Bauer .25 Auto

[VAPA]

I am looking at a LNIB Bauer 25 auto, my research tells me it was a quality copy of the "Baby Browing" the fellow is asking $350, are these a desirable/collectable mouse gun?
Any information would be appreciated.

 

[Erich]

I've never seen that they're very collectible, and think they're not likely to ever become so. Almost all of the ones I've seen have functioned okay (I recall there was one that was having issues that I thought might have been magazine related). They were made to an attractive standard. I'd advise you to look at recently completed sales on Gunbroker to determine whether the price makes sense.

 

[mikerjf]

Baby Browning copy, possible weak point is the frame up by the south end of the firing pin - some have cracked off. Quality is good, not real collectible AFAIK, and being striker-fired I’d hesitate to carry it with a loaded chamber.

 

[s&wchad]

I’ve go one. The were made about 30 miles away in Fraser, Michigan. It functions OK if properly lubed, but it’s a pretty useless gun and the sights are virtually nonexistent. I wouldn’t carry one with the chamber loaded. I wouldn’t carry one at all, if I had any other options. The Beretta 21A is a better gun, but it is bigger. It’s also fairly useless.

I don’t know what they’re currently going for, but I wouldn’t fork out $350.

 

[BC38]

I bought this one last year for around $200, so I wouldn't pay $350 for one myself.

I had a minor issue with some ammo not wanting to feed in an aftermarket mag, but with the original mag it functions well, and the quality level is high for a vestpocket gun.

I occasionally carry it as a BUG, and I carry with one in the pipe. But the safety is on, and it is in a molded pocket holster I made for it to cover both the trigger and the safety.

 

[VAPA]

Thanks for the advice, I will pass on it.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I had one. It worked fine. It was NOT as finely made as an Astra Firecat. I decided a cocked striker-fired gun did not belong in my pocket, so I have neither now.

 

[ralph7]

I had one as well, it functioned fine, but shot way high.
Think I sold it for $150 about 10 years ago.

 

[Old_Cop]

I looked at on a few months ago. It had just been sold and was not cleaned, dealer wanted $325. An interesting little gun, but I passed.

 

[Sgt 45]

Still have mine, BUT, it's a .25 and as Jeff Cooper once said, if you carry a .25 carry it unloaded because if it's loaded you may be tempted to shoot it, and if you shoot it you might hit someone and THAT will really get them mad at you.

 

[Aggie1906]

I bought one a few years ago. For a lot less than that. Mostly because I'm a JMB fan, and it is a copy made in Michigan. My mouse gun phase.
Cute. Cannot hit squat with it, but so what?
Little carry gun to me = LCP

 

[Gene L]

Before I'd pay $350 for a .25, it would have to have collector value.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

I bought a PSP 25, now called the PSA 25 (Precission Small Arms)about a year ago. It's the same basic pistol as the Bauer, but is actually made under license for FN and they are exported to Belguim for FN to sell there, and sell them here in the States too It's a better made pistol that the Bauer and very durable. I think I paid $275 NIB and got a box of American Eagle ammo with 6 rounds out of it that came with the pistol.

I really like shooting it and it's pretty accurate. But, as a defense pistol, 25 isn't much to write home about.

 

[BC38]

Yeah, the 25 isn't much for a defensive caliber.
I carry it as a GOMA (Get Off Me A******) gun.
I figure if I ever have to use it, I'll be sticking it in an attacker's ear or eye socket and pulling the trigger repeatedly until they're off me or it stops going bang.
FWIW, I think the baby Browning pattern pistols are about the smallest thing you can get that shoots a center fire cartridge. The only smaller thing I've ever seen that fires an actual bullet are a couple of little guns built on the same basic pattern but chambered for 22 short - which allows the gun to be a tiny bit smaller.

 

[2152hq]

The Bauer was all stainless steel and investment cast parts. The latter was 'the way' to do things at that time in firearms mfg.
Good or bad depended on the quality of the castings being done for you. Hardly anyone had their own casting facility. Ruger was about the only one.

The Bauers weren't too bad as far as overall quality and the asking price at the time. They were quite popular because of that. The orig Browning Baby 25 that they were a copy of were always several times their price.

They had some rough internal parts that didn't need any machining or little fitting from the investment cast phase,,so they didn't get any.
The outside got belt grinder polished on the frame and slide flats and the preliminary bead blasted prep usually left in the rounded and undercut areas. Not an unattractive look, but done to save labor and time.
Some were polished all over.

Like any mouse gun they could be picky about ammo.

I remember engraving more than a couple of them in the 80's when they were popular.
The investment cast frame and slide would sometimes expose a small hidden flaws when chiseling along. But that's something any investment cast part can surprise you with.
Ruger #1 levers were well known for that.

I do recall a number (5 or 6) of used ones for sale in a shop I worked in in the early 90's. They were in kind of a pile, in a display case at the very end of a bottom shelf.
They were all marked '$49.95 each. No returns/no guarantees/may be parts missing or damaged.'
I didn't bite.

Collectors gun?,,I don't think so,,but then I'm not a collector.
Some people collect matches,,so what do I know.

Asking price just seems a bit high to me.

 

[Gene L]

PSA .25s, if they're still being made are/were advertised to be hand made and were/are expensive. I WOULD give $300 for one. Some of them have grips marked Colt, as I think FN licensed them to do so. Maybe Browning. A few days ago, on another forum, a guy asked about the .25 Colts and a link was provided to PSA.

I used to carry a Beretta .25 single action a long time ago as a last resort backup when there weren't the small more-power choices there are today.

 

[Tex1001]

I bought 4 back in the '90s for about $40-$60 each. They are the best deep cover pistol around.
As cute as they are, I don't think that I would give $350 for one today.
Edit:
Guess I should add that I've tested 3 of them fairly extensively and they have no operational issues. Bauer and Browning magazines are fairly expensive when and if I find them.

 

[Grayfox]

I happen to like the so-called "mouse guns" and have several.

The Baby Browning and its clones probably are or at least one of the smallest quality pocket pistols ever made. You can hide one in a shirt pocket.

The Bauer was an un-licensed copy of the Baby Browning. Their big selling point was that it was made from stainless steel. At that time SS was still fairly new and becoming quite popular. Some where great and others just so-so. QC wasn't the greatest. However, most functioned just fine. Also, those pretty "pearl" grips were bad about cracking.
A Bauer in good shape would be worth about $200-250. But no more than that. They have no collector value.

As nutsforsmiths already mentioned, Precision Small Parts (PSP) now known as Precision Small Arms (PSA) makes an excellent copy of the Baby Browning. This is a licensed copy and I can't praise it enough. I'd buy a PSP-25 for $350 in a heartbeat.
I have both a true Baby Browning and an older PSP-25. Frankly, I think the PSP is a better gun.

 

[mikerjf]

I believe the Walther 9 and its close copy the Bernardelli VP were actually slightly smaller than the Browning. I had a VP, super cool little gun.

 

[BC38]

I believe the Walther 9 and its close copy the Bernardelli VP were actually slightly smaller than the Browning. I had a VP, super cool little gun.

BB - L=104mm, H=72mm, T=22.3mm
VP - L=106.5mm, H=69mm, T=20.5mm

So the VP is slightly longer, but the BB is slightly taller & thicker.