midland man
Member
so is it good, bad, and will it work when needed? who carrys and uses one? is there a love/hate relationship with this cartridge?? how far is the effective range with 50gr fmj bullet loads etc? 
tell me about the 25 auto cartridge?
- Thread starter midland man
- Start date
- Status
jolly roger
Member
Got one but it is a mere play toy. Colt 1908 Vest Pocket
stchman
Member
I really don't know why anyone would want a 25ACP pistol other that to "just have". Get a .22LR pistol as 22LR is almost as powerful and a LOT cheaper.
Onward Allusion
Member
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Not again!!!!!!!
Ok...sorry...had to get that out of the way...
25 ACP (the following are my personal opinion and no one else's)
- better than no gun
- definitely has the ability to kill
- most likely has the ability to warn off a potential bad guy
- potential of the cartridge is best met via hand loading
- quality of gun barrel has huge impact on energy
- ammo today is weak
- as easy to hide as a backup as a NAA Mini revolver
- a shot to the eye, throat, or groin will likely slow or stop a bad guy
- I rather carry my 357 Mag
Ok...sorry...had to get that out of the way...
25 ACP (the following are my personal opinion and no one else's)
- better than no gun
- definitely has the ability to kill
- most likely has the ability to warn off a potential bad guy
- potential of the cartridge is best met via hand loading
- quality of gun barrel has huge impact on energy
- ammo today is weak
- as easy to hide as a backup as a NAA Mini revolver
- a shot to the eye, throat, or groin will likely slow or stop a bad guy
- I rather carry my 357 Mag
cc-hangfire
Member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2014
- Messages
- 589
Onward Alusion's list above covers it.
I have a couple of pistols on .25acp as collection pieces and range toys: a Spanish Vest Pocket pistol and an Iver Johnson TP25. I like mouse guns and they're fun to shoot at the range - so little they're almost silly, and the round is weak so there's no recoil to mention. They are a fun novelty.
I don't use them for EDC, even as backup. There are lighter polymer pistols in .380acp for that.
I have a couple of pistols on .25acp as collection pieces and range toys: a Spanish Vest Pocket pistol and an Iver Johnson TP25. I like mouse guns and they're fun to shoot at the range - so little they're almost silly, and the round is weak so there's no recoil to mention. They are a fun novelty.
I don't use them for EDC, even as backup. There are lighter polymer pistols in .380acp for that.
JohnBT
Member
Did Jeff Cooper really say, "If you shoot someone with a .25 and he finds out about it he is really going to be mad at you."
My father always called them throwers. I don't know if this was a WWII joke or something he learned in the state police. He didn't like small guns much. Of course, you have to throw them before you shoot them because it's the weight of the ammo that makes them heavy enough to put a small knot on somebody's head.
My father always called them throwers. I don't know if this was a WWII joke or something he learned in the state police. He didn't like small guns much. Of course, you have to throw them before you shoot them because it's the weight of the ammo that makes them heavy enough to put a small knot on somebody's head.
Monac
Member
My understanding is that 25 ACP was designed by John Browning back around 1905 because the "semi-smokeless" 22 rimfire ammunition of the day was too dirty to work reliably in a vest-pocket sized pistol.
The main advantages of 25 ACP are that the centerfire primer is more reliable with tiny little hammers or strikers, and that the FMJ bullet is better for feeding that the plain or plated lead one of 22 rimfire.
Otherwise, it is in pretty much the same category as 22, except that most of the pistols for it do not have large grips, big sights, or good triggers, and so are substantially more difficult to shoot well with.
Given that you can get 32 ACP pistols that are about the same size (and less weight) than the traditional 25 ACP pistols, it is hard for me to see the reason for getting a 25 for defense now. Just my opinion, of course.
The main advantages of 25 ACP are that the centerfire primer is more reliable with tiny little hammers or strikers, and that the FMJ bullet is better for feeding that the plain or plated lead one of 22 rimfire.
Otherwise, it is in pretty much the same category as 22, except that most of the pistols for it do not have large grips, big sights, or good triggers, and so are substantially more difficult to shoot well with.
