Why so difficult to buy certain ammo?

[126coupe]

I been trying to get 32 caliber Winchester Silver Tips for months, WTF??
Hoarding? No longer being manufactured?
It's the only 32's that work in my Seacamp

[HHI944]

The local shop I use had a ton of the silver tips when I picked some up for my moms p32.

[Eclectic911]

A lot of people are afraid that Pres. Obama & Congress will be tightening
gun control further, & are buying firearms & stocking up on ammo before
this happens.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Eclectic911

A lot of people are afraid that Pres. Obama & Congress will be tightening
gun control further, & are buying firearms & stocking up on ammo before
this happens.

Yep, there are a lot of people right now who didn't own guns two years ago and currently have MASSIVE stockpiles of ammo.

Things have eased considerably since this time last year, but some stuff is still hard to find. Ironically, it is the cheap, common calibers that are hard to come by.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by 126coupe

I been trying to get 32 caliber Winchester Silver Tips for months, WTF??
Hoarding? No longer being manufactured?
It's the only 32's that work in my Seacamp

That's no longer true, though it once was. More manufacturers are making .32 ammo now that is suitable for use in a Seecamp.

Buffalo bore will work in your Seecamp, and is far more powerful. Same for Speer Gold dot(the best JHP on the market in many people's opinion)

It is an OAL issue in the Seecamps. I have seen a Seecamp fire both the loads i listed without problem.

Silver tip is very anemic ammo that only expands fully about 1/4 of the time and has really limited penetration.

Extensive ballistics gelatin testing with most factory .32 loads:

http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/32acp/gel32acp.htm

The OAL is listed for all of them.

It certainly cannot hurt to try them. Both the loads i mentioned would be a significant upgrade over silvertips.

[red-beard]

I have abandoned the use of expanding ammo in my .32ACP and my .380ACP. Just buy and use FMJ. It will feed properly. You won't have any chance of rimlock on the .32. And ammo that does expand, doesn't get the necessary penetration you need.

[Embraer]

in my old CZ-70, the only .32 ammo that fires correctly (everytime) is S&B FMJ 73 grain.

btw, i've had problems with feeding on buffalo bore, as well as Federal Hydra-shok

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I have abandoned the use of expanding ammo in my .32ACP and my .380ACP. Just buy and use FMJ. It will feed properly. You won't have any chance of rimlock on the .32. And ammo that does expand, doesn't get the necessary penetration you need.

Buffalo bore maximum pressure hard cast semi-wadcutter lead is even better.

Over 15" penetration, and it punches a nice clean hole(ie a lot of bleeding) as opposed to the ice pick type wound channel of FMJ. Best part- it will fit in the Seecamp's magazine.

Most FMJ will not work in a Seecamp, most of it's too long to fit in the magazine. Again- it's an OAL issue.

The most powerful FMJ on the market is made by Dynamit Nobel/Geco. I have several boxes of the stuff.

[126coupe]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

That's no longer true, though it once was. More manufacturers are making .32 ammo now that is suitable for use in a Seecamp.

Buffalo bore will work in your Seecamp, and is far more powerful. Same for Speer Gold dot(the best JHP on the market in many people's opinion)

It is an OAL issue in the Seecamps. I have seen a Seecamp fire both the loads i listed without problem.

Silver tip is very anemic ammo that only expands fully about 1/4 of the time and has really limited penetration.

Extensive ballistics gelatin testing with most factory .32 loads:

GoldenLoki.com

The OAL is listed for all of them.

It certainly cannot hurt to try them. Both the loads i mentioned would be a significant upgrade over silvertips.

Thanks I'll those 32's, everything I have tried gets jammed in the magazine.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Embraer

in my old CZ-70, the only .32 ammo that fires correctly (everytime) is S&B FMJ 73 grain.

btw, i've had problems with feeding on buffalo bore, as well as Federal Hydra-shok

I bet. That old pistol was designed to fire round nose ammo only.

Try some cor-bon powrball....if they ever start making it again. The components to make it have been on backorder at the factory for months and months.

Powrball:

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by 126coupe

Thanks I'll those 32's, everything I have tried gets jammed in the magazine.

Your seecamp is designed for shells with the same OAL as silvertips. Both Buffalo bore(slightly shorter) and Speer gold dot is very close in OAL (.9 vs .908 for Silvertip)

If rounds are too short you will get rim lock and the magazine will get jammed. There is a very cheap remedy for that if you run into that issue, you just need to make a "flyer wire" to prevent the cartridges from rim-locking. If that turns out to be the case i can post illustrated step by step pix how to make and perform a .32acp flyerwire magazine modification.

It's really simple.

