've got the P32 and P3at, i would recomend them to anybody.

Been wanting the Pf9 but still reading to much bad stuff on them.

Have owned two P11s, NEED TO QUIT SWAPPING!!!

[johnlives4christ]

well i loved the pf9 i had except that it would fail to chamber a round out of every 2 mags. then i shot 20 mags with no malfunctions then on 21'st mag it started back up. this was with winchester white box. i didnt try anything else because i figure if it wont take wwb then what good is it.

but i def want another one when they get the bugs worked out and such.

and i def want one of the 32's. while i wont be giving up carrying a larger gun, there are places (like the mall and the hospital) that have a sign on the door that i need an easily concealable gun to carry. since carrying in those places is not a crime in kentucky.

[CampingJosh]

I have the .380 (ammo for that is more available here than the .32), and it's been a good gun. Doesn't like all hollow points, but I've been OK with Magtechs.

It's incredibly easy to conceal in any attire. I would recommend it to anyone concerned about concealment. It's sometimes with me in mesh athletic shorts and no shirt, and no one can even tell it's here.

[johnlives4christ]

how many rounds do you have through it josh?

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by johnlives4christ

how many rounds do you have through it josh?

Just a couple hundred. I took it in a trade earlier this year, so the "break-in" was already done. The only failures I've had have been failures to feed, and every one of those was ammo related.

Now that I think about it, I need to shoot it some more this week.

[johnlives4christ]

when i had the pf9 i was experiencing failures to feed. neither me or the gunsmith could figure out why though. i ended up trading it to a friend before i had a chance to send it back to kel tec though.

i polished the feed ramp and deburred the pistol from instructions i seen on a kel tec owners website that said it was a cure for feeding problems, but it didnt fix my problem

[CampingJosh]

I nearly bought the PF9 the first time I saw it, but when I handled it, I couldn't get the magazine to eject. They certainly made it flat, and it consistently took me two hands to push that little button in enough. After 6 or 8 tries without getting it, I handed it back.

When I've had failures to feed, I'll take the problematic round out to examine it, and it consistently had an indented stripe across the front of the bullet where it had gotten hung up. But like I said, only on some brands, and only on hollow points.

[johnlives4christ]

i really like the pf9 i had. didnt have any problems with the magazine catch. i am trying to buy the gun back from my friend. i will get the problems worked out of it if i do. it was a handy size, i loved it.

crazy aint i to still love a gun that was jamming, lol i love anything that shoots i reckon

[oscarmayer]

at the risk of hurting the feelings of thousands of kel-tec owners let me just say this, does anyone remember the grendell ? same company same designer . when i absolutely feel the need to carry a 32 acp it's either a guardian or a tomcat and i wouldn't trust my life to anything designed by someone that thought the grendell was a good idea.......

[Farmerjon]

Don't know anything about a grendall, but have carried a blue KelTec 32 for years. Has the IWB clip on it. Put it on the wrong side for most right handed people as I prefer it in a cross draw situation. It goes everywhere with me except in the bus and at school. Shoot snakes and try to hit mice and critters when mowing pastures. Hundreds and hundreds of rounds through it, both daughters and wife love "ole blue". It is my main carry on my person gun both at home and away. It eats any ammo I happen to buy for it, pocket lint and all it has shot each and every time I pull the trigger. Twenty years ago or so I bought a Jennings 22 and learned a lot about cheap worthless guns after a couple hundred rounds. This KelTec had to go through five hundred rounds with a FTF or FTE and it did it straight out of the box no cleaning or lubing. So, figured I would clean and do it again, did, no problems so started carrying it. I really don't know how long precisely I have had it, at least five six years I think. Whenever the blue color first came out. Youngest daughter was with me and it caught her eye so we bought it and took it home and put it through the paces. Think she was in Jr. High, now is graduated and married. For me it has worked flawlessly. That is my two cents. Get a pocket holster for it if you are going to carry one in the pipe, it is DA and no mechanical safety. Wherever you put it, front pocket, rear pocket, IWB, boot top, it will ride all day and you will forget having it.

