Is the .25 ACP worth reloading?

I have no interest in or affiliated with these posting. This is for information only.
.25 ACP carbide dies from lee

Lee 25 ACP Carbide 3 Die Set Lee 90568 | eBay

.25 ACP bullet mold

TL256-50-RF Ranch Dog's TL256-57-RF [TL25650RF] - $60.00 : Ranch Dog Outdoors, Ranch Dog Outdoors - Lee Special Order Bullet Molds for Leverguns and semi-auto Handguns

Information on casting .25 ACP bullets

.25 acp mold - Cast Boolits

Using #3 buckshot instead of casting your bullets--- information

.25 ACP: Cheap, good load with No. 3 buckshot
 
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Q: Alan, why are you resurrecting an 18 month old thread on, of all things, reloading 25acp???

A: Because I just did an old friend a favor and bought his Gen-u-ine Eye-tal-yun Tanfoglio Model GT27 from him.

He found it among his Dad's stuff, unfired, with a box of Remington rounds. Ammo for this lil gem is as expensive as 45 ACP and it looks like a fun way to waste an evening. Or two.

Whose done it? From the posts above, I'm going to need steady hands (and maybe a pair of tweezers). Any tips on die brands (or anyone got a set they no longer need?), bullet profiles, etc. or is it much the same as any other caliber?

Thanks in advance.
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I handload for .25 ACP and enjoy doing it. Years ago I bought a thousand Remington 51 grain round nose fmj component bullets and still am working on that supply. I've loaded a few boxes of other brands of component bullet over the years too. I've only experimented with Bulls-Eye and Unique. I would have thought the faster burning Bulls-Eye would have given the performance edge but Unique's the powder for use in .25 ACP. A whopping 1.8 grain charge, enough to not quite cover your thumb nail, will get you about 860 fps.

Mouse guns

 
I love mouse guns.:)

I just put a dreaded Tomcat on layaway a few days ago. Hope it doesn't break;)

My Nano hasn't broke yet.

I am actually one of the few that had a Seecamp break a hammer strut.:eek: But it was a bad batch of stainless steel.
 
bmcgilvray said:
A whopping 1.8 grain charge, enough to not quite cover your thumb nail, will get you about 860 fps.

Click to expand...

I guess you never reload these rounds when you have a cold. One sneeze and you have a squid round. By the way is 1.8 a max charge and can you reduce that to make a powder puff load. :)
 
The small cases and bullets are great for the young guys with steady hands and good eye sight...........and are a lot of fun to shoot.

When I was around 45 I went with the 9mm as the smallest load I would mess with and now at 69 the 38 Special is as small as I want to load with my big hands and bifocals.

Enjoy it if you can..................
Low recoil is always a nice thing as well as killing paper and mice !!
 
Yeah, I'm almost 59 and starting to rethink this.

Nah - I'm goin' for it!

I'm placing a WTB ad in the classifieds for a set of dies - like everything else around here, they're scarce. Maybe someone needs some 9mm bullets in trade...
 
I wouldn't bother with it! I hope your Beretta 21 in 22 lr works better than mine did! Wasn't reliable at all. And, I tried many different types of ammo in it. Gladly traded it for a model 10-5 snubby awhile ago!
 
I'm 56 and fail to see what age has to do with having the facility to handload the .25 ACP which is a perfectly simple thing to do.

If a guy is devoted to owning and shooting a few .25 ACP pistols he might as well reload for the cartridge.
 
Three things about reloading the 25 ACP:
1. You will get used to handling the small cases.
2. Since powder charges are so small, use powders that measure uniformly.
3. Have something to catch the cases with.
 
I have been reloading this cartridge for a couple of months now. The small size of the bullets and cases is no problem at all. My main load is a lightly squashed pellet of #3 buckshot and 1.5 grs. of 231. I haven't had to use any of my brass cases yet because I find that the aluminum case Blazer (which is Boxer primed) can be loaded multiple times just fine. My Beretta 950BS feeds this and everything else flawlessly, which is amazing considering how picky my 21A is. And my handloads might be cheaper to shoot than .22 rimfire at this time.

That mousetrap photo is awesome!

Dave Sinko
 
If you have the dexterity to handle the itty-bitty cases and bullets, and, if you can find your ejected brass, why not? The little guns look like they could be fun to shoot!
 
I am just starting to try. and load 25 acpI. I've loaded 9 & 10 mm, as well as 25-06.
However, the first round i tried to "de-prime" bent the extractor pin!
I do have have the correct die (Lee die set). I'm wondering if it was nust the brass that had the primer stuck unusually hard, or if this is normal?
I've deprimed many rounds and have never had the pin bend like this.
I must confess i used a little more pressure than normal in trying to get the primer out, but never expected it to be that difficult.
Thanks for any advice you may have.
 
Retired141FE said:
I am just starting to try. and load 25 acpI. I've loaded 9 & 10 mm, as well as 25-06.
However, the first round i tried to "de-prime" bent the extractor pin!
I do have have the correct die (Lee die set). I'm wondering if it was nust the brass that had the primer stuck unusually hard, or if this is normal?
I've deprimed many rounds and have never had the pin bend like this.
I must confess i used a little more pressure than normal in trying to get the primer out, but never expected it to be that difficult.
Thanks for any advice you may have.
Click to expand...

Did you make sure that the case is Boxer primed? (as opposed to Berdan priming). The Boxer will have a central flash hole, the Berdan will have 2 or 3 non central holes. Welcome to the forum, most of the time it's better to ask a question by starting a new post rather than tacking a question on the end of a year and a half old thread.
 
