Best .25 ACP Pistols?

What are some of the best .25 pistols made and what ones do you own and carry?

I am not familiar enough with the whole market of .25 ACP pistols as it has existed over the last century or so to give an answer on which is best. Given the age of a lot of the candidate guns, I think your ultimate decision may end up being made more on the basis of what is available and its condition than its reputation and features.

I have an RG-25. Of all my pistols, it is the only one I have had to use in a self-defense situation and it performed as intended.

If I was looking for a tiny self-defense pistol today, I would get it in either .22 rimfire or .380. My reason is that 25 ACP is expensive and reloading components difficult to find, so it will be much more difficult and expensive to gain proficiency with a new-to-you 25 ACP pistol and then shoot it often enough to maintain proficiency.
 
I don't know of any company that currently makes a 25acp pistol. But I would stick with a reliable make and model. A 25acp will kill a person, anyone that says it can't, is wrong. In a tight spot I'd rather have a 25acp than not have anything at all. It is strictly a close range gun, and I do mean close. The only negative is the ammunition is expensive, so you wouldn't get a lot of range time with it. They do make reloading dies for it though.
 
I don't know of any company that currently makes a 25acp pistol.

I believe the Taurus PLY-25 is still made.

PLY-hand.jpg


I bought mine within the last 5 years,,,
And I've seen then new in boxes at gun shows.

I've probably allowed 20 people to shoot mine,,,
Every one of them has been pleasantly surprised with it.

Aarond

.
 
When I carry my little 25's I usually carry a Beretta or Bauer. Between the two I prefer the Beretta, has more rounds and has a better safety position for me. When I carry a little pocket gun I usually carry my NAA 32acp but if I did not have it then I would just get a Ruger LCP.
 
Don't have one, but wish I did. But am surprised that no one has mentioned the Mauser 1910. I think all the Mauser autos are outstanding.
willr
 
Yeah, I really like my Mauser 1910. It has a 3" barrel instead of 2", and better sights than most. It's easily the most accurate 25acp I've fired.
 
Seecamp re introduced the .25 auto. I got one of the first run. Fantastic little gun. Safe to carry chambered. Very reliable.

I own a Baby Browning, a Bauer, a Beretta 21A and (I think) a Raven. The striker fired creep me out to carry chambered. The 21A runs well but is a little chunky.

Seecamp is currently having an issue getting mags made up for the .25. If they can resolve that, I would whole heartedly recommend the Seecamp.
 
Bummer about the 25-PLY

The only tip barrel in the 2017 catalog is the 22 Poly. Not even the all metal PT 22, nor the PT 25 are listed.

That's a bummer! :(

It really is a nice shooting handgun.

Every person I've allowed to shoot has been pleasantly surprised.

Oh well,,,

Aarond

.
 
It better be, as .22 lr costs 10x less.

If you get fancy and pick up some Stingers, it's only 2-3x less.

Is it twice as reliable?

Ah, but what is your life worth?

And so the cycle begins anew.
 
I'm not sure about the power difference. Quite a few years back, my friend and I chronographed my beretta 21A and another one chambered for .22 LR. Both had 2 inch barrels. Here's what we found. The .22 LR varied quite a bit in velocity: from 750 to 800 ft/sec, with 775 ft/sec being the average. The factory .25 ACP ammunition ran a consistent 850 ft/sec. The .25 ACP had a 50 grain bullet, and the .22 LR was standard velocity, 40 grain round nose (If I recall it was cheap Winchester T-22). If you use diameters of .251 and .223, you get the .25 ACP punching a 26% bigger hole. The sectional densities are about the same (.22 LR is 1% bigger) and so the penetration of the two rounds should be about the same. Muzzle energy of the .25 ACP was 80 ft-lb and energy of the .22 LR was 53 ft-lb. It seems to me that the .25 ACP is more powerful. Although, as I said we were using standard velocity. High velocity .22 LR should shift the numbers, but I don't know by how much.

My .25 ACP handloads chronographed at 900 ft/sec.
 
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