Confession time - let's see those .25 autos

[bmcgilvray]

I believe that I would have more confidence in the .22, especially if it fired .22 LR, due to the higher velocity. Another story I believe is that the Japenese rifle cartridges used in WWII were .25's, for rifles not pistols. Anyone recall?

While differences in "power" are minuscule, when both cartridges are considered in the typical the vest pocket automatic, the .25 ACP will whip the .22 Long Rifle high velocity cartridge for speed and penetration and does it with a heavier, larger diameter bullet while giving more dependable feeding and function.

Now put the .22 Long Rifle in any sort of longer-barreled pistol and things change.

 

[2152hq]

European cartridge designation 6.5mm's use a .264d bullet generally .
The 6.5mm comes from the European designation of caliber description of using the bore diameter ,,.254/256d,,,, instead of the groove dia.
That groove dia of the bbl is .264/.268.

Most all US designed cartridges with a 6.5mm name hold to the .264 bullet dia.

It can get confusing when Euro designations are given to US cartridges.
The 25-35 WCF is good example. It uses a .257d bullet.
The European designation for the round is the 6.5x52R. In this case they went with the bbl groove/bullet dia to describe the round. '
If they had stuck to their old rule of the 6.5 designating the bore dia,,then 25-35 round would have a bullet dia of .264". I guess you just have to know what's what.

One 'field check' of a European 6.5 (.264 groove/.256 bore d) bbl for a worn muzzle is to insert a .25 cal rifle bullet round (257 Roberts,,250 Savage,,ect) into the muzzle of the 6.5cal bbl.
The .257d of the 25cal bullet should refuse to enter the bore of the 6.5cal rifle fully if the 6.5 is not worn. If it swallows the 25cal bullet past the bullets ogive portion, the muzzle at least is worn.

 

[Gunsnwater]

Hello Forum;

I picked up this Colt some years back. Owner then told me that the missing 9 rounds from the vintage box (Geco - 1973) were the only rounds fired through this Colt.

My later research showed that after the 1968 GCA banned all imports, Colt actually came out with this little beauty in 1971 but sales were so miserable that it was completely discontinued in 1973.

I haven't carried it or shot it and bought on speculation but it a nice little gun that if the story is true....one of the last designs truly manufactured in the USA by the real Colt craftsmen in CT.

Don't actually know how it was marketed or listed as various Blue Book, Lee, etc. also don't know what to call it. Some say Colt Jr., some say Astra (definitely wrong), some just say Colt Auto.

I'm no longer active in Colt collector circles, and too involved with S & W to pile into research again for a $couple hundred value gun that is safe queen status, but if any of you can shed light on what this gun was really known as in 1971 to 1973 I'd appreciate an update for my files and write-ups.

It's a Colt Jr. and astra was licensed to make them, then 68 GCA and Colt went in-house. They shoot great. I have a before and after. No difference in quality.

 

[Jimmyjones]

Always loved my mouse guns. Carried a 950 in the 80's, taught my kids to shoot with it, they make a good single shot.

Carried a Model 21 in .22 for a long time, now I have one in .25.

EIG Titan, Colt Junior, Beretta 950, Beretta 21

 

[Hunter Keith]

.25 ACP "Baby" Browning; 1968

Yep, everybody should have one! Had an opportunity to trade for this several weeks ago..finally to replace the one I stupidly traded away many years ago. all matching #'s. Just superb quality.

 

[Daisyman]

Beretta 418

I picked up this one last week. First .25 I've ever had. This was James Bonds first carry, and I figured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.
Irv

 

[Perk]

Colt Vest Pocket

This 105-year-old vest pocket is well worn and yields too many FTEject and FTFeed. Maybe I'll look into having it refurbished. I have not fired it in a dozen years.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Seems to me I replied to this thread but I cannot find it so here goes. I have to tell this story.

I have owned a .25 Auto for more than 40 years. My first two handguns were .25 Autos, a Walther Model 1 and a CZ-Duo. They were literally both mailed to me, USPS, in a shoebox tied with string, to where I then worked, a pharmacy in Brooklyn, NY.

I was stunned when I received that box - it was a Federal felony to mail it to me and a NYC felony for me to possess those two guns but possess them I did - what was I supposed to do after they arrived? Who, what, and why they were sent to me is not important - he did it, it made him happy, and now I was on the hook for them. So I took them in a briefcase to my local bank and locked them away in a safe deposit box. I would visit them occasionally.

A few years later I found myself moving to Texas. How I got those guns to Texas is a story in and of itself but, suffice it to say, they were legal to own the moment they arrived here. My unintended criminal adventure was over.

As far as I was concerned the Walther was broken so eventually I sold it to a Walther collector in Arkansas. The NRA identified the CZ Duo for me as having been made in German occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944 (it's really obvious once you know what all the markings on it mean). I brought that gun to my mother's home in Florida so I could always have a firearms available when I visited her. After she died I brought it back to Texas. I still have it.

