guyfromohio
Member
I made the choice, years ago, to go with a Beretta in .25 instead of rimfire for reliability reasons. It was a surprisingly accurate and totally reliable little gun.
.22LR or .25 ACP?
- Thread starter ArchAngelCD
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35 years ago, a paranoid schizophrenic entered a local night club that was popular with police officers and opened fire with a shotgun. One of the officers in the place grabbed a .25 auto from his wife's purse and tried to return fire. The gun jammed after a couple of ineffective shots. A few years later, a local police officer was shot in the butt by the .25 auto he was carrying in his back pocket. These two incidents lead me to believe that small .25s are unreliable, unsafe and, like all small pistols, difficult to shoot accurately.
My first handgun was a used .22 Erma that resembled a Luger P08. At first, it regularly failed to extract empty cases. It got better after I cleaned it many times and switched to copper jacketed ammunition. But it was never something I would trust with my life. My current .22 is a High Standard Sharpshooter that is 100% reliable and a delight to shoot. However, it is as big as my Colt .45 Gold Cup so there is no reason to carry it instead of the Colt.
Rather than a .22 or .25, I would rather carry a Ruger LCR with light .38 loads or an LCP in .380. (The LCR is also available as an 8 shot .22.)
My first handgun was a used .22 Erma that resembled a Luger P08. At first, it regularly failed to extract empty cases. It got better after I cleaned it many times and switched to copper jacketed ammunition. But it was never something I would trust with my life. My current .22 is a High Standard Sharpshooter that is 100% reliable and a delight to shoot. However, it is as big as my Colt .45 Gold Cup so there is no reason to carry it instead of the Colt.
Rather than a .22 or .25, I would rather carry a Ruger LCR with light .38 loads or an LCP in .380. (The LCR is also available as an 8 shot .22.)
OP
OP
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I'm not sure that's true. Stingers in a rifle are rated @1640 fps, Velocitors are rated @1435 fps and the Mini Mags are rated @1260 fps. Winchester and Remington have similar loads too. Yes I know you lose a lot in a short barrel but most .25 Auto ammo is rated no higher than 900 fps so I think even when shot from a short barrel the .22R might have the edge on velocity.
Thanks for all the comments so far. I do appreciate the conversation.
OP
OP
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Please lets not morph this thread into which gun to carry. I'm really only focusing on the rounds themselves although I do realize the gun does have something to do with reliability too.
Again, thanks for all the good comments so far... (although I don't appreciate the last line in Post #28)
Again, thanks for all the good comments so far... (although I don't appreciate the last line in Post #28)
Cocked & Locked
Member
.25 for me
amd6547
Member
I have a matched set of Beretta Bobcats...one 25acp, one 22lr.
The 22lr is for range play and practice. It is very reliable and accurate, fun to shoot.
The 25acp is what is in my pocket right now. I just prefer the centerfire priming and the jacketed bullet. Also, with the MecGar magazine, which holds nine rounds, I have two more than the 22lr holds.
BTW, I recently tried shooting several different 22 loads into a thick midway catalog, along side both an FMJ and a JHP 25... Same catalog, identical pistols. The 25's penetrated only slightly more than the 22's.
I would not hesitate to carry the 22lr if it were the only one I owned, though.
The 22lr is for range play and practice. It is very reliable and accurate, fun to shoot.
The 25acp is what is in my pocket right now. I just prefer the centerfire priming and the jacketed bullet. Also, with the MecGar magazine, which holds nine rounds, I have two more than the 22lr holds.
BTW, I recently tried shooting several different 22 loads into a thick midway catalog, along side both an FMJ and a JHP 25... Same catalog, identical pistols. The 25's penetrated only slightly more than the 22's.
I would not hesitate to carry the 22lr if it were the only one I owned, though.
Cocked & Locked
Member
Wow...that is a fine looking brace of Bobcats! 
BCRider
Member
Like many here I have had so few issues with my rimfire ammo that with some guns I've got I don't recall the last time it had a FTF. On some other guns where I or a previous owner "tuned" the mainspring I get the odd strike with no fire, turn the rim a little and it goes bang the second time.
If your gun is a reliable one I'd say buy good brand stuff that is in separate carriers and buy it in bricks of 500. Test a couple of random packs of 50 at the range. If all 100 to 150 fire OK during practice with no FTF's or jams from the gun you could consider the amount remaining to be equally as reliable.
My current .22 pistol and ammo setup is a S&W 422 and CCI Blazer. I've shot this combo long enough that I'd expect to go through all 150 "test" rounds in practice and if the gun hiccuped at all I'd be surprised. I've used this combo to shoot many a day of Speed Steel without a single failure where we typically shoot around 200 rounds to get through the match. So .22LR ammo CAN be reliable. But the gun has to do its part as well.
If your gun is a reliable one I'd say buy good brand stuff that is in separate carriers and buy it in bricks of 500. Test a couple of random packs of 50 at the range. If all 100 to 150 fire OK during practice with no FTF's or jams from the gun you could consider the amount remaining to be equally as reliable.
