3rd time is a charm Guardian .32acp function test

dinooch · January-16-23 14:01

To say I'm very happy is an understatement. Just ran 50 rounds of Winchester 71gr fmj not one stumble 100% reliability. I am now comfortable enough to carry the gun. Tips I received from some of you folks helped and I thank you all for that. I traded off a Beretta Bobcat .22lr and got this gun to replace it. I had that gun over 20 years but never carried it much except for dog walking. My recently aquired .22lr Mini revolver is a much better option for deep carry and a nice dog walk gun to boot. The Beretta was fatter than the Guardian jammed on everything except CCI Stingers where it was 100% reliable. I can shoot 40gr bullets with the mini (and everything else I've fed it) but .32 gives me more confidence obviously. I also have a P32 but I really like the build quality and extra weight of the Guardian. I have bigger full size compact and sub compact guns as well everything has it's own place and application.

Love my Guardian and thanks again guys for your comments

bearcatter · January-25-23 10:01

Another happy Guardian 32 owner!

Hooray!

I need all the help I can get with these Mini guys....

Now I can get one more vote for a Guardian .22 .....

dinooch · February-20-23 07:02

I shot another $30.00 +++ box of .32acp from my Guardian yesterday and it worked perfectly

I followed Bearcatter's advice and got new grip screws with the rubber gaskets and my grips did not loosen up. I'm really loving my Guardian for it's intended purpose. My primary EDC is usually my S&W 442 or P365 but for those moments when you really need to deep conceal my .22LR mini and my Guardian are my go to choice. Does that mean my P32 is going to be a safe queen? You never know.

bearcatter · February-20-23 09:02

Good to hear you had a perfect range trip. I'm glad the rubber grip screw washers did well. You must have bought yours "pre-owned", new Guardians come with them.

I honestly haven't shot mine in over a year. Come warmer weather I have some catching up to do, if I can squeeze it in between mowing. Last year was hot and wet, I could almost hear the grass grow. I think I got to mow dry grass once the whole year....

heyjoe · February-20-23 10:02

i am a happy Guardian 32 owner. i have had one with a custom serial number since they came out. 1996? 97?

dinooch · February-20-23 17:02

My Guardian was purchased used but in like new condition. It came with the metal lock box and 3 extra magazines. I do not like the finger hook base pads. Two of the base pads are flat (or so I thought). I noticed that one must have been a hook base pad ground down and smoothed out, very nice work and kinda hard to tell. My neighbor asked me to help him lift something in his basement today and I noticed he has a very nice bench grinder with a polishing wheel. I have a nice file set so I'm going to grind them down and smooth them out. I tried everywhere to find replacement flat base pads but now I don't have to. I also bought my mini revolver used from the same gun shop just a few weeks before I got the Guardian. I saw the Guardian in the case when I bought the mini and spent countless nights staring at the ceiling thinking about that gun. My mistake was that I had touched it I should have known better,

bearcatter · February-20-23 18:02

NAA used to have the flat pads separately, but now they only come on complete mags. You can order replacement mags with either base. New guns come with two mags, one of each.

FWIW, their mags are made in Italy by Mec-Gar. You probably noticed "Italy" stamped on your mags. Mec-Gar makes mags for a lot of gun companies.

The extended mag base works for some people, it depends on your finger size putting pressure against it. Mine aren't so tight, so mags don't pop loose, but I like the flat better. I have eight mags, all flat.

It's nice that your Guardian waited to go home with you. I had not seen or touched a Guardian when I bought my first one, but the photos and specs sold me. Once I got it, I wanted a second as "backup".....

Uncle_Lee · February-21-23 05:02

dinooch,
Now you know "Resistance Is Futile".

I am slipping on giving new people a good WELCOME.

So here it is:

Welcome to the forum.
We are relaxed here. Like being at a barber shop.
You WILL see thread drift. Hang on, it might get back to giving your question an answer.
Don't go to name calling except in fun.
Pictures,,,, We must have pictures of something you are bragging about or it is not true.
And, no cussing.

Post nothing that might bring the government down on NAA.
That is the first time that I have posted that but now times are changing. Free Speech is going down the drain.

dinooch · February-21-23 06:02

Quote from: uncle_lee on February-21-23 05:02
dinooch,
Now you know "Resistance Is Futile".

I am slipping on giving new people a good WELCOME.

