Does .25ACP and .32 ACP still cut it for self defense?

If we could get all our attackers to stand still right in front of us so we can pump our 25 and 32 bullets directly into their chests and eye sockets then maybe i'll stop carrying the largest caliber and the most capacity handgun posible. But in the real world when your moving and your attacker is moving you don't get a lot of chances for perfect hits.So the largest caliber is best in my mind.With practice anyone who is not disabled can handle a 9mm.Lazyness causes most people to carry mouseguns,I know I've been there.I own a browning 25 and it functions well and carrys super easy but before I leave the house armed with a 25 I think if I really need this is a 25 what I really want?

wlewisiii said:

I have a Mauser HSc in .32 ACP as my EDC. I am very satisfied with it.

I like Prvi Partisan, Winchester Silvertips &, best of all, Buffalo Bore 75 gr. LFP +P. I also understand that S&B make a very good load like the BB one.

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I have one also but it has too many FTFs for me to want to carry it.

Has man developed a tougher exterior that .25 and or .32 won't penetrate?

In regards to the .25 the answer is YES. In a real world shooting I know firsthand about a escaped con tried to rob a motel owner at knife point. The motel owner shot the robber once with a .25 semi-auto handgun. The robber broke off his attack and ran away. We found the robber sitting outside the motel crying like a baby about being shot.

Perp was taken to the hospital where it was discover the bullet hit a rib over his heart, then followed the rib around his rib cage coming to a rest in his back just under the skin. Doc removed bullet with a pair of tweezers, put a bandaid on the entrance and exit wound and sent the crybaby to jail.

The bullet never penerated beyond just under skin level and was only a very minor injury.

A larger, more powerful caliber would have smashed through the rib and into the heart.

I don't feel under gunned carrying my P32. It is usually a choice between it or nothing and I choose the P32 every time.

Have Bereta 21A in both .22 and .25. I feel the .22 is more effective (CCI Stingers) but, the .25 w/FMJ's is more reliable feeding and ejecting. Put it in someone's face and empty the gun! It WILL ruin their day!

P.S. Both have never failed to feed/eject.

I have been carrying my Beretta 3032 during the day in low risk situations. It functions flawlessly and 8 rounds of 32 is nothing to sneeze at. At night or in higher risk situations I have been carrying my Kahr CW9 or first generation Charter Arms Undercover with the 3032 as a bug.

What caliber someone chooses to carry is their business and my opinion means absolutely squat.
Both those calibers for someone older that can't handle recoil make perfect sense. Both calibers represent some very easy to hide concealed carry too.

What is a low risk situation? What is there in your life that allows you to decide you are safer in one situation than another. Do you also not wear your seatbelt when you think you aren't to get in an accident?

If there are places in your life that are more dangerous than others, DON'T GO TO THOSE PLACES. Don't carry a different gun, thinking it will make you safer.

I know firsthand about a escaped con tried to rob a motel owner at knife point. The motel owner shot the robber once with a .25 semi-auto handgun. The robber broke off his attack and ran away. We found the robber sitting outside the motel crying like a baby about being shot.

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So the .25acp pistol was inadequate because it stopped the attack with one shot and no harm to the victim ?
Not to be contentious, but isn't that the entire goal of armed self-defense?

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But if he is capable of running away, sitting down, and crying, he's also capable of continuing tne attack. The gun didn't stop the bad guy. His psychological reaction to being shot stopped him. Add a few grams of meth, and that reaction disappears or is diminished. I want the bullet to stop him with smashed bone and cavity trauma, not pixie dust.

Every choice is a series of compromises.

With everything being equal, a 44 magnum will outperform the 25 ACP but a hit with a 25 ACP beats a miss with a 44 Magnum.

firecrackerktm said:

I have one also but it has too many FTFs for me to want to carry it.

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While we discussed this in PM's, I want to mention this here if someone goes searching in the future.

As with all older semi-automatics, the HSc is vulnerable to two main things: the springs and the magazines. If you have FTF, first change all the springs. The recoil spring and the magazine spring are the most critical. Wolfe makes a full set.

If you still have trouble, then buy a new magazine. Triple K has new ones that they guarantee will fit & function.

Those small repairs will take care of 99% of the trouble with an HSc or any other small semi-automatic pistol.

Age old question with opinions galore. Will a .25 or .32 knock somebody down like a .44 or .45, not likely. Will a .25 or .32 be capable of causing a critical/lethal injury, yes.
I've used .45 as a CC and typically don't wander much below the .380 though I have a few Colt .25 vest pockets and 1903's that are great pistols. The .380 M1908 is a sleek and well balanced semi auto that will do the trick though admittedly it's not drop proof safe.

