25 Auto capabilities

A

Alex Johnson

New member
What is your feelings on the 25 auto? I recently bought a Baby Browning style 25 auto and while I don't ever plan on using it as a carrying piece, I still find myself wondering how bad it would actually be. I know that the available cartridges for the 25 limit it basically to a 30 grain hollowpoint, or a 50 grain hardball. I don't know what the velocity is from this gun, I suppose it's around 700 fps. I do know that it is very reliable and easy to controll in rapid fire. I think shot placement would be the main goal with any of the mouseguns and assuming that this detail is followed, how bad could it be?
 
I used to have a Beretta 950BS 'Jetfire'. I always figured it was the next best thing to carry if I couldn't carry a gun. Although all the good ol' boys at the gun shop warn me that "the danger in shooting someone with a .25 is that they might find out about it and get mad at you.", I figured a mixed load of Glasers and Hornady XTP's would serve better than harsh language in a tight spot. The Browning Baby is a sweet little 'vestpocket' auto, limited in its utility only by its striker-type firing system and lack of a truly positive safety. I've also heard wildly varying reports of their feed reliability w/ frangibles and JHP's...

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Tamara's House o' Weapons: If we can't kill it, it's immortal.
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
The rule is: "always have a gun"
Usually the presence of a gun alone will deter most criminals. And, after taking a few hits with your .25, it may make a few of them definately change their minds about robbing you.

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"what gives a government that arms the whole world the right to disarm it's own citizens?"
 
I have a PSP 25 which is a "Baby" Browning clone. Excellent little gun which has proven totally realible for me. Not once has it ever jammed or failed to fire. This is my gun for those times when I can't carry a gun.
Many here scoff at the .25acp. You'll get the usual "mousegun" cracks and so forth. I, however, am a believer that any gun is better than no gun. A mouse gun can save your life, if used properly.
You must change your tactics. Forget center mass, forget stopping the BG or even hurting him enough that he gives up. If push comes to shove, point the gun directly into the bad guys face and pull the trigger two or three times. While he's distracted by the flash, pain and hopefully blood, RUN LIKE HELL!
It doesn't matter if he's dead, wounded, incapacitated or just pissed. You just bought yourself some escape time, use it.
Remember the object here is to save your life.

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TFL's official "Curmudgeon Member" and damned proud of it!
 
I have a Jetfire 950 in .25ACP, and it's been TOTALLY reliable. I may have gotten one of the good ones though. I keep it loaded with Hornady hp's and it has nearly 1000 rounds through it with 100% functioning. I'm probably going to sell it and trade it in + some cash for a Taurus .357 or .38spec revolver. Mine shoots way left and I can't tell when I hit the target until I reel it in.

so what ya think?
Ben

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Almost Online IM: BenK911
ICQ # 53788523
"Gun Control Is Being Able To Hit Your Target"

[This message has been edited by Ben (edited April 14, 2000).]
 
I have a Bauer .25 I bought nib a few weeks ago. It hasn't been totally reliable but is getting better with use. I have only shot ball ammo with it and that is probably what I would carry in it if I ever decide to carry it. The .25 may be a wimpy round but it feels pretty hot when shooting from this little pistol. I would feel better armed with my NAA Mini revolver in .22 magnum.
 
I have always admired the little "Jetfires" in the case when I visit the gun shop. However, it seems that so many people have such low opinions of the .25 ACP that I've resisted the urge to purchase one.
I was watching a progran on gunshot wounds on The Learning Channel and a fellow came in to the hospital with a .25 acp wound to the head. The bullet had not penetrated his skull and the surgeon was able to just pluck the little projectile from under the skin. However, two hours later the patient died. It seems that when the bullet hit his head, it caused a shower of bone shards from the inside of his skull to "spray" into his brain. Pretty gruesome, but that's the way it was.

Will

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Mendacity is the system we live in.
 
I agree that in a majority of cases, merely the presence of a gun will bring an end to a potentially nasty situation -- I personally would not want to be shot if I could avoid it. That said, let me share with you something that happened about 20 years ago. It has left a lasting impression on me to this very day.

This happened to a deputy that I once knew. Actually, I didn't personally know the deputy but I knew who he was as we would sometimes nod "hello" to each other in the locker room.

He frequently worked the evening shift and because he knew first hand what the crime was like, he felt uncomfortable having his wife home alone and unarmed. So he bought her a Raven .25 pistol. His wife was a small woman, less than 5 feet tall and weighing under 100 pounds which is why I guess they went for such a small gun instead of something with more stopping power.

One night she heard someone breaking into her home. She grabbed her gun. Loaded the magazine, locked her bedroom door and called the police.

From what I understand, the police were at the house in under five minutes (especially since it involved the wife of a fellow deputy). When they got there, they found the intrudor dead a few feet from the front door and they also found the woman dead in her bedroom.

Nobody knows what really happened because the two people involved were dead but from the physical evidence, the investigators were able to put together the following ...

The intrudor kicked in the bedroom door and the woman starting firing. We don't know the order of bullet placement but one shot missed, two landed in the chest, one in the stomach, one in the shoulder and one in the leg. When the woman stopped shooting (because her gun was empty), the intrudor strangled her and tried to make his way out of the house.

Interesting enough, it was the shot in the leg that caused his death since it hit a vein or something causing him to pass out from the drop in blood pressure and caused his heart to stop. The .25 killed him and killed him quickly (in under 5 minutes or there about) but it was not able to stop him.

