.25 or a good knife?

W

WVfishguy

New member
Another thread on this forum got me to thinking about a question I've had for a while...

An old man who lived through the West Virginia Blair Mountain (Coal Miners) War laughed when he saw my .25 Beretta. I told him, "It fits in my pocket, and it's better than a knife."

But is it? Would it be better to have a good Randall fighting knife, or a .25 auto?
 
After 15+ years of marital arts, and 5 years military, I can honestly say a knife is only good in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. I'll take a .25 over a knife anyday.
 
Age old question?

I think this has been answered before. Like the old saying goes never bring a knife to a gun fight. Small that the .25cal is still will kill you. And if you don't seek out medical attention those tiny little pieces of hot fire will have you laying on a strecher faster than you think.

True story my great uncle used to hang out in bars a whole lot. There were these 2 guys that always had trouble. The great big ole guy beat the little guy black and blue. The following day the little guy showed up and the big ole guy, asked if you wanted some more as he pulled out a knife.

The guy had a small little .25 cal pulled from his pocket emptied the little pistol as the guy chased him out of the bar and started to cut him the bigger guy collapsed. When the cops showed up the other bar patrons told them it was self defense and moral of the story.

That little bitty 25 still did the trick. Better to have a gun in a knife fight. Bigger would be better but there have been many people who have met their maker through the hands of the small .22 cal.
 
25 vs knife

25 of course - it looks like a gun and make the statement that I'm armed and might be dangerous, often enough to make bad people leave you alone. It makes a big scary noise and flash to frighten the bad people into letting me run away and call 911. A few rounds fired should at least give whatever that is in front of it a very bad day. I'll leave the knife fights to Rambo and the extended firefights to Segal.
 
From the witness himself

Neither heard it from the source who was there that witnessed the whole thing. He thought it was crazy to see such a little caliber put down someone of that size. Guess stranger things have happened but he was still amazed that a .25cal had that kind of effect.
 
After 15+ years of marital arts, and 5 years military, I can honestly say a knife is only good in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. I'll take a .25 over a knife anyday.
Click to expand...

Happly I know how to use them!

As for .25 .vs. knife. Which .25? Which knife?

If say a old junk Jennings .25 .vs. a Randal No. 14, well I'd pick the Randal. Especially in a dark room.

You guys ever hear of Jim Bowie? Once he was challenged to a duel. The other guy let him pick the weapons and place. He said to meet inside a local warehouse, midnight, stocking feet, with whatever weapon you wanted to use. The guy came with a gun, Bowie came with his knife. Bowie is the one who walked away.

So it depends. SD is rarely in broad daylight. Rarely at any long range. And very rarely, if ever, is the fight going to be fair.

So just don't dismiss the blade. Especially a good sized blade in well practiced hands.
 
I'd take the .25acp. I can start putting holes in you from 25 feet away with my Beretta 21A. But just in case I carry a knife for off-hand use. Usually a Bark River Highland, Buck Strider, Spyderco Endura etc.
 
true story

In the 70's in the VA coalfields, a feud between famlies. Three men blocked the road ahead of a miner going to work on the night shift - they approached his truck with at least one knife and announced they were going to kill him. More than one unrelated wittness so testified to these facts as they were on the road stopped behind this scene. The lone man came up with a Raven 25 auto, and began firing when they opened his truck door; stopping the attack instantly, killing one of the attackers, put another on the ground wounded while the third ran like a scalded rabbit, escaping because the gun was empty. I worked for the same company in an adjacent mine. It was the dinner hole conversation for months.
 
WVfishguy

I don't know why so many of us continue to think of combat multipliers as mutually exclusive. A quality hand gun within reason, a quality knife, and a flashlight should be standard carry for all CCWs. In my opinion this is not a either/or issue. I prefer a AL MAR folder to a fixed blade for in town, however in the woods around 9 Nile Falls my Model 17 is on my belt.

Good Luck & Be Safe
 
Definitely the 25 over the knife.


The hard part of carrying a knife as a defensive tool is that there is no easy way to get any kind of training or practice. If I really wanted something to back up a 25, I'd go with some martial arts or hand2hand training. A good number of those courses teach methods for countering a knife or blunt instrument wielding attacker. Shoot the guy, and if he is still some ugly side up, put him on the ground and run like heck.
 
Top secret info

Don't tell anyone (especially knifers) handguns fire projectiles.:cool:
Thats right, you can be several yards away and a handgun is still effective.
I've never met anyone yet who can out run a bullet. ;)



P.S. I also think it would be easier to explain to a jury, about how you shot someone several times with a .25 ACP. Rather than having to explain why you gutted them with a fighting knife.
 
I have a .25, will I stop a angry attacker hopped up on dope? Maybe
Will I deter him? Maybe

Same goes for a knife, But with a gun(no matter how big) I do have a better chance of defending myself at a safe distance.
Now, if you carry a sheath full of throwing knives, this is a moot point.

Both are effective weapons, when proper training is in play, knife just happens to be a little more of a perssonal method of dispatching a threat
 
I have trained with the knife.........but give me the 25.

It doesn't matter anyway because I always carry a knife to compliment my primary which is in a much larger caliber.
 
If you're talking about a SD weapon, I can't fathom any reason you'd ever take a knife if a gun was an available option. Seems like saying you'd take the knife is just bragging that you're so tough you don't need a gun.

Now if he was talking about general utility like hiking or something like that, sure, I could see wanting a good quality knife over a firearm.
 
I think this thread was based off a post I made saying I would prefer a compound bow and a large knife to just a .25ACP. I stand by that statement, but just the knife? I might take the pea shooter there.
 
Well, I also visit some of the blade/knife forums and there is actually a debate raging over there right now over nun-chucks vs. guns. LOL

Dang mall ninjas.
 
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