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Thread: .25 acp

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    .25 acp

    I noticed that if a guy looks hard enough, he can buy reloading and casting equipment for the .25acp, which is where I draw the line. Anybody here reload/cast for the caliber.

  2. #2
    Boolit Mold
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    25 acp

    I accumulated RCBS dies, brass and Lyman mold 252435 and about 1000 FMJ bullets during several gun shows as "gifts" from others frustrated with hand loading the cartridge. My motivation was to practice more with my third back up carry weapon on the streets. Standard hand loading techniques apply with a couple of additions I learned on the way. Powder charges are very small. My Lyman manual has Unique loads from 1.2 grains to 1.6 grains max for 252435. I settled on a load of 1.4 grains of Unique which would always cycle my Beretta and Browning 25's without a hitch, and there is no need that I saw to increase the load after this point is achieved. You will need to set up your powder measurer to throw small charges which my Lyman 55 will do. I would throw 10 charges in a row, tapping lightly twice on the upstroke, and weigh the total (all 10 charges) on my scale, adjusting the scale in small increments until I consistently got the charge I wanted (14 grains total for my load).

    My bullets were cast from linotype. I sized to .251 and used Alox lube because that what was in my Lyman 450 at the time. As the case is very small, you can bash cases and spill powder easily. I found that manufacturing a small wooden block to hold powder charged cartridges was a must. Finally, I ordered a taper crimp die from RCBS to apply the right amount of crimp on the case. I followed Lyman's recommendation of overall cartridge length of .910. Primers were CCI small pistol.

    Although the cartridge is by no means a magnum, I carried it for years as a last ditch weapon if everything else I had failed. By shooting a lot with the cast loads, I became comfortable with the pistol. I hope this helps.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    Poygan's Avatar
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    I also have the Lyman 252435 and a Ranch Dog which drops about 55 grains. It is small and slow to load. I use them in a Beretta Jetfire which is surprisingly accurate for a small pistol.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy

    BUCKEYE BANDIT's Avatar
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    That little pistol is what got me caught up in loading 25 ACP.Sister in law found it in a drawer pretty neglected.Strangest little semi auto I ever saw.Only thing I could find were some Mag-Tech @ Midway,if she shoots it much I'll have to buy another mold..
    Quote Originally Posted by Poygan View Post
    I also have the Lyman 252435 and a Ranch Dog which drops about 55 grains. It is small and slow to load. I use them in a Beretta Jetfire which is surprisingly accurate for a small pistol.
    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy duckey's Avatar
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    I have an old Colt 1909 .25 acp that was handed down to me. Looking for j words for it or a mold for a fair price. It's a great gun and fun to shoot.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master on Heavens Range
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    I have always wanted to reload that caliber just for the heck of it. Only thing stopping me is a Jennings 25acp that needs to be fixed.
    Shoot'em If You Got'em...

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    Yep, and it's not that bad. Hardest part is finding your brass on the ground at the range. I typically have to sweep up the area before a shooting season. For some reason the .22 rimfire shooters seldom clean up after themselves.

  8. #8
    Boolit Bub
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    I don't cast for the 25 ACP (yet), but do reload for it. I set my powder measure to throw a lighter than wanted charge, and then use a trickler to bring it up to the desired weight. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but this method makes me feel better. I don't shoot a high volume of 25s, and the cases and bullets are so tiny that loading about 50 at the time is all the fun I can stand.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master

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    You have the patience of Job, lol. I recently started loading for .380acp, a round I never thought I'd load. Someday soon I'll even cast for it, I already bought the Dillon dies so I'm all set.
    So, what powder and measure are you using? Have you experienced unacceptable variations using a measure alone?
    Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
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  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy


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    Yup, got a Mihec mold that cast decent little bullets, thinned alox twice and load'em up. Tedious is an understatement but still a lot of fun. Minute of fencepost at 25-30 feet.
    Only picture of the hand cannon



    BF
    "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."--Plato

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Beats the hell out of the .22 lr. The old BS stories of "the .22 lr will bounce around inside a man" are just that... BS stories. Penetration is what pays with the small bore handguns. The .25 ACP is far more reliable and penetrates far better than the .22 lr. That is a fact, and has been proven more than once in independent tests.

