The Buffalo Bore Hard Cast Boolit .25 ACP SWCFN loads.

[FergusonTO35]

This is the raison d'etre for the Buffalo Bore .25 ACP loads (both 50-grain FMJ and 60-grain Cast Boolit loads). when it comes to short-barreled "micro pistols" penetration is your friend!

For any purpose under the sun where you would use a firearm, accuracy is king and penetration is queen! My deer killing abilities improved dramatically when I switched to the mild and fun to shoot .30-30 and retired the not fun (to me, anyway) .30'06. One shot kills with minimal tracking are the norm these days.

[Captain O]

For any purpose under the sun where you would use a firearm, accuracy is king and penetration is queen! My deer killing abilities improved dramatically when I switched to the mild and fun to shoot .30-30 and retired the not fun (to me, anyway) .30'06. One shot kills with minimal tracking are the norm these days.

I understand and concur.

[Bigslug]

The "micro .380" pistols have a tendency to be uncontrollable. This is the primary reason for the .25 "Baby Browning" (Bauer) pistol. IF I can dump between 6 and 7 rounds in the miscreant's face (nose/eye) or the base of their throat, odds are that they won't last very long.

Pretty outdated info. In the case of the old blowback guns - most of which were originally designed for .32 and had the .380 shoehorned in - the .380's tend to be pretty snappy. Most of what's currently on the market today are using Browning's tilting-barrel, recoil-operated concept. The Kel-Tec and Ruger LCP's are significantly smaller, lighter, and hit you with less perceived recoil than a .380 Walther PPK/S; go a smidgen bigger to a Glock 42 and you have an extremely controllable pistol.

[beemer]

The 25 auto does have it's place. My Mother had a Taurus 85, she couldn't pull the trigger. Living alone she wanted something she could shoot. I ended up buying a Taurus PLY25, it's a DAO and is very safe to handle. She could pull the trigger and keep all shots on a 18" square as fast as she could pull the trigger at 6' and tolerate the recoil. That would really mess up someone's day. It was all she could handle and it made her feel better and certainly better than nothing. I don't think her hands or a hatchet was an option.

The salesman really tried to sell me a 22 but I refused. He harped on ammo cost but that is irrelevant. CF ammo is much more reliable than rim fire and when you need this thing it had better work. Mom has passed and the Taurus 25 was cleaned put back in the box and in my safe where it will stay, might be there myself sometime.

Dave

[dverna]

If all you have on you is a .25 ACP, you have failed the 7 P's. Yes, it is better than nothing...but why have you planned so poorly?

Today there are many good choices in small carry guns. I have travelled the .32 and .380 routes, and they are OK but I can carry a 9mm Kahr CW easily. It weighs about a pound empty. It is huge tradeoff vs the .25's. Adding 1/2 a pound of gun mass to get five times more energy, and 50% more penetration with better accuracy.

I would not want to get shot with a .25 or .22 but that is not much of a testimonial. I do not want to get hit by a hammer either. If a threat needs to be "neutralized", more is better if you can handle the recoil and put rounds on target.

[Captain O]

The 25 auto does have it's place. My Mother had a Taurus 85, she couldn't pull the trigger. Living alone she wanted something she could shoot. I ended up buying a Taurus PLY25, it's a DAO and is very safe to handle. She could pull the trigger and keep all shots on a 18" square as fast as she could pull the trigger at 6' and tolerate the recoil. That would really mess up someone's day. It was all she could handle and it made her feel better and certainly better than nothing. I don't think her hands or a hatchet was an option.

The salesman really tried to sell me a 22 but I refused. He harped on ammo cost but that is irrelevant. CF ammo is much more reliable than rim fire and when you need this thing it had better work. Mom has passed and the Taurus 25 was cleaned put back in the box and in my safe where it will stay, might be there myself sometime.

Dave

Yep. The .25 ACP can "screw up an afternoon" rather quickly. A 50-grain, Buffalo Bore FMJ in my Bauer would be a decent bet . At 810 fps and 73 foot-pounds of energy, the "boutique" Buffalo Bore definitely steps up the .25 ACP cartridge's game. While more expensive than "practice" FMJ, the added energy increases the "anemic" cartridge's efficacy.

As stated earlier, the base of the throat, larynx and nose make great targets at ranges up to 2 yards (6 feet). Emptying 7 rounds at these points will likely bring the confrontation to a hasty conclusion.

[FergusonTO35]

Pretty outdated info. In the case of the old blowback guns - most of which were originally designed for .32 and had the .380 shoehorned in - the .380's tend to be pretty snappy. Most of what's currently on the market today are using Browning's tilting-barrel, recoil-operated concept. The Kel-Tec and Ruger LCP's are significantly smaller, lighter, and hit you with less perceived recoil than a .380 Walther PPK/S; go a smidgen bigger to a Glock 42 and you have an extremely controllable pistol.

Absolutely love the Glock 42, I have two of them. I feed them Makarov level reloads and they don't miss a beat. I can shoot them better than most full size handguns.

[Captain O]

Absolutely love the Glock 42, I have two of them. I feed them Makarov level reloads and they don't miss a beat. I can shoot them better than most full size handguns.

I understand this, but can you hide the Glock 42 where you can conceal either a "Baby Browning" or my Bauer? How does the Glock 42 mitgate the "nuclear" (+p) 9mm Browning loads?

[FergusonTO35]

I understand this, but can you hide the Glock 42 where you can conceal either a "Baby Browning" or my Bauer? How does the Glock 42 mitgate the "nuclear" (+p) 9mm Browning loads?

No, I carry my Kel-Tec P32 in that case. If a .25 was the only gun I had in that size category then I would carry it. The 42 eats up the hot loads no problemo. Which, aren't too far above regular .380 charges. My favorite load is 3.2 grains Titegroup under a 100 grain plated flat point. No pressure signs and still quite easy to shoot.

[Captain O]

I saw a gelatin test yesterday (on YouTube) and the Buffalo Bore 60-grain load passed through 15-17 inches of 10% Ordnance Gelatin.

This is a better load for the "micro-gun" than I had thought.

[35remington]

Ferg, my LCP2 shoots the Aguila 40 grain sorta flatpoint Interceptor at 1060 fps and the same loading does 1210 fps out of a TALO Edition 3.75” birdshead Wrangler which is my trapline gun.

Should either be needed for “bidness” they would get the penetration angles covered, anyway.

[Bill*B]

My unsolicited 2 cents worth - loading any tiny (.25 or .32 ACP) pistol to the MAX is pointless. They can never be "powerful". And, they don't have to be. They just need to be reliable. The first shot gets attention, providing time for the second follow up shot to take care of business. Makes me shudder to write this. I pray that none of us ever has to defend ourselves with force.

[beemer]

In the past there were very limited options for concealed carry. It was against the law most every where so if you carried it really needed to be out of sight. Even the 32's were not small.
The 25 was popular for this reason, effective or not it's what we had and was widely available.

CC permits have been around for around 30 years and the manufacturers have responded with very small reliable pistols of reasonable power. The 380 is as small as some 25 pistols and the 9mm not much bigger. I have several Beretta 25 auto's, with today's offerings I don't carry them any more.

The carry conditions were different 30-40 years. We carried what was available.

[FergusonTO35]

Ferg, my LCP2 shoots the Aguila 40 grain sorta flatpoint Interceptor at 1060 fps and the same loading does 1210 fps out of a TALO Edition 3.75” birdshead Wrangler which is my trapline gun.

Should either be needed for “bidness” they would get the penetration angles covered, anyway.

Yep, the LCP II with Interceptors is a great option. I'm planning to buy a second one.