So here it is:

Welcome to the forum.
We are relaxed here. Like being at a barber shop.
You WILL see thread drift. Hang on, it might get back to giving your question an answer.
Don't go to name calling except in fun.
Pictures,,,, We must have pictures of something you are bragging about or it is not true.
And, no cussing.

Post nothing that might bring the government down on NAA.
That is the first time that I have posted that but now times are changing. Free Speech is going down the drain.

Thank you for the welcoming words. Funny you would say barber shop. I used to refer to my former gun shop (owner retired) as "Floyd"s" when my wife asked me where I was going. "just going to get a little trim" of course an eye roll would follow. Fortunately one of his long time employees opened his own shop which I am very loyal to. I agree that we must watch our backs and our words these days. Very sad to see that depending on your political beliefs you can say something that on one side you're a hero but if you dare to say the same thing on the other side you are a zero among other things.

boscobarbell · February-22-23 22:02

Timely thread for me. I had a Guardian about 5 years ago, but at the time it just didn't seem to fit a niche. And, yes, I've regretted it ever since.

I've reached a point--after carrying a big service pistol all day, every day--that I just don't have the tolerance for big EDC pieces anymore. And while I have a lot of excellent polymer guns (to include a little gem of a P32), I much prefer the solidity of steel guns. And while I am fond of revolvers, I just tend to shoot semis better.

Which brings me back to Guardians. I came here to see what current owners think, and it was nice to hear of one that runs just right.

May I ask, what is the issue with the rubber gaskets? And where do you purchase them?

bearcatter · February-22-23 23:02

With my two, you can say three that run right. Was yours a .32 ? A few other members have Guardians.

Not really a gasket, just a rubber washer that fits under the grip screw. They are included with new guns, and when you buy a set of grips. I feel sure NAA would sell (maybe free) the washers separately. The added friction on the screw makes it less likely you would overtighten the grip. I tighten my factory grips snug plus a bit extra. The screw stays put.

Myself, I just can't do polymer. The Guardian being all stainless works for me, and I like .32 ACP. I have some compact .32 Yugoslavian pistols that shoot very comfortably.

dinooch · February-23-23 11:02

My grips loosened up during shooting until I got a new set of screws that came with the washers. I bought mine used so the previous owner may have lost them. Of course the forum's Guru of the Guardian bearcatter pointed that out to me. I'm new to NAA guns so it's nice that people are willing to offer advice.

I always say "in my effort to become a know it all I learn something new every day" believe me I'm far from achieving that goal

Uncle_Lee · February-23-23 13:02

You are with a good group that are still learning.
Well, there may be one that has already gained the top line of knowledge.

boscobarbell · February-23-23 14:02

Quote from: bearcatter on February-22-23 23:02
With my two, you can say three that run right. Was yours a .32 ? A few other members have Guardians.

Not really a gasket, just a rubber washer that fits under the grip screw. They are included with new guns, and when you buy a set of grips. I feel sure NAA would sell (maybe free) the washers separately. The added friction on the screw makes it less likely you would overtighten the grip. I tighten my factory grips snug plus a bit extra. The screw stays put.

Myself, I just can't do polymer. The Guardian being all stainless works for me, and I like .32 ACP. I have some compact .32 Yugoslavian pistols that shoot very comfortably.

Thanks for that explanation. Very helpful.

My Guardian was a 32. Unbeknownst to me, I bought a rather old model, and it quickly developed/revealed some mag release issues. It was dropping mags with any hotter ammo, even after I stuck to the flat-base-plate magazines. And then the mag release basically disintegrated into several parts. NAA was very good with their CS and got it fixed up, but by then I had bought a Seecamp and decided to just move on from the Guardian. Big mistake.

My inclination is to get another 32, but I've been considering the 380. I would really like to avoid the rim lock issue with 32 ammo--is that a thing with Guardians, as it is with my KelTec P32??--and the added horsepower would be nice. But I'm an old retired guy now, and spend at least half my days in workout gear, and I think the 380 might be a bit too heavy to carry on the waist on those days.

bearcatter · February-23-23 15:02

The .380 is roughly a half inch longer and taller than the .32. Worst difference the .380 is 21 oz loaded, the .32 is only 15. The .380 recoil is pretty stout, from what I hear. I've never shot one. I compare my .32 recoil to 130 grain .38 Special. For me that's enough for a shirt pocket size gun.

