My 50+ years with the .25 acp

[ApacheCoTodd]

Known a few .25 fights personally, very common street caliber, in the day. Here is my scary story: I was working late in an industrial parking area in Salinas Calif on a fork lift. Very much alone in summer evening late in gathering Twilight I was adjacent to a frieght spur which paralleled the main tracks , very remote in industrial park. I saw a younger man , tall and lean with a small pack on in a hoodie sweat shirt all in black walk across the tracks a block up and with a a sure footed stride skirt industrial building edges and make a bee line towards me on the fork lift moving large equipment on a trailer. He traveled in open over 200 yards directly towards me , nobody around. I had been pan handled before but this was totally different and put me on alert to scrutinize him and stop working. I palmed by new Beretta 20 then loaded with the equally new Winchester " Pellet Nose" and when the person was 100 feet away shouted " what do you want " ? He slowed down, not responding but with a feral grin reached around to the back of his waist band and continued to advance quickly obvious with something in his hand behind back. I was an A ticket IPSC guy at the time and brought the mouse gun to low ready and shouted STOP ! He did not stop and immediately I drew a bead on the heart area and finger on trigger ready to put in two or three is he got closer than 10 yards as I did not yet see what was behind his back. Upon seeing the raised gun held Weaver style he broke off his advance on a angle keeping what was behind him hidden. As he slowed again with me tracking and about 60 feet away now to my weak side he turned toward me and advanced a couple steps and I tapped one off DA half way between us and off to the side a little. There was nothing to hit in that direction for a long distance. The snap and orange flame jerk the guy off balance he stumbled and turned and ran off in the gathering darkness towards the tracks at least a buster mile away. I road the fork lift back to the warehouse, licked it up and got in my car and went home and had a drink. Much later , from the mug shots and tv coverage and timeline I have absolutely no doubt that was Richard Ramierez the " Nightstalker" who terrorized Ca.

Isn't that completely unsettling should he have turned out to be that mutant.

Todd.

 

[Gordon]

The French .25 was issued to French forestry officers and small village police before and after WW 2. Apparently they seemed it enough to have a deterrent effect. It is a 4" barrel , the longest one on a .25 I have. I think there were a few others , mostly German, that had barrels up to that length. You get the full velocity advertised from that barrel. The stories about special ops and them was highly interesting. I did have one of those Cobray threaded barrels around . Today you can get a Beretta threaded barrel fairly easy and those little " pill bottle" suppressors are very interesting ! I've seen an old " Sparrow" on one that was about as long as the gun when not attached and thought it uber kewl. I do have an older Beretta 70 " Jaguar" with a 3" and a 6 " barrel I would like to suppress one day, I contacted Mach IV about it.

 

[upptick]

You -- and Ramirez -- both dodged a bullet in that little encounter.

 

[bannockburn]

I can remember having several Beretta Jetfires over the years and everyone of them were reliable and easy to shoot . Use to carry one in a pants pocket if I was making a quick run to a convenience store late at night. Also had aBeretta Model 20 which was hard chrome plated by Metalife and an Astra Cub (the .22 Short version). My favorite, besides the Berettas is still the Baby Browning. Very nicely crafted it never ceases to amaze me how something so small can be designed, built, and operate in such a truly miniature gun!

 

[Gordon]

Doggone it, but that's weird.

Once again, what's the point of the exposed cartridge at the bottom? It's merely to have a handy round to start with?

Todd

I think it's the first one up after you reload then close the barrel. Although the little lever on the right side tips up the barrel IF a magazine is seated , so you could put one in then if carried empty chambered ! BTW The knob on the back if turned 90 degrees retracts the firing pin from striking = a safety and if you turn it a couple turns you can remove the firing pin and spring and clean it's tunnel ! I did mention it's DAO ! With a weird but not too hard trigger pull . Viva la difference !

 

[Speedo66]

My first handgun purchase was made in Ga. when I was 18 and a freshman in college in 1965 . It was a Beretta 950 Jetfire in .25 acp and I bought a box of ammo and carried it in a pocket on my ramblings around on my Royal Enfield 350 Motorcycle I had down there .

Similar, although my 950 was in .22 short. My freshman year was ‘64, and I had a Honda 305 Superhawk.

Brought it back with me to NYC, eventually a backup at one point early in my LE service, loaded hot with a .22 short HS HP. lol. Subsequently, I did have a Colt Jr. in .25 though.

