Would you feel safe carrying a .25 ACP pistol in your pocket?

Would you feel safe carrying a .25 ACP pistol?

  • yes, it will do in most situations and is better than nothing

    Votes: 134 66.0%

  • no, it will just make the target mad

    Votes: 69 34.0%
  • Total voters
    203
Posts like these, and some of the replies, point out something I heartily believe, and that is, most people have never had a loaded gun pointed at them. Those of us that have, know this for a fact...size doesn't matter. Fear matters. Shock matters. Surprise matters. I also think some of you watch too much TV, believe too much gun rag "expert" nonsense and think movies show real life.

If a threat arises and your hand wraps around your little .25, you bet your ass you feel better. Anyone that doesn't think so has never "been there".

I'm glad I got that out...Been meaning to write that for a long time.
 
I would feel safer with a .25 in my pocket than no gun at all. A .25 can kill. Last Thanksgiving I found my brother dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gun that he used was a Raven .25 acp. No one could tell me how long it took him to die. Was just a small hole, but lots of blood. Proper shot placement and a .25 acp will kill.
A couple of years ago a kid in Florida killed his teacher with a single shot to the head from a .25 acp. Bullet penetrated the skull, and the teacher died on the spot.
 
Diggers-
The .25 has more power than a .22lr out of a 2 inch barrel. The statistics you are looking at are for rifles, or handguns with 6" bbls.
Bill
 
Years ago I had a .22 Short Beretta Minx as a understudt for my Beretta .25 ACP Jetfire. Both were reliable handguns and the .22 was very inexpensive to shoot. The .25 was often in a handcuff case or a fold over wallet holster. It was however either my second or third gun. A S&W Model 19 and Model 36 were the primaries for duty, off duty and backup back in the early 80's.

If ALL I had access to was another .25 Beretta then I still feel it will do the primary job of complying with the 1st rule of a gunfight. It will probably never be needed, if needed not shot and if shot I hope my ability to hit well with it will carry the day. I MUCH PREFER my Kahr PM9 in the pocket. :)
 
Sure I'd trust a .25 in my pocket. Unloaded. Cause if I loaded it, I might think about using it. And if I used it, the bad guy might get mad and do me harm.

Those words, or at least a close resemblance of them, were said by Jeff Cooper.

Yea I'd have that .25, but I'd also have my Glock 26 and my Centennial. And they would be loaded!
 
Posts like these, and some of the replies, point out something I heartily believe, and that is, most people have never had a loaded gun pointed at them. Those of us that have, know this for a fact...size doesn't matter. Fear matters. Shock matters. Surprise matters. I also think some of you watch too much TV, believe too much gun rag "expert" nonsense and think movies show real life.
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That's a pretty silly assumption.

I have had a gun pointed at me, and contrary to your assertion, I wasn't scared to the point of being unable to respond rationally.

I've also seen gang members stand quite firmly when facing an armed victim and not flinch when they were staring down a .45 1911.

To assume your gun is going to scare someone into submission is a foolish mistake to make. You must always assume you are going to have to use your weapon if it's pulled. If you go into a fight thinking you're going to intimidate your opponent, you've already lost.
 
I have had a gun pointed at me, and contrary to your assertion, I wasn't scared to the point of being unable to respond rationally.
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Did it make you stop and think? Were you scared? Did the word Death enter your mind? Rational people react these ways.

My point, for those of you who aren't Superman, is that the little hide-out gun that gets stuck in the face of some jerk about to do you harm has an effect on the jerk. Humans, even gang members, react in certain ways and this is one of them. It's called self preservation.

The bad guy who thinks he's found easy prey, that suddenly has a gun under his chin is without a doubt having a real "OH Poop" moment. That is the pocket guns real value...it's not there...then it's there.
 
Big guns 'scare' as good as little guns. But big guns stop way way better than little guns. If one assumes just brandishing a pistol, any pistols, will 'scare' away all criminals, well the word 'assume' means to make a ass out of U and me, hint hint....

Some attackers will 'scare' away. Some won't as shown by any review of SD shootings in the news papers. You don't base all your plans on 'scaring'. What is more, I've never heard of anyone in a shooting wish for a smaller gun or less ammo. Once the fight starts, it's right the reverse.

Like I said, big guns scare just as good as little ones, but when push comes to shove, they shove lots more than any .25.
 
I've come to another conclusion; some of you have a much higher opinion of the average bad guy than I do. I see them as cowards, weak willed losers, who prey on the weak, elderly or victims of opportunity. Crud who want no fight, just victims.

