My 50+ years with the .25 acp

[Gordon]

My first handgun purchase was made in Ga. when I was 18 and a freshman in college in 1965 . It was a Beretta 950 Jetfire in .25 acp and I bought a box of ammo and carried it in a pocket on my ramblings around on my Royal Enfield 350 Motorcycle I had down there . I had left the High Standard Sentinel snub my cop uncle had purchased for me at Chick Gaylord's NYC when I was younger in NJ with my dad . I felt I needed a little something and the accurate and reliable Jetfire(as I found out) fit the bill well in my two year university stint before I went in the Army in 1966 (after two years ROTC) . I kept the Beretta happily until I returned from my second tour of RVN in 1970 when I took to carrying it on the East coast as a brief civilian in 1972 in NJ and Baltimore , out of habit ,extra legally ,as I knew it was very reliable and relatively safe with the tip up barrel. It was with me until the 1980s when it became my wifes defensive gun.
I have had many .25 since, I replaced the 950 with a Beretta 20 in the later 80s. That gun was a DA 950 with a thumb safety made in Maryland , of all places. The one I have is superb and just as reliable as the old and long gone in a divorce 950. I quit carrying it everyday in the early 90s, but collected many .25s since. They range from Browning Baby lightweight guns from the early 60s , Colt 1908 Vest Pockets, Colt Juniors, Bernardelli VP , Astra FireCats , and the most unusual Le Francais "Police Model" 6,35mm. I also had a velodog .25 and an American Derringer made .25acp pen gun, and others I can't remember. I fixed many Ravens and other .25acps for people along the line also.
Anyway I am well aware of the limitations of the .25 and also know ball ammo is more reliable than .22 rimfire in small guns. The ball ammo penetrates at least a foot of ballistic gelatin , but not much more than a knitting needle wound channel, still it is a hole ! I don't like any thing but European ball ammo as it is a little hotter and feeds well., Geco was the Gold standard .
Although the Astra Firecat gets honorable mention as a tiny reliable carry gun with its grip safety and smaller size than a 1908 Colt (which are VERY reliable) , I default to the Beretta 20 after my 50+ year experience with them. I dont like the Beretta 21 as it is a chunky as the Colt 1908 and in .22lr I never got it to feed 100% . I think my Model 20 will be around me as long as I am around here .

Le Francais "police Model " 6.35mm

 

[Armored farmer]

I know someone else with about 50yrs experience with a .25acp.
My mother taught art at a junior college about 1970-1980. Some of her classes were night classes. My dad got her a colt junior to drop in her purse. She has faithfully carried it ever since. I'm certain it is in her purse right now.

 

[upptick]

980970[/ATTACH]

Yes, the mouseguns have their obvious limitations. But those who carry them despite those limitations have confidence in their marksmanship, not to mention abundant moxey. I get it why you like the .25.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The .25 acp in a quality firearm with good ammunition is a reasonable baseline defensive cartridge. The stories of .25 slugs getting stuck in leather jackets, or just under the skin like a blackhead, are usually the result of overbored junk guns and poor ammo storage.

My family likes the 950 series, we have a few, and I have a very nice TPH- the RR of .25 acp guns.

 

[Gordon]

Here are a few from 20 years ago that were carried , before and after. I do collect small pistols . The ankle holster has a lightweight Browning Baby . , the lowe .25 is a 1908 Colt, the two uppers are Colt Juniors.

 

[Coyote3855]

I have a Colt 1908 and a Baby Browning. I occasionally carry the Browning as a backup, or a primary where I'm not supposed to be armed.

 

[Jimbo80]

I love mousers of all calibers. Time was they could often be found for under $100. While that ship has sailed they are still fun to collect and as a bonus they don't take up much room in the safe. Here are some of my .25s. A number of them are 100+ years old and still function like new.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

My one and only .25 was an '08 Vestpocket Colt. Made like a Swiss watch, with all the tiny levers and linkages inside, and quite reliable.

The extraordinary cost of .25ACP ammo, especially hollowpoints, fairly quickly killed my interest in the cartridge and guns.