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My guess is that you probably have some European case with a Berdan primer. If so, reloading is a lost cause. I carry a .25 auto as my CCW, mainly because it weighs nearly nothing and fits into my front pants pocket without showing. I figure if I ever need it, it will be up close and very personal, and its 6 shots will be enough. No plans whatsoever to get into a gunfight. Mine is completely reliable only with CCI Blazer ammunition with 50 grain FMJ bullets, so that's what I use. Other brands are not so reliable, and I have tried about all of them. No way I would consider reloading the .25 ACP. Far too much hassle, and probably inconsistent results.

Common knowledge is that .25 50 grain FMJ bullets are preferable to any other, as effectiveness of the .25 ACP is more a matter of deeper penetration into vital areas than anything else, such as bullet expansion (which probably doesn't happen anyway), and the 50 grain FMJ has the deepest penetration.
 
if the 25 managed to spawn a longer, higher pressure version of itself, and was offered in frames ranging from mouse guns to full service pistols .. I'd be game.
it would be a fun, useful, and economical little feller to scare the 22LR to death.
 
That is a necked down 32 case with a 25 bullet . Needs a 32 size gun NAA Last I knew only one made one. Ammo is corbon and expensive. If I going to carry a 32 size pistol Iam going to shoot 32 ammo. Same thing with the 32 NAA uses a 380 case and 380 frame .

I never saw the reasoning or need for either round We need BB to make a 25+P 35gr at 1000fps . Since they like to hang +P on calibers that no +P exists .
 
michaelt said:
That is a necked down 32 case with a 25 bullet . Needs a 32 size gun NAA Last I knew only one made one. Ammo is corbon and expensive. If I going to carry a 32 size pistol Iam going to shoot 32 ammo. Same thing with the 32 NAA uses a 380 case and 380 frame .

I never saw the reasoning or need for either round We need BB to make a 25+P 35gr at 1000fps . Since they like to hang +P on calibers that no +P exists .
Click to expand...

Ruger Mark 2 ...
frame size is in the ballpark of a 9MM, but chambered in 22LR.
No one has a problem with it.
why pitch a fit over something similar, but can be reloaded?
Have we learned nothing from the 22LR crisis?
 
David Sinko said:
I'm on a mouse gun kick at the moment and have my eye on a used Beretta 21 chambered in .25 ACP to match the one I have in .22 LR. I have about 600 rounds of .25 ACP factory loaded ammo but no firearm to digest them. If I buy the Beretta (and I probably will) I will most certainly want to reload the .25 simply because I reload for everything that I own. Does anybody have any experience with this? How much trouble is this cartridge with its miniscule powder charges? Does anybody know if the Beretta will shoot cast bullets? If so, where would I be able to get a mold?

Dave Sinko
Click to expand...

PLEASE DON'T GET OFFENDED, Dave, BECAUSE I MEAN YOU NO DISRESPECT…..

YOU MUST BE TRULY BORED. IMHO, NOT ONLY IS THE .25ACP NOT WORTH RELOADING, ITS NOT EVEN WORTH SHOOTING. IF YOUR GRANDPA LEFT YOU A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE VEST POCKET COLT PISTOL CHAMBERED IN THE CALIBER, IT WOULD BE ONE THING, BUT TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE A PISTOL IN THAT CALIBER IS FOLLY, IN MY ESTIMATION. A HOT .22 LR IS A BETTER ROUND FOR ANY PURPOSE YOU MAY HAVE IN MIND. JUST SELL OFF OR TRADE YOUR AMMO, AND MOVE ON. YOU ARE JUST WASTING TIME AND MONEY…...
 
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Bkreutz and Dwalt - Thanks both of you for your reply. Just getting started on this site and am not really sure how to navigate (still not sure if I am answering you correctly here) which is why I just tagged an old post.
I confess I had not really looked into the case, and when I did I found exactly what you thought - some are single hole and some are triple hole for the primer. The triple hole would explain why my pin wouldn't push out the primer!
Unfortunately the majority of my empty brass is of the bad version. I had hoped to reload since I was having a difficult time finding ammo.
I guess I'll just have to keep looking, although I may still try and load the few dozen cases I can reload. Just like tinkering with reloading I guess.
 
To answer my own question, yes, the .25 ACP IS worth reloading. I have found that performance is greatly improved by using more sensitive (Federal) primers that fire on the first try, using hard jacketed (NOT plated) bullets that actually do penetrate and using ample powder charges that cause the harder bullets to penetrate. Thus it is possible to eliminate the numerous factors that have made the .25 such a pathetic and unreliable cartridge over the years. It's certainly not my first choice for concealed carry, but it does have its place and is certainly worthy of some respect.

Dave Sinko
 
It's worth it for me. I was able to shoot my 950 Beretta even during recent "Big Ammo Drought". I am not planning to use it as a carry or home defense but it sure is a nice conversation starter. I even made little reloading block specifically for 25 ACP :)
 
25s are fun to shoot

Truly not much fun to reload..but I do. I am down to my last 200 S&W 25 ACP new cases. Yep..S&W did load them and sell components. I have thought to maybe keep them as collectibles. I have a WWII bring back if I can find it. Never have shot it. Also have an older Beretta 25 in the box I got at a garage sale for 25 dollars. It shoots pretty well. Not a real strong grip safety on it. Last and surely not least I have an old Colt 1908. It was given to me by the father of a very good friend. It has factory checked Ivory grips on it. To be honest the only way to really shoot the darn thing well is to tape the 20 lb grip safety on it..then it is truly accurate at any decent range.
 
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