The original post asks a yes or no question. My answer is still yes, of course, who wouldn't.
 
First of all, if you are forced to defend yourself, you are not going to feel safe until the situation is over, no matter what you have. There are many variables to this question, and many answers.

Against an unarmed attacker, yes it beats the heck out of fighting someone for your life. No stopping power? Try fighting someone with 7 rounds of 25 acp in your kneecaps.

Against an armed attacker, a 25 definately beats a knife, in my opinion.

Against an attacker armed with a .45, pray he doesn't know how to use it very well.

So basically, yes I would feel safer than having nothing at all. A .25 is not a manstopper, but it can be an equalizer at times.
 
.25 auto

If I carried a .25 auto in my pocket I would be very afraid...afraid that I would have an accidental discharge and shoot myself in the privets. Trying to be serious, the only way I would carry such is if it was the only hand gun that I owned. Further, I would rather carry a Iver Johnson TP-22 (22 long rifle) than a .25 auto. But, none the less it is a moot argument for most gun lovers in that all of us usually possess several handguns more suitable for carry.
Regards,
dahermit
 
If I carried a .25 auto in my pocket I would be very afraid...afraid that I would have an accidental discharge and shoot myself in the privets. Trying to be serious, the only way I would carry such is if it was the only hand gun that I owned. Further, I would rather carry a Iver Johnson TP-22 (22 long rifle) than a .25 auto. But, none the less it is a moot argument for most gun lovers in that all of us usually possess several handguns more suitable for carry.
Regards,
dahermit
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I would agree with you balistically, but centerfires are much more reliable than rim fires. I forgot where the stats are that show how often rimfirs fail to go off. I have had plenty at the range though and even repeated attempts to get them to go off failed. I think .25 auto is a joke. If you can carry a .25 auto, you can carry a .32 auto. It is still a mouse gun but you can shoot larger mice (maybe even rats :eek: :D :p ) According to Winchester's ballistics charts, you get 66 ft.lbs. of energy from a 45 grain .25 (Super X Expanding point) moving at 815 fps. With the .32 auto (Silver Tips), you get 125 ft. lbs. of energy from a 60 grain bullet moving at 970 fps. Keep in mind these are muzzle velocities. Lobger distances are pretty impractical with mouse guns and most self defense shootings occurs within very close distances (so energy drop off is not too important). Lets carry this a step further since Keltec produces a nice small .380 auto that rivals the size of .25 and .32 caliber mouse guns. Loaded with 6 rounds, the P-3AT weighs less than 12 ounces and measures 5.2" l x3.5" h x.77" w. Lets compare this to the the Beretta Bobcat which is one of the more popular .22/.25 mouse guns. The weight of the Bobcat unloaded is alread 11.5 ounces and the size is 4.9" l x 2.4" h x ? w. It is at least as thick as the Keltec P-3AT though. You decide whether .25 is REALLY all the gun you can carry. Check out this chart from Seecamp.
 
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More reliable?

I would agree with you balistically, but center fires are much more reliable than rim fires...
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I have not found 22 rim fire to be all that unreliable. Thinking back on the thousands of rounds of rim fire I have fired in several different autos, when there was a misfire, it was usually my fault for not cleaning the gun after extensive use...they really get dirty. I do not remember any misfire of American brands of rim fire that I could not trace to other than the gun itself malfunctioning.
Another point worthy of consideration is that center fire ammo being considerably more expensive than rim fire, I have noticed the tendency on these boards for people to buy the cheapest ammo they can find and then report misfires with certain bargain brands (Wolf).
Regards,
dahermit
 
Roll on over to www.rimfirecentral.com and see what the people who shoot mostly .22 rimfires have to say about mis-fires and brands. I've shot thousands of the cheapest .25 ACP ammo out there over the last fifty years. Never had a FTF that was ammo related. I have suffered through quite a few .22lr and .22 WMR FTF that was solely ammo related. Many of them fired after the round was rotated 90 degrees, to bring a new section of rim under the firing pin.

I don't think that the original idea was to go out and buy a new .25 ACP weapon. I believe that it was dealing with the assumption that you already HAD a .25 ACP. Many older people have one, or more, of these little beasts, from accumulating firearms over the years. The phenomena of the "mini" pistol in major calibers is only a decade or so old. Not everyone can go out and buy another whiz-bang pistol combination.

