25 ACP reloading blues

[Brassmonkey]

I too am a glutton for punishment.

https://imgur.com/a/PvwKesy

Did these all single stage. 1.1 gr 231 48gr cast hp hi tek kryptonite green.

[Rapidrob]

I too cast the little bullets. I spend more time culling the poorly cast bullets than reloading them!

[Soundguy]

I reload them.. but with jackete projectiles.. have yet to ever find a mold and sizer..or I'd load cast...

[WRideout]

Hi, my name is Wayne and I reload 25 Auto. Some time ago a friend, now deceased, sold me his Armi Galesi pistol that had no grips. It is a memento; I'll never sell it. After making a set of grips from some scrap walnut, I set about making cast boolit loads for it. I acquired a mold (Lyman 252435) off the S&S section and Carbide dies from Lee. I load the boolits as cast with tumble lube. At the time I still had a can of Unique. The dipper that came with the dies drops 1.4 gr of Unique which is all I have ever used in that load. My biggest difficulty was making loading blocks with tiny holes so the cases didn't fall over.

I lose a couple of cases every time I take it to the range, but I have managed to convince the family that Santa should bring me some Starline brass every year. 25 Auto is easily one of the easiest and most trouble free handloads that I make.

Wayne

[Kestrel4k]

30 rounds per hour is not too bad... might be quicker than it takes me! A couple of years ago I took 1/8"or so -- doesn't sound like much but I still have the scar! -- from the side of my index finger and then decided there has to be a better way! From a mail-order outfit called Micro-Mark I ordered and received a true God-send for .25acp and .380acp loading -- a set of round-holding tweezers. Actually, there's four sizes in the set one gets if they purchase it. Attachment 324709 While these have not made loading these teeny calibres a joy -- they sure are, imho, worth more than every penny spent to attenuate dropping the cases as well as pinching or cutting the fingers!
geo

Here they are, in case anybody is interested; despite one review, they looks like a decent bet to me, for $15.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...2F9YVEUW&psc=1

[rintinglen]

Back around 1981, a buddy of mine wanted to reload 25 auto's for his wife's Home Defense gun. (It is small, she can handle it...) He had helped me with some motorcycle repairs so I said, "Sure, come on over Saturday afternoon and I'll show you how." I was much more limber then and could bend a lot easier. My eyesight was a bit keener, and my hands did not falter, yet still I had issues with those tiny cases. I frequently reload 32 ACP, as well as 380's but those cases are massive compared to these.

But some of these comments have given me some ideas. I could fairly easily make a dipper, perhaps out of a 22 short case, a piece of wire and some solder. That would help things a bit and those nifty tweezers George depicted would also help. I sold my old Little Dandy or that might be the bees knees.

[FergusonTO35]

Aguila Interceptor 40 grain have more punch than typical .25 Auto rounds and cost 1/4 as much. To reload anything centerfire you're spending 10 cents each just on primers so you're already more than halfway there. My Ruger LCP II is centerfire reliable with them and Interceptors clock an actual 1000 fps out of it. For a centerfire pocket rocket my Kel-Tec P32 gets the nod.

[rintinglen]

How well do the Aguila Interceptors feed in a Colt 1908?

I'm loading to shoot guns that I no longer or have never carried. For small EDC I use a 380, either an LCP or a Kahr p380. The reason I reload is for funsies, I gave up on the saving aspect a long time ago. (I was saving so much money on the purchase of new presses, dies, components, why I am nearly a millionaire now--If I convert my holdings into Lebanese Pounds.)

[Dancing Bear]

I reload 25acp but don't shoot it much. About 20 some years ago I got a whole sleeve of XTP's for a close out price and am still working off of that stock. Yes it's a little slower reloading these but still manageable.

[georgerkahn]

I’ll admit to owning two 25 acp pistols.

I’ve considered setting up to cast and load for them, but decided to draw the line at 32 acp. So I bought a couple of boxes of factory 25 acp, fired the guns a wee bit and called it good.

I’ll be content to be an owner and not a shooter of 25 acp’s. If I need to do a “little” shooting, I’ll use a 32 acp or 32 SWL and live happily ever after.

Good luck to you.

I also have two .25ACP pistols; and, like you (I needed do this when I got my XP100 in .221 Fireball) purchase "factory" just to get the brass for reloading. At a LGS trip a couple of months back I put a box of factory .25ACP on the counter -- it was "50% off - reduced!" and reckoned it was doable, primarily for the brass. However -- the shop owner asked if I really wanted it -- as it is Berdan primed? I thanked him and returned it (Hornady brand) to bargain basket!
Just a heads up if one might be seeking brass to easily reload... I never looked for primer type...
geo

[Kestrel4k]

Wow Berdan-primed Hornady 25ACP; good to know to keep an eye out for.