Still think they are neat machines. Love the Le Francais! Need a pic of it with the extra round in the baseplate, though.

 

[Gordon]

Will dig it out and do that.BTW that is how empty chamber mandate carry was handled . It is DA only ! And has a tip up barrel !

 

[jar]

I've been another long term fan of the 25acp; well over a half century. The 25acp in fmj is super reliable, very very controllable and most importantly repeatable. While I will most likely carry a 32acp there will almost certainly be a 25acp in my pocket. Most often it'll be my FN 1906 Vest Pocket but there are quite a few I trust equally.






There's also my Walther model 9 that might be the smallest semi-automatic ever.

 

[.38 Special]

I missed out on a Bowen-made K-frame in .25 ACP, a few years back. It was such a silly thing that no one seemed interested. It sat in the display case for several weeks, with an extraordinarily low (for anything from Bowen) price, and by the time I realized I was an idiot for not buying it, it was gone.

 

[Patocazador]

I never carried a .25 but I bought a Jetfire for my ex-wife in the '60s. She got it in the divorce but I liked it so much because of the tip-up barrel, I traded her a nickel .25 for it afterwards. She liked the shiny new finish ... but then, she always liked shiny things, especially money.

I still have it.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

Those that are drawn to the .25 ACP have never used it in a fight. Cooper had this to say about them:

Carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody – and he finds out about it – he may be very angry with you.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Those that are drawn to the .25 ACP have never used it in a fight. Cooper had this to say about them:

Carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody – and he finds out about it – he may be very angry with you.

I generally like Cooper, but sometimes his hyperbole was a bit much.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

My sole never-sell for .25 is most treasured by me. There may be a couple floating about yet but the one that stays in front is always the Beretta. Long-term ownership as with the OP - though less.

Most everyone on my Team in 10th Group back in the early 80's stowed one or other of a Beretta away for *survival*.

We used to do the best we could until a Team Member's wife bought one of those Seal-A-Meal machines. Then, we'd goo 'em up toss in extra ammo & mags and vacuum-seal them away.

Almost everyone had a threaded barrel installed. The Cobray heavy-threaded barrels worked great though were a tough thread to match back then. The easiest thing to do was to buy a Cobray fake-suppressor and build a real one from the thread forward.

The primary reasons we fell for these was the tip-up barrel and exposed - easily manipulated & dead quiet - hammers. The tip-up allowed for factory and custom built shot-rounds. A fella at the Rod&Gun club built .25 shot learned from and Air Force guy.

Early on we had .25's like mine and .22 Shorts. Some of the Shorts were reamed to LR and used as single-shots. They performed beautifully as suppressed single-shot .22LRs. Later on, the 21s in .22LR were available.

A couple fellas favored the 70/71. Mostly because of the Mossad. They were notably larger in all dimensions but had better sights. No .25s but the .32s were sweet as an alternative to .22.

Anyhow, here she is. Been on 3 1/2 continents, fired a strange array of factory and custom ammo. Killed a LOT of critters and remains near and very dear to my heart.



Todd.

 

[Gordon]

Those that are drawn to the .25 ACP have never used it in a fight. Cooper had this to say about them:

Carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody – and he finds out about it – he may be very angry with you.

I agree with the " drawn" part ,unless it's collecting them . But totally disagree with that other statement about loading them. I think he was using his extremely dry martini humor on that one .

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Those that are drawn to the .25 ACP have never used it in a fight. Cooper had this to say about them:

Carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody – and he finds out about it – he may be very angry with you.

I've personally seen 3 men killed by .25s. Doesn't mean there isn't better but sometimes it's all there is and it's no joke. Folk can go on about clothing, velocity, body fat and the like but at least three families lost someone to the puny little .25.

Todd.

 

[Gordon]

My one and only .25 was an '08 Vestpocket Colt. Made like a Swiss watch, with all the tiny levers and linkages inside, and quite reliable.

The extraordinary cost of .25ACP ammo, especially hollowpoints, fairly quickly killed my interest in the cartridge and guns.

Still think they are neat machines. Love the Le Francais! Need a pic of it with the extra round in the baseplate, though.

