Mouse guns to the range

[robertrwalsh]

I have four .25 auto pistols that I like to shoot. I have not done so recently as the .25 auto ammo is now both horribly expensive and difficult to find. I finally broke down and bought some brass and bullets (also hard to find) and dies and loaded up a modest batch of .25 auto. I had to make a powder dipper because none of my measures would throw 1 grain of Bullseye reliably. Shot about 100 rounds of reloads and not quite 50 rounds of factory ammo. IT WAS FUN. Also the guns are reliable and capable of good accuracy at reasonable range considering the sights are disgusting. I was keeping them in about 6" circles at 5 yards. One, a Beretta, shot consistently low. The others, a Colt 1908, a Colt Junior and a Vest Pocket Browning (very slightly taller than a Baby Browning) shot pretty much to the point of aim. All things considered a good morning. Some day I might try to qualify with one just for giggles.

 

[smoothshooter]

What is the appeal of the .25 ACP?

 

[Breakaway500]

1 grain of powder. Ha! Photos!

 

[huthike]

Sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[smithra_66]

What is the appeal of the .25 ACP?

22 LR ballistics but with reliable centerfire ignition? Reloadable? The guns are cool?

I have the same affinity for the 32 Auto. Shooting a good Colt 1903 PH, Walther PPK, or Mauser 14 is just fun.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Smoothshooter, the appeal is that they are FUN and are neat pieces of machinery. I don't consider them to be "serious" guns, but they make noise and are reliable and throw lead. I can't say that I would care to be shot with one, but they won't reliably take down anything bigger than a hamster without a brain stem hit.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

25 ACP hails from a time before 22 Long Rifle High Velocity. The 1038 fps black powder standard velocity was all there was! 22 Short and 22 Long are both slower yet!

Ivan

 

[GypsmJim]

I can't shoot at 5 yards at any of my club's ranges, except for the combat range. Certainly not indoors.

My own personal campsite range is set for 25 yards. If I go to 5, I will most certainly lose 100% of the brass.

I believe that Lee's powder dipper kit will have one to throw 1 gr of BEye.

EDIT - I checked my Lee kit and the smallest is 0.3cc, so it won't go low enough.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Fortunately the indoor range I do most of my shooting at doesn't mind how close you run your targets as long as you don't set fire to them. With a .25 there is little danger of that at more than contact distance.

 

[venomballistics]

What is the appeal of the .25 ACP?

Some of those little pocket pistols are a cute novelty.
I've always wanted to see something of a magnum rebirth of the 25 .... about the OAL of a 9mm operating at 40Kpsi.
Chamber something like a MAC 10 in it and it may as well be belt fed.

 

[MJK-MOD-547]

I like my little Mauser Hsc .32. I like that it has fixed sights that are right on! It's pretty accurate from 25 ft and in. I wish the ammo was a little cheaper.

 

[Gamecock]

Last time I went to the range I shot my P938 some. Been carrying it when riding moto. Wanted to confirm it still worked well.

I have a P238 (.380), which I haven't shot since I upgraded to the P938 (9mm). You know what, robertwalsh? I'm going to shoot that P238 next time I go to the range. It was always fun to shoot.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[NFrameFred]

[FONT=&quot]

What is the appeal of the .25 ACP?

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The same as just about any obsolete gun/cartridge combination that turns your crank for whatever reason. You can apply that to just about anything; for instance you could say "what is the appeal of Barbra Streisand ?" For a great many of us it would be 'absolutely nothing' while I'm sure some misbegotten souls here could be found that thinks she's great.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Like the OP, I've always seemed to have a .25 acp around. I still have the receipt and Browning marked pouch from when my pop bought a Baby Browning and half a box of shells (that's what the receipt says) back in 1966 from the local hardware store.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It's an heirloom to me, something my dad left me. Not exactly a particularly useful pistol, but I reload for everything I own, and instead of working up test loads in the Browning I picked a couple of cheap 25's here and there to do the job. I want to be able to shoot the Browning if the urge comes up and I can load rounds for it (even hard cast lead) at a fraction of factory rounds, which have been uber expensive and made of unobtanium apparently for the last two years. Given certain doofuses are constantly trying to outlaw such or make the ammo prohibitively expensive I will never be without rounds in my lifetime.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]On a practical note I've seen these mouse rounds go through solid boards and thick plywood enough to form the opinion I don't want to be hit with one. What's the appeal ? To each his own. I have a buddy who made a chamber cast and custom dies made so he could shoot his ancient Martini-Henry single shot 40 years ago before such were commercially available.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Those who don't appreciate such certainly aren't required to buy them . . .
[/FONT]

 

[Green Frog]

Now you're all set for a miscreant mouse, a horrible hamster, or a growling gerbil. Don't you feel better now?

In a rural house near here a pair of brothers, lumberjacks by trade and red of neck by attitude got to drinking and scrapping, so one pulled out a 25 auto and shot other. This irritated the "victim" sufficiently that he took the gun away from his brother and beat him nearly to death with it. This was told to me as true by my brother once when we were consuming adult beverages ourselves, IIRC.

Froggie

 

[M29since14]

A long time ago I came into a small supply of .25 ACP cartridges. Of course, I had no gun, so "one" had to be purchased. I ended up with a functioning Baby Browning and a cigar box full of the odds and ends of four Bauer copies. I think eventually I got one of the Bauers functional. But what I really wanted was a PPK, or one of the little Walthers. Never found either, at a price I could manage.

I had a blast with these little guns for a few months. I never did bother to handload for them, though I do have dies, and the empty brass. Unfortunately, no mold - yet.

There is nothing much to recommend a .25, but lacking any weapon bigger and more powerful, in a fight I'd a whole lot rather have one than a fountain pen.

 

[Rogeronimo]

Now you're all set for a miscreant mouse, a horrible hamster, or a growling gerbil. Don't you feel better now?
Froggie

Gerbils have sent people to the ER!

 

[Nomadmax]

What is the appeal of the .25 ACP?

In a recent survey, nine out of ten felons said they would NOT want to be shot in the face with a 25 acp.

 

[Grayfox]

I happen to be quite fond of mouse guns and have several. Most of which are in .25acp.
I have at times carried a .25 as my only weapon. I've never been bothered by that. With the mouse guns you have to change tactics. Forget center mass. Stick the gun right in the bad guys face and pull the trigger repeatedly. That'll work.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I like my little Mauser Hsc .32. I like that it has fixed sights that are right on! It's pretty accurate from 25 ft and in. I wish the ammo was a little cheaper.

The only way I can shoot my 32 Auto is to load for it. Ammo is just too hard to find so I make my own. It's better ammo anyway when I make my own lol.

 

[OLDSTER]

I have lots of fun at the range with my "pip-squeaks" ; Seecamp .32, Ortgies .25, and my MKII Ruger.