In the late 1980s I bought a Beretta 950 BS and I carried that gun daily until 2002 or so. I called it my go anywhere pistol.

A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a cute little Italian .25 ACP made by Galesi. A friend of mine wanted it so badly so since I didn't need it I parted with it. And then I discovered Precision Small Arms.

PSA makes GORGEOUS little .25s in the Baby Browning style and they are not at all inexpensive. So I waited to get a slightly used one. Here's the best part. When it had an issue PSA replaced it without any money changing hands. That is GREAT customer service.

On occasion I still carry one of my .25s.

I tossed in a Seecamp .32 just because it's so similar.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/member...-fabrique-nationale-browning-grip-panels.html

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

Back in the 1900s, about 68 if I'm remembering right. There was a man in the town I grew up in [Florence, S.C.] who was a brute of a fellow. Six feet and a half tall and 250+. He was one of 5 brothers who were real rounders. Constantly proving their ill nature to anyone in their path.
One night at the Pure Oil Truck Stop in front of the Florence air port, this fine member of the community, attacked another well known member of the sporting society. Problem was "Sonny" was about 5-7 and 135. He had done all he could to get out of this discourteous giant's reach, up to backing into a corner beside the juke box.
As the town brawler reached for him, he produced a Browning Baby. All who testified at the Coroner's Inquest said a muffled "POP" was all they heard. As the Giant who was felled by David, the big man only uttered one last great statement, "Damn, he has killed me". Indeed he had.
The Coroner's Jury never left the box. No Billed and sent on his way with his Baby in hand, he was never in any trouble again as long as I knew him. Any trouble the Bully caused was in another reign. Having shuffled off his mortal coil, his brothers started down a new path. One of sobriety and less aggressive in manner.
The mouse roared and the Giant fell. That little beat up Baby is today sitting in one of my safes. Resting.....in case his work is not yet done.

 

[2152hq]

Another Browning 25 done recently.
Poor pics, I apologize,,the floppy disc cam and my shaky hands don't help..

A decent original condition blued finish pistol, so I cut the pattern right 'thru the blue'. No polishing off of the original factory blue finish. Saves time and labor & why remove it if it's in fine shape anyway.
Not a lot of engravers will work that way and not every gun is a good candidate for the process.

Then when done I reblue the entire piece with rust blue to match in the fresh engraving cuts to the factory blue. That takes some experience so you don't get a matted finish w/the rust blue as is common with that process.
No high tech to it,,this one being small I did on the kitchen stove top in an aluminum bread pan while watching a baseball game.
It also blues any areas of wear to the original finish like edges, ect that may have been worn. The result is a nice new blue w/a factory polish underneath and an engraving job in between them.

(PhotoBkt worked OK today with these pics, but didn't let me link them yesterday or this AM.
Time to move on from there me thinks...)

 

[Walter Rego]

Ignore the .32 on the bottom, the Mauser Model 1910 on top is an example of what the Nickl brothers were working on just after the turn of the 20th Century for the popular pocket pistol market in Europe. It is built as you would expect from a Mauser product produced between the wars.

 

[H P Bushrod]

I've gone through a couple of .25's over the years. The first one I bought back in '82 was a Raven .25 for $50 or $60 bucks new. The little gun always worked. I've owned Beretta Jetfire's, Colt Vest Pocket autos, Sterling's, and a couple more I've forgotten. I don't take any pistol that fires bullets lightly. A hit in the right place with a .25 will put you in a body bag as quick as a larger caliber. Take a look at the scar on Joey Buttafuco's wife's neck (from the Long Island Lolita case). That .25 the girl used on her almost took her out and I think she has partial paralysis on the left side of her face from the shooting. The .25 is no joke...It's a firearm for sure!

 

[italiansport]

Here's one of mine it with it's big brother: Notice: I can no longer get to my pictures on Photobucket so unfortunately I can't post them here. However i was able to go back to my original files and here it is. My picture taking with plated guns leaves a lot to be desired. It is an 1908 Colt with factory MOP grips by non factory engraving and it looks much better then this in hand.
Jim

 

[sixgun sam]

Got a PT-25 in SS

Shoots as good as it looks. Jaw dropping accuracy at 7 yards.

 

[Florida_Cracker]

22LR vs 25 ACP Ballistics

While differences in "power" are minuscule, when both cartridges are considered in the typical the vest pocket automatic, the .25 ACP will whip the .22 Long Rifle high velocity cartridge for speed and penetration and does it with a heavier, larger diameter bullet while giving more dependable feeding and function.

Now put the .22 Long Rifle in any sort of longer-barreled pistol and things change.

J.Browning designed the 25 ACP to have the same ballistics from a 2" barrel as the 22LR. Check data on Ballistics-By-The-Inch for 22LR and you will see that he succeeded. But most 22LR energy/velocity data is reported for rifle length barrels that equivalency is lost in the translation.