What is the best .25 ACP semi automatic pistol?" or "What is the best .25 ACP ammo for self defense?" and invariably the person asking the question will receive numerous responses that fit into one of the following categories:
- Never every buy or carry a .25 ACP caliber pistol for self-defense;
- If you must carry a small gun, the .22 LR is a far better choice;
- Buy this gun or this ammunition because that is what I use.
No qualified and experienced expert would ever make any of the above statements because their experiences tell them otherwise. There are numerous reasons why a .25 ACP semi auto handgun deserves serious consideration and anyone experienced in serious social considerations would know it.
A secret that many people don't know is that many of the famous big bore advocates often carried a 25 in addition to their big bore favorites on a routine basis. Like everything else in life, everything depends on many factors.
Here are some real world examples:
My mother, a WAVE during WWII was attached to Naval Intelligence, and was one of only a few women authorized to carry. She qualified, carried and used, a service issued 1911 in .45 ACP in a Navy issued purse, and a couple of Germans could testify to her expertise if they were still alive. She had grown up as the oldest of nine during the Depression. Using a .22 rifle and a 410 shotgun it was her job to put meat on the table so she was firearms experienced prior to enlisting in the WAVES.
When the war was over and she had returned home, she had a .44 revolver, a side by side 12 gauge, and an M-1 Carbine for protection of our farm, our livestock, and family when my father wasn't around. In the years I was growing up I watched while she ran off/or stopped a variety of people intent on stealing livestock or other farm items and once, four guys intent on robbery and whatever else they had on their mind. She was my first shooting instructor.
Move forward many years, and age had caught up with her. Much more frail, her gun of choice was a Beretta 950 (.25 ACP) because she could no longer rack a slide, nor withstand the recoil of other firearms. She could still shoot accurately but the circumstances of her advanced age, made her choice of firearms the best she could dependably handle. It was the right choice for her.
I once used a .25 ACP on a bear that was intent on climbing the same tree I had climbed seconds before. I freely admit I would have been much happier with a much larger gun, but it was all I had available to me at the time. In all candor, I emptied that gun into the bear's mouth and eyes and while that caused him to desist by falling out of the tree blind, it didn't kill him. The Rangers took care of that 4 hours later. How all of that came to be is a long story, but the .25 did the job of least stopping the bear from his mission of possibly making a meal of me.
One should also consider that the LW Seecamp Company kept their business afloat for many years with the manufacture of a very high quality and expensive .25 ACP semi automatic pistol that was sold primarily to active law enforcement officers. The important fact is thousands of them were made and sold primarily to LEOs who had experience in serious social situations. At one time, almost every member of the POTUS detail of the Secret Service had ordered and paid for a .25ACP Seecamp with their own money as a backup to their issued primary weapons. Obviously, many experienced law enforcement professionals find a value in 25 caliber firearms.
A number of law enforcement operators engaged in deep cover work have carried .25 automatics in groin holsters that can be accessed through an unzipped fly as their primary weapon, and in two cases with different officers in New York City, both officers credited their .25 automatics with saving their respective lives. I am also aware of law enforcement officers being relieved of their primary weapon in a serious social situation who ended up responding to the threat successfully with their back up .25 ACP weapon.
When I was engaged in soft cover law enforcement I carried a Colt Commander LW in .45 ACP as my primary weapon, a baby Browning as my 2nd weapon, and a tiny and no longer manufactured .22 short revolver as my 3d weapon (which I have replaced with a North American Arms in .22 short).
Obviously there are circumstances in which these small guns are the only answer. That can be because of age and a frail body, it can be because the clothing or lack thereof makes other guns difficult to conceal, or as a 2nd or 3d backup weapon. It can also be because it was the only gun you had with you at the time.
Anyone considering carrying or utilizing a .25ACP for defensive purposes, needs to understand the limitations of the caliber. They should abandon any thoughts of a "one shot stop" because experience has taught us the chances of that happening are minimal with these smaller calibers.
Consequently, there is a very real need for constant practice to both improve shot placement, and to develop successful strategies for their effective use. 21 feet is a long shot when aiming at the brain pan which is the only place anyone should be practicing at hitting. 10 feet is far more practical, and actual contact with the head is even better.
Choice of ammunition is even more critical than normal. Because of the limited selection of choice, the only round I can recommend in this caliber is Winchester Silvertips with the small ball in the hollow point. If at all possible, use that same ammo for most practice as well.
One Last Thing
If one visits one of the many online forums with questions about .25 caliber, one is almost invariably going to hear the specious argument advising the purchase of a small semi automatic in .22LR caliber citing the vastly superior velocity and penetration. Numbers will often be cited "proving" their arguement. The first problem is their numbers are not a proper comparison, because the .22LR numbers are usually from a handgun with a longer barrel than these small automatics possess, while the .25 ACP numbers are from the actual, and much shorter barrel. Actual tests on the short barrel semi automatics in .22LR often show virtually equal numbers with a lot more recoil and muzzle flash.
The other problem is every small semi automatic pistol chambered for .22LR malfunctions on a regular basis because of issues with the length of the case in relation to the size of the gun and the very fact they are rimfire rather than centerfire which makes them inherantly less reliable . Quality .25 ACPs are very reliable and I can recall only one malfunction out of 1000s of rounds and that was actually caused by operator error.
Brands I would bet my life on:
- Browning
- Beretta
- Seecamp
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