.25 ACP squirrel rifle

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bernie,

I've been in the same trek as you for some time. What brought it on was an article several years ago in the August '96 Guns and Ammo.

The Article was called "The Thirty-Foot Barrel" in the "Technical Side" section.

Being one who needs to see the act in person to believe it I took the article with a grain of salt. Then again, it may be true. I'm not saying it is or isn't. I'm just telling you what I read.

Here's the rundown of the article:

The Author wanted to see how long of a barrel was needed to stop a Lead .32 S&W 85gr bullet. The article stressed pure Lead instead of jacketed ammo. He and Bo Clerke (of Clerke barrels) used .32 rifled tubing and it took thirty feet of connected tubing to completely stop the bullet.

They conclusion was that the maximum velocity of around 805fps was reached at 25 inches not feet and stayed there up to 40 inches. The velocity of the bullet was 800fps out of a 20" barrel.

If this is true, then a rifle chambered in .25acp or even .32acp would be a nice little critter getter.
 
"Long time coming but Marlin finally got around to making a .32 magnum rifle."

The only problem is that Marlin still has not got round to making this gun. So far, it is vapor ware. I've had one on order since last spring. They are nowhere to be found.

Anyone got any news on the proposed .32mag 1894 levers?
 
When I was about 12 years old I watched a grown up empty his little pocket .25 auto at a squirrel in a tree.
He was just standing under the tree and firing.
He would fire, the squirrel would jump to another branch, he would fire again, etc.
We thought he was just missing it.

Finally a friend's Dad came out with his .22 rifle and dropped the squirrel with one shot.
When we examined it, there were five holes from the .25 acp in it! :what:

The guy was an awesome shot with his tiny gun, but it didn't have enough oomph! to do the job.

Based on that experience alone, I wouldn't want to use a .25 any living creature. :uhoh:
 
If I were looking for the ideal squirrel cartridge, I wouldn't pick the .25 Auto.

First of all, the .22 LR is about as good a squirrel catridge as it gets -- with Winchester Wal Mart special hollowpoints, I get all the authority I need -- and perhaps a bit too much. So a step up in power really isn't warranted.

Next, while I see the attraction of a "reloadable .22 LR," prices for .22 LR are so low you can't possibly beat them by handloading -- you can get a completely loaded .22 LR round for about the price of a primer, alone.

Third, an increase in caliber is an increase in mass, and in the momentum-to-drag ratio. A .25 caliber bullet fired at the same muzzle velocity as a .22 LR will carry farther. And that's a safety issue when hunting squirrels.
 
Try a 22 Hornet with 7.5 grns 2400 under a 40 grn bullet. Neck size the brass. It is very mild, and pretty accurate.
 
I may try that load -- I'll have to pick up some FMJs or cast bullets. I've always wanted to try reduced loads in the Hornet as a squirrel rifle.

When it comes to reloading the Hornet, I strongly recommend the Lee Collet Die. The collet works radially, pressing only on the neck walls. In most other dies, the case is forced into the die, with the case walls taking the stress. pulling the expander ball back through the neck also affects the case.

I like to put two washers on the shell holder -- the collet die works when the inner body of the die (the collet itself) contacts the shell holder and you continue to exert pressure. By putting washers on the shell holder, you cause the collet to activate early, and size only the last 0.2" of the neck. This leaves the unsized part of the neck like a "pilot" to center the bullet in the throat.
 
444,
...if I ever hit the lottery, I am going to pay someone to make me a full size, fully functional Thompson SMG chambered for the .25 ACP cartridge.
I've seen pictures, somewhere, of a faithful replica of a Finnish Suomi subgun in I think 2/3 scale. Fully functioning, including drum magazine, chambered for .25 acp (6.35mm in Europe).
 
Hornady reports the .25 ACP is "not very satisfying to load for". The case is so small that a normal load is like 1.1 grains of bullseye and a +p load is 1.2 grains (don't quote me on that!).

I guess with a locked breech rifle you could go hotter, but it would still be a very fussy cartridge to load. Unless I stumbled on a really nice .25 ACP weapon, I can't see a reason to get equiped with it.

If you really want a low powered reloadable squirrel shooter, I'd suggest .32 or .36 cal muzzleloaders, gallery-style round ball loads in a .357 mag, or else be prepared to pursue some very exotic and obscure wildcats. A few years ago some guy in Handloader wrote of a mini-.22 wildcat that was a shortened version of the .221 fireball. It was a fussy deal IIRC.

