.32 NAA
| .32 NAA | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 .32 NAA cartridge basic sketch. | ||||||||||||
| Type | Pistol | |||||||||||
| Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||
| Designer | North American Arms / Ed Sanow | |||||||||||
| Designed | 1996 | |||||||||||
| Manufacturer | North American Arms | |||||||||||
| Produced | 2002–present | |||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||
| Parent case | .380 ACP | |||||||||||
| Case type | Rimless, bottlenecked | |||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | .3129 in (7.95 mm) | |||||||||||
| Neck diameter | .3365 in (8.55 mm) | |||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | .3729 in (9.47 mm) | |||||||||||
| Base diameter | .3740 in (9.50 mm) | |||||||||||
| Rim diameter | .3740 in (9.50 mm) | |||||||||||
| Rim thickness | .045 in (1.1 mm) | |||||||||||
| Case length | .680 in (17.3 mm) | |||||||||||
| Overall length | .984 in (25.0 mm) | |||||||||||
| Case capacity | 10.5 gr H2O (0.68 cm3) | |||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 1 in 16 in (410 mm) | |||||||||||
| Primer type | small pistol | |||||||||||
| Maximum pressure | 25,700 psi (177 MPa) | |||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Test barrel length: 2.5 Source(s): Cartridges of the World [1] | ||||||||||||
The .32 NAA is a cartridge/firearm 'system' designed and developed by the partnership of North American Arms and Corbon Ammunition. The cartridge is a .380 ACP case necked-down to hold a .32 caliber bullet with the goal of improved ballistic performance over the .32 ACP.
History and design
[edit]Bottleneck handgun cartridge designs experienced early success and have had continuing development since at least the 7.65×25mm Borchardt or earlier, which led to the development of the 7.63×25mm Mauser (also known as the .30 Mauser), followed by the 7.62×25mm Tokarev. The benefits of bottleneck designs include smooth feeding and chambering and simple, robust headspacing.
The .32 NAA uses the .312" diameter bullet of the .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum, and .327 Federal Magnum, and .32 ACP.
The .32 NAA is one of the most recent of a line of commercial bottleneck handgun cartridges. Renewed western interest in bottleneck handgun cartridges began with the .357 SIG in 1994 (necking a .40 S&W case down to a .355 bullet); followed by the .400 Corbon in 1996 (necking a .45 ACP case down to hold a .40 cal. bullet); and then the .25 NAA in 1999 (necking a .32 ACP case down to hold a .25 caliber bullet). 2015 saw the introduction of the 7.5 FK bottleneck cartridge by the Czech company FK BRNO.
Performance
[edit]The cartridge delivers in excess of 1,222 ft/s (372 m/s) velocity to a 60 grain (3.9 gram) proprietary bullet from Hornady. This generates 199 ft⋅lbf (270 J) of energy from the 2.5" Guardian barrel (1453 ft/s & 287 ft⋅lbf (389 J) from a 4" test barrel).[2]
According to Phil W. Johnston, the 60 gr Corbon cartridge averaged 1204 fps, with an extreme spread of 69 fps and a standard deviation of 19 fps, for 193.09 ft-lbs of energy. When fired at ballistic gelatin, he obtained 6.25" of penetration, with expansion to 0.528" and 72% weight retention.[3]
Extreme Shock Ammunition offers an "Enhanced Penetration Round" that sends a 60 gr. bullet at 1196 fps for 190 ft lbs of energy.[4]
In fall 2012, Hornady released a .32 NAA Critical Defense load that propels a relatively heavy (thus higher sectional density), 80 grain JHP FTX bullet at 1,000 fps.[5]
Handguns
[edit]The North American Arms Guardian .32 NAA is designed around this cartridge.
Diamondback Firearms offers .32 NAA conversion barrels (2.8") for their DB380 pistols.[6]
Makarov.com once stocked barrels of two different lengths for converting Makarov pistols to .32 NAA.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, Edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 p.291
- ^ "North American Arms, 32 NAA Guardian, retrieved 2012 May 12". Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ "Handguns, "The Mouse Gun That Roared," retrieved 2012 May 12". Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ "Extreme Shock Ammunition, Enhanced Penetration Rounds, retrieved 2012 May 12". Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
- ^ "Hornady Manufacturing, 32 NAA 80 gr FTX Critical Defense, retrieved 2012 Nov 23". Archived from the original on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ Diamondback Firearms, .32 NAA Conversion Barrel for DB380, retrieved 2012 May 12
- ^ Makarov.com, The .32 NAA Conversion for the Makarov Pistol, retrieved 2012 May 12
External links
[edit]
- 32 NAA by North American Arms Archived 2020-10-03 at the Wayback Machine