So... What good IS the .25 ACP???

[Echo40]

The biggest issue with .25 ACP in the modern era is that there are now pistols of similar size and weight to the .25 pocket pistol of old chambered in .32 ACP and .380 ACP, so there's just no valid reason to carry a .25 ACP anymore unless that's all you have and can't afford to upgrade.
Heck, even then you could probably trade in whatever .25 pocket pistol you have in exchange for something more recent. Bud's is selling Ruger LCPs for under $200 right now.

 

[H Richard]

My case is very similar, have the "just because". A Baby Browning and a 1910 Mauser. (don't happen to have a pic of the 1910).

 

[murphydog]

They are good for writing excellent historical articles for publication.

Seriously, I am not in a situation in which ultra-deep concealment is an issue but hitting a target at some distance might be.

 

[JayFramer]

I think they’re pretty nifty, but not my choice for carry very often. I have been known to stick one in my pocket for running to the mailbox though:

If you think of it as the rough equivalent of 9 deep stabs with a 1/4” screwdriver into an attacker’s face or chest, that you can deliver from across the room, it’s not too bad really.

 

[Krogen]

There have been and probably always will be discussions about the cartridge and its use. I look at it differently. For me, those old peashooters come from a time long past. It's about history and being a portal to the past. As an example, I have my Mom's old Victoria .25 ACP. Truly, it's a junker. It's well worn, one grip doesn't match the other. It was a cheap gun to begin with and went downhill from there. I can't hit the broadside of a barn from inside. It may be more painful to the shooter that the target. But it belonged to Mom. She carried it in her purse for years. I assume it gave her comfort, but arguably inadequate protection. Still, it has a story like most all old guns.

 

[OLDSTER]

I own this neat little ca. 1922 German Ortgies .25acp. Fun to shoot, and very interesting and unique design displaying fine early German engineering and machining. These fine pistols ( .25, .32, & small number in.380) were made for only 6 years, and fell victim to post WWI politics.

 

[Stevie]

Nothing wrong with the .25acp....it's just a small cartridge in small guns.

Years ago my father had a scrapper Dodge car in the pasture that had bullet holes in it. I shot some more holes in it with various pistols/pistol calibers. The .25 auto will penetrate two layers of door steel and into the opposite door if it doesn't hit something like a window regulator or other thick parts inside the door. The .25 pistol used was a Bauer with like a two inch barrel and I thought it did well compared to larger handguns in bigger calibers. For shooting derelict Dodges the P08 Luger in 9mm was king....poorest car penetrator was a Ruger Single-Six .22LR with 5.5 inch barrel....the .38 Special and .45acp were about equals punching Dodge door steel...

 

[THEmodelof1989]

Unless the wind shifts.............
99%+ of all encounters end without a shot being fired; the mere presence of a gun tends to stop things quickly for most scenarios. I'll take the .25 over pepper spray.

El oh el

I LOVE it when people make up statistics to argue against my point. 99%+huh? Erroneous. Straight bull-ogney. Cite your source please.

I led you to the water, but I'm not forcing you to drink it. I only have extensive, modern, law enforcement experience. From said experience, pepper spray works excellent even in windy conditions at the proper range. If you don't trust yourself to be able to use it effectively; don't use it.

 

[mikerjf]

I’ve heard it described as driving 9 pencils into someone... ow!

Read a couple stories online where a persons life was saved because they had their Jetfire on them. One, involving a samauri sword, is worth searching out and reading. Basically the guys counter gun was out of reach and his office gun was apart for cleaning. He didn’t even remember the “useless” Jetfire in his pocket until the fight had gone on a while. And it saved his life.

 

[LPD256]

My Grandfather was a car dealer and in the late ‘40’s he traded a car for a Colt .25 vest pocket pistol with a traveling salesman that needed a way to get home. It stayed in his sock drawer for about 50 years, unloaded and unfired. I inherited it when he passed and my son will get it when I croak. A fun little family story.

 

[TTSH]

Back in the good old days, my Beretta 950 Jetfire was the one gun I could bring to work and no one ever saw it or suspected a thing. While not exactly a powerhouse, it made me feel very confident about walking to/from my office to the garage where I parked my car... a garage in a dangerous neighborhood where many from my office had been mugged after work. Often, I walked with another employee who was carrying his .25 too... so it's fair to say that the mugger dude would have had a terrible day trying to jump us.

But now my trusty old Beretta 950 Jetfire is retired, replaced with .380 and 9mm mouse guns in plastic. Such is the world today.

 

[clang444]

Look up Vasily Blokhin.

He killed thousands of people with a .25ACP Walther Model 2.

 

[BC38]

The .25 is really only good as a BUG or for the most deep concealment scenarios. Even then it is really only good as a GOMA (Get Off Me... Airhead) gun at contact range. Put the muzzle in your attacker's ear, nostril, or eye socket and pull the trigger repeatedly until hostile actions cease.

For less determined or courageous assailants, even the sight of a tiny little mouse gun can effectively deflect an attack. Even those with a good deal more perseverance can be deterred by punching a few quarter-inch holes in their person.

Truth be told, when dealing with a really determined attacker, NO pistol caliber round is going to stop them instantly unless you can manage a CNS hit, and if you can accomplish that feat, even with a mouse gun caliber, it will almost certainly be quite effective.