IMHO, .380 belongs in a PPK size pistol, or larger. I have some compact size pistols (27 oz) in .32 ACP that are pleasant to shoot. I can guesstimate that .380 in them would be my limit.

So far as rimlock, I've never had it happen, and I even use slip on mag loaders. Magazines are sized for the full overall length of FMJ ammo. Hollow point ammo is a little shorter, and the extra space can allow the rim to snap over the previous round's rim when loading. You have to be extra careful. So FMJ is better for SD, and avoiding rim lock. Hollow points in Guardians of either caliber are generally pointless for SD, because they expand very little if at all.

boscobarbell · February-23-23 16:02

Quote from: bearcatter on February-23-23 15:02

So far as rimlock, I've never had it happen, and I even use slip on mag loaders. Magazines are sized for the full overall length of FMJ ammo. Hollow point ammo is a little shorter, and the extra space can allow the rim to snap over the previous round's rim when loading. You have to be extra careful. So FMJ is better for SD, and avoiding rim lock. Hollow points in Guardians of either caliber are generally pointless for SD, because they expand very little if at all.

Yes, but using FMJ only precludes what are, IMO, two very good rounds in .32: the Underwood Xtreme Defender and the Buffalo Bore hard cast flat nose. The former, in particular, really makes the 32 a formidable SD ammo. I suppose I could always load one in the pipe and one on top of the magazine, and then fill the rest with FMJ. But those FMJs and their wire-thin wound tracks really bum me out....

bearcatter · February-23-23 17:02

.32 FMJ doesn't expand but goes deeper. It's midway of the FBI recommendations. Any bullet that does expand is barely adequate in penetration. .32 doesn't have enough horsepower to do both.

I have no idea how the special SD rounds would feed, or behave inside a bad guy. You can still use them, just be careful each round is all the way back before loading the next one. Me, I'd rather have a narrow 18 inch hole than a slightly wider 12 inch hole.

boscobarbell · February-23-23 20:02

Quote from: bearcatter on February-23-23 17:02
.32 FMJ doesn't expand but goes deeper. It's midway of the FBI recommendations. Any bullet that does expand is barely adequate in penetration. .32 doesn't have enough horsepower to do both.

I have no idea how the special SD rounds would feed, or behave inside a bad guy. You can still use them, just be careful each round is all the way back before loading the next one. Me, I'd rather have a narrow 18 inch hole than a slightly wider 12 inch hole.

I believe that the .32 Underwood round has been measured at 13-14" in gel, but your point is well taken. The problem with 32 is that it forces you to make these decisions...deep and narrow or shorter and wide. There is really no sweet spot, and you've got the rim lock issue to deal with to boot. It's a shame that the Seecamp forum is down...there are some really good gel tests shared by some members over the years. I seem to recall that the Fiocchi SJHP did really well...something like 14-15 inches of penetration with a bit of expansion, too.

For all those reasons I'd really prefer 380, but I just don't think that carry weight (not to mention the recoil with a straight blowback pistol, as you mentioned) would really give me what I"m looking for.

Decisions, decisions.....

bearcatter · February-23-23 20:02

Don't feel badly, it took me two months of thought and online research to decide between the 32 and 380. My only regret had nothing to do with the .32 itself, just that the ammunition was harder to come by. I have more than enough now, just took a little more time and effort to get. I have five .32 mouths to feed ....

RogueTS1 · February-24-23 08:02

With a little customization the .380 Guardian is not unpleasant to fire.

heyjoe · February-24-23 13:02

my 32 acp runs well

Canoeal · February-24-23 18:02

Quote from: bearcatter on February-23-23 17:02
.32 FMJ doesn't expand but goes deeper. It's midway of the FBI recommendations. Any bullet that does expand is barely adequate in penetration. .32 doesn't have enough horsepower to do both.

I have no idea how the special SD rounds would feed, or behave inside a bad guy. You can still use them, just be careful each round is all the way back before loading the next one. Me, I'd rather have a narrow 18 inch hole than a slightly wider 12 inch hole.

Apparently Cor-bon does make a pretty good .32 round. They these results to compare: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/pocket-pistol-caliber-gel-test-results/?fbclid=IwAR1_z_cEvnVykdpz-B7vR_mE_uwb_xHPREYuTwh2eegxwDyBRmuNQ-dnWqs#32ACP