Bryan Ward’s everydaycarry.com pocket dump features a North American Arms (NAA) Guardian in .32 ACP. NAA introduced that gun in 1997; I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Ward’s gun was born the same year Playhouse Disney first hit the airwaves. Lightweight entertainment, lightweight stopping power? Let’s put it this way . . .
NAA reconfigured The Guardian in .380 in 2001. And thanks to the new breed of self-defense .380 ammo, the mouse gun’s necked down 9mm pill packs a pretty powerful punch. Compared to, say, a punch. Or .32 ACP.
Even so, a .32 ACP round is nothing to be trifled with. Unless your bad guy’s carrying a trifle. [Hint: you might want to wait a minute if he’s eaten some of it. He may die of sugar shock before finishing his attack.]
As for Mr. Ward’s extra mag, of course! Although carrying the tiny mag in a drawstring pouchette is the wrong answer. (NeoMag FTW.)
Got mouse gun?
[NOTE: A previous version of this post misidentified the mouse gun in question as a .380.]
.32 ACP… and he person who carries .32 instead of
380 is a whole different character– who knew that there was a Euro-chic hipster crowd in Montana ha
Does a j frame qualify as a mouse gun? I’ve shot rodents with a pellet gun. Does that count?
I’m loving your new username.
Yeah, I’ve been watching with interest to how long he keeps this one. #bringjwmback
Doing my part. Every day in small ways.
I’m keeping this.
Why bother?
I guess some of you forgot: … http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/08/jeremy-s/ammo-review-lehigh-underwood-make-32-acp-great/
I am waiting for this in a .380 version.
I initially assumed the velvet bag was for roll playing game dice.
This kit is better than what 90%+ of people carry. If we grade on a curve this person does fairly well.
In this game, determining proper usage might be a role of the dice.
Let’s not forget that the .32 ACP was the second most-issued pistol cartridge in the Wehrmacht and the most popular police cartridge in Western Europe after the war. It killed a lot of people.
The .32 ACP is probably a lot better than some people think it is. Modern .32 ACP FMJ penetration ranges from over 13 to almost 19 inches in ballistic gelatin. Buffalo Bore makes a round with 20″ of penetration. Lehigh Defense makes an “Xtreme Cavitator” that claims to penetrate over 13 inches of gel with a 1 1/2 inch wound cavity.
I’m very fond of big bore pistols and revolvers, but let’s face it — a hit from a .32 is a lot more effective than a miss from a .45. Besides, while the first rule of gunfighting is “don’t have a gunfight,” the second rule is “have a gun.” If a .32 is what you can carry and shoot well, then go for it.
^^^ This, you are 100% on target.
I like it.
Something to always have with you.
He can always carry a bigger backup when he has the room.
Like the new benchmade as well.
Love the image that came to mind with the idea of carrying a ‘bigger backup’: NAA in pocket holster, Deagle .50 on the ankle – worn with bell bottoms for ease of access. 🙂
Whatever works baybee.
I almost always have the LCP in my pocket.
SR9 as upsized backup if i am going into a more skeevy area….like Memphis or New Orleans.
Mini Grip with a blue handle. I like it.
Having a 32 acp at all times beats the hell out of having nothing at all.
As was stated in an earlier post made by Ralph, historically a whole lot of people have died because of that small pistol round.
I am partial to a P-64, it has the best punch at a size I can conceal, but I do not ever want to be shot at close range with a .22 , .25, or a .32. Just because I may not be killed by a small caliber handgun round, I don’t wish to try it.
My .25 vest pockets are even easier to conceal
“thanks to the new breed of self-defense .380 ammo, the mouse gun’s necked down 9mm pill packs a pretty powerful punch.”
WWWHHHAAATTT!!!
From Hornady HANDBOOK OF CARTRIDGE RELOADING, 10TH EDITION
.380 Bullet diameter: 0.355
9mm Bullet diameter: 0.355
True, the .380 is a shortened, not necked down, 9mm.
I was resisting picking that nit with all my strength. Glad you guys did it.
I assumed he was talking about the 32 NAA…….a 380 case necked down to 32.
Good bit hotter than the 32 acp.
My wife has carpel tunnel in her hands from working 40 years as a mail sorter. She carries a Beretta Tomcat with its flip up barrel. She can put 6 32 rounds into 6 beer cans spaced out to 25 yards and then insert her xtra magazine very quickly! Beware of the cranky old lady that shoots one gun!
The .380 Guardian is larger and heavier than the .32 version. I think Seecamp is about as small a production .380 (or .32) you’re going to find.
A reliable, tiny .32 in your pocket is better than a larger gun you opted to leave at home, like so many other people do. I like my little LWS32. Reliable, controllable, very easy to carry, and a good looking piece of work. Runs Xtreme Cavitators, too.
i had a lws32, and sold it. not shootable, at least for me. accuracy was poor and it was really snappy in the hand. i could get all the rounds on target, but not the same place on the target!
I’d like that taurus spectrum in .32 or .25
nothing wrong with 32, but the guardian is seems heavier than most of the tiny 380s
I’ve often wondered why they havn’t come out with an alloy lightweight frame model.
.380ACP is “necked down” 9mm Luger?
In which universe?
I think he means when you neck down the 9MM Luger, you get a .9MM
i had a .32 seecamp, but sold it because it sucked to shoot. The NAA is a knock off.
if you want really really small, and yet shootable, the KelTec P32 is thinner, lighter, less expensive, and actually shootable. The height and length are a slightly larger than the NAA or Seecamp, but thickness is the key dimension.
Aaron, agreed.
I’ve owned a a Tomcat, a NAA, two Seecamps, an a P32. I still have the P32 because it’s thinner and loaded weighs what the others do empty. It is a suitable handgun (8 shots) for when you cannot carry a larger weapon.
Smitty, and the other great thing about a P32 is that it only costs about $239 or so (haven’t priced them in a while).
My P32 was reliable out of the box, although I only shot about 200 rounds through it. That is contrasted with my P3AT which took TWO trips to the keltec factory before it would run reliably. the P3AT is also much harder to shoot well. it’s my cheap “car gun” – if my P3AT gets stolen from the glove box, i’ll be more upset about the broken car window than losing the gun.
I’m not shilling for keltec products, but the P32 is the only product of theirs that really impresses me, because it is so thin and light and (at least for me) runs right out of the box.
Bryan appears to subscribe to the “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” school of thought: “a 32 gun in his pocket for fun”….
I carry an NAA 22 Magnum 24/7. When I go to town, something bigger.
Also have the NAA in .32 ACP. Nice gun, finicky though and only likes American Eagle FMJ. But at bad-breath range it’ll git ‘er done.
As far as small calibers are concerned it was discovered as long ago as 1900 and even somewhat earlier when smokeless powder first came into use that it was not bullet diameter that killed rather it was shot placement and penetration. One of the primary reasons the German Army of WWII chose the .32 acp over the .380 was the fact that the .380 bullet bounced off of a German helmet and the .32 acp penetrated it and the U.S. Army found out the same thing in 1945 when their long over due test of the .45 acp found it too bounced off of a helmet but the 9×19 penetrated it. The .45 acp bounced off the helemt at a scant 35 yards while the 9×19 penetrated it at an astonishing 125 yards and may have been even able to penetrate it even further away but no one could hit the helmet beyond 125 yards in that particular test.
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