What is the smallest centefire autoloader?

[Skribs]

Looking for something really small for a character in my book to carry. What is the absolute smallest centerfire autoloader on the market? I'm assuming one of the .25 ACP pistols, but which one? Or has something like a .32 taken over with a more modern design?

 

[the duck of death]

Seecamp is small:

I have a 32 and a 380, same size & small.

http://seecamp.com/

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B22...i00NTJkLWE0MGMtZmEwNGFlMWE3ZDlm/edit?hl=en_US

 

[pikid89]

The beretta jetfire .25 acp is pretty darn small

 

[Skribs]

Yeah the Seacamp .32 is smaller than the beretta, but it can only handle HPs and in something that size I want him carrying FMJs.

Looking up on the Seacamp site I saw the comparison, and the NAA listed. The NAA Guardian in .25 NAA looks interesting enough, I think I'll use that.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Baby Browning and copies are probably the smallest. The current manufacturer (they keep going out of business) is PSA. They list the pistol as 4.1 inches long and 2.88 high. Seecamp lists their pistols as having a length of 4.25 inches and height of 3.25--sure small for a .380!

 

[robinkevin]

Here is your options.

http://mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf

This chart doesn't show .25s but honestly I would stay away from the .25s they are weaker in most cases than .22LR and ammo can be hard to find in certain areas. Other than that I would say it's really up to your personal preference and shot placement from a defensive stand point.

A lot of good options out there but try to balance the fit in hand with smallest overall size. You might find that some of them are just too small for you to shoot as I have with some of the smaller pistols. Others have no trouble with any of them. It depends on the person. So figure out a few different models that you want to get your hands on and go from there.

Good luck finding the right fit for your needs.

 

[Skribs]

It's for a character in a book. The best fit for his hand is whatever I say it is.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

there's the 2.7mm kolibri. it's about the size of a couple .45ACP rounds.

 

[1KPerDay]

Why does it have to be centerfire? Does your character have a strict reloading policy?

 

[Cocked & Locked]

If the character in your book is a cool dude he should probably carry a Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 acp.

 

[M1key]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_mm_Kolibri

M

 

[MCgunner]

I'm thinking Beretta Minx or Baby Browning. I do have smaller revolvers.

 

[Swing]

there's the 2.7mm kolibri.

This. That and I recall seeing a single shot .25ACP back in the 90s that was around the same size.

If you ever get attacked by a field mouse, the 2.7mm is your go to gun.

 

[MCgunner]

there's the 2.7mm kolibri.

Oh, yeah, I just thought about that thing. More of a trinket, but as I understand it, it functions. Wiki says it's the smallest....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_mm_Kolibri

 

[heeler]

I looked at a little German made 25 auto a couple of years ago that a lady at work asked if I wanted to buy from her Uncles estate.
It was a brand name called a PIC.
Could not find any info on it and it was pretty much rough anyway so I passed on it.
But it was tiny.

 

[Texan Scott]

C&L, nice colt, but the sap is b-e-a-utiful... and sadly, illegal to carry in Texas... they trust me with hot fast lead, but not slow cold lead...

 

[Loosedhorse]

If the character in your book is a cool dude he should probably carry a Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 acp.

It was that pistol that our ol' pal Dieudonné Saive redesigned into the simpler (and smaller) Baby Browning.

Of course, if you like cool, nothing quite like the pistol the Colt 1908 was modeled on, the original FN 1906 Triple Sûreté:

BTW, OP: neither these guns nor the Baby Browning should be carried with a round in the chamber. If your character knows guns, he'll know that.

The big advantage of the PSA pistol compared to the Colt or Kolibri is that it is (I think) currently in production.

 

[GCBurner]

Author Alistair MacLean gave his characters a 4.25mm Liliput in a couple of spy novels, calling it "the smallest effective automatic pistol" available. I don't know how effective it would actually be, but it worked in the books. The .17 calibre FMJ bullet generated 17 foot-pounds of muzzle energy at 810 feet-per-second.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliput_pistol

Adolph Hitler's Liliput, at the West Point Museum.