Sold to another officer and replaced with a W. German .380 PPK/S.

I'm still riding, how about you?

 

[Richard Jay King]

The little .25's always fascinated me..Although it would be hopelessly outclassed in a police type gunfight with armed badguys but it IS a gun..And in that regard is superior to a rock in your hand if trying to deter a would-be mugger. Some say that a good tire iron would be a better defensive weapon...I disagree! Tire irons are heavy and don't conceal well! NOBODY WANTS to get shot regardless of caliber so the little .25 will serve well against a street thug. He will likely leave and mug somebody else.

 

[CDW4ME]

The man that posted Two Guns To Win ... now does a 25 acp thread. (I am disappoint)

 

[CajunBass]

Those that are drawn to the .25 ACP have never used it in a fight. Cooper had this to say about them:

Carry a .25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody – and he finds out about it – he may be very angry with you.

I generally like Cooper, but sometimes his hyperbole was a bit much.

I used to think the good Col. was so smart when I read that. Of course I was a young, still wet behind the ears teen-age myself. What did I know? I seem to remember he was pretty down on the 38 Special too. He turned me off to Model 10's for years.

When I was just a few years older than that I desperately wanted a Raven 25 for one specific reason. They were cheap. I could actually imagine owning one. At the time I wanted a handgun. Any handgun. I could at least imagine saving up the $50 or so for a Raven (or an RG 22 revolver). A Colt or Smith and Wesson? HA!! Dream on. Those things were $100 or more. They might as well have been a million. I never did get one (a Raven) though. One annoying thing or another, like rent, groceries, or a car payment kept coming up.

I did end up with one .25 later on. It was a Taurus. I forget the model, but it was basically a copy of the Beretta with the tip-up barrel. It had pink "pearl" grips. Hey, my wife wanted it. We kept it around for a while, but she decided she didn't really like it, so we sold it without ever firing it. It sold in one day listed on a local "gun for sale" board, for what I'd paid for it.

I keep saying if I ever see a really nice Raven, with the box and papers, I'm going to buy it, just for the nostalgia factor.

 

[bannockburn]

CajunBass

I keep saying if I ever see a really nice Raven, with the box and papers, I'm going to buy it, just for the nostalgia factor.

I had a Raven .25, black finish with white grips, back in a time when I didn't have a really a good paying job. Traded something for it and I have to say it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be. It had a decent finish to it and it fired every time you pulled the trigger. Ended up trading it to a guy for some electrical work I needed done on the house.

 

[lincen]

You might say that I like the 25acp. They are an enjoyable caliber to collect and shoot. Though not in my carry rotation one has to accept the fact that for nearly 100 years they were a viable option for everyday carry and manufactured by the best names in the firearms industry. The many varieties prove that there was a huge market for the 25acp. Certainly modern handguns have supplanted these little 25’s. The stories we hear about bullets bouncing off are likely due to US manufactured ammo that was poorly stored or exposed to certain oils. For best function use only European made ammunition!

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

The man that posted Two Guns To Win ... now does a 25 acp thread. (I am disappoint)
View attachment 981182

Two funny!

Or two-five funny?

Todd.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

CajunBass


I had a Raven .25, black finish with white grips, back in a time when I didn't have a really a good paying job. Traded something for it and I have to say it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be. It had a decent finish to it and it fired every time you pulled the trigger. Ended up trading it to a guy for some electrical work I needed done on the house.

I had a pretty *nice* Raven until recently. Worked well. Since I backed-into it, it really meant nothing to me other than an opportunity to dispel some of the Raven-hate. Never glitched and is now on indefinite loan-out.

Todd.

 

[Gordon]

Similar, although my 950 was in .22 short. My freshman year was ‘64, and I had a Honda 305 Superhawk.

Brought it back with me to NYC, eventually a backup at one point early in my LE service, loaded hot with a .22 short HS HP. lol. Subsequently, I did have a Colt Jr. in .25 though.

Sold to another officer and replaced with a W. German .380 PPK/S.

I'm still riding, how about you?

On a 1500 mile trip last year with my son on the Blue Buell and my bestie since Nam 69 on the gold Dyna.


And no I wasn't carrying two .45s nor an .25 ! Was Carrying a BHP .9mm and a Walther PPS 9 tho

 

[bannockburn]

lincen

Like wow, that's a mighty impressive collection you've got there! You've got a great selection of some very well made .25 autos.