Ok sir here it is , additionally the manual of arms on this Frenchie is some what different ( who would guess) and when you remove the magazine with the shell on bottom which makes a nice pull, the barrel jumps up and stays that way until you reinsert a magazine and push it back down, I guess with that odd one on the mag bottom inserted into barrel !

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Doggone it, but that's weird.

Once again, what's the point of the exposed cartridge at the bottom? It's merely to have a handy round to start with?

Todd

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Ive seen some of the larger Le Francais pistols in the flesh, but the Police Model only in books, well- and Gordons.

Its in great shape, too!

 

[Patocazador]

Ok sir here it is , additionally the manual of arms on this Frenchie is some what different ( who would guess) and when you remove the magazine with the shell on bottom which makes a nice pull, the barrel jumps up and stays that way until you reinsert a magazine and push it back down, I guess with that odd one on the mag bottom inserted into barrel !View attachment 981070

I have never seen nor dreamed of a gun that would function like that. Thanks so much for posting this.

 

[JERRY]

mini pocket autos have a place indeed. the cheaper to feed .22lr and the more reliably ignited .25acp are 6-8 ice pick stabs that no one I know wants to receive.

 

[AK103K]

Ive had a couple over the years, but have never really been enamored with them. The first handgun I shot was this Mauser 1910. I was around 5 or 6. Still have that gun too.



I did carry a couple of different "Babys" (Browning and PSP) back in the 80's and 90's as a BUG. Up until my buddy, who also carried one had it go off in his back pocket when he bent over in the garden. Moved up to a Seecamp in 32 after that.

Still have the Seecamp, haven't had a Baby for a while now, although I kinda wish Id kept the Browning now.

 

[sean m]

Not seeing any Galesi's in the mix. Had one for a while and was impressed with the quality of the manufacturing for a cheap gun.
Picture is not mine, but one from the interwebs.

 

[Gordon]

I've personally seen 3 men killed by .25s. Doesn't mean there isn't better but sometimes it's all there is and it's no joke. Folk can go on about clothing, velocity, body fat and the like but at least three families lost someone to the puny little .25.

Todd.

Known a few .25 fights personally, very common street caliber, in the day. Here is my scary story: I was working late in an industrial parking area in Salinas Calif on a fork lift. Very much alone in summer evening in August 1985 gathering Twilight I was adjacent to a freight spur which paralleled the main tracks , very remote in an industrial park. I saw a younger man , tall and lean with a small pack on in a hoodie sweat shirt all in black walk across the tracks a block up and with a a sure footed stride skirt industrial building edges and then make a bee line towards me on the fork lift while I was moving large equipment onto a trailer. He traveled in open over 200 yards directly towards me , nobody around. I had been pan handled before but this was totally different and put me on alert to scrutinize him and stop working. I palmed my new Beretta 20 (they were only made a few year in the 80s before the "improved" 21 came out) then loaded with the equally new Winchester " Pellet Nose" bullets and when the person was 100 feet away I shouted " what do you want " ? He slowed down, not responding but with a feral grin reached around to the back of his waist band and continued to advance quickly obviously with something in his hand behind back. I was an A ticket IPSC guy at the time and brought the mouse gun to low ready and shouted STOP ! He did not stop and immediately I drew a bead on the heart area and finger on trigger ready to put in two or three if he got closer than 10 yards as I did not yet see what was behind his back. Upon seeing the raised gun held Weaver style he broke off his advance on a angle keeping what was behind him hidden. As he slowed again with me tracking him from the fork lift seat and about 60 feet away now to my weak side he turned toward me and advanced a couple steps and I tapped one off DA into pavement between us and off to the side a little. There was nothing to hit in that direction for a long distance. The snap and orange flame jerked the guy off balance and he stumbled and turned and ran off in the gathering darkness towards the tracks at least a half mile away. I rode the fork lift back to the warehouse, locked it up and got in my car and went home and had a drink. Much later , from the mug shots and tv coverage and timeline I have absolutely no doubt that was Richard Ramierez the " Nightstalker" who terrorized Ca. He stated he rode the rails between his kills in Northern and Southern Calif. !