    Load up the .25 ACP with hard-cast lead (high levels of tin and antimony) and you can do substantial damage to a human. Far more than one would suspect. Watch some of the You Tube ballistic gel tests as well as those on www.brassfetchers.com, then tell me that the .25 ACP can't accomplish the task. (If you believe that, then you're just deluding yourself).
    "Faster than a speeding insult, more powerful than an ulterior motive, able to leap to conclusions in a single bound... it's Captain Obvious!
    "Living well is the best revenge" - George Herbert.
    "Fast is fine, but accuracy is final". - Wyatt Earp

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I loaded for an H&R for a while. Traded the gun off for something else. I remember one grain of Bullseye and the Ideal 257420 sized to .252 worked pretty well.

    I remember old Bob, reminiscing in the Fuse Plant repair shop, about his days in the Army. He had been stationed for a while in Ft. Huachuca, and the guys used to go down to Mexico to drink cheap in bars. (This practice has been stopped by the Military, and the Mexican border towns are now starving, but that's another story.)

    "Me and this friend were sitting at a table drinking when this pretty senorita comes up, sits in my friend's lap, and starts making up to him. Suddenly the doors crash open and this big guy comes in, yelling that that's his wife my friend is seducing, and he's going to take him apart. It was a setup, of course, they were in it together and a suitable payment would have defused the "husband's" anger, and the two would go to another bar to find another gringo victim. But my friend had other ideas. He stood up, dumping the senorita on her keester, pulled a .25 Automatic out of his pocket, pointed it at the big man, and 'CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!' My friend grabbed my shoulder, yanked me to my feet, and said 'Let's go!!' And we ran for the border, crossing it without incident.

    I remember looking over my shoulder as the swinging doors closed, seeing the big guy on his back with his heels drumming on the wood floor. I wonder sometimes how he turned out. He didn't look so good."

    I don't know whether any of this is true, of course, but that was his story.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master
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    My hat is off to you fellows. I loaded a box for a friend of mine once, just to teach him how it's done. Jeez-o-pete, the cases are as small as the bullets! My stumble thumbs had a heck of a time dealing with those little boogers. Plus the bother of weighing each powder charge? I sent him down the road with a box of factory equivalent fmj and have never thought of doing that again.

    Until now...
    _________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

  14. #14
    Boolit Mold
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    I have some interest in the 25 ACP. I've often thought something like a 25 ACP +p+ would have a place in a lot of peoples carry rotation. As a BUG if nothing else. Something about the size of a Glock 42 or a little smaller carrying however many rounds one could cram in the thing.

    I really like some of the 1900-1920 micro pistols also.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    i have an early edition raven 25 acp in great condition.

    yeah....i know...."the jam-o-matic"

    well it seems that the early ones were made tighter and with good quality parts... as mine doesn't jam!

    and i also cast the 53 grain round nose slugs for it...powder coat them...and with 1-1/2 grains of bullseye.
    it shoots like a champ.

    i hand load these on a single stage and weigh each load carefully.

    shot it 3 weeks ago put 10 different 6 shot mags thru it (i have 16 mags)
    and at 15 yards can hit a pie plate every time ...not one jam.

    BUT if you try to put factory ammo thru it it will jam ...learned early on ...it don't like...factory food...likes dads home made boolits.
    Last edited by mozeppa; 06-13-2016 at 10:43 PM.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by mozeppa View Post
    i have an early edition raven 25 acp in great condition.

    yeah....i know...."the jam-o-matic"

    well it seems that the early ones were made tighter and with good quality parts... as mine doesn't jam!

    and i also cast the 53 grain round nose slugs for it...powder coat them...and with 1-1/2 grains of bullseye.
    it shoots like a champ.

    i hand load these on a single stage and weigh each load carefully.

    shot it 3 weeks ago put 10 different 6 shot mags thru it (i have 16 mags)
    and at 15 yards can hit a pie plate every time ...not one jam.