 

[Gordon]

You might say that I like the 25acp. They are an enjoyable caliber to collect and shoot. Though not in my carry rotation one has to accept the fact that for nearly 100 years they were a viable option for everyday carry and manufactured by the best names in the firearms industry. The many varieties prove that there was a huge market for the 25acp. Certainly modern handguns have supplanted these little 25’s. The stories we hear about bullets bouncing off are likely due to US manufactured ammo that was poorly stored or exposed to certain oils. For best function use only European made ammunition!

View attachment 981199

Nice collection ! I see you have two Manufranfraces, one the shorter "civvie" model . I have a few more too , not as many as you tho.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I still keep a Lorcin .25 as emergency back up in my Goldwing. It is a little picky about ammo, but with the right ammo it's accurate and dependable.

 

[kBob]

“I have in my hand the key to a door you do not wish to open.”

name that SF novel.

I saw a .25 Le Frankie in 1974 in all places on the “Orient Express” between Augsburg and Ulm. We used to joke about the Euro Rail folks bringing back the name and joked about all sorts of nefarious goings on on that night train.

I was headed for the head at the end of the car when we went over a switch and the car lurched and the door of the sleeper next to me popped open. Two men were standing next to the bunk .... which was covered with stacks of various 1970’s Euro and US paper currency... and staring at me as if in shock. One glanced down at the .25 amongst all that money.

I took the advice of Drill Sargeants everywhere and went eyes forward and “continued to March”. I in fact went three cars before stopping between to see if I was followed and waited a good five minutes before heading back. I gave the door as wide a birth as possible and made it back to my buddies’ compartment. I said nothing of it until we were back in the barracks.

Yes, I held it until Ulm and tipped the train station wash room host a big old five Mark coin!

-kBob

 

[kBob]

Oh I looked at a Mauser pre WWI .25 yesterday like I played with as a 12 y/o with my friend.... it looked a lot smaller now than that one did back then!

not a bad show for looking but everything ( even century old Mauser .25acps ) too expensive to tote off.

-kBob

 

[Antihero]

Ive had a couple over the years, but have never really been enamored with them. The first handgun I shot was this Mauser 1910. I was around 5 or 6. Still have that gun too.

View attachment 981078

I did carry a couple of different "Babys" (Browning and PSP) back in the 80's and 90's as a BUG. Up until my buddy, who also carried one had it go off in his back pocket when he bent over in the garden. Moved up to a Seecamp in 32 after that.

Still have the Seecamp, haven't had a Baby for a while now, although I kinda wish Id kept the Browning now.

Ive had a couple over the years, but have never really been enamored with them. The first handgun I shot was this Mauser 1910. I was around 5 or 6. Still have that gun too.

View attachment 981078

I did carry a couple of different "Babys" (Browning and PSP) back in the 80's and 90's as a BUG. Up until my buddy, who also carried one had it go off in his back pocket when he bent over in the garden. Moved up to a Seecamp in 32 after that.

Still have the Seecamp, haven't had a Baby for a while now, although I kinda wish Id kept the Browning now.

I almost bought one of those Mausers years ago. Good price and all but my play money was limited and I couldn't imagine a place for a 25acp when I already owned a p3at

 

[AK103K]

That gun was a WWII bring back by a family member and been passed down.

 

[Tallball]

I have one of the Mauser Model 1910's, also. The sights are decent and the barrel is 3" or so. It's certainly my most accurate 25acp.

Mauser1910

• Tallball
• Jul 4, 2018

 

[mikey98e]

I have a Bergman that my Dad brought back from Germany when he came back during WWII. I think it is a Type 2 Post war model.
-mike

 

[Monac]

I think that 25 ACP once filled a useful niche, which was to function well in automatic pistols of the smallest size that the average human hand could manipulate conveniently, while offering a 22 rimfire level of power. I think that the use of plastic and of breech locking mechanisms has made pistols of slightly larger size available in 32 ACP, which is actually a useful step up in power. This greatly reduces the size of the 25 caliber niche.

Using a plastic frame, it seems to me it should be possible to make a 25 automatic even smaller than the FN/Bauer/Fraser-type pistol, which is the smallest functional 25 I can think of. Has anyone made one?

 

[lincen]

The smallest I’ve seen are the Walther model 9, Bernardelli VP, and the Mikros. I’ll try to find a link to a comparison.