Given that you can get 32 ACP pistols that are about the same size (and less weight) than the traditional 25 ACP pistols, it is hard for me to see the reason for getting a 25 for defense now. Just my opinion, of course.
shootist2121
Member
Anybody here want to get shot with one?... I think not!..Look at Hatcher's forensic Medicine.. It's an old book but there are all kinds of great photos of these and other anemic old cartriges, like 25, 32 Colt.!22s and holes they made in these poor souls that got shot..Most died with one or two shots a according to the printed notes.
By our new standard, not a real choice, but I sure don't want to get shot with any of them after reading that book.
Be safe
By our new standard, not a real choice, but I sure don't want to get shot with any of them after reading that book.
Be safe
MRH
Member
A standard velocity 22LR in lead 40 grain is probably better than the low velocity 50gr FMJ 25ACP found on the store shelves.
A couple of other things. If you reload they are a PIA, and the cases are hard to find at the range where a lot of 22 LR cases are laying around.
That said, I love to plink with my Beretta 25 ACP.
Mike
A couple of other things. If you reload they are a PIA, and the cases are hard to find at the range where a lot of 22 LR cases are laying around.
That said, I love to plink with my Beretta 25 ACP.
Mike
I wouldn't want to get hit with a Yugo sedan, either - nor would I buy one. Same for a .25....
My dad was given one by my grandparents 35 years ago. He used to be able to shoot match boxes off a fence post at 20 yards. He could put a bullet wherever you wanted him to.
That said, no, they really aren't more than a novelty cartridge. .380 is so easy to find and so much more affordable not to mention more powerful.
However, to me, that crappy ol' .25 of my dad's is an heirloom.
That said, no, they really aren't more than a novelty cartridge. .380 is so easy to find and so much more affordable not to mention more powerful.
However, to me, that crappy ol' .25 of my dad's is an heirloom.
Frosty Dave
Member
Jeff Cooper had a couple of things to say about the .25ACP. One, as mentioned briefly already -
and -
and -
Nom de Forum
Member
Given a choice between no gun and having a loaded Ortgies .25ACP; I'll take the Ortgies. Probably so would Jeff Cooper if he was being truthful instead of hyperbolically witty.
OP
OP
midland man
Member
I have a jimeneze arms 25 auto and I enjoy playin with it! its fun to shoot and I thought about a derringer in 25 auto as well just for more mouse gun fun! now I have always wanted to have a singleshot rifle made. I would like it bolt action in 25 auto for shooting squirrels and rabbits with, I had this dream for many years now havin this made for me only using 50gr fmj bullets loads with!
now I have always wanted to have a singleshot rifle made. I would like it bolt action in 25 auto for shooting squirrels and rabbits with, I had this dream for many years now havin this made for me only using 50gr fmj bullets loads with! "Did Jeff Cooper really say, 'If you shoot someone with a .25 and he finds out about it he is really going to be mad at you.' "
If he did, he was an even bigger blowhard fool that I thought he was. But in fact, that old and silly saying long antedates even Jeff Cooper.
For decades, a .25 Auto pistol was necessary for maximum concealment. There were a few others (like the Frommer Baby in .380 ACP) in the same size range but they were odd and not reliable. A good .25 was usually a lot more reliable than most .22's in that size range, almost all of which were junk.
It is only recently that small and reliable guns in the same size range have become available, relegating .25's to the collector category. But a gun like the Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket is still a thing of beauty, even though it's practicality has gone the way of vest pockets.
Jim
If he did, he was an even bigger blowhard fool that I thought he was. But in fact, that old and silly saying long antedates even Jeff Cooper.
For decades, a .25 Auto pistol was necessary for maximum concealment. There were a few others (like the Frommer Baby in .380 ACP) in the same size range but they were odd and not reliable. A good .25 was usually a lot more reliable than most .22's in that size range, almost all of which were junk.
It is only recently that small and reliable guns in the same size range have become available, relegating .25's to the collector category. But a gun like the Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket is still a thing of beauty, even though it's practicality has gone the way of vest pockets.
Jim
.455_Hunter
Member
My thoughts:
MUCH better reliability than the same gun chambered in .22 LR.
