So... What good IS the .25 ACP???

[PALADIN85020]

I'm not sure I know the answer to this question. In spite of myself, I've acquired 2 of them - a Colt and a Mauser. Both about a century old, and in excellent condition. They still work just fine, but I'm wondering, what are they good for?

The positives that I can see:

1. They are both guns. Better to have some gun than none at all.

2. They are quite concealable. "Diminutive" is the word that would apply here.

3. They are more reliable than .22 LR guns. .22 LRs, which are rimfires, are subject to poor or no priming in the rim. .25s are centerfire, and rely on more carefully crafted primers.

4. Most people don't like to get hit with anything - .22s or .25s can still give you a bad day when you are shot in the face with one.

Here are mine. Both are genuine jewels - made like Swiss watches. They work very reliably. I still don't know exactly why I got them, but they have been very popular in the last century or so. Help me out here - what's their utility? Anyone else have one or more?

John

Mauser Model 1910, .25 ACP, manufactured in 1921.

 

[jlrhiner]

I'm going with the "better than nothing" line of thinking. I too have several, but the most interesting one is a Schmeisser. Its a WW2 bringback from my Father-in-Law.

In all honesty, I don't think I've ever bought one. I just wind up with them.

 

[Dave.357]

To very fine pocket pistols
At the time these were made
There were no subcompact
.380 or 9mm's so the choice
Was clear little gun or no gun.

 

[sigp220.45]

I’ve got the FN version. It is a great little gun, and can still be called upon for self defense.

I knew two NOPD officers who were killed 23 hours apart in separate incidents, each with a single .25 ACP round. As Doug Marcaida would say - It will keel.

Of course there are better options. But for some folks it’s all they have.

I’m sure someone will chime in with “If you shoot someone with one and they find out...”, and “I’d rather have a hatchet”, and the usual nonsense.

 

[venomballistics]

It's one of those things that lives in the land of fateful uncertainty.
If sent under unfortunate circumstances of accident or malice, it'll kill everything as sure as a 155MM. if the cause is noble ... the recipient might become angry if he has a friend to tell him you shot him.
The specimen I witnessed failed to penetrate a coffee can, and had difficulty making it across a small creek while firing at a beaver on the opposing bank, approximately 30 feet away.
Being enormously unpopular, only one loading was available locally, that being UMC. Perhaps others would have fared better, but that is an element one has to consider. Availability of appropriate ammo.

 

[Grayfox]

I happen to like the so-called mouse guns. Their utility is deep concealment. Everybody should have a gun for those times when they can't carry a gun.
As you already pointed out, the .25acp is more reliable than a .22. And a tiny .25 can be easily concealed even in a shirt pocket.
From 1988 to 2000 I was a Boy Scout Leader. One of the positions I held was Unit Commissioner. My job was to check on other Scout units and help out if I could. Quite often this took me into some of the less desirable parts of town at night. There is absolutely no way to conceal a reasonable self defense gun in a properly worn Scout uniform. However, I could drop my little PSP-25 in my pocket and nobody ever noticed.

BTW: you have to change tactics with a "mouse gun". Forget center mass. These guns are meant to be used at bad breath distance. Shove the gun right into the bad guns face and fire several times. Even if he doesn't drop right away, take advantage while he's distracted by the pain and blood, you run like Hell! The goal here is to simply get away and survive. Remember that!

I currently own several mouse guns. The Walther is actually a .22, but the rest are .25s. About two years ago, I added a real Browning Baby although its not in the picture.

I like .25s! The do serve a purpose and they're a lot of fun too!

 

[shouldazagged]

I wouldn't mind having one as backup to a J-frame .38 special.

Never as a primary.

 

[Golddollar]

My brother has a collection of mouse guns that is a sight to behold. It makes for an easy Christmas present for him. A few boxes of cheese for his mouse guns.

