Pocket .25 Automatic

Bond must have sharpened the BACK of the firing pin. I believe it sticks out of the rear as a loaded chamber indicator. I suppose it might be easier to feel if it was sharp.

As for the front sight, it's pretty small already. I doubt it would be much of a snag risk. Maybe it had something to do with suppressor fitment?

 

I think he filed it because it was called a "pin" and Fleming knew pins should be sharp.

 

Even good authors make mistakes. I don't recall that Ruger ever made a 25 caliber pistol, but one showed up in a detective novel I read the other day.

 

Beretta 950B Jetfire here (Italian-made, no safety.) Smaller than my P32, bigger than my Bauer. I won't carry the Bauer because I don't trust it chambered. I have yet to have the need to carry only something smaller than the P32, so the Jetfire has never been carried except for a few times around the house just because it's a cool and slick little gun.

I do also have a Seecamp in .32 which is dimensionally smaller than the Beretta, but substantially heavier.

Were I to go to the beach and want a real hideout gun for the walks to and from the parking lot, I'd probably opt for my NAA Mini in .22LR, since I always have it, anyway, in a bag that travels in whatever I'm driving. I did just take delivery of another NAA in .22 Short, but not for carry purposes.

 

I have one of those as well, I find it to be a very well made little machine.

Bigger then some smaller then others. I think it hits the perfect spot between too small and too big.

Wish the ammo was a bit more easy to find. Wish the brass was more easy to find after you shoot it, itty bitty things run off and hide.

 

That's possible, too.

 

My Beretta's have no extractor. Brass comes out in a half-cone shape towards the shooter. Might go up, or up and over the head, or to the sides, or to either side of the head, or land on your arm, your head, or bounce off your head, face, arm, chest, or neck.

Luckily they are tiny. As long as they don't land and sit against the skin or you aren't wearing eye protection you're fine.

Either way, they end up within 3 feet of me, all around. Pretty easy to spot, too. Shorter than a .22lr, no large rim, pick it up. Check the back for centerfire primer.

 

I wouldn’t mind a nice quality .25 acp, main issue being cost these days. I also think as said that their size is amenable to ultra concealed carry. The one thing I will say though is that while I 100% value true pocket pistols (LCP or smaller) for carry, those micro .380s are sufficiently small in most cases. Or a .32 acp

 

The thing is with these itty bitty 380's there are some people that just can't handle that for one reason or another. I doubt many would say that a 25 is a better choice over 22 for several reasons, centerfire likely near the top of the list. Some of those 380's are pretty snappy. I think there is a place for them, but many are forced to choose the 380. Don't get me wrong the 380 is better, but if you just can't deal with that, age or disability the 25 in even the lightest form is a cream puff. 32 is also something to look at if you have a person with 380 issues....trouble again is finding something in 32 that was built in the last decade, not that many choices.

 

I have a naissant collection of 'early' (designed prior to WW2) .25 ACP (6.35mm) pistols. Currently four but I'm looking for more. (If anyone cares, an FN M1906, a Colt M1908, , a Browning marked 'Baby', and a Beretta 1919. They are very important in the evolution of the current semi-automatic pistol and handgun (in general) cartridge development.
Of note, I have fired all of them. They are all reliable - for the small amount of shots fired - and they seem to fire to the sights. Which is rather faint praise: The distance was short, seven yards, and the sights are so small it takes a while and some concentration to use them. To echo Mosin 77, I have small hands and find ALL these pistols rather tiny to shoot.
I must say, they are small and hide quite well in a pocket.

I do enjoy them, but do not consider them suitable for self defense. I won't belabor that, as all the arguments have been published.

Regarding Ian Fleming and James Bond. I rather like the Fleming novels and a number of the pastiche submissions. Most the originals. However, Mr. Fleming was not an authority regarding firearms. He did carry a pistol as an intelligence officer during WW2, mostly as a collector of information from abandoned (during times of retreat) NAZI intel sites and collation of the bits and pieces retrieved. To the best of my knowledge, he never fired a shot in extremis.
And as an old man, please DO NOT be advised by commercial fiction. Not in print, television or movies. It never worked with B westerns, it doesn't work with 'adventure' novels.

 

This is why I think .32 acp is the perfect caliber for these pocket pistols. More powerful than .22 or. .25, center fire, less recoil than .380. I wish they’d build more.

 

The bolded text above is THE salient point, a weapon has to function reliably or it is equivalent to a rock. A while back a few firearms were left to me by a relative, this included a Raven .25 auto. It would be a great, last ditch, nothing else available, oh gods I'm gonna die option but it refuses to run. After one or two rounds the safety migrates forward under recoil and disables the weapon. So, until it gets to see a gunsmith it remains in storage.

Ages ago I performed ballistic testing for a number of calibers using uncured silicone rubber. While not ballistic gel it gave an idea of how a projectile would perform. The .25 FMJ performed about the same as .22 LR lead solid point. Once again, not great but better than a pointy stick.

