.25 ACP roundup and range test

"Apparently a lot of people carried a .25 auto. I remember seeing a photo of the contents of David Crosby's pocket during his pre liver transplant days, a little Colt .25 was part of his daily routine.
Regards,
turnerriver" Quote.

Yes a lot of people used to carry .25s and a lot of people still do. People
who are not real gun enthusiasts and members of gun discussion forums
that is. A gun is a gun to many people and they don't have or want to
spend upwards of $1,000 for a gun to stick in their pocket when a small
light .25 auto can be bought for $100 or less and is a real gun that will
kill an attacker. I remember an article about the .25 auto in an issue
of the American Rifleman a while back. At that time .25 auto pistol sales
per year were higher than all other center fire auto pistols combined.
I don't know if that's still the situation but the fact is that the little .25
is indeed a real gun that will kill an attacker.
 
LimaCharlie said:
I purchased a Colt 1908 Hammerless .25 Vest Pocket that was shipped in 1915. We took it to the gun club. I put two of six rounds in the bull's eye at ten yards with all shots on paper. I thought I did good. My wife put four of six rounds in the bull's eye and announced it was her gun now.
Click to expand...
I've had a couple of the vest pocket models, and found their accuracy amazing for what they are.

I once had one of the Astra made Colt 25s with a hammer, and could throw it more accurately than I was able to shoot it.
 
Fun little pistols but I doubt I'll ever own another. I had a DAO CZ45 that I thought was perfect but gave it to a longtime friend(who also thinks the CZ is perfect). Found another very nice example on GB about six months back and considered flexing my C&R muscles to refill the hole in the collection,........until it was bid up over $900. I'd paid well under a hundred for my first one. Then I found a nice looking example at a local gunshow for $400 and I was going to pop for that one until I found out why it was four hundred. Flipped it over and found the offside was cratered and pitted like the far side of the moon. Since no other .25 is going to live up to the CZ and they seem to be priced in the stratosphere,.......I don't expect to ever own another .25.
 
Not the first time I have related this, but Joe Stalin's personal executioner, Vasily Mikhailovich Blokhin, killed many thousands of his boss's enemies using a single shot from a .25 Walther (actually he had a briefcase full of them) to the back of the head.
 
alwslate said:
The supposed superiority of the .22 LR is based on performance
of the .22 from longer barrels. When the .22 LR and .25 ACP
50 gr FMJ are compared from identical barrel length pistols
the .25 easily beats the .22 for penetration and energy. I used
to have an old copy of the American Rifleman magazine in
which the NRA proved this in a side by side test. It may still be
around here somewhere. I have tested both rounds in the
same short barrel length and the .25 comes out way ahead
in penetration in pine and wet newsprint.
Click to expand...

Good points. Some folks are 'seduced' by the lesser cost of .22LR ammo compared to the .25ACP. They fail to take into account that the .25, as a CF round, is more reliable and probably of higher mfg'g quality. The price difference used to be significant years ago, when .22LR ran $1 for 50 and the .25 cost at least $5 per box. I now see .25 in WM for $25 or so (I don't keep up on .22RF pricing).

I really wish there were more .25s, but the Ruger LCPs at the same approximate size have probably sounded the death knell for any new .25s. Sad.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
I've owned for many years and carry as my back up gun, an Iver Johnson double action .25acp pocket pistol. It's an excellent little shooter and surprisingly accurate. I have used several different varieties of 50 grn. fmj bullets without issue. I recently picked up a couple of boxes of Hornady's critical defense ammo to carry loaded in it.
 
Last edited:
RSBH44 said:
I've owned for many years and carry as my back up gun, an Iver Johnson double action .25acp pocket pistol. It's an excellent little shooter and surprisingly accurate. I have used several different varieties of 50 grn. fmj bullets without issue. I recently picked up a couple of boxes of Hornady's critical defense ammo to carry loaded in it.
Click to expand...

