Looks like I collect .32s now

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dakota.potts

New member
I went on a little bit of a spree lately, searching Gunbroker for project guns to work on to keep in practice pistol smithing and maybe record some stuff for my YouTube/website.

I went to the gun store today and picked up these 3 guys who made their way to me from around the US:
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A vz. 70, vz. 27, and Fn Model 1900. All .32s. Just happened to be that way, but I've always admired the idea of all steel .32s and it looks like I happened to get into them.

All of the above were bought for under $200 each because of issues. The vz. 70 doesn't work in double action, the CZ 27 has a damaged magazine stuck in the magwell and broken grips, and the 1900 is missing a safety and front sight.

Looks like I got what I wanted in terms of projects!

Also on the way, a S&W Safety Hammerless in .32 S&W (paid $78 for it) and a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless with a bad barrel - I plan to do a full re-finish with Colt style nitre bluing on the trigger, safety lever, and small pins.

Also, for kicks, my Mauser HSc (.32 ACP) that I wrote about finding last year in a gun store for $145 due to severe rust and neglect. Didn't even know until I cleaned it up that it was Nazi marked. I just got around to re-bluing it at home on my stove this past week and it's just waiting to be put back together (shout out to Mark Lee's Express Blue, made it really easy to do a good job at home).

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There are probably more "practical" guns I could buy, but one can only use so many tactical guns at once. I really like the craftsmanship and history of these older guns, and I like re-habbing and restoring them.

They won't be replacing my P-01 for EDC any time soon, but I like them all the same.
 
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HighValleyRanch

New member
Very cool. Could you post a link to the project videos? Would love follow along on the rework.

Do you have a dedicated stove to do the blueing or an understanding wife??LOL
 
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tallball

New member
You will really like the 1903! I have one and REALLY enjoy shooting it.

32acp is a fun caliber. I shoot them fairly often, just for grins. My only complaint is that the brass is so easy to lose.

Please keep us updated on these super-cool projects! :)
 
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Model12Win

Moderator
Hard to believe these armies and police used these as actual service weapons. The .32 has virtually 0 stopping power.
 
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HighValleyRanch

New member
Model12Win wrote:
Hard to believe these armies and police used these as actual service weapons. The .32 has virtually 0 stopping power.
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Model12Win wrote:
Anyone carry a .25 ACP (6.35×16mmSR) as primary? I have a little Beretta Jetfire here that is reliable and holds 8+1, very shootable. I feel like 9 rounds of .25 in the chest/head should disuade most attacks.
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HUH?????:confused::D
 
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dakota.potts

New member
.32's definitely not a slugger of a round, and I definitely don't plan on replacing my 14 rounds of 124 grain HSTs for a little 71 grain round nose. On the other hand, it was a neat little automatic cartridge that approximated the power of common pocket revolvers and was more powerful than many derringers and other guns that were commonly carried in cartridges as low as the .22 short, 4.25mm Lilliput, etc. The solid round nose bullet does have the potential for sufficient penetration and the cartridge has little enough recoil that anybody can shoot it.

With 8 or so quick rounds of .32 ACP on tap, I'd rather take a 9mm or a .45, but I wouldn't feel unarmed either.

In at least one case, (the Vz. 24) the gun was actually designed in a more powerful cartridge which required a locked breech mechanism and added expense and time to manufacturing. The Czechs actually rebuilt the Vz. 22 and 24 design into the Vz. 27. By simplifying to a blowback design, they could produce much more of them in the needed timeframe and budget.

It's one thing I love about historical guns. There are many technically superior guns that never made it to adoption and then there are decent guns that do a simple job that fill needed roles instead sometimes. Sometimes the individual minds involved, the logistics, or just historical tradition have informed decisions more than the mechanics of the guns themselves has.
 
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dakota.potts

New member
Very cool. Could you post a link to the project videos? Would love follow along on the rework.

Do you have a dedicated stove to do the blueing or an understanding wife??LOL
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I'm a little behind on placing the content on my YouTube and website but I'll definitely find a place to link to them.

As for a dedicated stove... I rent a one bedroom apartment here in South Florida. No such thing as a dedicated anything! I did get a new stainless steel stockpot though only for chemical use which I keep separate from the others.