I've carried the smaller calibers without worrying too terribly much about stopping power but rather can I hit what I'm aiming at and is it reliable enough for my needs. Yes on both counts. I'll continue to rely on a larger caliber as the norm but the little hideout pieces have a place and a purpose in my arsenal.

Two types of GSWs,rifle and handgun easily distinguished at autopsy.Different handggun caliber ,can't really tell much difference.

The .380 M1908 is a sleek and well balanced semi auto that will do the trick though admittedly it's not drop proof safe.

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Yes, and no....

As it was originally designed the Colt .32/.380 Pocket Model did not have either a inertial-style firing pin or safety notch/ledge on the hammer. If something caused the hammer to be released it would go all of the way down. For this reason many experienced owners went with the magazine loaded and chamber empty.

In 1922 at serial numbers 422,000 (.32) and 66,000 (.380) Colt added both features, which had been standard on the 1911 Government Model, to the model M Pocket Model. From this point on they were as safe to carry with the chamber loaded as the larger .45 pistol.

In 1926 at serial numbers 468,097 (.32) and 92,894 (.380) a magazine disconect feature was added.

If your pistol has the magazine disconector it should also have the hammer and firing pin modifications.

To see: Check to be sure the pistol and magazine are both unloaded. Then cycle the slide after inserting the unloaded magazine. Pull the trigger to let the hammer fall, and then retract the slide about 1/4 to 3/8 inches. You should hear a click, and the grip safety will pop out. See if you can push the manual safety to the "on" position. If this drill is successful your hammer has the half-cock notch and inertial firing pin system.

Old Fuff said:

Yes, and no....

In 1922 at serial numbers 422,000 (.32) and 66,000 (.380) Colt added both features, which had been standard on the 1911 Government Model, to the model M Pocket Model. From this point on they were as safe to carry with the chamber loaded as the larger .45 pistol.

In 1926 at serial numbers 468,097 (.32) and 92,894 (.380) a magazine disconect feature was added.

If your pistol has the magazine disconector it should also have the hammer and firing pin modifications.

To see: Check to be sure the pistol and magazine are both unloaded. Then cycle the slide after inserting the unloaded magazine. Pull the trigger to let the hammer fall, and then retract the slide about 1/4 to 3/8 inches. You should hear a click, and the grip safety will pop out. See if you can push the manual safety to the "on" position. If this drill is successful your hammer has the half-cock notch and inertial firing pin system.

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True, I was remiss in generalizing as the Tansley safety disconnect was indeed added in 1926. I just received my 3rd 1903 a few days ago complete with 2 extra original magazines and this pistol is my newest being a 1928 build (the other 2 are 1917 & 1919 builds). Appreciate your additional input

The magazine disconector doesn't make the pistol any safer to carry (unless you go without a magazine inserted ) but if it's there you have a good reason to believe the other features are too.

A well placed shot with any gun will kill. It is when you need a gun and don't have it that worries me. The biggest thing is you carry what you like.

Old Fuff said:

.If your pistol has the magazine disconector it should also have the hammer and firing pin modifications.

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Good to know. no one needs a new hole. Well, you know what I mean.

I doubt the .25acp ever "cut it" for self defense. .32 is, as you have read ad nauseum so far, debatable. .32 is loaded much hotter in Europe than in the USA but still...

I think we can safely say a very well placed .32 acp is going to be better than a poorly place .45 acp in a self defense scenario.

I think we can safely say a very well placed .32 acp is going to be better than a poorly place .45 acp in a self defense scenario.

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Which is what these discussions always come down to. A carry gun is a series of compromises, and we may all be accountable for our decisions.

I really wish that I could carry my old 870, it's the only gun that I really trust to stop an attack with one shot.

never mind
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When I'm dressed to go somewhere and want to carry I carry a 3" GP-100. When I get home, no matter what I'm wearing, I slip a keltec P-32 into my pocket and it stays there. It's my "always with me in the house" gun. Why not. It's not much larger or heavier than my cell phone and I'd much rather have it with me should someone bust in the house when I can't get to one of my .357's.

For many years, cops carried them for various duties and officers of many countries carried .32's.

Sulaco said:

I wouldn't have a problem carrying a 32 stoked with FMJ's as a last resort sort of thing. But I figure just the weight of most guns (even tiny pocket pistols) means I have to wear a belt which means I may as well carry my normal sidearm.

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This is one of my dilemmas. But it is not the weight, but the bulge...

Try one of these.

http://www.lefthandholster.com/Pocket_Holster.php