25 ACP Hollow Point

Lots available on line. Look here
http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/pistol/25auto/

hollow point ammo for what? self defense? i wouldnt use a 25 for that

.25 Auto does not generate enough velocity to expand ANY bullet - hollow point or otherwise - in any meaningful manner.

The owner should identify a FMJ round that functions reliably in his pistol. Then practice with the gun until he is satisfied with the reliability of the gun, and his ability to make swift, accurate shots at close range.

I respect the little .25 for what it is, a small firearm for close range self defense when concealability is of the utmost importance. But anyone or any ammo company that claims a hollow point bullet will change the .25 ACP into some kind of powerhouse is under a delusion. Not only is there little or no expansion at that velocity, but what there is serves to reduce penetration and make the round even less effective.

Jim

Most internet experts agree that with a .25 acp the preferred ammo for self defense is ball ammo. The argument is that the low velocity combined with such a light projectile isn't enough to reliably expand the bullet. Therefore it's better to go with ball ammo in order to gain penetration.

That said if I was going to shoot HP's with a 25 I would definitely shoot Gold Dots, but as you have found out, like all 25acp HP's they are really hard to come by.

Edit:
After more looking I did manage to find a gun broker auction selling some, they're not cheap but nothing you find will be.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=539400144

Jimfern said:

My father-in-law bought a pistol in the round and can't find any hollow point ammo. He's looked locally in Springfield, MO, and I've looked online and in some, but not all, of DFW, with no luck.

I'd appreciate any leads anyone has on this. And no, he didn't ask me about this particular round and didn't even mention what pistol he bought.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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I'll bet Graf's in Mexico has some.

Stick with fmj for .25 ACP. It doesn't have enough penetration when it expands and there's no guarantee it will expand. Ball ammo is easier to get and is more reliable in those small pistols anyway.

Just wanted to add if he can find some of the 35 gr. Hornady XTP that seems to work very well in my Browning and Beretta 25's. It's also quite a bit higher velocity than the 50 gr. pills.

Thanks very much for the gunbroker link. That's more than he wanted, but I don't think he can be too choosey at this point.

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You can email the seller and ask if they are willing to sell a smaller amount. Not sure if that's a violation of GB policy or not, but if it is you contact him after sale has ended if you want, assuming they don't sell.

I'd also recommend shooting more than a few, that was 80 rounds. I personally would want to shoot a good many just for function check if I was going to carry it.

I will keep an eye out for more, if I see any for sale I'll let you know.

Here's two flavor for you and by the box:

http://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/25-auto-acp-ammo

I've ordered plenty from SGA and never had an issue.

FWIW, years ago a coworker was shot in the forehead by a guy with a .25 at a distance of approx 5 feet. The bullet entered above and slightly right of his left eye, furrowed between the skin and skull around to the back of his head and exited his scalp on the back of his head. It did not penetrate the skull. Aside from a scar, a headache and a brief hospital stay, he was unhurt.

35 gr. Hornady XTP has shown to expand to around 31 cal in tests.

Oh the poor 25 . Guess every one needs something to hate. Test have shown meets FBI 12 inches in jell in fact goes even more 15 to 16". Beats the 22 LR and 22 mag till around 4" barrel then they win .But little pocket guns don't have 4" barrels

I have several 25 autos . A Bauer, 3 Berettas 2, 950 jetfires and one model 20 and the great Titan (never fired still in box.)

Yes their are bigger calibers and guns. I drew a Beretta 950 in a parking garage one night instead of my wallet . BG was gone like the Road Runner . A 44 mag wouldn't have worked any better.

Any one remember the CA state trooper that emptied 357 in BG and died from 1- 25acp round went in under arm where vest doesn't protect and hit heart. . He's doing life now .

Never laugh at any fire arm I have a 22 short Astra Iam not going to stand in front of and be shot by it or a 25 acp.

Yes 25 has failed and so has 357 40S&W 45 acp 44 mag
When you use in SD. Empty it fast as possible Remember #3 buckshot is 25 caliber

FWIW, years ago a coworker was shot in the forehead by a guy with a .25 at a distance of approx 5 feet. The bullet entered above and slightly right of his left eye, furrowed between the skin and skull around to the back of his head and exited his scalp on the back of his head. It did not penetrate the skull. Aside from a scar, a headache and a brief hospital stay, he was unhurt.

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Yes and I many years ago helped worked a case of armed robbery . Where a women clerk was shot in face across counter with a 45 230 ball .Smashed nose and followed cheek and came out near L/ear . She lived also. Some people just aren't meant to die at that time .
Again all calibers have failed including the 50cal browning . People have lived in combat from being shot by one.

