Don't Laugh...25 Auto

[Rex B]

That Beretta will bring $200 or more from collectors.
Put that toward a Keltec or Ruger 380.

[thatguyoverthere]

Thanks guys for all the responses and thoughts. Pretty much all the same thoughts as what I've been having.

Yes, I had thought very briefly about selling or trading it, but it was my grandma's gun and there's a little family history with it. So even if I don't ever use it, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it.

I also have a similar situation in that I also own a snub-nose S&W .38 Special that I received from my dad many years ago. I'd thought about using it as a BUG, but even with a 2" barrel, it's not exactly small, so I'm not sure where I would hide it (most likely not my pocket).

Maybe I should stop being so sentimental about these things and just sell them and get what I need. But, probably not.

Maybe I'll talk to Santa to see if (s)he can help out with putting something new under the tree. I don't think I'm on the naughty list (for the moment anyway!).

[mojo84]

I'm right with you on the sentimentality issue. I have guns that I inherited and there is no way I would voluntarily sell them. I sold some guns 25 years ago due to financial reasons and I've regretted it ever since.

If you think carrrying a backup gun is right for you, carry the .25 and just start putting away a few dollars every now and then. Before long you'll have enough stashed away to get something else.

[WildBill]

I'm less concerned about the caliber than the reliability of the ammo - I've seen many .25 cartridges which simply failed to fire.

Not only the ammo, but the gun as well.

My mother owned a very nice Baby Browning, similar to this picture. A beautiful little gun, but not reliable at all.

[berettadave]

I personally know a man spending time in prison for killing a guy with a .25 years ago. It can get the job done although it wouldn't be my first choice....or second or third.

[thatguyoverthere]

I think in my situation it's going to come down to what several people have mentioned. That is, carry the .25 as my BUG until I get an opportunity to replace it with something more suitable.

It's not the best, but it's better than nothing. Wow. That's a little scary. I just realized that statement sounds like a tagline for Honest John's Used Car Sales.

I know the chances of me every actually having to fire my primary gun in an actual defensive situation is very low. But even beyond that, has anybody ever seen any statistics indicating the percentage of average Joe Citizen types who have actually had to pull and fire a BUG? I don't really want to start playing the odds, but I am curious about that now.

Thanks again for everyone's ideas and opinions. That's exactly what I was looking for.

[Excaliber]

The .25 ranks far behind a decent folding knife for defene in my book due to 2 situations I'm personally familiar with:

1. One of the local barflies went home drunk again after promising his current beau he wouldn't do that anymore. She figured that was reason enough to shoot him between the eyes with a .25 while he snored away. He didn't wake up, and continued to snore away until morning. He only called for a ride to the hospital because he had a headache and a cut on his head. The X-ray showed the slug about 1.5 inches inside the skull. He went home in a couple hours with a band aid and a prescription for antibiotics after the doc said it didn't need to be removed and hadn't hit anything he was using anyway.

2. A woman in Florida awoke when a home invader pried open her sliding door around 6:30 one morning and attacked her. She grabbed the .25 from her nightstand and emptied the magazine into him. He proceeded to beat her so badly that when she staggered to a neighbors' house in her nightgown they refused to let her inside because they didn't recognize her. Police found the BG deceased so I guess you could call that a win - sort of.

It's true that no handgun rounds will give you a guaranteed quick stop on an attacker, but it's worthwhile considering that some are much less likely to do so than others.

The .25 is clearly in that category.

Besides cartridge ignition being less than reliable, a lot of them don't feed reliably either.

I categorize them as gamblers' guns - because folks gamble with their lives when they rely on them to save their lives.

[Javier730]

If 9 out of 10 times just drawing your pistol stops an attacker, a 25 already has 90% chance of stopping a bad guy. Still not my first choice but its better than nothing.

About pissing someone off if you shoot them with a 25, be sure you piss him off about 6 times.

[krieghoff]

I didn't realize the .25 had such a reputation. Based on what I have read, given my choice between a .25 or a 24" Cresent wrench, I would opt for the wrench. The good side to that is there are no 30.06 or 30.07 signs to have to pay attention to!!

[Excaliber]

If 9 out of 10 times just drawing your pistol stops an attacker, a 25 already has 90% chance of stopping a bad guy. Still not my first choice but its better than nothing.

About pissing someone off if you shoot them with a 25, be sure you piss him off about 6 times.

The Florida woman whose experience I cited did exactly that and ended up severely beaten and with major injuries. Although she survived, that's not my idea of a my desired end state for a defensive shoot.

I'm also not at all sure that 90% figure holds when the pistol is as small as a .25. A lot of folks in neighborhoods where violence is common don't have the same fear of being shot as those from less distressed areas might. They know that getting shot with a handgun is survivable in the vast majority of cases, and lots of them carry the scars to prove it. They are also familiar with the differential results between big guns and little guns.

While reason would tell most folks that getting shot at all is something one should work hard to avoid, that level of wisdom plays a significantly diminished role when alcohol, meth, coke, and other substances are in the bloodstream in high concentrations.

I've seen such folks puff out their chests and say "go ahead - shoot me!" when confronted with a .38.

I've also seen a really nasty crowd part like the Red Sea did for Moses when the "main mouth" was confronted with a .45.

I'll stick with the "big barrel hole / heavy bullet" school of thought because if I need it, I'm pretty sure it'll do what I need done more often than not.

I don't have that level of confidence in the admittedly very convenient to carry mouse guns.

YMMV

[ELB]

The OP in this thread is a cop in Indiana: http://ingunowners.com/forums/ammunitio ... -25-a.html

[thatguyoverthere]

The OP in this thread is a cop in Indiana: http://ingunowners.com/forums/ammunitio ... -25-a.html

Now that's some funny stuff right there!

[HKsig]

I used to have a Raven 25 and it shot all I've put in. Once I had a milk jug full of water and frozen in the freezer that I took it out to the back yard and shot it twice with the 25. Both went through it.

I don't care what they say but a 25 is better than the 22 and for SD don't bother with hollow points. use hard balls and aim for soft areas like under the chin, nose, eyes and even ears.

[MeMelYup]

Take it to the range and shoot it. Put a 100 to 150 rounds through it and see how many failure to feed or no fire or jams you have. If you don't have any you have a reliable firearm. It will also be good for teaching other people to shoot.