.32 acp, the little bullet that could

There's some on going debate, and by on going debate I mean heated vehement arguements about what's the smallest round you should carry for personal defense.

Some say, .25, some say 9mm, some say .50... opinions will vary on this one all day long.

I overlooked one very capable and very cool cartridge the last time I discussed caliber. I overlooked the venerable .32 acp.

While this round will not punch a softball sized hole in another human being at 100 yards, it is effective and it will do the job which is to protect you from another person's life threatening agression.

There are, at last count, 47 bajillion pocket pistols chambered for this round.
Kel-Tec, Beretta, Seacamp, Browning, Charter Arms, etc etc etc.

The practical upshot of this is that you get good, better said, adequate, firepower in a lightweight package. You get a good round count in the magazine, usually 6 or 7 +1 and they are very easily concealed.

The one thing that I will recommend is that if you do carry a .32 pocket pistol, don't carry hollow points with it. What you say?!? You heard me.

The reason I say that is because of the relative light weight and slowish speed of the round, it is possible that one of two things happens. The first is that the bullet expands and stops short of any vital organs, leaving a now hurt and angry attacker who still has energy for more willful action against you... that's bad. The other is the same principle, but it hits thicker clothing and expands inside the clothing and then does only superficial damage to the attacker... again, that's bad.

So, I'd say go with full metal jacket. Also, I would suggest practicing putting two in the chest and one in the head, over and over and over again. I can't confirm that you'll stop an attacker with torso shots alone. However, I DO know that if a man's grey matter is disrupted, they tend to start stopping.

So, the .32 is a viable option for conceal carry, go test a couple out, see what you think.