.25acp -.32acp on their way out?

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Famas

New member
Hello - For past month I have been shopping around for a nice pistol for my wife, for her own personal protection......something nice and small for her purse, belt, etc. I've noticed that many pistols of many years ago, the "pocket pistol" era, were usually of the .25acp and .32acp range. It seems very hard to find something in this caliber these days. Are these two calibers on their way out to becoming obsolete in the next few years? BTW - my wife is looking at a .380 pistol, which seems to be the new "pocket pistol" caliber.

Any thoughts? Will these two calibers soon disappear from popular usage, if they haven't already?
 
I guess it would depend somewhat on what the meaning of "popular usage" is.

In a manner of speaking, the .25ACP has likely already passed from "popular usage".

The .32ACP, while more popular, certainly isn't on the LGS's list of hot sellers.

However, I think that there are enough users of each to guarantee that the chambering for either the .25ACP or the .32ACP won't be disappearing any time soon.

I am not an expert in firearms history, however, so I will not be held responsible for any losses you may incur from investing due to the opinion stated above:).

Will
 
My grandmother sewed a place to stow her little 25 auto into the sling of her bra. They had a bar about 3 hours from any law enforcement help... Of course we had a shotgun under the bar and a .357 was always within arms reach.

I have not even looked to see if anyone even makes a 25 anymore....but the 32 is alive and well.
 
I don't think they'll be disappearing anytime in the very near future. But from my frequent perusals of gun shops (both on- and offline) and shows, I'd definitely agree that .380 is the "go to" caliber for small pocket semi-autos now. Even that may change in the next few years as companies make smaller and smaller 9mms, but some will probably still prefer the lighter .380 rounds for such a small package, recoil-wise.
 
I believe there is a company called "Masterpiece Arms" that is making really cool Baby Browning clones chambered in .25acp. I can't speak to reliability but the engraved one I handled at the LGS was very nice. Regardless of the inferior caliber, I'd still like to own one some day.
 
I think the thrust of your post is correct - the two smaller cartridges still have guns chambered for them, but not in near the volume as previously.

I wouldn't recommend a 25acp to anyone for anything except a range toy, but the 32acp served police and many others for years. By all means, if that's the biggest she can handle, then investing in a Keltec or Beretta in that cartridge might be the ticket.

I would encourage you to support her decision to carry a .380, myself. Just a bit more oomph, and loads of choices.
 
The .25acp cartridge is definitely on a steady declineand for some good reasons. Ballistic tests have shown the .25acp to be a pretty poor cartridge. IIRC some test have even show the much maligned .22lr (and without question the .22wmr) to be a better choice. (My friend's father was killed with a .22 several decades ago, so it certainly CAN kill but should never be a first choice for defense.) Most pocket pistols chambered in .25acp are deemed heavy, bulky or both by the current standard.

The .32acp is doing better but still not doing well. It is not a very powerful round and it's reputation is "decent" at best. Similar to the .25acp, most pistols made for it are considered larger and heavier than required for the cartridge. The major exception being the Kel-Tec P32 which really helped bring pocket pistol back into popularity. However, the .32acp was still considered to be a marginal caliber for defense. The development of the Kel-Tec P3AT, an almost identical sized pistol to the P32, chambered in .380auto showed that it is possible to get a caliber (considered by most the very minimum for defense) into a ultra-lightweight and pocketable design, thus eliminating the ongoing use of the .25acp and 32acp cartridges.

Your wife should be well served by the .380auto but keep in mind, small lightweight guns are more difficult to handle than larger ones. Best of luck.
 
My grandmother sewed a place to stow her little 25 auto
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Maybe back in the day the 25 and 32 had a use. I don't think so now. Too many options out there nowdays. For me I've never had any interest for them. I do think they will stay around, ammo may get harder to fine locally.
 
Funny how, for almost 100 years, the 32 was the standard issue for police in Europe and now folks seem to think it isn't adequate enough - tell that to Seecamp and Keltec, who sell a lot of them. I know I am not going to volunteer to be shot by one

I used to own a Walther 32 PP, great pointing, no recoil and up close would do you harm. I currently have a Colt 25 model of 1908 and it is a lot of fun to shoot, even as small as it is; again, up close and personal, i wouldn't want to get shot by it

They might not be as popular as some uber capacity plastic 9mm, but these are easily concealable anywhere by anyone
 
It's not that .32 and .25 are bad its just that popular sentiment tells all the new buyers that you need a bigger round. Those of us that grew up killing varmints with .20 caliber air guns know better.
 
Better food and more of it.......

Funny how, for almost 100 years, the 32 was the standard issue for police in Europe
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..... and 100 years ago, the average european was under 5'6" and 120 lbs..... and compared to the munchkins of the middle ages...... 20th century Americans were relative giants .....

..... now, we still outweigh, on average, every other culture in the world, but now it is not in a good way.....

Go to museums, and look at the clothes ...... it looks like they were made for little kids.
 
+1 oneounceload & EdInk; IMHO the .25ACP is on the verge of obsolescence due to its lack of performance compared to much less expensive rimfires, but the .32ACP will be with us for some time.

I think there's still a market for very small .32ACP pocket pistols for people who (a) are recoil-sensitive and/or (b) want something with more capacity.

One of the main benefits of .32ACP is that a designer can easily stuff 7rds into a legitimately pocket-sized pistol, thereby offering a substantial increase in firepower over a 5-6rd pocket revolver. If you compare capacity- rather than muzzle energy- .32ACP in an automatic solidly beats out .38Spl and .32 H&R Mag / .32 Long in a revolver. .380ACP doesn't, and therefore .380ACP pistols often compete with S&W J frame sized revolvers.
 
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I prefer the kel-tec .32 to the .380, just personal preference and I carry my P32 extensively when not carrying my S&W 642.

Yeah the .32 is a small round but I don't see people who complain about its stopping power lining up to prove their point. Shot placement is everything regardless of the caliber.
 
What is going to kill these cartridges in America is the price of the rounds.

Ammo manufacturers want to trim the number of calibers they produce because of the amount of profit they can make from them and both small calibers cost more per round to produce and sell then they can make back in profit versus other larger,more popular rounds.

If you like the .25 and the .32,then expect to pay more then the .380 does now for both soon.
 
Some people LIKE the smaller calibers. Not everyone feels the need to have a fire-breathing dragon in their hand.
The .25 is a much better defense round than the rimfires out of a short barrel.
.32 is practically as effective as .380-but much more controllable.
You can't make a .380 as small as a .32, and you can't make a .32 as small as a .380. Before anyone tells me about the Seecamp, I'll say that if a gun were specifically designed around .25 acp, it could be much smaller than the Seecamp. Same with the .32.
 
My father has a ppk in .32 Has had it for years. One day I brought a box of 32acp rounds home just to try it out. Now he never shoots...So I load up a magazine and head out into the yard. pop pop pop. Shoots pretty good, functions flawlessly. After I empty the mag I reach up under my **** for the snub nosed mod-19 loaded with Rem 125g sjhp's and proceed to shoot the same can 6 times. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! hahaha. When I went inside the first question i got was "What in the hell was that?" haha. after that he went to a snub 38 for car duty :)
 
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