25 ACP, Going Bravely Where No One Has Been!

[Ranch Dog]

Slightly OT but relating to 25acp!
Back in the old days when we had handguns in the UK a friend of mine used to reload 25acp for his then wife. I think it was a little Beretta semi.
She came to the club one evening wearing a knee length skirt.
She was a very trim and a very pretty woman.
I asked her why the skirt and not the usual jeans.
She reached down and pulled one side of her skirt up revealing stockings and the 25 acp tucked into the top of one!
She let me shoot it and it was still warm!
Mmmmmmmm!
Always think of her when 25acp is talked about.
Regards,
Tony

Tony,

I will always keep this gal in mind as I'm busting caps!

[Ranch Dog]

No, the problem isn't that. Its getting the boolit started straight in that little case neck with your big fingers in the way.

Your NOT the first one to try improved boolits in the 25 ACP, no siree................

45,

Would you like to share what you worked with?

[Ranch Dog]

Hmmmm...

Two bad guys dead with bullets that failed shot from cartridges that are too small for "serious" work....

Regards,

Stew

The Gold Dot I mentioned was from a 357 Mag!

[quack1]

I found the box of .25 XTP's. They are not marked seconds. Thr bar-code label on the top makes me think they came from Midway. I did guess the weight wrong-they're 35gr not 40gr.

[Catshooter]

The Gold Dot I mentioned was from a 357 Mag!

Yes, majic bullets.

You want to get jumped on, just say that you don't trust jacketed hollow points and prefer a cast semi wadcutter!

Now you make me kinda wish I hadn't sold everything 25 ACP!

Enjoy your testing/shooting.


Cat

[pjh421]

Two bad guys dead???!!!! Holy cow! That settles it then.

Seriously, any kind of shooting/load development sounds like fun to me. I wish you the best of luck with it.

I'll bet the .380 could benefit from a powdered tungsten core to get a heavier projectile in the same space. Its got a little more boiler room, too.

[Ricochet]

I remember that Winchester pellet-nose bullet. They got the idea from old English Express bullets.

I long ago heard a cop talking about a fellow cop who was killed by a .25 fired through a wooden door. It went through his heart and came out his back. The dead cop's friend was right there and saw it happen, and was impressed enough by what it did that he always afterward carried a .25 as a hideout gun. (He carried an M29 as his main piece.)

I was watching one of those forensic files shows the other night, about a restaurant owner who got murdered, as it turned out by a disgruntled employee. When found, he had a bruised knot in his central forehead. The .25 that went in the back of his head stopped under the skin there.

.25s may not be the ideal "stopper," but they deserve respect.

[Ranch Dog]

I found the box of .25 XTP's. They are not marked seconds. Thr bar-code label on the top makes me think they came from Midway. I did guess the weight wrong-they're 35gr not 40gr.

Very interesting! Same bullet as their loaded ammo but I've never seen them offered as a component.

[dualsport]

Hey, any gun is better than bare hands, even the .25. If someone was shooting one in my face I think I'd duck. My Mom carried a little Colt when she lived in Chicago, long ago, it was enough to deter two attacks. That's a nice looking bullet RD. I remember reading an article way back by a guy making .25 bullets out of steel on a lathe, penetrated like heck.

[richbug]

I found the box of .25 XTP's. They are not marked seconds. Thr bar-code label on the top makes me think they came from Midway. I did guess the weight wrong-they're 35gr not 40gr.

I never doubted you for a second, just stating my experiences.

Looking at that picture makes my hands hurt. I think I'll go reload some grown up bullets.

[44man]

I don't think we should be talking defense, just fun! Any gun is fun. Darn, if I could load .22's, I would try it.

[Ranch Dog]

I don't think we should be talking defense, just fun! Any gun is fun. Darn, if I could load .22's, I would try it.

Same here, I take great pleasure in starting with a blank page and seeing it through.

[AZ-Stew]

The Gold Dot I mentioned was from a 357 Mag!

I just went back and read your original post (the one that prompted me to make that remark) and it looks like you were talking about a .25 Gold Dot, since it's included in your comments about your new boolit which don't mention a different caliber. I'm not coming down on you, just explaining my comment.

Either way, I guess it pays not to get shot with ANY caliber.

Your design is interesting. I have a set of Corbin dies that use shotgun primer battery cups as jackets for .25 caliber softpoint handgun bullets. I got them from a former gun writer 20 or so years ago and haven't tried them out yet. One of these days...

Regards,

Stew

[leadeye]

Good luck with those, the 32 ACP is enough of a finger biter for me, and I don't have anything that uses 25. When I started reloading 32ACP I thought about trying the 100 grain Lee but chickened out over the case capacity. I will be following how your 25 project goes.

[1Shirt]

Anything Ranch Dog does is of interest to me, even if I don't really appreciate the value of some of his endevors. Sure do enjoy his 165 30 cal, his 190 357, his .375, and his 44's, and consider myself lucky to get them befor he got out of the business.
1Shirt!

[LIMPINGJ]

Michael did you ever make a design fot the .32acp? Just was wondering if there would enough interest in a GB if someone would make a drawing for NOE to use?

[beemer]

leadeye
I have used the Lee 311-100-2R in the 32 ACP(CZ-50) with good results. You do not have much case capacity left but 1.1 grs. of Bullseye will operate my pistol and is fun to shoot. I seated the boolits out as far as I could and still fit in the mag, in my pistol it was .990. The vel. is a little less than 600 but it will build up fast. I went up to 1.4 grs. of BE, the vel was 730 but I backed back down as the lighter load hits POA at about 30 ft.

Dave

[armyrat1970]

While I agree the 25 is a meek and weak cartridge, it is a good little pocket pistol for around the house. I owned a Raven back in the '80s and wish I never sold it. Accurate as hell with no recoil to talk about. Could easily place all 6 shots into a perps face or chest at 15 to 20 ft. I say experiment on. I sometimes keep my old H&R 922 by my side in the house. Have it next to me right now while typing. It is mostly not the caliber, but shot placement that decides the final outcome.

Hey Michael I know I have at least 50, or more, range pick up 25 cases. If you want them for your experiment, you just cover the shipping in a USPS small flat rate box and they are yours. Only be around $5. PM me if you want them.

[45 2.1]

45,

Would you like to share what you worked with?

I have the NEI and RCBS molds for the 25 ACP. I have flat pointed both and tried the flat meplat and drilled HPs in them. They weighed somewhere in the low 40 gr. range and can be pushed (very dependent on which pistol you have) pretty good (powder was RedDot). They expanded nicely and showed some expansion cavity in clay. A lot better than the factory offerings.

[lathesmith]

I've got a Gun Digest from the early '90's in which the author of an article discusses the "P" factor--penetration--that is an overlooked element in "stopping power". To make a long story short(er), he discusses the fact that any gunshot wound is a serious puncture wound, enough in and of itself to stop a surprisingly high number of negative social encounters. Others can do what they like, but if I am going to rely on one of these pipsqeaks to stop an attack, I want the most solid slug I can get--expansion don't interest me, only punching as deep a hole as possible. Far from being useless, these little guys can be very useful in a number of bad situations.
lathesmith