Like this one?
 

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kaaskop49 said:
Good points. Some folks are 'seduced' by the lesser cost of .22LR ammo compared to the .25ACP. They fail to take into account that the .25, as a CF round, is more reliable and probably of higher mfg'g quality. The price difference used to be significant years ago, when .22LR ran $1 for 50 and the .25 cost at least $5 per box. I now see .25 in WM for $25 or so (I don't keep up on .22RF pricing).

I really wish there were more .25s, but the Ruger LCPs at the same approximate size have probably sounded the death knell for any new .25s. Sad.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
Click to expand...

You're right. Technology has advanced making the small
polymer frame .380s the new .25 auto and FMJ .380 ammo is
cheaper and more available than .25 ammo. But there are
still some very cheap .25s available and they should be cheap.
But I doubt many companies are interested in developing new
high quality forged steel .25s for double the cost of an LCP.
Truth is I haven't carried one of my .25s for a while now but
I enjoy getting one out for a little backyard plinking now and
then. I still enjoy the quality of my old forged steel Astra Cubs
and pre war Berettas.
 
But I doubt many companies are interested in developing new
high quality forged steel .25s for double the cost of an LCP.
Click to expand...

That is likely true but PSA sells all it can make as far as I can tell. They start at around $700 and I know for a fact that the company donated two highly engraved ones to the Dallas Safari Club auction held this past weekend. Gold inlay, probably ivory or some kind of "natural" stocks, etc. Nobody will ever shoot them. I'd say MSRP for the pair was close to $7000.

So, in this case, although developing a "new, high quality forged steel .25" is unlikely, one already exists - the PSA Baby Browning is exactly that, a high quality, forged steel .25 caliber pistol. They also come in aluminum or maybe some other lightweight alloys.

As I noted elsewhere, as far as I am aware, they sell plenty in Europe. I am not sure why.
 
I'll play!

I have two .25's, one is a Derringer that my grandmother carried when she was a probate judge for 30+ years in Cartersville Georgia. I'll have to grab a pic of that one the next time the safe is open.

The other is a 950BS, in the very rare Stainless Steel configuration. The stainless models were only produced for I think one year, and were extremely limited in production. I snagged this one off Backpage for what a well used blued one would cost and love pocket carrying it in the summer. It replaced my LCP.

As others have mentioned it digests all ammo, and I've found that Aguila and Winchester FMJs are pretty hot. With the single action trigger, accuracy is excellent and recoil is non existent. I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon. It wears these grips most of the time but I do throw on the originals for carry.

SVT28



 
Cyrano said:
Like this one?
Click to expand...

That's the one!! I bought it BNIB 25 or so years ago from a shop that unfortunately was going out of business at the time.
Unfortunate for them, very fortunate for me. I believe I paid $100 out the door.
 
All because of this thread!

After first reading this thread I took the notion to buy a couple boxes of .25ACP, dig up my Colt Vest Pocket, and try my hand at it.

Well, today I did it. I fired 5 magazines of .25ACP at a dangerous diet ginger ale can. (Yeah, I'm getting really old. It wasn't a beer can.)

I'm proud to say the little pistol performed flawlessly. No malfunctions whatever. And the can took more hits than misses! Range was about 20 feet.

Here's a look at my little Vest Pocket, all cleaned up after its morning romp and ready to go back into the big green safe.

IMG_0335.JPG


IMG_0334.JPG


No collection is complete without a Colt Vest Pocket.

Curl
 
DWalt said:
As I remember, James Bond originally carried a Beretta .25 until "M" required him to use the .32 Walther PPK.
Click to expand...

That is correct. A Model 418 Beretta .25 ACP in the novels, which probably were written before the development of the 950/Jetfire. Not sure what they literally showed in the Dr. No movie.

In the books 007 gets two guns to replace the Beretta, a Walther PPK and a J frame. In the movie he just gets the PPK.
 
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