 

[kaaskop49]

"Men In War"

I never forget the scene in the above Korean War flick when Aldo Ray's character ambushes an enemy sniper, forcing the man to raise his hands near his head in apparent surrender. He then kills the sniper,and, as officer Robert Ryan reproves him, Ray removes a .25 from the sniper's cap...

Let's be careful out there. Stay safe, people.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. Also, let me again mention the undercover NYPD cop in the 70s who would bring an attache case of small pistols: .22 and .25 semi-autos and (horrors!) derringers to our range for practice. All he could safely carry: he would have been "made" (and killed) if he were to carry a .38 snub.

 

[Goldstar225]

While I don't have one and probably never will, they are nothing to ignore. The very first murder I responded to involved a .25. Two men were arguing over a woman. One got tired of talking and placed a perfectly centered round through the bridge of the other mans nose. Conversation over, DRT.

 

[oneounceload]

I have a 1908 Colt that belonged to my FIL who was a cop in the 40s, 50s, 60s - he carried that in a vest pocket. Put some Win Silvertips or similar in it and it can do the job at close range. No, it's not a .45, but it should allow to either end the threat or get away.

 

[dockmurgw]

The Colt doesn't do anything for me, but that Mauser is absolutely gorgeous. Darn, another quest in my future just when I decided enough is enough.

 

[wheelgun28]

This one was my dads, he would pocket carry it. I've shot it a few times, not really fun the slide has a lot of bite, I always wind up bleeding.

 

[Stevens]

Here is mine, a CZ 6.35/.22 I inherited from my Grandmother, it was her "purse gun".
I have only shot it a few times and never carried it, yet.
Steve W

 

[KSDeputy]

I had a SS Jennings mouse gun in .25acp. The caliber is worthless, I would much rather have .22 lr, which I do have in my Walther TPH.

 

[THEmodelof1989]

We all talk about shot placement for a good reason; the only way to make someone completely stop what they are doing is to hit them in the T zone.

Most people don't understand how difficult it is to hit the T zone of a moving target. Forget the fact that you are under stress and your fine motor skills have flown out the window, which is only going to make an already small target that much more difficult to hit.

If you are going to carry a pocket, or "mouse gun", you are better off using that space to carry pepper spray. It is MUCH easier to hit someone in the face with a steady stream of pepper spray than it is to hit someone with a mouse caliber.

Now the final leg of my post. I once responded to a domestic violence dispute between a man and a wife. The man was roughly 6'3" and 300 pounds. Before we arrived He was beating her so she put 6 rounds of .25acp into his body and barricaded herself and the kids in a bedroom. When we got there, he was still irate and violent. We sprayed him with pepper spray and he went down like a sack of potatoes, screaming like a new born. We had to take him to the hospital, he wasn't there long. The 6 shots of .25acp to his abdomen lacked penetration and only created superficial wounds.

... just my experience from the field.

Also, black font on a grey background? NOT very easy on the eyes.

 

[oneounceload]

If you are going to carry a pocket, or "mouse gun", you are better off using that space to carry pepper spray. It is MUCH easier to hit someone in the face with a steady stream of pepper spray than it is to hit someone with a mouse caliber.

Unless the wind shifts.............
99%+ of all encounters end without a shot being fired; the mere presence of a gun tends to stop things quickly for most scenarios. I'll take the .25 over pepper spray.

 

[gwpercle]

It allowed creation of the cute Baby Browning !

I hate to admit it but I've owned and carried a 25 acp , it was a FIE Titan though...not a Baby Browning .
I actually liked that little rascal , fun shooter !
Gary

 

[Univibe]

But then again, I saw the forensics on a shooting where the decedent was hit twice with. 22LR 40 grain rou d nose. One penetrated the upper lung, the other the liver. He dropped and died quickly. Either wound would have been fatal. The problem with mouse guns is failure to penetrate. When they do, they're quite deadly.

.25 is outmoded, when you can carry a Ruger LCP with 7 shots of. 380.

 

[Gamecock]

Proper practice with a .25 involves shooting back over your shoulder, suppressive fire as you run away.