Baby browning 25acp..some questions

[Zathras01]

Ok..Ok..I am new here so bear with me...I recently got my hands on a baby browning .25acp..I know..its a puny caliber..but I was wondering what the track record is on one of these..I havent got to the range yet to test fire it.
But I thought those of you that have one could tell me about its reliability
or drawbacks other than its caliber..

 

[PRM]

You will probably get a lot of posts slamming this calibre - but there was a time, when it was very popular for pocket carry. When I first started my career as a an LEO (late 70s), a lot of the old timers carried a .25 in their pants pocket as a back-up. Not the best, but don't let anyone tell you it want do the job. One of the suicides I remember working was an older man who shot himself in the head with a .25. It went completely through his head, the side of the chair he was sitting in, and stuck in the wall next to the chair. I would not count on a one shot stop to the body - but then, that is not assured with any handgun calibre in general use.

The Baby Browning was a tops in its class for its era. Quality was pure Browning. The ones I have shot were flawless in operation. It was also one of the smallest made and could be concealed almost anywhere.

Today, there are too many larger and better calibres available for it to be a first choice. It is still a nice collectible - and if it was all I had - I would carry it. Drawbacks other than calibre, for me would be size (which is why it was popular to begin with). I like something I can get a grip on.

 

[Old Fuff]

As was pointed out, the little Browning is a class act, but there is one issue you should be aware of.

The firing pin has a long nose, and does double-duty as an ejector. When it come to ejecting fired cases there isn't a problem, but when you go to eject a live round in the chamber, be careful! The firing pin will hit the primer dead center with enough force to eject it. Therefore remove the magazine, pull the slide back slowly and gently, and let the round drop down through the magazine well. If you drop the magazine about a quarter-inch rather then completely remove it, the falling cartridge will be trapped, and you can then finish removing the magazine and the round without it falling on the floor (or wherever). If you use this technique be sure to check the chamber again after fully removing the magazine. Be aware if you drop the magazine too far the magazine disconector will prevent the slide from going all of the way back. Experiment with an unloaded gun until you get the hang of it.

Also do not dry-fire the pistol unless there is a snap-cap or fired case in the chamber. Otherwise you will risk breaking the firing pin.

 

[rcmodel]

They are very accurate for such a small gun. Surprisingly so in fact.

Mine has always been 101% reliable with any brand of ammo.

The biggest drawback for a modern day CCW gun, besides the caliber, is the striker fired design & manual safety.

The safety only locks the trigger, and the striker is always cocked when the gun is loaded.

Bottom line:
The safest way to carry them is with an empty chamber.

I have made a pocket holster that positively blocks the safety from coming off in my pocket.
But I still feel more comfortable with the chamber empty & safety off.

rcmodel

 

[cochise9424221]

Make sure it is held high in your hand or the slide coming back will cut the crap out of you.
They are very reliable little guns and kinda cute, but the ergonomics leave something to be desired.
It will only cut you once then you will pay attention to how you hold it.

 

[MP3Mogul]

The safety on mine is not a "click" type safety it merely slides from one position to another. I could never ever carry this gun loaded, I would be scaird it would go off because the safety disengages too easily.

With that said... it's like others posted, it's very accurate... wouldn't be my first choice, but it's better than nothing in a pocket.

 

[dogrunner]

Excellent firearm, utterly reliable even tho the ctg leaves something to be desired.

Many years past, as a leo, my shift partner called me to a shopping center. Seems he'd idly been fooling with his backup .25 Browning & was surprised he'd "touched one off" in to a closed pharmacy's wall, 'killing' a paper rack and knocking the hell out of some wall tile behind it!!

He'd carried that gun for about three years in his uniform shirt pocket and in the heavy horsehide jackets we wore back then, had it plated locally and it was pretty as could be....Unfortunatly the plating process had separated the safety lever from the cross pin it was brazed to!....he carried it thinking it was on 'safe' but in fact was anything but!..........Said it was the loudest gun he'd ever heard go off!!

 

[Zathras01]

Thank you guys...Fact is for CC, I carry either my Colt Defender .45, or my
Springfield XD9 sub compact, or even my S&W model 60 .357..I just always liked this little pistol..I was told a cheaper version, was the bauer stainless 25, but every one I bought was Garbage, and I wound up getting rid of them..I came across a duo.25 acp made in 1945, but it was a heavy gun with some problems, & I traded it off for this baBy browning..again, thanks for all the info