In the market for a .25acp. Suggestions?

Baby Browning clone by Precision Small Arms:



They come in a variety of finishes.

http://precisionsmallarms.com/

The "Featherweight" (aluminum frame vs. steel on the others) is pretty nice, but pricey:

http://precisionsmallarms.com/index.php/component/k2/item/7-featherweight

Any suggestions or personal preferences?

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My personal favorite is the Walther TPH. It comes in both 22lr or .25acp. It's sleek, thin and small but large enough to grip, aim and be accurate.

PaulKersey3 said:

My next purchase will be a .25/6.35 pistol. The purpose is strictly to just have one and fill that caliber niche. I'm looking to get something a bit older, so Beretta instead of Taurus, and no younger than Jetfire generation. I've always wanted a 418 (original Bond gun) but they're getting harder to find, and I'm not dead set on a beretta. My budget is enough to cover high end so I'd love to look at Colts or baby Brownings or even Walthers.

Any suggestions or personal preferences?

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Well crap! I had a long lecture planned out in my mind to type, way to ruin a rant!

LD

Beretta Panther, Bantam, Jetfire, or 21. Here's a 418 on the bottom (Panther), believed to be the original 007 Beretta model, (but a Beretta 950 Jetfire was around at the time, too). [/IMG]

How about an old Colt Vest Pocket .25?

If you want something quality and a bit interesting, you might look into an Italian Galesi Brescia. They are built to close tolerances and are pretty nice for a .25 pistol. I think they are from the 1950s and '60s. I think you can pick up a nice one for between $150-$300. The other suggestions above are nice too.

You could get an HK-4

Forget the clones and potmetal junk guns.........get the Baby Browning.

I like the safety on the Baby.

Beretta 950BS.

I remember trying to shoot one of the tiny little Browning .25s many years ago. The grip was so small I could scarcely get one finger around it and the sights were equally tiny...Almost impossible to see even with my then-younger eyes.
I did buy at one time one of those little Berretta tilt-barrel jobs in .22 short, thinking to use it as a "backup" gun.
Youthful foolishness.

Colt 1908 vest pocket is definately the way to go. Mine is great.

How 'bout a Seecamp .25 ACP (LWS 25)?

They're not made anymore but if you look around you can find one. Seecamp still provides product support.

I was carrying my Beretta 950BS today It still get carried after all these years . Their a great little pistol I have the model 20 also . But Iam not thrilled with the thickness and the DA/SA trigger.

The old Jeff Cooper quote on the .25... "Carry one if it gives you comfort, but never load it. If you load it, you may someday be tempted to shoot someone with it, and they will become angry and do you harm."

pocket pals...stockman & a .25

Shawn Dodson said:

How 'bout a Seecamp .25 ACP (LWS 25)?

They're not made anymore but if you look around you can find one. Seecamp still provides product support.

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Nice looking little Seacamp pistol! No telling how many people as a daily routine have stuck a .25 auto in one front pocket and a three-blade stockman in the other.

Then you can get crazy and customize it. I did, then gave it to my brother. [/IMG]

Colt or Browning would be my choice. I have a Browning and also a Beretta 21 in .25, like them both but the Browning is such an elegant little pocket pistol (as is the Colt).

Beretta Jetfire is the way to go.

The .25 ACP is more of a range toy, for me, than a serious backup gun, but it is fun to play with. I got a set of Lee dies to reload for it, to keep the cost down.
The one I have now is a F.I.E. Titan Model 27, also made as the Excam 27 and the Tanfoglio G27, manufactured in Italy by Tanfoglio, and assembled in the US. They made a couple of variations, one with a steel frame, and one with an anodized aluminum frame. Mine is all steel, with a blued finish. They are a very simple design, looking somewhat like an early Beretta, with a fixed barrel and a heel release magazine. Very inexpensive when they came out, I think I paid about $50 for mine, used, at a gun show 20 years or so back. It's sights are fixed, but it's capable of hand-sized groups at 10 yards of so, and functions reliably. It's cheap, but feels much more durable than the pot metal .25s from Raven or Jennings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhumXLn-dbA

the old jeff cooper quote on the .25... "carry one if it gives you comfort, but never load it. If you load it, you may someday be tempted to shoot someone with it, and they will become angry and do you harm."

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it still puzzles me how a man so intelligent could say something so stupid.

I'm definitely partial to the baby brownings, whether they are the original's from FN, or the current production models from Precision Small Arms.

I have the same brushed stainless model that Toivo has, plus a high polished stainless model, and a featherweight. They are fantastic little gems and just as nice as the originals. I would not however call them a clone. The PSA-25 IS a Baby Browning as they are fully licensed by FN to make them here in the states. The models they ship overseas are marked FN on the slide. A Bauer would be considered a clone as it was made without any licensing agreement with FN and made only a cast investment stainless steel version. I personally don't consider these to be on par with the original's or the current line out of Precision Small Arms.

Lenn Kristal, the president of PSA, did expand the line to include many different versions of this pistol that did not exist when they were being made by FN in belgium. They are all machined from bar stock, and have a high level of hand fitment and finish, which is reflective in the price of the pistol.

Here are mine, plus my original FN from 1964.

it still puzzles me how a man so intelligent could say something so stupid.

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I agree. Why it is quoted has also been a puzzlement. "Brain Farts", no matter who produces them, should be allowed to disappear into the ether.