Critical barrel lenght .22lr vs. .25acp

S

simonrichter

New member
What (if any) is the critical barrel length that will give .25acp advantage over the .22lr in terms of muzzle energy? While the .25acp is actually designed for pocket pistols and the .22lr is not, the latter seemingy performs better even out of relatively short barrels. Maybe there is still kind of a threshold under which the .25acp can make more use of (scarce) length....?
 
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I would go to a ballistic calculator and see what comes out as far as the numbers go. I use a little 25 for a pocket gun when walking the dog. I dont try to make it into something its not.
 
There are several reasons why the .25 ACP exists, none of which have much if anything to do with performance in the conventional sense. My own feeling is that the typical small pistol is a last ditch defense gun where everything is sacrificed to concealability and both calibers are about equally useless in a small pistol. Other things being equal, I would choose the .25 ACP because pistols in that caliber generally feed and function better. The .22 (S, L or LR) has been chambered in small pistols but has not done well in that use and has been popular only on the basis of ammo cost, something which should be irrelevant in a purely defensive, last ditch, gun. The use of a FMJ bullet and a semi-rimmed case, along with a softer CF primer combine to make the .25 more reliable and, in a desperate situation, that is more important than any other factor.

Actually, the .25 ACP makes even less sense today than it did c. 1906. Guns only a little larger than the typical .25 are now available in .380 ACP, a far better round than any .22/.25/.32 in a "vest pocket" pistol.

Jim
 
Don't quote me but I remember years back reading that most 22lr hi-velocity ammo tapped out at around 14-16 inches.

Not sure optimal length for most 25acp but I can't imagine a time where I would choose the 25 over 22lr.

I remember seeing CCI stingers (hyper velocity) out a Beretta Bobcat iirc.. and they had very respectable terminal ballistics for a 22lr.

I think the bobcat has like a 3inch barrel.

meh.. anyway 22lr would not be optimal for SD but If it was me I'd go for 9 or 10 shot revolver and load it with stingers.


Only thing I can think of that a 25acp would be better at is feeding out of a magazine and center fire is more reliable then rimfire.

But more expensive ammo like the stingers tend to have a lot fewer duds then the bulk stuff and a revolver eliminates feed/jaming and racking drills.

I would also recommend a .380 or maybe a .32acp as BARE min.
having said that I've known a few people who can not handle more recoil and I give them the same advice.. 22 revolver with stingers.

My mother is one of them, she thinks a 9mm in a full size service gun like a Beretta 92 is snappy.. and even though it's true you won't feel the recoil in a SD shooting you still gotta deal with it at practice.
 
For all intents and purposes, .25 ACP velocities top out from a 7 inch barrel. Here's the data in muzzle energy from ballistics by the inch:

25auto.png


From a comparable barrel length, hyper velocity .22 LR ammo (CCI Stinger, Velocitor, Aguila Interceptor, Supermaximum, and Winchester Hyper Speed) will generally always have a muzzle energy about the same as or greater than .25 ACP.

There is no threshold where the .25 ACP makes better use of a scarce length compared to the .22.

Now, there may be times where the .25 will be 1 to 5 ft/lbs more, but when we're talking about energies less than 130 ft/lbs, I don't consider an extra 5 ft/lbs to be that much to be impressed by.

However, the most important part of using a low caliber gun for defense isn't muzzle energy, because there's really not enough to consider it powerful for stopping a threat, but penetration. .25 ACP FMJ bullets (which are the only projectile that should be used for defense in the .25) are 20% heavier than the 40 grain hyper velocity .22 and about 40% heavier than the 30 to 32 grain .22 ammo and the bullet is round nosed, thus it is a low drag projectile in soft tissue.

That translates to better penetration.

Secondary to penetration is the priming system and cartridge geometry. The .25 is centerfire, so it's more reliable, the .22 isn't and is inherently less reliable. The .25 ACP is a semi-rimmed cartridge while the .22 is fully rimmed. Both can cause issues in detachable magazines called rimlock.

The one aspect of the .22 LR that contributes to possibly being a better choice than a .25 ACP is there are many more revolvers chambered in .22 LR than .25 ACP. Revolvers are more reliable than semi auto's, so that magazine feeding issues and the rimlock possibility is eliminated.

Personally, if someone is looking for a small pocket gun with lowest recoil, decent energy and penetration, and excellent reliability, the .32 revolver is the best choice available.
 
Don't quote me but I remember years back reading that most 22lr hi-velocity ammo tapped out at around 14-16 inches.
Click to expand...
Standard .22 LR tops out between 9 and 12 inch barrels. The hyper velocity stuff is anywhere from 16 to 20 inches because of the greater amount of powder and powder type.

Here's the link to my source:
http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/22.html

Keep in mind that while a .22 can reach maximum velocity from a 9 inch barrel, a 16 inch barrel with iron sights or open sights will be a more accurate firearm to use do to longer sight radius.

Obviously if using an optic that eliminates that advantage, but if the point is to have as small a rifle or handgun as possible, adding an optic adds size and weight.
 
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