I do have an understanding girlfriend but it also helps that I did the bluing project when she was out of town visiting family for the weekend :cool:
 
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dakota.potts

New member
No negative effects that I've noticed yet. You don't actually boil the chemical so much.

Express Blue is a form of rust bluing. It seems to be that it's a mild acid mixed with a mild oxidizing catalyst to increase the speed of the rust reaction.

Essentially you swab the chemical onto the bare steel and it instantly starts to rust. You let the chemical dry, then you boil the rusted metal in distilled water. The boiling water converts hematite to magnetite, giving the blue/black color. If you don't boil but instead slowly knock down the rust layer, you end up with a caramel/chocolate brown color seen on flintlocks and older double guns.

If I do get kicked out of the kitchen, I can always buy a cheap single burner camping stove and do it on my little porch. I've done so a time or two when I was in gunsmithing school when our bluing room got shut down.

Conventional hot salt bluing, on the other hand, is not something I suggest bringing anywhere near your home unless you have a properly built shop for it and a method of disposal.
 
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jonfon10

New member
I know your love for an all metal 32 with some history behind it. A few years back I picked up one of the FEG AP-MBP (walther pp clones) and love shooting it at the range (more like pretending to be James Bond). A year after that I picked up a Ruby pistol that had been hand engraved. At the time I had no idea what it was when the gentleman brought it into the store. After I did research he came back and sold it to the store. After a week of looking at it I thought $150 was well worth trying to figure out what it was. Now every time classic has a 32 I have to stop and think about it. the Zastava m70 pistols they have are making me think I want another one.
 
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dakota.potts

New member
You got that right. I'll stick to my .357.
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Whether you're trolling or being serious, that attitude is fine with me. People taking that attitude is the reason these awesome classic firearms are available at the low prices that they are.

Of course, I think the M1900 and the Vz. 27 were both sold to me below market value because the sellers didn't know what they were (the 1900 was listed as a "mystery pistol" while the Vz. 27 was mistakenly listed as an FN due to the FNH manufacture stamp on the slide indicating a Czech factory).

Regardless, these pieces are finely crafted mechanical mechanisms that were all very innovative in their own respects and are a really fascinating study into how bright minds solved new technical problems at the time.

Of course, the latest polymer striker gun in 9mm, .40 or .45 is a far better defensive or duty pistol, but how many of those can one person use at a time? I like investing and learning from the older pieces also.
 
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dakota.potts

New member
the Zastava m70 pistols they have are making me think I want another one.
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Those Rubies are pretty neat. I never got a chance to look at one in person so I always wondered about the function and Craftsmanship. The M70s have caught my eye too.

I have a long list of .32s I would still like to have
Mauser 1910/1914
FN 1910/1922
Savage 1907
Ortgies
Sauer & Sohn M1913
Dreyse 1907
CZ 45
And of course the Vz. 61

And that's just the list of guns that are available and reasonably priced enough that they are reasonable goals.
 
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Jim Watson

New member
Yup.
You can accumulate a pretty good collection of .32s at reasonable prices.

But MY CZ45 was a .25. Were they also made in .32?
 
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tallball

New member
I definitely agree with Jonfon about the little FEG PP knockoff. I bought one and it was so nice to shoot that my FiL talked me out of it. I got myself another one. They are well-made and well-balanced little pistols.
 
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SIGSHR

New member
A 32 ACP might not be a real "slugger" but in the hands of someone with minimal training, at 10 feet....I have 2, a Mauser M1914 and a CZ27, by our standards awkward designs, both are machined well, rugged.
 
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Nickel Plated

New member
I've always liked small, cheap, small caliber pistols. Want to start a "saturday night special" collection one day. Once I have more money to throw around.

As for the .32 ACP being used by police and military. European cops and officers back in those days didn't really have to deal with the same threats we do in the US today. A .32 has plenty of stopping power at point blank range to the back of a prisoner's head.

For the most part, these guns were status symbols, not fighting weapons.
 
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Model12Win

Moderator
As for the .32 ACP being used by police and military. European cops and officers back in those days didn't really have to deal with the same threats we do in the US today. A .32 has plenty of stopping power at point blank range to the back of a prisoner's head.

For the most part, these guns were status symbols, not fighting weapons.

BINGO. They were assassin's pistol masquerading as police guns. A .32 behind the ear has as much stopping power as any .44. The ammo was cheap and recoil low and powerful enough for the job at hand.
 
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