Confession time - let's see those .25 autos

[sigp220.45]

No shame here - I'm a big fan of the .25 auto.

My first was a Raven, and it was perfectly reliable. I traded it off, but soon had a Beretta 950. Once while I was in Rancho Cordova, CA, I was carrying it quite illegally. I was slowly flunking out of USAF navigator training at Mather, AFB, and went for a late night jog after a tough day of steady underperforming. A group of local yutes were in the process of crossing the street to intercept my lumbering course, no doubt to praise me for defending their freedom. I removed the little Beretta from my pocket and showed it to them like you'd show somebody the time on a pocket watch - hey, lookie what I have. The head yute stopped, grinned, gave me a little salute, and led his crew back to their side of the street.

I traded that one off, and was .25less for a while, until I got this lovely little FN 1905/1906, the same gun as a Colt Vest Pocket.

I carried it today when I went to the King Sooper to get a morning paper. I survived nicely.



It shoots well, and I have confidence in it.



So, please - I know most of you manly men wouldn't dream of carrying such an impotent little thing. I get it.

But I suspect I'm not the only forum fella who drops one of these into a pocket and sallies forth into the mean streets. Or maybe I am.

Any other .25 toters out there?

 

[ColbyBruce]

I have owned a Raven, several Berettas, a couple of Gillessi's, a Stering, and a HK 4 with .22, .25, .32, and .380 barrels and mags. The .25 shot very well in that HK 4.

 

[PALADIN85020]

This little .25 is extremely well made and still functions as John Browning intended, even though it's pushing 100 years old now!

John

 

[GeoJelly]

Not fancy and a little bit scratchy - but only an arm's reach from the desk and 100% reliable so far ... I like it so much I finally found a wide-slide Tomcat a few days ago. The Tomcat is much, much heavier - I would say even heavier than an Airweight J-frame.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Not fancy and a little bit scratchy - but only an arm's reach from the desk and 100% reliable so far ... I like it so much I finally found a wide-slide Tomcat a few days ago. The Tomcat is much, much heavier - I would say even heavier than an Airweight J-frame.

You do know that a rubber band is not a real effective substitute for a lost slide spring, don't you???

John

 

[Irn-Bru]

My Walther Model 5. Unfortunately the barrel broke off after 6 rounds. Now resides in a baggy in bits

 

[LedFowl]

Here's another Beretta 21a in .25 acp. Mine is reliable, but hard to shoot accurately.

 

[824tsv]

Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless .25ACP

In original box with original instruction sheet.

 

[Mule Packer]

This little 1905 Fabriques Nationale Armes de Guerre was my dad's. It was given to him by his Uncle Vern, an attorney who was disbarred for trying to bribe a jury. Uncle Vern then got a job as a prison guard at the Utah State Prison located at Point of the Mountain, just south of Salt Lake City.

From what my dad told me, Uncle Vern was known to frequent some of the local parlor houses in the city. Where he got this gun is anybody's guess. For all we know, it could have originally resided in the bodice of some brothel madam.

Anyway, when Dad gave this diminutive little pistol to me, he said, "I'm going to give you the same advice Uncle Vern gave me when he first gave me this gun. Don't ever shoot anybody with it. You're liable to make them awfully mad."

 

[PALADIN85020]

Here's a Colt Model 1908 in its original environment...

John

 

[sigp220.45]

Also, it kills bears.

 

[boykinlp]

One old and one newer:

 

[deadin]

Only two in the collection:

Mauser M1910

Sauer M1913

 

[les.b]

Well, it probably won't surprise anyone here that I have a few. Here's one just like the OP's:



Here's another shot...Fogive the .32 ACP upper right. .... Top left, Baby Browning, manufactured by FN in Belgium, and imported until deemed "too small" by the 1968 gun control law. One of the smallest and nicest of the .25s. Center of the group, a 1908 .25 Colt (manufactured in 1925) which in turn was based on and very similar to the Fabrique Nationale (FN) 1903 Browning patent .25 ACP. Lower left, the already posted 1903 FN. by the way, this little gun was called the "Baby Browning" until the relatively recent somewhat smaller "Baby Browning shown in the upper left. As a side note, the 1903 FN version of the "Baby Browning" in .25 was the gun issued to Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond while he was serving as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence in Britian during WWII.



I actually have two of the Baby Brownings, one came in the red lined pistol rug, but the other came in this pocket holster, which is a collector item in itself, as it was made by the famous Alfonso's of Hollywood holster maker, best known for their Western style fast draw rigs that were featured in many TV and Movie Westerns.





I know that I have a few more around somewhere, just can't lay my hands on pictures right now.

Best Regards, Les

 

[tops]

My mighty .25s. Either one carries great in a shirt pocket but I like the Browning the best. If a shirt has 2 pockets I can carry both and have a NY reload. Larry

 

[Stevens]

Here s my .25 (6.35mm) CZ it was my Grandmother's "Purse Gun" I find it shoots surprisingly well.

 

[JohnRippert]

Closest I have is a Astra Cub in .22 short.

I always like showing the size comparison pic.

 

[boykinlp]

Center of the group, a 1908 .25 Colt (manufactured in 1925) which in turn was based on and very similar to the Fabrique Nationale (FN) 1903 Browning patent .25 ACP.



Best Regards, Les

Les,
I see your Colt Vest Pocket serial number is a little earlier than mine. Yours is in much better shape though! Very nice!

 

[Cyrano]

1. Le Français Type Policeman (top), Type Poche (bottom).
2. Type Poche open for loading.
3. A dug up type Policeman. Traces of engraving can still be seen.
4. Iver Johnson Pocket 25.
5. Iver Johnson 25; all Bernadelli Baby parts on an IJ frame.

 

[Cyrano]

Mausers:
1. WTP-1.
2. WTP-2.
3. Model 1910.