For this reason, I think that people should carry the most powerful gun that they can accurately shoot and properly conceal. The age old saying "... a 25 in the pocket is better than a 45 in the safe ..." is very true, but if you can slightly modify your choice in cloths in order to carry a .32 (or a 9mm, or a .38, etc.), then that is a better way to go -- the one moment when your life might be on the line is not the time to be found lacking.

Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
fud-nra.gif


[This message has been edited by FUD (edited April 14, 2000).]
 
A shooting last year in this area with a .25 and a .45. The .25 got in the first shot and hit the guy in the shoulder.The round glanced down and cut a main artery causing him to bleed to death.When he was hit he pulled a 45 and shot the first shooter betwwen the eyes.My opinion is do not carry something that will kill you not the BG.
Bob
 
As a range toy, a .25 is probably OK, but I don't think of them as a serious defensive pistol. If you can carry the .25, you have room for the Keltec P32, and it gives you a more realistic, though still pretty wimpy caliber. I've yet to convince myself to carry anything smaller than my .380, even though I have a couple of .32's. I also have a Baby Browning .25 and a Colt .25, but they're for the collectable value, not as defensive guns.
 
Colonel Jeff Cooper used tp say "The trpuble with carrying a .25 automatic is that it gives ypu the delusion that you armed with a deadly weapon."
 
I have an Astra Cub in .22 short. Not only do the cartridges have more powder but they also kick more and break wooden backstops (1x2 firring strips) better. (the .25 was a Titan of similar size and wieght)

I suppose that the average person would have second thoughts about continuing an attack if any pistol was pointed at them, but if you had to shoot, the .25 would be the least effective.
 
As Greyfox so astutely pointed out, if I were ever forced to shoot a goblin with my .25 Jetfire (or the .32 Tomcat that has supplanted it) I would not stand around assessing the stopping power of the initial fusillade (and waiting for the BG to retaliate)! I'd be beating feet in the opposite direction before the echoes died away! The true forte of the Jetfire was its size; even smaller than the P-32, as small as a derringer and much easier to fire rapidly and accurately than the aforementioned derringer or SA Freedom Arms mini.
BTW, to anyone who owns a Freedom Arms mini in .22 WMR and a chrono, I've often wondered... Is there any real difference between .22 WMR and .22 LR out of a 1" bbl, or does the extra powder of the magnum just go up in muzzleflash?

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Tamara's House o' Weapons: If we can't kill it, it's immortal.
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
Tamara - the North American Arms page - www.naaminis.com
and http://www.naaminis.com/naaveloc.html

have info on velocities from their guns.

The reasonable advice is that these are guns if you can carry no other or for back up.

But you are much better off with one than without.

They should be picked with a knowledge of alternatives.

But a poor person who can only afford a 25 ACP for concealment is better off than folks who carry nothing.
 
If I HAD to carry a .25, I would shoot for the face ;)

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"what gives a government that arms the whole world the right to disarm it's own citizens?"
 
I've read the mafia uses the .25 as a calling card for those people they want to teach a lesson. The M.O. is to shoot for the guts. If the victim lives, he learns a lesson, if not, so what.

Another way they use the .25 is to shoot the victim behind the ear or in the temple at point blank when they suspect nothing as a means of execution (no need for a silencer w/ such a wimpy caliber). Though, I have also read about the intended victim getting a whole mag's worth in the head and living, FWIW.
 
Another .25 ACP effectiveness story, from an acquaintance of mine in a municipal department here in NC:

He was called to the scene of an apparent drug deal turned ripoff. The thief took the dope from the dealer, then forced him to kneel on the floor and shot him in the head from behind, execution-style. The dealer fell to the floor and faked unconsciousness (not clear whether he actually was unconscious for a moment or two) and when the thief left, he went to his phone and called the cops. The guy was walking around reasonably calm when the cops got there, and told them exactly who'd shot him. I don't know what the long-term effects of the injury might have been, but those present at the scene concluded that head shots from a .25 weren't necessarily decisive.
 
I had the barrel on my Jetfire replaced with a 4" one and load with 30 grain pure copper PPS Maximum Sub Caliber loads rated for 1200 out of a 2.5" barrel and 40 grain Glaser Safety Slugs rated for 1100 out of the same barrel. Either way the idea is to have extra velocity and cookie cutter slugs to get inside the skull. And I keep two extra loaded mags with it. Why a 25? For a light second gun in my suitcase when I travel. The other is an ungodly heavy 41 mag model 58 with Silvertips and 4 more speedloaders.
 
Hi, Tamara and folks,

I too once carried a .22 Short Astra Cub. When asked how I would use it if necessary, I replied that I would shoot the BG in the forehead so the blood would run down into his eyes and blind him. I would then throw the gun at him and run like hell. Actually, I would have aimed for his eyes.

Jim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Glenn E. Meyer:
But a poor person who can only afford a 25 ACP for concealment is better off than folks who carry nothing. [/quote]

I can agree that there should be inexpensive alternatives for folks that can't afford $600-700 guns, but that doesn't restrict them to the .25 caliber. 9mm or .38Sp rounds are as cheap as .25, and you can buy a good used .38Sp revolver for not much more than one of the cheap .25's. I'd a lot rather have that if I actually needed a gun!
 
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