[graehaven]

I also own the P-11. It shoots flawlessly.

However, with both guns (full disclosure), I did do the recommended "fluff and buff" on them. Took about 10 minutes each. It involves smoothing the feed ramp (mainly) and a couple other things. You can find out more on it at the keltec owner's group site.

http://www.ktog.org/tecwerks.htm

[Toolmanroberts]

John I 've had a P-32 for a few years now. It is a great little pistol. I started a thread about it that it sounds like you read. It shot flawlessly until I sent it back to Kel-Tec now it will only shoots there recomended ammo [winchester, federal, and hornady]. Other ammo that I have used Remington and Sellier & Bellot, [ not a large selection is available in this area]it will feed just fine but wont always go bang. Only about 60% of the time. So if I can find the recomended ammo I have no problems and it is 100% reliable. I have shot hundreds of rounds threw it, other than the ammo preference it is a great gun and would recomend it. I will eventually figure out this problem and build my own ammo but I just haven't got it out yet. Then again maybe I just got a lemon. Fruit is good for everybody.

[Bill DeShivs]

Grendel isnot the same company.
The Grendel design was innovative, but immature.
The Keltec P32 is a great little gun for it's designed purpose.

[oscarmayer]

Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc. is a United States manufacturer of firearms. Founded in 1991 and based in Cocoa, Florida, the company has manufactured firearms since 1995, starting with small, affordable semi-automatic pistols[1] and expanding to rifles. Kel-Tec is a privately-owned Florida corporation. George Kellgren is an owner and Chief Engineer. He is the Swedish designer who also designed many earlier Husqvarna (in Sweden), Swedish Interdynamics AB (in Sweden), Intratec, and Grendel brand firearms. According to the ATF[2], Kel-Tec is the third largest handgun maker in the U.S. yep the proud designer of the interatec too the kel-tec has a bad lineage

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by oscarmayer

Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc. is a United States manufacturer of firearms. Founded in 1991 and based in Cocoa, Florida, the company has manufactured firearms since 1995, starting with small, affordable semi-automatic pistols[1] and expanding to rifles. Kel-Tec is a privately-owned Florida corporation. George Kellgren is an owner and Chief Engineer. He is the Swedish designer who also designed many earlier Husqvarna (in Sweden), Swedish Interdynamics AB (in Sweden), Intratec, and Grendel brand firearms. According to the ATF[2], Kel-Tec is the third largest handgun maker in the U.S. yep the proud designer of the interatec too the kel-tec has a bad lineage

Thomas Edison tried to make pianos from cement. I won't go without light bulbs.

Judge a device by its merit, not by the designer's earlier failures.

[oscarmayer]

good point , but fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me , what does it mean if one gets fooled for the third time. i first bought a grendel , an absolute POS .... i then tried the intratec cat -9 wow it wouldn't of even made a good boat anchor now because most people seem to be happy settleing with what they have i'm suppose to give this designer a third chance , no thanks. it's hit or miss with these things check out the kel-tec owners group pages, ammo sensitive , back and forth to the factory for "repairs" seems to be the norm

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by oscarmayer

good point , but fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me , what does it mean if one gets fooled for the third time. i first bought a grendel , an absolute POS .... i then tried the intratec cat -9 wow it wouldn't of even made a good boat anchor now because most people seem to be happy settleing with what they have i'm suppose to give this designer a third chance , no thanks. it's hit or miss with these things check out the kel-tec owners group pages, ammo sensitive , back and forth to the factory for "repairs" seems to be the norm

OK, to be fair, if I had bought either of those first two, there's probably no way I'd pay for another gun by that guy. It would take a lot to convince me.

That said, this new design is a top seller, and Ruger even copied it. I've had good experiences with the one that's in my pocket right now, and I have no reservations about recommending it to others.
Every handgun is a trade off. I would rather carry a 12 gauge, but it doesn't conceal. Even if the Kel-tecs take some polishing to get into great working order, they conceal better than my wallet does, and that itself is worth giving it a chance.