In praise of the lowly .25 ACP

[bizarrenormality]

My personal favorite survival/defense gun has always been a tiny little Beretta 950 "Jetfire" pistol that’s not much longer than a medium-sized pocket knife. It’s an extremely small, very simple, single-action, blow-back type .25 ACP semi-automatic. Because of its extremely small size, I can easily carry it in any of my pockets hardly knowing it’s there.

Over all the years I have hiked and camped in the backwoods, I never went out without my little Jetfire in my pocket, and I’ve never gone out alone because I’ve always followed the two cardinal rules for hikers:
(1) ALWAYS pack a very small, lightweight gun to use for signaling if you become lost, for shooting small game in the event you run out of food, and for personal defense against predators even if you’re only hoping the sound of the shot will scare them away.
(2) NEVER go hiking alone in the wilderness, and always use the buddy system so there will be someone to go for help if anything happens to either of you. S

While nobody will argue that a well-placed shot is very effective from any type or caliber of firearm, most mall ninjas will scoff at the thought of a little .25ACP or .22 being very effective at stopping a human, much less something as large and powerful as a full-grown grizzly bear. However, I am here to give testimony that all of the self proclaimed "experts" are totally wrong.

I just safely returned from a very harrowing experience that happened during a weekend vacation with family in Montana. I wanted to explore a trail I had read about on the internet. Since there was nobody else around at the time, I had to rely on my idiot brother-in-law to take along as my "buddy" for the short trip. I also slipped my Jetfire into my pocket along with a spare magazine in case I needed it.

We hadn’t gone more than two miles into the heavy timber when, out of nowhere, there suddenly came a huge mama bear crashing through the brush and charging straight toward us at full speed. I guess she must have had a cub around because she was mad and looked like she wanted kill both of us. There was nowhere to run, no time to run, and I can’t outrun a bear anyway. I’m standing there with nothing but a tiny little Beretta Jetfire in my hand.

Laugh if you wish at its effectiveness, but it only took one well-placed shot to my brother-in-law’s kneecap and I was able to escape a major bear attack by walking away at a brisk pace.

[tomtexan]

Too funny!

[cheezit]

yup the key to surving that bear attack

[Pecos]

Good Thinking. Thas being prepared!!!!!

[texanjoker]

That is good

[Jose_in_Dallas]

Definitely was not what I was expecting when I read this. To funny. Reminds me of a line from the movie Without a Paddle.

Dan Mott: What are you doing?
Jerry Conlaine: Taking off my shoes
Dan Mott: Why?
Jerry Conlaine: Because I run faster with no shoes
Dan Mott: You can't out-run that bear!
Jerry Conlaine: I dont have to out-run the bear, I just have to out-run you!

[threoh8]

Shane? Is that you? And where's Otis?

[Rouguerunner]

Shane? Is that you? And where's Otis?

Great reference. I was thinking the same thing

[old farmer]

[sailor2000]

This sheds new light on my wife's habit of taking a small knife with her when we are snorkeling in the ocean....