Can the 25 ACP be taken seriously?

[Packard]

A friend of the shooter told me this story.

A big guy picked a bar fight with the shooter, who put 7 25ACP rounds into his chest, instead of his face. This pissed the big guy off and he broke the shooters back in the fight. All 7 rounds were found lodged in the chest muscles. None penetrated into the chest cavity.

That was a tactical error and not a fault of the gun or the ammo.

I carried a Beretta .25 single action only for several years. I practiced "lacing up", that is the first shot to the chest, then next shot a couple of inches up, and then another a couple of inches up. By the time the gun was empty you showed all the rounds in a single line starting with the chest and ending with a shot to the forehead. The neck and nose shots were going to be very effective.

The sights were minimal but so was recoil and it was easy to make accurate placement.

You don't even need heavy muscles to stop a .25, a heavy jacket or a leather one might do as well. So you have to know the limitations and adopt tactics that work for that round.

I never had a failure to fire or a failure to feed with the .25 so I consider it preferable to a .22.

 

[andyo5]

I regard this kind of weapon as something to carry when you just are not able to carry something more powerful. It is a belly gun for close quarters use only.

 

[Packard]

I regard this kind of weapon as something to carry when you just are not able to carry something more powerful. It is a belly gun for close quarters use only.

I agree. When I carried my .25 Beretta there were no other options in that physical size.

Nowadays there are .32 and .380 guns that are physically the same size as the .25 Beretta and in my opinion they make the .25 obsolete.

If I really wanted a small, small gun to carry I would probably get a Kel-tec P-32. It is about half the weight of the Beretta .25 and significantly more powerful.

See: Smallest Guns

 

[italiansport]

This Browning Vest Pocket(The predecessor to the Baby Browning) was a recent acquisition. I got it from an elderly lady whose father had bought it new in 1908. I showed it to Anthony Vanderlinden the Browning authority who declared it "in museum quality condition". The fitted suede pouch is very rare and also in excellent condition for 107 years old. The pistol itself is in virtually brand new condition.
Jim

 

[cmort666]

I take seriously anything which could kill me. I don't want to be shot AT ALL, whether it be with a .25acp or a .500 A-Square.

Would I RELY UPON a .25acp to protect me? Not in a million years. I have no confidence in the .32acp as a primary self-defense cartridge. .25acp is definitely on the wrong side of that equation.

 

[ibewbull]

I just need to mention one step down from the .25 ACP in an an auto is the over under derringer with hammer. It is not a good choice by any standard.
I thought I would need to use one once and Thank God I did not.
Then I traded it for a 8mm Mauser adding $100.I am glad it is gone.

 

[labworm]

I like my Beretta 21A .25 cal which I purchased in 1990 and still have.

How did this thread get revived?

 

[Cocked & Locked]

One more of the little Colt...

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

Dang it C&L!! Now I need to get a little Colt.

 

[Packard]

I just need to mention one step down from the .25 ACP in an an auto is the over under derringer with hammer. It is not a good choice by any standard.
I thought I would need to use one once and Thank God I did not.
Then I traded it for a 8mm Mauser adding $100.I am glad it is gone.

I had one of the first High Standard over/under derringers in .22 magnum.

At 10 feet the bullets would keystone and you'd see a profile of the bullet through the paper target. Once it started keystoning there was no telling where the bullet would end up.

Also out of every box of bullets I had two or three failures to fire.

With only two shots to start with that was a scary failure rate. I sent it back to H-S twice but no improvement.

With two shots available it was possible that both might be duds. I traded in the gun.

I am no longer an "early adopter". My .380 AMT was similarly unreliable--and I had to wait 6 months for it to come in.

 

[Packard]

I like my Beretta 21A .25 cal which I purchased in 1990 and still have.

How did this thread get revived?

I liked the earlier version even better (single action only). It was thinner and had a better trigger.

DeSantis was a young company back then and I bought a shoot through wallet holster from him. He did not take into account that side mount magazine release and invariably when I removed the "wallet" from my pocket the magazine would drop out.

