My two cents on the .25 Auto after being shot by one.

[MedWheeler]

Thank you for sharing. The point is obviously not that you were hurt by negligence or by carrying a firearm that others here don't approve of, or carrying it in a manner others here don't approve of. Ignore those posts trying to bring the thread to that.

While the .25 is far from a stellar choice for defense, I've yet to find in countless SD accounts I've reviewed any in which a person targeted for rape or robbery (and not specifically for assassination) was shot or otherwise injured by their attacker after shooting their attacker with any firearm. There may be a few, but I haven't come across them. Even those BGs whose heads magically deflected bullets ranging from .22 caliber to .45, though they lived essentially unharmed, they at least quit their attacks. There is also no evidence here that your outcome would have been different if it had been a Davis .380 pistol. Quite possibly, but not a certainty by any means.

Again, thank you for sharing, even knowing you would likely be criticized for the choices that led to this.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Go to YouTube and watch videos of people being actually shot. Might want to re-evaluate the .25 acp.

Deaf

 

[barnbwt]

Wow, sounds like if you'd been spun up on adrenaline to start with, you wouldn't have even noticed being shot until it was all over. Glad things recovered well enough for you, gut shot is a pretty bad spot (not that there are many good ones)

 

[barnbwt]

If I was the OP, I'd have been mighty tempted to begin my story; "so I heard all these guys saying 'I'd rather be shot with a 25' and was feeling curious one night..."

 

[scaatylobo]

Worked as a armored car guard / driver ,before I became a cop.
The older guy that I worked with [ Bob ] was shot just before I got there = with a .25 acp.
Hit him in the chest [ he was very thin and small ] and went to hospital where they X rayed him from head to toe in an attempt to find that bullet.
FBI called from the bank and said they found the bullet [ ball ammo ] as it had bounced off his very small chest ---- onto a counter top.
Glad your ok,but sorry you learned the hard way to not carry such a pos.

 

[entropy]

I feel ya. I took half of a .30-30, that sheared in half on a piece of steel plate and ricocheted 50 ft. back, in the forehead. I later calculated the ballistics of that piece to be close to a .32 ACP. I dropped the Marlin. put my hand over the spot, (The bullet stuck to the flesh, but did not penetrate my skull) yelled a word Art's Grammaw would not approve of (several times) and headed up the stairs. My boss met me halfway, he had me take my hand off, (bled like a stuck pig ) and said 'let's get to the hospital'. I grabbed a wad of paper towels from a co-worker, and off we went. When we got to the hospital, I was in better shape than my boss; I was joking about it, and he was pale and had a heart rate of @ 220. (The nurses hooked him up to a monitor) They did a quick CAT scan to make sure there were no bone fragments on the inside of my skull, stitched up the skin, gave me a bottle of Vicodin and told me to take a couple days off.

I used to have a recurring dream where a customer wanted to look at a Baby Browning and jammed a mag in, loaded it, and fired 4 or 5 quick shots-that's usually when I'd wake up.

 

[Sig Bill]

While my friends scoff at 25s and 22s I sat mute because I know better. Glad you made it out Ryan and consider yourself lucky as hell. Had the gun tilt a bit more you might have caught it under the chin. I doubt you'll survive that one.

I used to carry that Raven back in the 70s and it was reliable and I had it loaded with soft points. I used to shoot it at the range in 15 yard lanes. I got good groups from it so it's pretty deadly.

oops, is that a oxymoron?

 

[barnbwt]

I took half of a .30-30, that sheared in half on a piece of steel plate and ricocheted 50 ft. back, in the forehead. I later calculated the ballistics of that piece to be close to a .32 ACP. I dropped the Marlin. put my hand over the spot, (The bullet stuck to the flesh, but did not penetrate my skull)

Yeah, I kind of doubt it had ballistics close to a 32 in that case; 32 has more than enough penetration to stick you deeper than a knife anywhere on your body (which was kind of the point, originally). Either that or you've got a metal plate from some previous misadventure . Still a crazy scary situation, though (reminiscent of that famous 50BMG ricochet caught on camera, which certainly sounded like it did have enough 'go' to seriously mess someone up)

 

[eastbank]

i own one not safe to drop auto and its in pieces in a small box, enough said. my most carried carry gun is a dehorned S&W molel 60 in 38 special in a inside the pants holster. never a problem in carrying it since 1974. eastbank.

 

[entropy]

Yeah, I kind of doubt it had ballistics close to a 32 in that case; 32 has more than enough penetration to stick you deeper than a knife anywhere on your body (which was kind of the point, originally). Either that or you've got a metal plate from some previous misadventure . Still a crazy scary situation, though (reminiscent of that famous 50BMG ricochet caught on camera, which certainly sounded like it did have enough 'go' to seriously mess someone up)

Mass and velocity were close, it's the frontal area that kept it from penetrating. Had a pretty good headache for a couple days, but I'd have still been in the fight, were I in one. I also had one similar to the .50 BMG vid caused by an A. Zoli O/U that doubled when test firing. (Maybe I should stop test firing guns..... ) The recoil from the first round pushed the barrels back out of the test tube collar, and the shot column from the second round hit the test tube collar and tore the earmuffs off me, kept going and hit the plywood wall 20 ft. behind me. No pellets hit me at all.

 

[JFrame]

Ryan L -- first, I just want to join the chorus of voices in saying that I'm glad you survived the incident and have made a full recovery!

Also, thank you for taking the time and effort to record all your visceral and clinical experiences in detail! They all help to add to our body of knowledge about shooting incidents.

I have a friend who was mugged on the street and shot in the leg with a .22 LR. He said he felt like his "leg had been blown off," and all he could think about was getting to a hospital. The guy boxed amateur, and was not a person I would regard as a "wimp" under any circumstances.

