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

[BC38]

I think the Walther 9 and it's clone the Bernardelli are a little smaller, but basically the same thing.

However, if you'll consider a revolver, the NAA 22lr fits in a watch pocket as well.

What I'm finding on the 'net says that the Walther's dimensions are : 3.93"L 2.76"H x .7"W
So a smidge shorter, and a smidge narrower, but also a smidge taller.

For the NAA I like the 22 mag - but it's a rimfire with all the reliability issues that come with that.

if your goal is to just be as small as you can, how about the life-card? They are certainly smaller than the baby browning. Less expensive too.

True. However, the lifecard is a single shot, and like I said the BB design is about the smallest MULTI-SHOT there is. Besides, this thread is about the 25acp and whether it is worthwhile. The 22LR is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish

 

[Sistema1927]

I am pretty sure that we won't encounter any self-defense situations where guards restrain our attacker and give us a clear shot at the back of the skull.

 

[THEmodelof1989]

That would be the NRA.

Post a link. I'd like to read this.

 

[clang444]

What I'm finding on the 'net says that the Walther's dimensions are : 3.93"L 2.76"H x .7"W
So a smidge shorter, and a smidge narrower, but also a smidge taller.

The picture of the Walther Model 9 above is mine. I don't own a Baby Browning to take a group picture, but a buddy with one brought his to a range session so we could compare guns.

The Browning had a slightly larger grip that made the gun more comfortable to shoot. The biggest difference was in the slide - the Walther's open top slide was tiny compared to the Browning. If I remember correctly, the Walther was a little shorter but about the same height.

Both guns were prone to slide bite, especially if you had meaty hands. Bring band aids to the range with you...

 

[jimmyj]

My first "Backup" (1962) was a .25acp Baby Browning. Fit very well in my handcuff pouch.

My present "Deep Cover" is a Glock 42 .380.

 

[SAFireman]

This was grandfather's 'bench gun' when he was a judge down here in Texas. He carried it in a leather glove - I guess that was the least conspicuous way to carry off-body for the period.

That little gun started this epic 25 ACP thread http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=394336&stc=1&d=1556317935

I have shot this one, and done a little work on the feed lips to make it run 'right'. It is a bit heavy for 'loose-in-the-pocket' carry, but it is very pleasant to shoot. With the sentimental value attached, I will not be carrying it off of my property.

 

[ACORN]

A kid I went to high school with was shot in the head with a .25. He was riding in a convertible and someone in the car behind him fired at him. The bullet traveled between his skull and scalp and stopped around the crown of his head. Never penetrated the skull. I don’t know much about physics but I suppose that being he was traveling away from the bullet in flight probably detracted from whatever energy a .25 slug has. I have no idea the distance from the gun to the victim. IIRC he was back in class a day or so later.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Neat little guns-My dad has a baby Browning that I have n o idea what happened to it. But as an earlier poster said, in the age of the tiny .380's thay one can slip in ones pocket-the need for the little .25's have pretty much vanished. It is like the 16 gauge. The need for it given the technology and 20 gauge loadings now is pretty much non existant. Try pricing .25 ACP va .380 or for that matter price some 20 gauge 3" magnums against 16 gauge loads. Two good in their day purpose built rounds and firearms consigned to the dustbin-doesn't mean that either cannot do the job, it's just that other guns and calibres can do it just as well AND cheaper.
Not good-not bad-it just is.

 

[Execpro]

I’m in the camp that no NORMAL person wants to be shot with ANY gun.
Back in the 60’s I carried a Browning 25 acp on the floor beside the drivers seat. It saved my life on one occasion. A hitchhiker I picked up didn’t want to get out of my car when asked.
He didn’t ask what caliber it was when it was pointed at him. He just got out of the car.That’s all I’m going to say.

Be SAFE and Shoot often!

 

[Warren Sear]

...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...