My current .22 pistol and ammo setup is a S&W 422 and CCI Blazer. I've shot this combo long enough that I'd expect to go through all 150 "test" rounds in practice and if the gun hiccuped at all I'd be surprised. I've used this combo to shoot many a day of Speed Steel without a single failure where we typically shoot around 200 rounds to get through the match. So .22LR ammo CAN be reliable. But the gun has to do its part as well.
keithbayne
Member
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- Jul 26, 2012
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- 31
22 hands down. especialy if it long rifle ammo or 22 mag.
i hade a friend shoot a guy in the head with a 25 ten feet away,all it did was piss him off.
had it been a 22 hollow point lr,it would have been a different ending.also,i dont where the idea that 22 isnt as reliable as 25, i have woned many 22 and i dont ever remember a feed issue or a squib but i have owned one 25 and i did have problems with that.
i hade a friend shoot a guy in the head with a 25 ten feet away,all it did was piss him off.
had it been a 22 hollow point lr,it would have been a different ending.also,i dont where the idea that 22 isnt as reliable as 25, i have woned many 22 and i dont ever remember a feed issue or a squib but i have owned one 25 and i did have problems with that.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Give me the .22LR, any day of the week; of course, if relegated to these small
calibers. In many cases,you can't even find an entrance wound; but the subject
will be lying there - "stone-cold-dead"~! Seems like CCI .22LR ammo works
best in the small semi-auto's~!
calibers. In many cases,you can't even find an entrance wound; but the subject
will be lying there - "stone-cold-dead"~! Seems like CCI .22LR ammo works
best in the small semi-auto's~!
351 WINCHESTER
Member
I'd give a slight nudge to the .25 just because it's centerfire and more relaible. I doubt there is enough difference in power between the two to make any difference.
I'd take the 22LR, because you can buy high quality ammo for much less and I don't fancy reloading a cartridge that small.
In a good platform, $20 worth of CCI ammunition would be enough to placate any reliability concerns and get a lot of practice.
22LR is reliable enough for the Mossad.
I know the OP doesn't want the platform to be a consideration, but it's hard for me to think of any 25ACP's that are bigger than a palm gun with a one finger grip. That may be subconsciously swaying my decision.
In a good platform, $20 worth of CCI ammunition would be enough to placate any reliability concerns and get a lot of practice.
22LR is reliable enough for the Mossad.
I know the OP doesn't want the platform to be a consideration, but it's hard for me to think of any 25ACP's that are bigger than a palm gun with a one finger grip. That may be subconsciously swaying my decision.
CommanderCrusty
Member
Absolutely, positively the .25 automatic.
That center fire primer is going to be WAY more reliable than any .22 RIM fire. I have never, in my entire life, fired a .22 revolver, automatic or rifle that was reliable enough for me to bet my life it would go bang 20 times in a row. I would NEVER bet my life on a rim fire cartridge.
Go with the .25 auto.
That center fire primer is going to be WAY more reliable than any .22 RIM fire. I have never, in my entire life, fired a .22 revolver, automatic or rifle that was reliable enough for me to bet my life it would go bang 20 times in a row. I would NEVER bet my life on a rim fire cartridge.
Go with the .25 auto.
Gordon
Member
Those two Bobcats answer it all IMHO.That said there is nothing smaller or lighter than my Lt. wt. Baby Browning .25 which I run with Geco Ball or Winchester pellet nose in condition 3 . I have the .22 LR Bobcat pictured and Stingers are very reliable and go 1045fps out of mine, which makes it a pocket plinker. The Bobcat. like a Colt 1908 weighs about the same as an Air weight J frame 38 which makes the choice a no brainer for me.
Carl N. Brown
Member
Just personal opinion, but for positive reliable ignition, I would go with the .25 ACP.
However, I have relied on CCI Mini-Mag and CCI Stinger in .22 LR in my pocket and holster size .22 pistols after lotsa testing.
For general run of gun and ammo for person who might not be able to do their own extensive testing, I would have to recommend .25 ACP over .22 LR.
However, I have relied on CCI Mini-Mag and CCI Stinger in .22 LR in my pocket and holster size .22 pistols after lotsa testing.
For general run of gun and ammo for person who might not be able to do their own extensive testing, I would have to recommend .25 ACP over .22 LR.
22-rimfire
Member
Oh you do occasionally have FTF's with "good" 22 ammo, but it is often due to not cleaning the gun rather than the round itself. But a DA revolver solves some of those issues for self defense. The typical problem with 22LR has been no primer or it spread unevenly around the base. Remington seems to have/had a problem with that, but the new "improved" Golden Bullets are much better than what has been out there for the last 5 years or so. I have not shot any of their other stuff since the new and improved GB's came out, but I still have a bunch of the recent older stuff to work my way through before buying any more.
Be careful with either caliber. If shoot a guy with these, and he finds out about it, he's gonna be MAD! Now, regarding the "45 is as deadly as 22" comment; in a lot of human shootings 22s are used execution syle aremt they? Wouldn't that tend to skew the result? I mean if that was true SWAT teams would be using browning Buckmarks.
MCgunner
Member
I pick .22 in a revolver and .25ACP in a pistol.
MCgunner
Member
Swat teams are offensive. I use a gun defensively and you know the first rule in a gunfight, right?
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