Rds too long won't fit in the magazine. The Seecamp was designed for rounds with a .908 OAL, but .9 should be ok too. It's just a matter of trial and error with your pistol, to see what works.

Whatever ammo you settle on, be sure to test at least 20 or 30 shots to make sure it won't jam.

Honestly, in today's world i think the .32 Kel Tec is the way to go for a pocket pistol. It's 1/3 the weight of the seecamp, and is a lot less finicky about what rounds you put into it, and they make a ton of accessories for the Kel Tec P32 now too.

Here's mine (with crimson trace laser):

'
rounds pictured are buffalo bore, and the pistol is fitted with a 10rd magazine.

You could probably trade your Seecamp in for 2 kel tecs.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by 126coupe

Thanks I'll those 32's, everything I have tried gets jammed in the magazine.

Jamming in a magazine with 32ACP is caused by rimlock. Most of the older mags were designed for lead or FMJ, round nose rounds. With hollow point, the rounds are just a little shorter.

The rim on the 32 ACP can slide into the gap of the round below it. If you have a magazine designed for round nose FMJ or lead, and you load hollowpoints, one of the rounds can slip forward, and the rim slips into the rim gap on the round underneath it. When it come up to the top in the magazine, the slide is unable to strip the round off the top and the gun jams.

Some people "fix" the magazines by inserting a wire or strip in the back of the magazine. This snugs up the room and prevent any rounds from slipping out of position and rimlocking.

32ACP is really too small and slow to expand properly, so the real solution is to use a round which doesn't expand, like FMJ or the cast lead bullets Sniper is using.

[m21sniper]

Corbon has a new 55gr powrball loading in .32acp with a rounded nose profile that looks really promising, but Cor bon cannot get the components they need to make more. I've called them several times to check the status of my order (100rds on backorder since october) before i finally cancelled it last week. They don't even know when they're going to get the stuff they need to make more.

Until i can get my hands on that stuff i'm sticking with the Buffalo Bore. It's expensive, but i don't use the good stuff for practice.

The magazine in the Seecamp is sized specifically for the .908 OAL of silvertips if i recall correctly. So anything over .908 is going to be too long. I do not know if .08 is enough play in the mag to cause rimlock in a Seecamp mag (should the OP drop down to a .9 OAL), as i am not sure how thick the semi-rim on a .32acp is.

Simple testing should determine this. If play is excessive, just let us know and we'll walk you through a flyer wire mod for your magazine.

[m21sniper]

I found this comment today on another forum from a seecamp owner:

benderx4
August 22, 2009, 12:56 AM
My Seecamp loves to eat any of the following:

Winchester Silvertips
Hornady XTPs
Speer Gold Dot

'HOT' 32 acp ammo [Archive] - THR

[126coupe]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

I found this comment today on another forum from a seecamp owner:

benderx4
August 22, 2009, 12:56 AM
My Seecamp loves to eat any of the following:

Winchester Silvertips
Hornady XTPs
Speer Gold Dot

'HOT' 32 acp ammo [Archive] - THR

I ordered the Speer Gold Dot online, $19.00 per 100 plus shipping.
Thanks for the help.

[Embraer]

per 100? wow..where at?

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by 126coupe

I ordered the Speer Gold Dot online, $19.00 per 100 plus shipping.
Thanks for the help.

Glad to help. I'd shoot half of them to verify proper function.

Gold dots are state of the art bonded core jacketed hollowpoints. Corbon .32acp +P is also very popular, i have some of that too.

[126coupe]

Originally Posted by Embraer

per 100? wow..where at?

midwayusa.com

[m21sniper]

For anyone whose firearm will feed and cycle it reliably, to me, Buffalo bore 75gr +P hard cast flat nose lead round is the best all around load in .32acp.

It is the deepest penetrating offering in .32 acp, and you will still get a decent wound from the flat nose hunting bullet design. That type of ammo is also much better at penetrating bone and not deflecting or ricocheting than FMJ is.

At 140fpe from a kel tec it is a good 40% more powerful than silvertip ammo and penetrates about 6" deeper.

It is a very short round though, and it's OAL would cause problems in many pistols if the mags are not fitted with flyer wire kits. (I have them installed in my kel tec mags) It's only other drawback is the cost. It is very expensive ammo.

[9dreizig]

Snipe, what do you know about the Berretta Tomcat ? I've got one and have been buying the silvertips have had others jam, but it's a case of the cartridges being too long being the problem. Think the Buffalo's will work ? I agree with you on the 32 being a great load. It's so small I can put it in my robe, sum up the situation (I'm thinking home invasion) and nobody knows you're carrying. Also will fit in front jeans pocket concelled