I smirk every time I read or hear some wise sage say "shot placement is everything" or something similar. In reality, you are lucky if more than half of your shots fired even hit the criminal anywhere.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Wouldn't be my first choice for a carry gun, given the availability of compact .380s, like the LCP (still gotta try one, maybe even buy one), for deep concealment. But if the gun/ammo is reliable and you can shoot it decently well, it's better than a charming smile...

Maybe.

*shudder*

On a serious note, I do think it would be cool to own a Baby Browning (or a good copy), but not for any practical reasons.

 

[billyr]

Lethality and practicality aside, even the little guys are neat to have and appreciate. Some of the pistols shown in this thread have some serious craftsmanship built into them.
I came across this Ortgies "Vest Pocket" model years ago and still like pulling it out of the safe and putting some rounds thru it. Quite accurate at "25 cal range".

 

[Wise_A]

.25 Automatic? No way.

I'll take a .25 for a hundred k, especially if I get to try and kill the shooter while I take it.

Hell, I know guys that'd take way bigger cartridges than that for way less.

 

[Walter Rego]

I like them. Here are a few classics

 

[Gamecock]

I would like to ask for volunteers, for an experiment, from the many people that have such high contempt, for the .25ACP. I would like to have those volunteers, face me, at 25 yards, and let me fire my .25ACP Colt Junior pistol at them. I am sure that they would disdain the use any type of protective clothing. How about some volunteers? Thanks, I thought not.

Chubbo

Good grief! Not that old saw!

I don't want to be hit with a frying pan. That doesn't make a frying pan a good defensive weapon to carry.

 

[skipnsb]

Has there been a NAA size .25 revolver?

 

[rwsmith]

At the time.......

The real problem with 25's isn't the caliber.

Most of them fall into 3 classes:
1. Striker-fired; Baby Browning, Bauer, Jennings, et al.
2. Tip-ups; Jetfire, Taurus PT-25
3. "Regular" autos; Colt Jr, FIE Titan, etc.

I don't feel safe carrying a striker-fired with a round in the chamber - you're depending on pretty small pieces of metal between the safety and the striker catch. I've read of a Baby Browning going off "by itself"... in the pocket of a coat hanging in the closet! Striker catch failed. Your alternative to this risk is carrying empty chamber, meaning you have to rack a tough-spring blowback slide *and* have the thing not misfeed the first round before you can fire.

The tip-ups are a good solution to the tough slide springs... until you have a dud. You can flip up the barrel and (hopefully) send the dud flying, but that isn't getting another good round in the chamber. I can't rack the slide on a Jetfire, too small and too much spring. They don't usually have an extractor so you have to hope the dud comes out. (And despite all the reliability talk, I've had a couple dud 25's... not as many as 22's, but a few.)

The "regular" automatics, if you can handle the slide springs, would be ok as long as they have inertial firing pins or a decent cocked-n-locked safety - which some don't! So check that out for safe carry.

Really, the only 25 I find safe and reasonable to carry is the CZ v45... a "regular" hammer-fired automatic with an inertial pin and an extractor and double-action to avoid having to thumb-cock on the draw.

With all this and the caliber, I think a J frame is a great idea.

At the time these were popular a .38 S&W revolver would have been a better choice.

 

[sigp220.45]

I'll take a .25 for a hundred k, especially if I get to try and kill the shooter while I take it.

Hell, I know guys that'd take way bigger cartridges than that for way less.

As my friend from Missouri would say: Duly noted.

 

[usmc2427765]

As a vintage street cop, I learned 2 things about .25 pocket pistols:

1. They rarely stop a fight and are very good at starting them.

2. People that are shot by them don't usually die, but rather, become very angry and proceed to beat the **** out of the person who shot them.

If you are looking for a positive function for these guns, they make great sinker weights when you go fishing !!

 

[amazingflapjack]

A friend of a friend was in a beer joint in South Daytona when I guy quickly stepped through the door and immediately opened fire on an individual sitting at the end of the bar nearest the shooter. He fired about 5 times and ducked back out the door to escape. The "victim" finished his beer, exited the bar, and drove himself to the E-room. It was a 25 ACP.