Which Guardian???

[PaducahMichael]

I'd appreciate the thoughts of those who own Guardians regarding which is most reliable. Also wondering which ammo is most easily found.

Let 'er rip! I'll hang up and listen.

[TwoGunJayne]

.32 ACP Guardian here.

I like Fiocchi or Prvi Partisan .32 fmj ammo. It seems America is scared of loading .32 acp as it was meant to be... a bit hot with an fmj projectile. Never a hiccup cycling these brands in my personal piece. Can't say the same for other brands, plus they tend to be weaker (not always) and very expensive (a safe bet.)

Oh well. In the past, when I've been lucky, I've scored one of these two ammos by mail order for $12-$15 a box.

I've noted my Guardian had some failures to fire when new and needed the occasional restrike. A bit of a wipe down and a shot of CLP helped, but it was mostly a bit of break-in. Guardians don't like getting invaded with pocket fluff. This is why many prefer a nice pocket holster... keeps the junk out of your action.

This and shooting it at least once a month seem to keep me optimistic about the things.

[Classanr]

32acp.  Loves the hot stuff.  I carry Speer Silver Tips.  Earlier (pre-2000) mags sometimes didn't work well with HP, they being a tad shorter OAL.  Just for messin' around, tonight I cycled through 11 rounds of Silver Tips in my recently-acquired 10-rnd extended mags.  Hmmmm, with 10 loaded the follower hangs at the joint between the steel mag and the plastic extension.  There is a tiny gap between the rear of the mag and the plastic mag well, which lets the metal section move rearward (1/64th of an inch), which is just enough to hang the follower.  Solution will be to shove a shim down the outside rear of the mag into the extension.

I had carried this gun for 15 years.  It is amazing how much abuse it will take.  The tritium sights are dark now.  The trigger pull is a very loooooooooooong 12lb pull, but absolutely consistent.  Pull it all the way back, it breaks.  Reset is all the way forward.  There is no "accidentally" firing this gun.  Hand it to anybody who has never shot a NAA Guardian and they *cannot fire a shot*.  I have to request the gun back and show them how to shoot it.  It is not a "target pistol" trigger.  It is a reasonably acccurate self-defense gun that only shoots when you add concerted efffort (read: your adrenaline is pumping).

I unload, double-check, and with the mag out, will dry-fire until my finger is numb.  For the first year, this was once a week.  Since then, one day a year keeps the trigger pull in shape.  Shooting this Guardian has become second nature.  Except for weight, I prefer the Guardian for carry over my wife's much lighter KelTek P32 - and I *love* that KelTek's trigger and handling!

Reloading for practice:  71gr FMJ with 2gr Titegroup.  Want hotter?  2.2gr.  Used to be all kinds of 32acp surplus ammo from Europe.  I probably shot 50% of it up myself.

Considering the cost of ammo, and that I can reload for pennies a shot, and 32acp is found more frequently that NAA32, I am happy I stuck with the "common" round.

Magtech FMJ/brass, in over 1,000 rounds, has never failed to fire or extract.  Keep in mind that aluminum cases sometimes fail to extract (they rip at the rim).

Last round tends to stove-pipe on the Guardians.  You're about to change the mag anyway, so remove the empty, slam in the full mag, tip the gun as upside down as you can, and rack.  That stove pipe will fall out, the first round in the mag will chamber.  You are good to go.

I carry in a DeSantis "gun rug" - nowadays NAA sells a belt-clip zippered pouch.  The new pouches are "one-size up" from the smallest DeSantis makes.  I prefer the smaller version which is a very tight fit for the Guardian, but takes about 30% less overall footprint on the hip.

For in-the-pocket carry, TGJ has it spot on.  Pocket holster with the muzzle fully covered.  I have those too, but most of my pockets typically have too little exit room (draw snags on the exit seam) or waaaaay too much cargo pocket room (danged gun flops around even in a holster, gets upside down, and whacks me in the thigh).  Left hip, belt-hung, has worked very well for the past 15years.

I purchased all the parts needed for any type of repair.  15 years and several thousand rounds later, I still have all those extra parts!  Here is how I did it:  Dry fire first for 100 times.  Live fire for 120 times using FMJ/brass in both mags interchangeably.  Take the entire gun down to parts, clean out the shop work and the "break-in" gunk, buff off all edges, warm everything up to 140deg, and FrogLube.  After that, nothing will fail except your aim.

One operator decision to avoid:  DO NOT WET-LUBE THE FIRING PIN.  Clean, keep polished.  Rem Oil lightly, or FrogLube lightly, but wipe it dry!  The pin is where the pocket-gunk likes to hide.

Oh, yes.  Another thing.  Have fun with this fine piece of heat engine.

[RogueTS1]

Cannot comment on the .32 since I do not have one but I prefer the .380 since the frame is a tad larger. I find the .32 a bit too small for my taste. As far as caliber effectiveness; I say there is not much difference between the .380 and .32 so shoot whichever gun you like better. The ammo will do its job no matter which caliber you use.

[Joe S]

I'd appreciate the thoughts of those who own Guardians regarding which is most reliable. Also wondering which ammo is most easily found.

Let 'er rip! I'll hang up and listen.

I  own a early .32acp guardian, serail # AA5xxx. I find it to be totally reliable with most any ammo. I personally run JHP exclusively because I like to practice with what I carry.   I only shoot about 12-24 rounds a year,(carried a lot shot a little).  I have owned the gun since 1998 and it only had  2 FTF with the old short 60 gr JHP load by Corbon, this load now uses a longer 60 gr bullet. I have great luck with Hornady Custom 60 gr XTP, and Fiocchi 60 gr JHP  This is the newer 32 APHP,  not the old semi JHP (exposed lead hollow point). Fiocchi also loads the XTP in their Extrema line ammo, but the 32 aphp is about 100 fps faster than their Extrema XTP load and the Hornady XTP. I've been thinking about a Kel Tec .32 (only 6.6oz) but my .32 Guardian is so dam reliable and I had  a P-11 Kel Tec years ago, that was a total piece of sh*t, I would not trust Kel Tec (no matter how light) with my life.