Better energy and penetration than a .22 LR out of the same gun. You can't compare a 2" .25 acp to a 6" .22 revolver.
.25 acp 50 gr FMJ can achieve 16" of penetration in bare gelatin.
Get a Beretta 950 or Model 20- STAY AWAY from the "Ring of Fire" specials, like Davis, Lorcin, Jimenez, etc.
Euro ammo brands tend to be hotter, liked S&G, GECO, Fiocchi.
WAY BETTER than the 1911 in the safe at home, or the modern polymer pocket wonder that jams or breaks due to "modern manufacturing techniques".
MUCH better reliability than the same gun chambered in .22 LR.
Better energy and penetration than a .22 LR out of the same gun. You can't compare a 2" .25 acp to a 6" .22 revolver.
.25 acp 50 gr FMJ can achieve 16" of penetration in bare gelatin.
Get a Beretta 950 or Model 20- STAY AWAY from the "Ring of Fire" specials, like Davis, Lorcin, Jimenez, etc.
Euro ammo brands tend to be hotter, liked S&G, GECO, Fiocchi.
WAY BETTER than the 1911 in the safe at home, or the modern polymer pocket wonder that jams or breaks due to "modern manufacturing techniques".
jimbo555
Member
Wow. Nobody compared it to a sharp stick yet!
WestKentucky
Member
Midland I too dream of a 25acp squirrel and rabbit getter. The problem is that nobody makes a .251 barrel blank that I have found, and there are basically no .251 wildcats either. This leaves a guy looking to the .257 rifle barrels which don't seal and won't be accurate unless you use the proper bullet or paper patch. If there's another .251 around a man could easily make a conversion chamber insert.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I have Baby Browning, just because!
I never carry it, because even though it is slightly smaller, it is heavier then my Kel-Tec .380.
But it really IS way better then a Sharp Sick!
And surprisingly accurate for having almost no sights.
rc
I never carry it, because even though it is slightly smaller, it is heavier then my Kel-Tec .380.
But it really IS way better then a Sharp Sick!
And surprisingly accurate for having almost no sights.
rc
Post #7 "I don't believe anyone today claims the .25 Auto to be a valid self defense cartridge. A big stick and some fast tennis shoes might serve you better. " I'll take te .22lr oer te .2acp for penetration. (keyboard as te icups). I like centerfire oer rimfire ecept for te two fie.Wow. Nobody compared it to a sharp stick yet!
2 men kick down door, homeowner shoots one in abdomen
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...meowner-near-crystal-lake-20140903-story.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...meowner-near-crystal-lake-20140903-story.html
sgt127
Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
- Messages
- 2,108
I've got a Bauer, a Baby Browning and a Beretta 21. I consider them ice picks that give you 6 or 7 tries with more standoff range than an ice pick or a folding knife.
It is truly better than nothing.
Seen quite a few people dead from .25's. Seen quite a few that said it hurt, but they were ok.
Know of one officer who saw a guy get shot in the leg with a .25. Dropped and was dead almost instantly. Blew out the femoral artery.
It is truly better than nothing.
Seen quite a few people dead from .25's. Seen quite a few that said it hurt, but they were ok.
Know of one officer who saw a guy get shot in the leg with a .25. Dropped and was dead almost instantly. Blew out the femoral artery.
A Beretta Jetfire was the only gun that ever bit me. Consistantly. I fed it Aguila FMJ, and it was a little snappy. It was never fun to shoot. If that is what you got to defend yourself, have at it, but I wouldn't recommend buying one for either fun or protection.
It's just a caliber that is better left alone.
It's just a caliber that is better left alone.
1911 guy
Member
As others have said, it's far better than no gun at all. But if I absolutely had to have a small handgun, I'd opt for one of the .22 WMR derringers. Or a Kel-Tec or LCP.
But if you want one just to have and shoot, go for it. A lot of us shoot weird oddball stuff at the range just because it's fun and interesting.
But if you want one just to have and shoot, go for it. A lot of us shoot weird oddball stuff at the range just because it's fun and interesting.
- Status