Again -- my main reason for posting is to say "glad you are well!"

 

[smkummer]

I agree that any gun carried with a round in the chamber, cheap or quality should be drop tested. My own way doing this is with a rubber mallet and "simulating" a drop by tapping the hammer with a primer powered only case in the chamber. I have a Colt 25 auto that had a recall. Before I called Colt to see if it was affected, I loaded a primer powered case and tapped the hammer resting on the firing pin, sure as heck, it went off. I shortened the firing pin by removing metal from the back and it passed the next time I checked it. And it functioned 100% at the range.

Glad your OK and in reality, that could have been any of us through out the years of handling guns.

 

[tubeshooter]

I am very glad you are okay! Thank you very much for sharing your story.

 

[22250Rem]

Thanks for posting, and thank God you're still here to remind us that things like that can happen. I also have a 25 ACP Raven; picked it up cheap circa 1995 when it came into a friends gun shop as part of a multi-gun trade in on something else. The owner didn't even want to display it because in his words; "I don't stock junk" and allowed me to get it for $25.. So I couldn't resist, and since then (22 years ago this month) it's had a couple hundred rounds through it. Haven't fired it in years but when I first got it I shot a variety of things with it just to see what that "Puny" little 25 ACP would do. Long story short: I gained a lot of respect for that little round by shooting inanimate objects and being surprised at the damage and penetration I was seeing. This was all at ranges from about 3 ft. to maybe 7 yards. I wouldn't carry my Raven for SD unless it was my last and only choice, (They really are an el-cheapo special). But at typical self defense range a 25 ACP , while not as effective as a 38 Spl. or a 9mm, is still lethal. I still keep the Raven as sort of a "curiosity item" as they aren't seen that often anymore. Was talking to a guy in his early 20's at a gun show recently and he said he's heard of them and seen pictures of them but has never seen one in person. Wow, I must be getting old.

 

[I6turbo]

Interesting story -- thanks for sharing! And glad you're okay after it all.

 

[north east redneck]

Ryan, glad you are to tell the story. Sorry to hear that happened to you.
Your experience after you realized you were hit makes sense to me. I've never been shot, but had my right arm cut very badly by a chainsaw 20+ years ago. Same reaction, what happened, clarity, fear.... Get help. The mind is amazing at getting us through extreme injury.

 

[barnbwt]

Mass and velocity were close, it's the frontal area that kept it from penetrating. Had a pretty good headache for a couple days, but I'd have still been in the fight, were I in one. I also had one similar to the .50 BMG vid caused by an A. Zoli O/U that doubled when test firing. (Maybe I should stop test firing guns..... ) The recoil from the first round pushed the barrels back out of the test tube collar, and the shot column from the second round hit the test tube collar and tore the earmuffs off me, kept going and hit the plywood wall 20 ft. behind me. No pellets hit me at all.

Oh, so it was flattened out into the size of a quarter, or something? Because a 30-30 has the same frontal area as a 32acp. Good thing it hit you broad-side (well, not hitting would have been even better). How'd you figure the velocity, did you get a reading on the chronograph, lol?

Very important for folks to understand how dangerous ricochet can be, seeing as a bouncing 45acp or something will likely have *at least* as much juice behind it as the titular 25acp of this thread

TCB

 

[midland man]

I've been looking at a couple of 25acp pistols as I used to own one or maybe two or three lol but yeah cobra derringers makes one in 25acp plus jimenez arms makes one as well! so been thinkin on another one for fun to play with!

 

[Sig Bill]

I sold my Raven to get the FIE Titan 25acp. I did it because it had a hammer that I can half cock it for carry with a round in the pipe. It was a good shooting pistol but I didn't shoot it much after I learned that this pistol has a firing pin that'll peen over, get stuck and become full auto.

 

[kBob]

Well, I did go to you tube and what I found were Gel tests. Looks like FMJ penetrates 10 to 12 inches through bare blocks or blocks with a normal amount of cloth over them.

Something to think about anyway.

-kBob

 

[Cocked & Locked]

I've had several .25's over the years but only one little Colt now. I don't carry it (supposedly not drop safe) but I've been thinking about a Beretta 21 Bobcat .25 that is for sale locally. I'd probably carry it some in addition to something else. Same pawn shop has a Brauer .25

Once had an engraved LLama .25...pretty little thing. Had several Titan .25's at different times. Never a problem with them.

 

[340PD]

Thanks for the thought provoking first hand account of a shooting with a small caliber round.

 

[BSA1]

I had 50 grain remington full metal jackets in the magazine as well as one in the chamber, just one day before i had swapped out gold dot hollow points for the FMJ's thinking to myself "If I end up having to use this .25 what real difference will hollow points make?"

Having worked several years in a large hospital emergency room I have seen a fair share of gunshot wounds. Your comment and experience with FMJ makes a strong point about penetration vs. expansion. I could post some true gunshot wounds I saw treated but knowing this forum I would be called a liar.

As a side story a friend and I own the same model of 9x18 semi-autos. (I sold him mine then turned around and brought me another one). He believes in expansion so he carries JHP’s. I am a believer in penetration for calibers smaller the 9mm Luger so I carry FMJ’s. We both feel we are well armed for this caliber.

 

[hdwhit]

I am very happy to hear, Ryan L, that the inuries associated with your wounding were no more severe.

My first roommate in college lost his pancreas to an accidental gunshot wound.

I was shot in the back during one of the "disturbances" that accompanied the integration of Palm Beach County schools in Florida in the early 1970's.

 

[MedWheeler]

hdwhit, sounds like you're from my old stomping grounds, though you seem to have a few more than my fifty years behind you.