JOINT AGENCY BALLISTICS TEST FOR DEFENSIVE HANDGUN AMMUNITION

[okie]

To steal from your signature: No dude is going to get shot in the chest at 300 yards and look down and say "What is that, a 3 MOA group?"
No dude is going to get shot in the chest with a .32 or .380 and shrug it off because it wasn’t a 9x19 or .45.

Shots on target with adequate penetration end a fight. At some point pistol caliber is an academic exercise and it becomes much more about how well the shooter can rapidly engage and provide follow up shots. The fallacy that someone will get hit with a single .45 and drop (or a 10mm and explode) doesn’t hold a candle to a guy or gal with a .32 who practices regularly. And of course none of it means a thing if people don’t have some sort of situational awareness.

If it doesn't hit something vital they're not even going to realize they've been shot. So yes, given what we know about .32 ballistics, it's very much within the realm of possibility, or even likelihood, that they would be unaffected by it, in terms of their ability to return fire, beat you to death, etc.

I say all this btw as someone who owns a P32, but I only carry it when no other option exists, and I know its limitations. I also carry a good sized pocket knife as backup in such situations, and given the choice between the two, I would choose to forego the P32 in favor of the knife.