The problem is, all of the small pistols were designed around the Browning .25 ACP round designed in 1908.
It used a 50 grain FMJ-RN bullet going 810 FPS.
Developing 73 ft/lb muzzle energy.
That is all the energy the guns were designed to handle, and any more will quickly beat them to death.
You can only maintain that energy level and get more velocity by going to a lighter bullet, such as the 35 grain JHP.
But at the same time with a loss of penetration.
A typical .22 LR will produce more velocity, more expansion, and more penetration out of a hand gun then you can get out of a .25 ACP at safe pressure and energy levels.
It is what it is, and is perfectly capable of killing a man, as it has done over & over again in the last 118 years.
But it is what it is, and there is nothing you can do about it with existing gun designs chambered for it.
In my experience over 50 years with the better brands, such as Colt, Beretta, and Browning?
You can bet the farm they will Feed Fire, and Function Freely 100% of the time with 50 grain FMJ-RN factory loads.
They will also make anyone shot with one wish they had been somewhere else, doing something different at the time.
And that's all you can ask of one.
Rc