.25 Pistols

[atul yadgire]

Are .25 pistols good for self defense?
Size and weight are really impressive features.
What bout stopping power in case of attack, will .25 be sufficient or u have to go for .32 only?
Ammunition availability , is it a prob for .25?
My uncle is selling his .25 pistol to me, I trust him still any methods to test weapon/ Any standardisation available?
Throw some light and clear the confusion plz.

[bill]

.25 has about 65 fp in terms of energy from small handgun. as compared to that .32 is around 120 fp and .22 is about 100(when fired from a full size rifle)if one talks of big calibers like .40 s&W, .44 magnum, .357 mag it can be in the range of 300 to 500+ fps. they all can vary depending on type of ammo & barrel lenght.
about stopping power, much depends on accuracy & point of impact.
i hope above is helpful for your question

[dr.jayakumar]

.25 is theoritically bigger calibre,but stopping power is almost same or there is meagre difference.of all the .25 i have seen its all puny and may not save the purpose in real..22 has better penetration.,there are variety of imported .22 catridges which can outbeat a .25.you can check our previous posts regarding the same,it has been widely discussed.regards.

[The Doc]

.25 is theoritically bigger calibre,but stopping power is almost same or there is meagre difference.of all the .25 i have seen its all puny and may not save the purpose in real..22 has better penetration.,there are variety of imported .22 catridges which can outbeat a .25.

Ballistically the .22LR (rimfire) and .25acp (centerfire) are almost similar when shot through a 2 inch long barrel of a "mouse gun". Not all the .22LR mouse guns available in India are safe for firing high/hyper velocity .22LR ammo.


atul yadgire ,
Here is a link for you, this will help you decide ... http://www.defensivecarry.com/forum/def ... 5-acp.html

Lastly there is a quote from the link above --

A WORKING & RELIABLE gun is better than NO GUN - everything else about firearms is icing on the cake.

best,
Rp.

[captrakshitsharma]

id stick with a .22 lr if the options are avilable... reason being ammo availability.

[doctor]

id stick with a .22 lr if the options are avilable... reason being ammo availability.

here in mumbai .25 ammo is freely available at 40 rs a pop.( there s a .25 in the family for 2o yrs and ammo availability was never an issue)

[lazybones]

As the legendary Jeff Cooper once said:
" 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 ".
Mildly OT but I couldn't resist

Ashok

[The Doc]

Jeff Cooper once said:
" 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 ".

[captrakshitsharma]

lol like i said id rather go for a nice .22lr

[saket2010]

As the legendary Jeff Cooper once said:
" 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 ".
Mildly OT but I couldn't resist

Ashok

[timmy]

The comments made about the 25 ACP vs the .22 LR are pretty much true: from the same short barrel, they are about the same. And, of course, .22 LR is much easier to get and cheaper than 25 ACP.

A lot of people have downplayed the stopping power of the 25 ACP, many times with sarcastic humor, such as the example of Jeff Cooper's quote given here. However, I think that there's a matter of perspective. Cooper had a lot of experience and some influence on the subject of firearms. Compare him with the inventor of the 25 ACP, though: John M Browning. As big of a name as he may be, Cooper isn't even an afterthought in firearms compared to someone like Browning.

In "the old days," people also carried around the famous Remington derringer in .41 Short. (Check out the ballistics of that powerful cartridge here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.41_Rimfire_Cartridge)

Many of the service rounds used by the military in the late 19th and early 20th Century had only around 200 ft/lbs of muzzle energy, and a number of European nations used the .32 ACP as a side arm -- this is official military, not personal use!

So, if there is no ballistic difference between the .22 LR and the 25 ACP, what is the point of the 25 ACP at all? Well, rimmed cartridges like the .22 LR are notorious for not feeding correctly in automatic weapons. Rimless and semi rimmed cartridges (the 25 ACP, 32 ACP, and 38 Colt ACP/38 Super are all semi rimmed cartridges -- designed by John M Browning) feed reliably and provide a property that is needed in small, semi-auto handguns: the ability to go "bang" repetitively and reliably until the magazine is empty.

When used at close range, a 25 ACP can, like the .22 LR, get the job done. When used against drug-crazed attackers, or in a wide variety of circumstances, like law enforcement, it leaves a lot to be desired. But when someone needs protection in a small package, like a lady's purse, for instance, a 25 ACP is a much better choice that hurling strong language.

[atul yadgire]

hi guys thanx for all the insight.
as such nobody intends to use the gun unless there is no option.
furthurmore I am trained to save lives(surgeon) , so I have unique set of knowledge as far as anatomy goes.
So i presume if firearm is immaculate condition, and I am accurate in stressful situation >25 can be lethal too.As far as ammu goes doctor has cleared all doubts.
can I be guided about quality cartridges and their specification technically
I am novice so plz enlighten
thanx a ton buddies

[timmy]

My understanding and belief is that small caliber self-defense pistol cartridges, like the .22 LR, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP, work by penetration, not expansion. In other words, these low power cartridges need to place the bullet as deeply as possible and expansion only serves to limit penetration. This means using full metal jacket (abbreviated "FMJ" in ammunition discussions) bullets, which means that the bullet has a lead core with a copper jacket covering the front of the bullet totally.

Bullet shape will have some impact on the depth of penetration, but in these guns, bullet shape is largely intended allow the ammunition to feed correctly.

Here are links to tests of bullet penetration in ballistic gel (intended to simulate a body) and also of chronographed velocities. Remember that the actual velocity usually differs from the manufacturer's published data, but that the gun used for the tests makes a difference, as well. There are usually variations between a given manufacturer's bullet velocity between different guns.

In general, higher velocity with FMJ bullets will mean deeper penetration, however the shape of the bullet can affect the depth of penetration.

Here are some tests of penetration and ballistics. You may find that pouring over the information here will help. On the first link, check out the comparison between .22 and .25 ACP, because there is some interesting .25 ACP information contained in it. Considering the variables, there may not be much difference between different brands. The best aid to your use of the .25 ACP is going to be effective practice with your gun. The more practice you can do, the more likely your use is to be.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/index_files/Page1035.htm

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/25auto.html

http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingp ... Weight=All

[Manga1313]

I got mossberg tactical with 100 round drum mag.........22 lr........capable of turning bad guy into swiss cheese.........keep shooting till i get sore trigger finger ..........respect

[target shooter]

As the legendary Jeff Cooper once said:
" 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 ".
Mildly OT but I couldn't resist

Ashok

Reg,
TS