 

As always, THR has shed light on a topic of question. Thank everyone for the answers this far.

 

I've had a couple .25s. One, a TPH, was even carried for a short while when my Seecamp was in for a repair. The others were mainly purchased as fun range toys or just to collect. An other, a Beretta 21a, could be considered to carry but I never did. The otheres are a beautiful PSA and an older Hawes. Neither of which would I actually carry. My favorite is the TPH.

 

It's a shame they can't import the TPH anymore. I'm fortunate to have a Ranger .25 but would love to have the original.

 

While I'm never going to praise the .25, I'm not going to admit that I don't find the pistols chambered for it anything but cool. I only have one, a shiny chrome Raven, and while it's not light, nor as small as the steel .25's, it's still cool on its own merit. The Colt's and FNs are probably going to be the smallest you'll find for a .25, but the most practical IMO are the Berettas given their capacity and non-heel mag release.

I understand why the Colt and FN .25's used the heel mag release, simple and reliable in a tiny pistol, but the Beretta's have proven it's not a requirement and while it's unlikely anyone will ever need to reload a .25, the faster ability to do so is always a benefit.

 

I carried my CZ-45 (25acp - 2nd row 4th from the left) before the NAA guardian in .32 acp (directly below the CZ-45) came out (I couldn't afford a Seecamp). Like the OP said it is not optimal but it is still usable. Unfortunately size wise it is not the smallest kid on the block that it once was. As you can see my NAA guardian is physically smaller. The P32 directly above the CZ-45 is about the same dimensions but it is half the weight. For me weight is a bigger issue than physical size. Wearing shorts in the summer the P32 is barely noticeable, the CZ-45 is heavy and pulls my shorts down exposing my butt crack like a rapper... even with a decent belt. The NAA .22wmr mini-revolver to the right of the CZ-45 is considerably smaller and lighter... I will let you do your own ballistics comparison between .25acp and .22wmr. To the left of the CZ-45 is my DB9 which is my pocket carry of choice during the winter. The DB9 is considerably bigger and heavier than the CZ-45 but still pocket carriable in jeans for me with the advantage of shooting 9mm. Above the DB9 is my LCP which does not get much carry time any more being edged out by by the DB9 or P32 if I want smaller and lighter... but I still believe the LCP covers a very useful range in my pocket pistol line-up.

I can't ever foresee getting rid of the CZ-45 as it is worth more to me in fond memories and coolness than I could ever sell it for... BUT the days of the metal framed .25acp semi-autos have been far surpassed by todays plastic-fantastic guns!

I do find it interesting though that back in the day a pocket .25acp was a deadly weapon but since the advent of the internet and arm chair ballisticians any perp hit with a .25acp slug will merely wipe the .25acp slug off his leather jacket and laugh at you.

 

double post

 

[QUOTE="MikeInOr]I can't ever foresee getting rid of the CZ-45 as it is worth more to me in fond memories and coolness than I could ever sell it for..[/QUOTE]

A lot of people must feel that way. CZ 45s are scarce. I've had one on my radar for a long time with no sightings. Unfortumnately for me it's getting that way with all little pistols. Not too long ago you could find them in any gun or pawn shop often for $100 or less. These days that won't even get you a mag for a lot of them.

 

Right, while I recognize there are much more powerful handguns out there, many writers will treat .25 ACP or let's say some guns such as a derringer as having not just been overshadowed by better guns, but having lost all of their original functionality.

 

I can help you with that.

The .25 50 gr fmj will give you 700-850 fps depending on brand and gun. A 1 5/8 inch NAA mini with 40 gr CCI Velociter about 875 fps, and from the same barrel CCI .22 mag "Maximag" will throw about 975 fps.

Much of the powder in the .22's burns after the bullet leaves the barrel.

You have a good collection going. You might want add some Bond Arms action in there. The entry level ones start at about $250 and are very well built, safe and reliable. Barrels all interchangeable of course so you can fire what you want from it.

 

Agreed, in my opinion a pocket pistol collection should have at least one good quality derringer (not cobra/bearman).

 

FYI, Ian Fleming (James Bond author) was completely clueless about firearms and admitted as such. His professional background was in editing and during the war he was involved in Intelligence. Little or no firearms training for him. Bond switched to the PPK after one of his readers wrote Fleming and recommended, telling Fleming the .25 was not an appropriate weapon for Bond. The character Q aka Major Boothroyd is named in honor of that person.

 

i have a bunch of bond arms derringers, none are the cheaper, cheaped-out, inconsistent, ill-finished, rowdy/roughneck models. my original gen2 b.a. derringers carry ok in a jacket pocket but too heavy for pants pockets; keltec p32 or naa bugout1 with cv revision grips are my pants pocket edc, ymmv.

the lighter-weight b.a. stinger derringer, but chambered in 327/32 or 32acp, would be a great pocket carry derringer.