The biggest issue with .25 ACP in the modern era is that there are now pistols of similar size and weight to the .25 pocket pistol of old chambered in .32 ACP and .380 ACP, so there's just no valid reason to carry a .25 ACP anymore unless that's all you have and can't afford to upgrade.
Heck, even then you could probably trade in whatever .25 pocket pistol you have in exchange for something more recent. Bud's is selling Ruger LCPs for under $200 right now.

To the best of my knowledge there is no .32 or .380 as small as this little baby (or rather COPY of a baby - baby Browning that is) but feel free to show me that I am wrong about that. I have a number of carry guns, but this is the only gun I own that will tuck into the watch pocket of my jeans!

Overall the lowly .25 acp is better than no gun at all - certainly better than a harsh word or a sharp stick...

 

[THEmodelof1989]

To the best of my knowledge there is no .32 or .380 as small as this little baby...

Just off the top of my head, the keltec p32 and p380 come to mind.

I think the p32 is both the lightest and thinnest pocket pistol on the market, but someone may want to fact check ME on that.

Here is a p32 next to a s&w escort.

 

[TTSH]

To the best of my knowledge there is no .32 or .380 as small as this little baby (or rather COPY of a baby - baby Browning that is) but feel free to show me that I am wrong about that. I have a number of carry guns, but this is the only gun I own that will tuck into the watch pocket of my jeans!

The Seecamp probably comes closest. I've debated getting one, but every time I do, I read something bad about reliability of the new Southwick, MA ones and then I decide to stick with my Bodyguard .380 or LCP II.

 

[mikerjf]

The real problem with 25's isn't the caliber.

Most of them fall into 3 classes:
1. Striker-fired; Baby Browning, Bauer, Jennings, et al.
2. Tip-ups; Jetfire, Taurus PT-25
3. "Regular" autos; Colt Jr, FIE Titan, etc.

I don't feel safe carrying a striker-fired with a round in the chamber - you're depending on pretty small pieces of metal between the safety and the striker catch. I've read of a Baby Browning going off "by itself"... in the pocket of a coat hanging in the closet! Striker catch failed. Your alternative to this risk is carrying empty chamber, meaning you have to rack a tough-spring blowback slide *and* have the thing not misfeed the first round before you can fire.

The tip-ups are a good solution to the tough slide springs... until you have a dud. You can flip up the barrel and (hopefully) send the dud flying, but that isn't getting another good round in the chamber. I can't rack the slide on a Jetfire, too small and too much spring. They don't usually have an extractor so you have to hope the dud comes out. (And despite all the reliability talk, I've had a couple dud 25's... not as many as 22's, but a few.)

The "regular" automatics, if you can handle the slide springs, would be ok as long as they have inertial firing pins or a decent cocked-n-locked safety - which some don't! So check that out for safe carry.

Really, the only 25 I find safe and reasonable to carry is the CZ v45... a "regular" hammer-fired automatic with an inertial pin and an extractor and double-action to avoid having to thumb-cock on the draw.

With all this and the caliber, I think a J frame is a great idea.

 

[Wise_A]

I’m sure someone will chime in with “If you shoot someone with one and they find out...”, and “I’d rather have a hatchet”, and the usual nonsense.

I'd rather have a .380, which is the same size, costs less, and is more reliable?

Better than nothing? Sure. A terrible, nonsensical novelty choice? You bet.

 

[BC38]

Just off the top of my head, the keltec p32 and p380 come to mind.

I think the p32 is both the lightest and thinnest pocket pistol on the market, but someone may want to fact check ME on that.

Here is a p32 next to a s&w escort.

Nope, not even close.

Keltec P32 dimensions: 5.1"L x 3.5"H x .75"W
Baby Browning dimensions: 4.1"L x 2.5"H x .75"W

So the P32 is the same thickness but a full inch longer and an inch taller than the Baby.

Putting that in other terms the P32 is 25% longer, 40% taller and the same thickness.

The Baby literally fits in my jeans watch pocket. The Keltec will barely fit in a large shirt pocket.

AFIK, the Baby Browning design is about the smallest multi shot pistol ever built in a common caliber and sold in mass quantity.

The Seecamp probably comes closest. I've debated getting one, but every time I do, I read something bad about reliability of the new Southwick, MA ones and then I decide to stick with my Bodyguard .380 or LCP II.

Yeah the Seecamp is probably closest
Seecamp dimensions: 4.25"L x 3.25"H x .75"W
But even it is 5% longer and 30% taller.
Though to get a .380 caliber for that small size increase is a pretty powerful argument in its favor.
The other drawback to the Seecamp is the cost. A .32 costs over twice what I paid for my little Bauer - and the semi-rare .380 version is even more expensive than that - more like three times what I paid for my Bauer.

 

[mikerjf]

I think the Walther 9 and it's clone the Bernardelli are a little smaller, but basically the same thing.

However, if you'll consider a revolver, the NAA 22lr fits in a watch pocket as well.

 

[ShivasIrons]

I am in the A gun is better than no gun camp.

1) I was in a class with a guy that was shot by a .25ACP. It was a fight stopper in that case. He headed for the nearest ER ASAP.

2) I often hike with a friend and have a bad leg myself. I carry my Beretta 21, so I can shoot my friend in in the knee in case we are attacked by a bear. I do not have to be faster than the bear. Only faster than my buddy.