Back in the 60's, I found a disproportionate number of miscreants carrying and using the .25 automatic, which was a revelation for me. I carried one fellow to the hospital ER three different times over a period of a few years. He had a proclivity for spending time in women's bedrooms who were married to other men!
Each time, after which the bullet(s) that struck him were still present in his body or had passed through, none of them hitting anything seriously important. He got cleaned up, disinfected, given a shot of strong antibiotic as well as a tetanus shot, and a big bandaid placed on entrance and exit wounds, and was released to me for further handling. The guy was pretty matter of fact about each incident, indicating that it was part of the risk he was willing to take. He was harmless as a fly, but just about as persistent in his activities.
I came to understand at the time that the reason the .25 auto was preferred was because the little semi autos, especially the higher quality ones, were pretty reliable shooters and they could be carried and hidden just about anywhere as opposed to most other handguns. I also arrested two different women later on in the 70's/80's who were carrying a small .25 auto. One had hers tucked up underneath the leg of her long line girdle, which a lot of women wore in those days. Had I not searched her legs seriously about as high up as I was willing to reach, I would have missed it, but when I felt it, it was immediately obvious. The second woman was also thoroughly searched, but her .25 auto was not found until the matron at the jail performed a body cavity search looking for the drugs we suspected she was carrying. What a surprise! Seems to me that it would have been somewhat uncomfortable, but maybe comforting!
For the record, I was also involved in additional shooting incidents where a .25 auto was responsible for the death of individuals. My observation, which we oft read and hear, is that it is fairly important where one lands the bullets they fire. Those .25 caliber rounds that struck something seriously important after sufficient penetration was achieved did the job as well as any other caliber.
I don't recall seeing any handgun that was not sufficiently accurate enough to allow hits that were likely to be effective at close range. I do, however, recall seeing quite a lot of both small revolvers and semi autos that were of such poor construction that they were more likely not to launch a round than they were to fire one. Those were certainly not recommended for serious social encounters, but you could get 'em cheap! Back in the day, a nice copy of a baby Browning .25 auto was the choice of a good many LEO's as a BUG. It was fairly common to see the outline of one that rode in the officer's hip pocket and which had left a mark on the outer material of the trousers similar to the ring that a snuff can leaves when carried in a hip pocket.
First order of importance is to have a gun, and the second thing necesary is being able to land the rounds you fire in the best place. There are other things that then affect the outcome, particularly the time necessary for serious incapcitation. What ever you carry, make sure it works well and that you can shoot it well. After that, carry what you can use the best for your particular abilities. Remember too that as you get older, your choices will have to change at some point in time! A man's gotta know his limitations, you know?