Not too many years ago, there were several national instructors who tested the various small BUGs. Results were somewhat amazing, as the little .25 ACP weapons proved more reliable, and accurate than a number of the "old stand-bys". Heck, the Raven .25 ACP proved more accurate and reliable than several models of Walther, in several calibers.

This is the American Dream, if this is enough, more is better, and most is best. There are no degrees of death. FYI, the idea of a .22lr in a mini-gun being more powerful than a .25 ACP came from published charts that didn't mention the barrel length. It's bogus.:)
 
Did it make you stop and think? Were you scared? Did the word Death enter your mind? Rational people react these ways.

My point, for those of you who aren't Superman, is that the little hide-out gun that gets stuck in the face of some jerk about to do you harm has an effect on the jerk. Humans, even gang members, react in certain ways and this is one of them. It's called self preservation.

The bad guy who thinks he's found easy prey, that suddenly has a gun under his chin is without a doubt having a real "OH Poop" moment. That is the pocket guns real value...it's not there...then it's there.
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It's your right to be ignorant. But please, you can hold your sophomoric taunts for others of your own ilk. I'm not impressed.

You might want to attend a training course such as those offered by Gunsite or Thunder Ranch. Your glaring ignorance with regards to the proper use of a firearm in self defense is dangerous to those reading these pages who might listen to your ramblings.

Sticking guns under peoples chins and brandishing a weapon without any intent on using it are the actions of a foolish man.
 
It's your right to be ignorant. But please, you can hold your sophomoric taunts for others of your own ilk. I'm not impressed.
You might want to attend a training course such as those offered by Gunsite or Thunder Ranch. Your glaring ignorance with regards to the proper use of a firearm in self defense is dangerous to those reading these pages who might listen to your ramblings.
Sticking guns under peoples chins and brandishing a weapon without any intent on using it are the actions of a foolish man.
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OH, please. While it may not have met your critical standards for journalism, the post had nothing in it that involved brandishing. Nor was there any mention or presumption that the weapon under the bad guys nose was inappropriate, as the scenario was set to be a robbery.

Having attended courses at the pair of training sites you mention, I can honestly say that they didn't teach one how to interpret the English language, which is where the fault appears to lie.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and state that anyone who faces a weapon held with hostile intent who ISN'T afraid, is the one who has no business being armed. The sites mentioned allow you to learn how to harness the emotional rollercoaster that being brought to face our own mortality causes.

I would describe your post as sophmoric, and full of taunts, sir. You believe that you possess knowledge above that of the average member, so act like it.

Remember, the First rule of gunfighting is to have a gun. The second rule should be shot placement. Anything else is gravy.:)
 
1) I don't "pretend" to do anything.
2) I didn't say anything about being "scared". I did say that not everyone panics at the mere sight of a gun.
3) I honestly don't care what you think.
4) Have a nice day.
 
While I'm not sure how being a Vietnam Vet, with all that implies, is a qualifier for the .25 ACP, it will kill. FYI, I was also in Vietnam, 1966-1969, so what does that imply about me, huh????
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Hey, I was just using shorthand for "unresolved issues" or maybe PTSD. Whatever they call that stuff today. He went, he fought, he got medals, he got discharged, he was never even close to the same person when he returned. Spent most of the rest of his life drunk. He always seems desperately unhappy. My Mom (his sister) said he got malaria while he was over there and some idiot told him that, because of that, he would never live to be 40. He believed it. He was convinced he was going to sicken and die young. I've heard of suicide by cop and I think he was suicide by lifestyle and finally by wife. He pushed the issue in a certain way until that person shot and killed him.

I'm happy that a lot of people went to Vietnam and came back without major complications. But way too many of them didn't.

And I'm prior service Army myself but from 85 to 93. I was in a combat MOS but nobody ordered me to a combat zone during my enlistment. So I don't have personal experience to draw upon.

Gregg
 
Sturmy.........I don't remember anything in my post about pretend.
Nothing about being "scared", either.
By now it's pretty obvious that you only care for your own opinions, anyway.
I certainly will, thank you.:)

tulsamal, I was actually being tongue-in-cheek. I just couldn't see the connection between being a VN vet, and carrying a .25ACP.:)

If I was given a .25 ACP pistol that was reliable, and told that it was all I could use here in N. Georgia, I'd actually feel pretty safe. Crime is currently low, and violence beyond fist-fights is also rare. Your mileage may vary, but I'm willing to bet that there are quite a few in the exact same circumstances.:)
 
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