Nice looking pix...thanks for posting.

MOONDAWG

quote:

He's not the "brightest bulb in the package" is he?

Tends not to be. He confirmed what I should have known: Never sell a gun that you didn't originally buy with the intention of selling (trading is OK) because you'll regret it.

Never GIVE a gun to family. I also gave my father-in-law a brand new blue Walther PPK/S because he said .380 was the biggest caliber he he would carry regularly. He keeps that one under the seat of his car and carries a WWII Italian .25acp in his shirt pocket. He couldn't even tell me what make it was. This was after a year of talking about guns and getting his CCW for protection. He says the .25 is all he needs around the neighborhood and in the woods in case any wild dogs give him problems. I guess inasmuch as one purpose of a CCW gun is to make you feel more confident, he's doing OK. But if he just wanted a noisemaker, I would have given him one of those freon horns they use at the hockey games.

check out the naaminis.com forum...guys over there focus on mouse guns..basically the opinion is that 25 is the wimpiest cal...some guys would prefer going down to a 22 rather than the 25...that said i carry a 32 all the time and with the proper ammo and the element of surprise, it just might let me escape a bad situation.
Every time i think i need to ditch my mouse gun, I read a story like the one here last year where a bad guy shot 2 armed/uniformed leos who were on a domestic distrubance call...he pegged both officers and killed them with a 32. my 32 is a DAO and at 15 feet, in a rush...I might get lucky and hit the target. Reality, it's a last resort, bellie puncher. It's a surprise pull, a loud report, and might be enough to deter someone from killing me or allow me to get to a bigger gun or safety.
my wife carries a colt govt 380. A wonderful round, a wonderful gun. I can shoot well with it at any distance that I would shoot a full sized pistol. But carrying a small 1911 style gun like a mustang in cocked n locked is unnerving for me. Colt did make a 380 pony DAO though..worth a look but whatever you decide...practice like crazy. Mouse guns are much more trouble. Reliability, limp wrist sensitive, aiming, and simply getting a grip and handling the thing on draw from deep conceal..practice practice a lot with it.

quote:

Originally posted by boomstick:
[QUOTE] He's not the "brightest bulb in the package" is he?

quote:

Never GIVE a gun to family.

I agree. I lent an Iver Johnson TP22 to my older brother (the alcoholic.) After he traipsed around the west (from Oregon to Arizona, and back.) Upon asking where it went he gave me several stories about how it had been stolen by a "friend." I believe that he sold it so that he could feed his alcohol habit. Never again!

Scott

It is clear he .25 is no cannon, but it beats a fist or pocket knife every time.

I sometime carried a Baby Browning .25 over a 30 year period, and was glad I had it. Fortunately, I never had to use it.

Now I carry a KEL-TEC .32 more often.

JERRY

They have some new .25 hollow point pills. A shot at a water filled plastic jug will confrim the rip power of the little slug. I carry a 1908 on occasion-and if I had to use it, I would shoot and scoot. A bad guy could knife you before he bled to death.

If I was forced to use .25 ACP hollow point ammunition I'd almost be afraid it WOULD open up. I'd be worried that it would stop before it got to the vitals. For effectiveness, an expanding .25 ACP projectile is still far beneath a .38 158 grain SWC or, goodness of goodness, a .45 ACP. It'd be one round where expansion could very well work against the user rather than the usee. If it opened up in the fore arm of the assailant, on his breast bone, on his skull, or in the lining of his jacket, then things could go hard for the person who armed himself with the .25. The .25 ACP bullet would appear to me to need all the help it can get to get "inside". Deep "inside".

I'm no fan of the .25 ACP for serious self-defense but I could use it to better effect at a distance beyond my capabilities with a pocket knife or fist. I'd prefer the .25 to either as well.

quote:

If I was forced to use .25 ACP hollow point ammunition I'd almost be afraid it WOULD open up. I'd be worried that it would stop before it got to the vitals.

+1.

quote:

Originally posted by Erich:

quote:

If I was forced to use .25 ACP hollow point ammunition I'd almost be afraid it WOULD open up. I'd be worried that it would stop before it got to the vitals.

+1.

Me too. Thats why I won't carry anything smaller than a .38 spl. If I needed a really small concealable gun, I would get a small large caliber derringer. I would be afraid that after emptying a .25 cal clip into an attacker, that all I would have accomplished is really pissing him off.

I've toted a .25 a few times over the years. Weird how it provides a measure of comfort while one doesn't feel to good about it at the same time.

quote:

Originally posted by Erich:

quote:

If I was forced to use .25 ACP hollow point ammunition I'd almost be afraid it WOULD open up. I'd be worried that it would stop before it got to the vitals.

+1.

I'll buy that, Erich! I have learned my lesson about using expanding ammunitionon any handgun caliber less powerful than either a 9mm Parabellum or .32 H&R Magnum. The answer is: USE HOT BALL AMMUNITION ONLY!

Scott

For those who pack one, it's your life and do what you have to. What happens when the scumbag you have a moment of truth with is packing a 9mm or a 40 S&W? I would never carry a 25 when there are guns like the Ruger LCP available.

I totally agree, Animalmother. I think of the .25 the same that I think of my NAA .22s, they are a deep concealment BUG and nothing else.

quote:

Originally posted by gunfan:

quote:

Originally posted by Erich:

quote:

If I was forced to use .25 ACP hollow point ammunition I'd almost be afraid it WOULD open up. I'd be worried that it would stop before it got to the vitals.

+1.

I'll buy that, Erich! I have learned my lesson about using expanding ammunitionon any handgun caliber less powerful than either a 9mm Parabellum or .32 H&R Magnum. The answer is: USE HOT BALL AMMUNITION ONLY!

Scott

You can count me in the nonexpanding camp when dealing with .32 ACP or less. My experience with Speer's excellent (as far as a .380 goes) .380 Gold Dot leaves me quite satisfied that it is a good penetrator. I fired two rounds into Perma-Gel from a P3AT at a range of about two feet. Round #1 was into bare gel. One petal folded out, one folded in and one sheared off. The rest of the bullet's nose was pretty much like it had been before the bullet was fired. It was recovered at 17" base forward (basically a wadcutter at that point). The recovered weight was 87.6 gr. Round #2 Same gun/distance, but through four layers of denim. 13" penetration, rec. dia. .442 recovered base forward. Rec. wt. 89.6 gr.

Obviously we all have different ideas about what adequate penetration is. I thought I'd throw this out for those interested. There are also .380 Gold Dot/P3AT 10% gel tests at www.stoppingpower.net and the results were consistent with mine.

If I don't pay too much for the Excam, I'm going to get a bit of practice in with the little pistol. While spending a little less than $20 per box is a bit frustrating, it will be worth it if, at 3 feet, I can place a 50-grain FMJ "pill" directly in someone's eye socket. That should get the job done.

Scott

I will sometimes carry a 1908 Colt 25ACP in a pocket holster,when it is very warm.I load it with Hornady 35 gr JHP/XTP bullets.They are with question very short range guns.