A .25acp hp does not have enough mass behind the hp frontal area (if it opens) to push it anywhere deep enough. It isn't the velocity that's to blame, it's the momentum which=mass x velocity. Use reliable fmj 50 gr only. Chances are they'll tumble, a bonus for that round.

My recollection is that back in the 1980's Winchester used to load a 25 ACP round with a ball in the nose to combine good feeding with some chance for expansion.

The typical view back then was the 25 ACP did not have the power (or momentum) to make a normal-type hollow point expand, especially since it pretty much had to be metal jacketed instead of plain lead. (Factory lead bullets are typically swaged, not cast, and are too soft for good feeding in automatics other than 22s or pistols that use wadcutter loads.) Perhaps modern innovations in jacketed bullet construction have changed that.

Still, 25 ACP is on nobodies list for self defense anymore, because you can get 32 ACP and 380 ACP automatics that are not significantly bigger or heavier. Both of those cartridges have much more punch than 25.

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Hi, Shootr,

The same thing happened in DC several years ago; the victim walked out of the ER with some bandages and a headache. But the gun was not a .25; it was a .45 ACP. Yep, a caliber that is supposed to knock down elephants and penetrate battleships.

Jim

I occasionally get annoyed by folk suggesting FMJs over JHPs for the smaller caliber options. However, this it one where I must concur. You need that light pill to get where it's going presuming your aim is true.

The .32acp is the only other cartridge where I feel most would be best served with a non-expanding FMJ so those vitals get properly perforated.

I'd just say no to .25 ACP but if that's what a person wants, it's better than no firearm, I guess.

I'd make it FMJ

I bet every poster here in this thread that has said the hollow points will not expand are also the same people who would state they have never owned a 25 auto and would never buy one. And yet all of a sudden they are experts on what the hollow point ammo will and won't do. But I think if Hornady makes a hollow point bullet for the 25 it will expand. And it shows the bullet getting over 900 fps. That should be enough for expansion.

And the FBI? what do they know. Every time they come up with the perfect gun and ammo combination they get in a gunfight and get their butts shot off and go back to the drawing board with a new set of standards. I choose not to take them very seriously. All a bullet has to do is make it 3-4 inches into the chest cavity to perforate the heart or lungs. Those are deadly wounds if not treated immediately.

Ratshooter said:

I bet every poster here in this thread that has said the hollow points will not expand are also the same people who would state they have never owned a 25 auto and would never buy one. And yet all of a sudden they are experts on what the hollow point ammo will and won't do. But I think if Hornady makes a hollow point bullet for the 25 it will expand. And it shows the bullet getting over 900 fps. That should be enough for expansion.

And the FBI? what do they know. Every time they come up with the perfect gun and ammo combination they get in a gunfight and get their butts shot off and go back to the drawing board with a new set of standards. I choose not to take them very seriously. All a bullet has to do is make it 3-4 inches into the chest cavity to perforate the heart or lungs. Those are deadly wounds if not treated immediately.

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What gunfights have the FBI been in to "get their butts shot off" in the past, IDK, 20 years?

The 1986 Miami shootout where the FBI were shot up because the bullet performance they specified for the 9mm failed to reach the heart of one of the shooters. So the FBI, if I have this correctly then went with the 10mm. That was too much power so they went with the 10mm light load but the guns were still too big for female officers and this lead to the 40S&W and now it seems the FBI is coming back around to the 9mm.

All the while police departments and civilians have followed the FBI changes and spent a bunch of money to do so. It seems that the FBI never learned what most shooters and hunters have known all along. Its the indian and not the arrow.

If you want to debate how great the FBI is you will have to do it with someone else. I won't be sucked in to it.

Ratshooter said:

The 1986

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That was one incident 30 years ago...and the main terminal handgun terminal ballistic lesson from it (sufficient penetration) hasn't changed a bit...

...how did I know you would cite one example from literally 30 years ago after claiming "And the FBI? what do they know. Every time they come up with the perfect gun and ammo combination they get in a gunfight and get their butts shot off and go back to the drawing board".

I have a Baby Browning .25.

And I have tested the old Winchester Ball Bearing HP load.
(Didn't expand in anything.)

The Hornady load may expand?
But do you really want it to?

The trade-off is going to a 35 grain bullet, lighter then a .22 LR HP.
If it does expand, adequate penetration will not be there.

If you have to carry a .25 ACP, carry it with the standard weight 50 grain FMJ-RN to insure 100% feeding! and enough penetration to get-R-done.

rc