For years I would not buy any DeSantis products because he failed to field test anything. He'd make a sample and try it out in the shop and then go into production.

In any case I think the side mount magazine release is an issue that has to be addressed whenever buying a wallet holster for the Beretta. Some extra "breathing space" is needed around the release. On my wallet, he simply punched a hole where the magazine release was located. He did not recall any of the holsters that were out there however.

 

[wbraswell]

This is a Colt .25 automatic, the most wimpy handgun in the world, and it can blow your thumbnail clean off. Do you feel lucky, PUNK?

I have a Browning 1905, a Browning Baby, and the "damned" Beretta 418. I'd like to get a Colt 1908. But I'm not shooting at anything alive with one.

 

[Fastbolt]

Old thread.

I've got a Titan FIE in the safe from many years ago when I bought it from another cop who ordered some on his FFL (cost $35, I think). It stopped feeding and cycling properly sooner than the Jennings .22 I ordered from the same FFL.

Anyway, the advantage of the .25 ACP is that it's a center-fire cartridge. It seems the ammo makers can more easily (and consistently) make rounds which feed and function in a number of the little guns for which it's chambered. The disadvantage is the potential level of ballistic performance when fired from watch pocket guns.

The disadvantage of the .22LR is in the design, manufacturing and method of priming. The soft lead and wax seems to more quickly foul a little gun, too. The advantage of the .22LR, even when fired from an itty bitty watch fob pistol, is that it can apparently penetrate, perforate and otherwise cause wounding which can be lethal.

Pick your balance of advantage/disadvantage in whatever manner best suits your perceived needs, but bear in mind that both are probably more akin to being a "repeating ice pic" (I acknowledge borrowing this description from a gentleman on another gun forum) than a more capable defensive caliber. The .22LR might have a deeper reach to its ice pick-like nature.

I guess the easiest way to convey my personal opinion, is that while I still own that Titan .25 (which will one day be submitted to be melted down, if I can ever remember it's in the safe), I'll never again carry it, or buy one.

I will, however, carry my little NAA .22LR (and the new .22MAG version I just bought) in those circumstances where I consider the possible risk assessment to be such that I don't feel I'll need to be armed ... but still want to have an "Onion Field" type weapon, other than a blade, on my person.

FWIW, the nicest feeling and functioning little .25 I ever tried was a Seecamp. It was the smaller watch pocket gun a friend carried to complement his Rolex (when he wasn't carrying his Seecamp .32 ). I thought it was odd how the Seecamp could make the .25 recoil like a larger caliber, though.

Anyway, some owners might well consider the nicer .25's to be gentleman's pocket jewelry (but let's not forget the ladies who had them), but I'd sooner have a little less "distinguished" watch pocket .22LR, under most circumstances.

 

[Moe Mentum]

its better than a .22, not my first choice, I would go with nothing less than a .380

 

[rmcnelly]

Found a 950BS recently and love it.

 

[Magload]

Yes.

I love that ad.

The bear went down before the second box of ammo ran out. The bear didn't weigh that much before the shooting started.

 

[dogngun]

Perfect response. Either that or "here, let me shoot you in the face (or fill in the blank body part) 7 times and we will see if this should be taken seriously. I don't carry one except as a backup but it beats swear words and a mean disposition.

Grumpa72...I'm 68 and I USE swear words and occasionally my disposition is not sunny...
I have an old SA Beretta Bobcat, with the safety - 950 BS - that has occasionally gone around with me for a little extra...It is very safe to carry cocked and locked, and is actually pretty accurate.
I had a small collection of .25's that I mostly sold off, but I kept a 1926 Astra - their first model - and that old Beretta...because it has NEVER failed.



"It works" is my first qualification for a carry gun of any kind.

Added - I also have a pair of Keltec P32's that get more carry time than the .25 now...

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

Heck I might as well throw in some eye candy of my new baby.

Beretta Model 20.


Don't think it will get carried except to and from the range but she sure is a sweety.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Dang that's a shiny little Beretta! Nice.

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

Dang that's a shiny little Beretta! Nice.

She might not be as classy as your 1908 Vest, but she has nice look.