I have played around with extra low powered round ball loads in the .44 mag. They were annoying, I had trouble with squibs and incomplete combustion. Half-burned Bullseye is not a good thing to find in your bore :eek: , and I haven't pursued them for several years.
 
I don't know of anyone who's developed a satisfactory round-ball load for modern revolver cartridges. The best load for small game in the .38 Special/.357 category is a 148 grain wadcutter loaded ahead of about 2.7 grains of Bullseye (this is a minimum or starting load.) In my .38 Specials and .357s this gives gilt-edge accuracy, especially with a hollow-base wadcutter. And it's highly effective on small game.
 
I like the idea of trying to work up some "magnum" loads for the cute lil .25. A case full of compressed Bullseye would prolly be awesome... :p
 
A compadre of mine loads .357 using buckshot, but I'm not sure of the load. He says it's deadly on squirrels and very accurate.

Michael
 
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I like the idea of trying to work up some "magnum" loads for the cute lil .25. A case full of compressed Bullseye would prolly be awesome...
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Awesome is the word. :p

This reminds me of the test of the Confederate copies of the Sharps Carbine. Jeb Stuart sent them back, saying powder granules would collect in crevices while loading and firing, and eventually -- KA-BOOM.

In my mind's eye, I can picture the test -- some poor Confederate Corporal with his face blackened saying, "I dunno, Ginr'al. Hit was a-shootin' jest fine and NOW look at my eyebrows!" :what:
 
If I found a nice Baby Browning or Colt Vest Pocket that was reasonably priced(the nice ones usually aren't) I might buy one. They are, however, a blow back action, and things might get dicey if you load too hot. I did see a mint Velo Dog(claimed) revolver a couple years ago in .25, and I suppose with no barrel ramp it coulda been loaded hotter(maybe!) - but it was still no precision piece. I can't recall any production gun in .25 ACP that would lend itself to precision shooting.

You can special order Contender carbine barrels in 9mm, with .357 bore. Being a shorter case than the .357 mag, it might work a lot better for reduced loads...if not round balls, then 148 gr wadcutters with light loads. The brass is plentiful and cheap.

Speer published a number of round ball loads for the .44 mag, which I've tried, but they worked erratically for me. I always thought the .44 Special, or .44 Russian cases would work better for light loads, with their reduced capacities.
 
I'd look at cartridges other than the .25 ACP for a squirrel gun. I've mentioned powder-puff loads for the .38 Special/.357. Others have mentioned the .32 H&R Magnum.

Of course, the classic small game centerfire cartridges are the .32-20 and the .25-20.

Hodgdon even lists some very mild loads for the .30 Carbine -- a 100 grain Sierra plinker (lead gas check) at 800 to 1100 fps.

It seems to me all of these would be beter choices than the .25 ACP for a reloadable small game cartridge.
 
Why

I know people like different things. Lord knows I like strange guns but as long as we have accurate guns in .22LR I think the .25 ACP squirrel rifle seems like an answer to a problem that does not exist. :)
 
tex_n_cal: My comment about spicing up the 25 ACP loadings was assuming a locked breech rifle action, not a blowback vest pocket pistol. :what: :)
 
A .357 carbine with .38 Spl. LSW loads or the homemade equivalent works just dandy. No 'crack' to the report like you get with most high vel .22s and the other critters don't seem to stay 'spooked' as long after hearing the shot.

The most 'fun' squirrel gun that I ever had was an old Martini Cadet that'd been converted from .310 to .32 S&W Long. Quiet, accurate and deadly to 50 yds with very little meat damage. Wish I'd never traded it away (heavy sigh!).
 
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A .357 carbine with .38 Spl. LSW loads or the homemade equivalent works just dandy. No 'crack' to the report like you get with most high vel .22s and the other critters don't seem to stay 'spooked' as long after hearing the shot.

The most 'fun' squirrel gun that I ever had was an old Martini Cadet that'd been converted from .310 to .32 S&W Long. Quiet, accurate and deadly to 50 yds with very little meat damage. Wish I'd never traded it away (heavy sigh!).
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Those Martini Cadets used to be common -- you could buy them mail order for peanuts. I wish I had had the foresight to get one!

What we need is a low-cost, centerfire, single shot action that we can modify to our hearts' content. I think I'd try something like .32 S&W in about a 20" barrel, with a tang sight.
 
I agree with MM48 et al. on the .38 loaded for squirrel. I have used a 100 grain and 148 grain wadcutter in both handgun and rifle to hunt squirrel and with head shots no problem.
 
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