.25acp ammo...

S

Skans

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What is the most powerful/effective .25acp round? Is there any reason to even consider hollow points which likely have less penetration and little to no expansion in this round?

This topic is not about the ineffectiveness of .25acp. I know all the cliches about the .25acp round and I know that 9mm, 44 magnum and possibly slingshots have more power. Is there anything out there that can do better than 69 ft-lbs? Which defensive round has the best penetration? Thanks for all input.
 
I have found that hollow points must be going in excess of 1150 fps to actually expand reliably. The 25acp just does not have enough power to penetrate or expand.
 
that fastest FMJ you can find. shot placement is the most important element, then comes penetration. expansion is a distant third.
 
There is no such thing as powerful .25 ACP. My best advice is avoid hollow points and test all available factory .25 ACP ammo that you can get your hands on and find which gives you the best accuracy.

From what I've found, PPU is the cheapest ammo I can find. Something like $18/50 rds.
 
What ever you can find that functions in your pistol, and is reasonably accurate.
I doubt the boutique ammo companies load 25acp. No matter how much they exceed SAMMI standards they can't claim it is a behemoth stopping wonder round for an otherwise perfectly adequate cartridge.
 
I have an elderly family member, middle 80's, female, lives alone. She bought a 25 ACP auto years back and told me about it. When she showed it to me it was in pretty bad shape. No maintenance since purchased it. Pitting starting to happen, ammo corroded pretty bad.

I don't know if it is the most effective or powerful but I found "Hornady Critical Defense" ammo for it.

After a serious cleaning and doing all I could with what I had to prevent any more corrosion it functioned just fine.

Hope this helps!

Edited to correct caliber.
 
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I probably should have said this is for a .25acp pen gun to begin with. So, feeding isn't an issue. The barrel is over-engineered, so pressure isn't a major concern either. I posted this in the semi-auto forum because AFAIK this round is used exclusively in semi-autos; the pen gun being an oddball and only non-semi auto that I can think of that uses this round.

My little pen gun is not my primary carry gun. If anything, it would be a back-up that I thought would be fun to carry on occasion, under the right circumstances (not everyone appreciates the novelty of a pen gun). Still, just like any gun I would carry, I want it to be as effective as possible and I want a box of the best ammo I can find for this gun.

I certainly appreciate the input on ammo. And, I recognize that it's a tough question to answer - believe me, I've done a little research and I can't find any clear winner in this category. Also, given that this is a weak round, I didn't know if hollow points even made sense?
 
Pen gun barrels aren't long enough to develop a good velocity and all .25 ACP ammo is kept withing SAAMI specs, which means it doesn't get enough velocity to cause any hollow point to expand and even if it did, the penetration would be so shallow it wouldn't be effective.

So even with this information it doesn't change what .25 ACP is. Find whatever .25 FMJ you can and test it. FMJ is your only option.
 
Winchester Silvertips, you can't buy any more. Basically, a semi-jacketed HP. Don't remember the bullet weight.
"...Most standard FMJ loads will penetrate..." Entirely, a 2 x 4 at 100 yards. An FMJ will not expand at all. Whereas an HP probably will.
"...a .25acp pen gun to begin with..." That you'd have to be standing on the BG to hit with? A "novelty" for sure, but not what you'd want to stake your hide on.
 
Skans I probably should have said this is for a .25acp pen gun to begin with. So, feeding isn't an issue. The barrel is over-engineered, so pressure isn't a major concern either. I posted this in the semi-auto forum because AFAIK this round is used exclusively in semi-autos; the pen gun being an oddball and only non-semi auto that I can think of that uses this round.
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currently cobra makes a 25 acp derringer. in the past of course there have been a few revolvers chambered in 25 acp. i wouldnt mind seeing NAA produce a 25 acp mini revolver.
 
+1 on the NAA 25acp revolver. Also a 32 while they are at it lol, I run ball ammo in my little 25's and would suggest whatever runs best in your gun.
 
If you reload, try some of your own home grown. I reload it but stay in the wimpy range. I just shoot it for some occasional fun.

 
I've loaded 35 grain Hornady HP's to over 1200 FPS, and shot them in my Astra Cub. FWIW
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now you have my attention! put a drop of solder in that hollow point cavity and you have a good little round for this caliber. id still prefer a 50gr. fmj going an honest 875 fps from a 2" bbl.
 
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