Glaser Blue Safety Ammo in .32 ACP, good/bad idea?

[larry0071]

I'm looking for some ammo for my wifes new pistol, Beretta Tomcat .32ACP, and I see this stuff and wonder if its better than Federal Hydroshock for her defense? If ya'all feel this stuff is Poo-Poo, what's a good ammo to load her 7 rnd Beretta with? I'm not looking for humanitarian ammunition, I'm looking for human tearing ammo to be used to protect my loved one in the unlikely event of an attack on her.

Not that an excuse to carry is needed, but my wife travels from home to home helping poor elderly folks, like a direct care worker, but in your home and only for a couple hours per "client". Many times she is in very low income areas, and even though her employer is anti firearm 100%, I feel and convinced her that having a little secret in her purse is worth the risk over the alternative..... potential rape or murder.

[Trempel]

It lacks penetration for any serious use. A friend who carries a P32 Keltec as a BUG actually switched from Gold Dots to FMJ, because even the majority of the good HPs (Speer GD, Hornady, Hydra Shock) don't reliably expand and usually lack the minimum 12" of penetration in ballistic gelatin. From what I've read, those exotic rounds like the Glasers, penetrate only a fraction of what even the decent HP will manage to do.

[Marcus L.]

The minimum requirement for an effective defense load is that it penetrates up to 12" in properly calibrated ballistic gel. There is no Glaser ammunition that can do this. Most of them only penetrate 4-5" in gel.

In regard to .380acp JHPs, many of them are not engineered well. The .380acp cannot expand to 9mm levels and still penetrate up to 12".......it doesn't have enough momentum, nor enough sectional density. Most .380acp JHPs only penetrate up to 7" in gel meaning that the bullet may not have any lethal effects on a bad guy if they are fat, you shoot them through their arm, or if you should hit them at a angle to cause deflection off the rib cage.

The only JHP that comes close to the 12" penetration mininum is the Hornady 90gr XTP JHP. It routinely penetrates around 11" in gel because the Hornady engineers designed it to only expand to around .45-.50". Personally, I consider this to be the best overall load for the .380acp. Certainly not worthy of a duty caliber, and like all .380acp loads it sucks when trying to shoot through windshields, but the best overall load in terms of good penetration and expansion.


I do agree with Trempel. If you can't find the Hornady load, then use a FMJ loading. Try to find one with a flat point if possible. A flat point acts like a semi wadcutter and will crush more tissue as the bullet penetrates instead of just pushing it aside as round nosed handgun bullets tend to do.

[ToddG]

Glaser: When you absolutely positively must leave your opponent alive.

Just say no.

[John_Wayne777]

I'm looking for some ammo for my wifes new pistol, Beretta Tomcat .32ACP, and I see this stuff and wonder if its better than Federal Hydroshock for her defense? If ya'all feel this stuff is Poo-Poo, what's a good ammo to load her 7 rnd Beretta with?

The biggest concern for a .32 is penetration. A high quality, reliably functioning FMJ load would be my choice in a .32 ACP. The Glaser stuff is just horrid....especially in mouseguns.

[Marcus L.]

*smacks forehead*

Disregard my previous post. For some reason I thought you were referring to the .380acp. As for the .32acp DO NOT use JHPs......especially not Glaser. The penetration ability of the .32acp is far too shallow with expansion loads or fragmenting loads. The only way to get reliable penetration from the .32acp is to use FMJ ammunition. Once again, try to get a flat point for better tissue crushing effect.

[RWK]

Am I going to have to bust out my Glaser .357 Mag v. dog story again...?! Glaser's, and anything like them, are garbage in any caliber.

Honestly Larry, I recommend replacing the .32 with a more serviceable caliber -- at least 9mm or .38 Special. There's no .32 round in existence in which I'd willingly entrust anyone's life.

[WillBrink]

I'm looking for some ammo for my wifes new pistol, Beretta Tomcat .32ACP, and I see this stuff and wonder if its better than Federal Hydroshock for her defense?

.32 ACP is a bad idea...The best way to make the .32 ACP even more worthless, would be to use Glaser. You must not care much about your wife...

But seriously, the .32 ACP is only slightly better then throwing rocks, small rocks at that, and considering how many very small low recoil 9mms exist today, I wouldn't allow anyone I cared about to carry anything less. My GF just got her CCW and first gun, and 9mm is the min SD rnd (.380 if you really wanna push it) but .32 is a no no.

Good luck.

[woodandsteel]

]*smacks forehead*[/B]

Disregard my previous post. For some reason I thought you were referring to the .380acp. As for the .32acp DO NOT use JHPs......especially not Glaser. The penetration ability of the .32acp is far too shallow with expansion loads or fragmenting loads. The only way to get reliable penetration from the .32acp is to use FMJ ammunition. Once again, try to get a flat point for better tissue crushing effect.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, Marcus. I have been planning to ask a question about a good ammo option for my .380 LCP. But, you seemed to answer that question pretty well. Thank you.

As for the Glaser, I never understood the big deal about them. I have two friends who bought S&W J Frames. They both wanted to carry Glasers in them. I told them, that in my opinion, they were limiting themselves.

For a .32. I would shoot FMJ's.

[ToddG]

Can we please stop with the "no mouseguns!" crap?

Really, do you think the OP believes his wife's .32 is a zombie slaying hand cannon? Do you think he's oblivious to the fact that it's below the typical gunfighter threshold?

We get it. The .32 is not going to disintegrate BGs. It may not do the job against a highly motivated opponent.

It is still much better than no gun at all. So if the size or function of a little .32 is what she'll carry every day, it beats the crap out a .38 or 9mm that she won't.

No better than throwing rocks? I hope your jury doesn't find out you said that if you ever shoot someone who was pointing merely a .32 at you ...