Galesi .25 acp

[jrfoxx]

I have inherited (several months ago actually) a Galesi (Industria Armi Galesi) model 9 .25 acp mfg. in 1947 from my grandmother and would ike to get everyones opinion on an ammo selection question. First, let me say that i am fully aware of the general consensus that a .25 acp is a poor choice for HD/SD, and I fully agree, so we can skip those responses.My question is, that this is a VERY tiny, light, incredably concealable gun (12 oz, 4.5" overall length) that would make a decent 2nd BUG, and/or be better than nothing in the rare occurances when it may be impractical or impossible to conceal virtually anything else (IE: extreme hot weather where an absolute minimun of clothing is being worn).My question is, given its VERY small (35-50 grain) bullet, which would be better, a hollowpoint such as the Speer Gold Dot (yes, they actually do make them for this caliber, which was a bit of a surprise to me) to maximize the wound size created due to exspansion, or a FMJ to maximize penetration to compensate for a lack of velocity and mass? What is the general consensus on ammo choice?
My Lee reloading book lists velocities between 760 to 950 for te .25 acp in case that helps as a referance.Current production ammo for a 2-2.5" barrel seems to be about in the middle at 825 or so and this is a 2.25" barrel.

Again, I would prefer to limit the responses to ammo choices instead of a critique of the quality of the gun, caliber, capacity, etc.

EDIT: Decided to add a pic of the gun just for fun/curiosity purposes as I'm guessing this is a fairly obscure gun that most of us have never seen or know very much about and everybody like gun pics, especially old, odd ones. (I know I do at least) P.S.: Its in WAY better condition than the picture shows, I'm just a REALLY crappy photographer.




Thanks.

 

[1 old 0311]

Looks a awful lot like the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25. I used S&B FMJ ammo in mine. It is a little hotter than most .25 ammo, but does have a hard primer. Being a little hotter it will help cycle the pistol, and also give you a bit more penitration.
The fact that it made it 58 years without someone throwing it away would seem that it is reliable. A lot of the smaller European makers put a lot of hand fitting in these, so yours may be reliable. Try 75-100 rounds for function and go for it. Nice piece.

Kevin

 

[Essex County]

I've shot a couple that friends had back in the late sixties and these two functioned fine, bur they were Very inexpensive even back then. I'd say keep it as an heirloom and get a Kel-Tec for carry. I used to collect .25 Autos and they were a bunch of fun. Today I only have a Browning and I bet I haven't shot it in five or six years...Essex