    BUT if you try to put factory ammo thru it it will jam ...learned early on ...it don't like...factory food...likes dads home made boolits.
    I had a Raven, back in the late 70's, and it was a good shooting little gun. Surprisingly accurate and reliable...not sure what ever happened to it.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    Chev. William's Avatar
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    Why Not Stronger Firearms and heavier Loads?

    My "New" Custom Rework of a Used Ruger New Model .22 CAL Single Six into a .25ACP, and similar Cartridges, Single Eight is working out well:


    This is one of my Replacement '22-MAG' 8 Shot Cylinders with some Factory FMJ cartridges. The Cylinder is reamed and Chambered for .25ACP/6.35 Browning.


    Right side View of my Ruger Custom Revolver with the cylinder out and filled with factory Ammo. The Barrel is 10-5/8" long, made from a "Lothar Walther .25ACP/6.35 Browning Pistol Barrel Blank in Cr-Mo Alloy Steel".


    Left side View of my Completed Custom Ruger Revolver in '.25ACP'.

    To date I have fired about 200 rounds through it ranging from Factory FMJ to Hand Loads using 63 grain Lead FP Tumble Lubed and Sized .251", and 3.0 Grains of BE-86 in PPU Brass of .613" length, loaded to .905" OAL with WSP primers. I did the Calculations in "QuicLOAD" with setting the equivalent barrel length of 12" and changing the CIP MAP of 17,400psi to SAAMI MAP of 25,000psi.


    Interestingly so far the Factory and the Hand loads seem to shoot to the Same point of aim.

    My next Session I will be testing similar loads but using Bullseye up to about 1.8 Grains charge. This Calculates to about 1194fps @ 24,405psi Pmax in "QuickLOAD" software.

    I realize Very Few People have worked with this Cartridge for use in other than Blow-Back Action short barrel "pocket pistol" type firearms.
    A Rifle with a 23" barrel is in my future.
    Cartridge Case Lengths of 1.055", 1.125", and 1.250" are also to be tested using other Cylinders.

    Best Regards,
    Chev. William
    Last edited by Chev. William; 06-14-2016 at 02:33 PM.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    I'd like to find a magazine for a .25 Galesi. Just got 500 cases and some fmj's for it.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
    Chev. William's Avatar
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    A google search for ".25Galesi" brought up "http://www.gun-parts.com/galesi/" as Bob's Gun Parts and a Listing that includes Galesi .25 Magazines at $35 each.

    Enjoy,
    Chev. William

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
    Chev. William's Avatar
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    My Preparations to Test a Sequence of .25ACP loads employing 63 grain Lead bullets and Various Weight charges of Bullseye have been slowed by the 'Sudden' arrival of 'Summer temperatures' here. It went from 73 degree days to 100 Plus degree Days in three days time!
    So my loading efforts were limited to Early morning or Very late in the Evening with the Evenings frustrated by Biting Insects swarming around my Lights.
    Finally got 200 rounds loaded in ten round charge steps of "Bullseye" from 1.3+ grains to 1.83 grains in "2% steps (from a nominal 1.70 grain charge) as Calculated using "QuickLOAD" software, 25,000psi as the Pmax limit, case length of .612", Overall Length of .905", and Gross internal Volume of 6.7 grains of H2O. Cases loaded are Nickel plated "G.F.L. " primed with CCI Small Pistol.
    It may be that the last one or two values of charges are 'compressed'.

    Best Regards,
    Chev. William
    Last edited by Chev. William; 06-22-2016 at 04:28 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check