[FergusonTO35]

How well do the Aguila Interceptors feed in a Colt 1908?

I'm loading to shoot guns that I no longer or have never carried. For small EDC I use a 380, either an LCP or a Kahr p380. The reason I reload is for funsies, I gave up on the saving aspect a long time ago. (I was saving so much money on the purchase of new presses, dies, components, why I am nearly a millionaire now--If I convert my holdings into Lebanese Pounds.)

I totally get it, I reload .32 Auto.

[gwpercle]

Back around 1981, a buddy of mine wanted to reload 25 auto's for his wife's Home Defense gun. (It is small, she can handle it...) He had helped me with some motorcycle repairs so I said, "Sure, come on over Saturday afternoon and I'll show you how." I was much more limber then and could bend a lot easier. My eyesight was a bit keener, and my hands did not falter, yet still I had issues with those tiny cases. I frequently reload 32 ACP, as well as 380's but those cases are massive compared to these.

But some of these comments have given me some ideas. I could fairly easily make a dipper, perhaps out of a 22 short case, a piece of wire and some solder. That would help things a bit and those nifty tweezers George depicted would also help. I sold my old Little Dandy or that might be the bees knees.

A dipper I made with a 22 Short case will dip ... about 2.5 grs. Bullseye
and about 2.8 grs. Tite Group.
This will give you some idea of what a 22 short case holds .

My dipping method is to place powder in a coffee cup , dip up a heaping scoop of powder , settle by tapping the scoop handle on the edge of the powder cup , after powder is settled in scoop , scoop up another heaping dipper full and level scoop top with a business card ... then weigh powder ...
After you get the powder charge set and weight determined ... I don't weigh every charge ... just dip and pour into cases .
I have no idea what you can use as a loading block ... 25's are sooooo tiny !
Gary

[shooting on a shoestring]

Gee I’m starting to feel like a whimp for not stepping up and loading 25 acp……

[shooting on a shoestring]

This thread needs some pistol pics.
Here’s one.

[rintinglen]

I have one like that, but no box. It is one of the reasons I have been grumbling and fumbling down in the man cave with these dinky little ornaments. I was going through the safe and found that I have no less than 4 of these varmint guns, a Colt 1908 (the only one I've carried as a CCW), A baby Browning like the above, a Beretta 21 that I had totally forgotten, and my Armi Galesi leprechaun shooter. I'll have to get a pic posted.

[jimb16]

I've got a nice little Colt .25 auto and like the rest of you insane people, I reload for it too. I've found that I always reload with Bullseye so I made a dipper out of a .22 rf case trimming it to hold 1.2 grs. I trim the case to the proper length then solder it to a cotter key for a handle. For a loading block, I use one of those silicon mini ice cube trays that we use for powder coating .30 cast bullets. They are just about perfect depth and size. I load both jacketed and 50 gr. cast on a single stage and can produce 100 to 150 rounds per hour depending on how I feel that day. At 75 years of age, some days are a lot slower than others. I also keep a big soft blanket on the floor in front of the press when loading those tiny cases, so when I drop one, it just goes plop and doesn't run and hide under the loading bench or scoot in the other direction to the other side of the room! I reload 28 different calibers and gauges and cast for all of them, including making my own shot. I couldn't afford to do that much shooting if I didn't reload everything myself. The ONLY thing I don't reload is the .22rf. I don't know why not, but I just haven't gotten into that one.....YET!

[charlie b]

I used to reload for the .32acp. A 1903 was one of my favorite guns to shoot and it was more accurate than most of my pistols. Over time I just got tired of picking up the little cases. I tried the tarp idea but we have too much wind and it would balloon (even staked down) and scatter the brass anyway. I finally sold it cause I didn't shoot it much just for that reason.

PS reloading it was a breeze, but, some case rims did not fit in the shell holder.

[quack1]

Wow Berdan-primed Hornady 25ACP; good to know to keep an eye out for.

My most disappointing time brass scrounging at the range was the day I found a big hand full of 25ACP in the brass bucket. Saw the Hornady headstamp on the first one I picked up so never looked inside. Later, when resizing them, the first one stopped before going completely into the die. Figured there was something in the case and was surprised when I saw two flash holes looking back at me.

[Texas by God]

I had a Galesi .25 and the little thing was easy to roll cans with- very accurate. I’d still have it but the firing pin hole in the slide developed a split where the steel was thin. I sold it for parts at a gun show to a man that had two Galesis.
Even the lowly Raven .25 shoots well in my experience. I killed a squirrel with one to shut my brother in law up when he claimed that “Those are useless.”


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