.25 ACP: Difference between revisions
→Design and history: Corrected punctuation. |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 59: | Line 59: | ||
==Performance== | ==Performance== | ||
The .25 ACP is viewed by some, including ''[[Gun Digest]]'' magazine, | The .25 ACP is viewed by some, including ''[[Gun Digest]]'' magazine, to still be a relevant choice (with it being over a century old) for a personal defense handgun when compared to more modern subcompact handguns & cartridges due to its small size, low recoil, centerfire primer, effective penetration and proven track record of being reliable.<ref name="gdcc">{{citation|title=Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns|author=Jerry Ahern|pages=19–20|isbn=978-1-4402-1383-0|publisher=Gun Digest Books|year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfycMCuuKxY |title=Lynn Thompson talks about the effectiveness of 25 ACP |date=2016-08-25 |last=Cold Steel |access-date=2024-07-31 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Borisenko |first=Adam |date=2021-08-10 |title=.25 ACP: The Best Cartridge For Really Little Guns |url=https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/25-acp-the-best-cartridge-for-really-little-guns |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Gun Digest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Esson |first=Roger |date=2023-03-17 |title=Is.25 ACP Any Good? |url=https://trueshotammo.com/academy/is-the-25-acp-any-good/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=True Shot Ammo |language=en-US}}</ref> Because of the delicate nature of the majority of .25-caliber automatics, the vast majority of commercial .25 ACP loads are not loaded as powerfully as they could be. However, more modern ammunition offerings from manufacturers such as Buffalo Bore [[Bullet#Materials|hard cast]] [[lead]], [[Federal Premium Ammunition|Federal "Punch"]] and [[Hornady]] Critical Defense are designed to be closer to the cartridge's full potential. Some more powerful loadings of the .25 ACP can even get close to [[.32 ACP]] territory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=K |first=Zac |date=2024-06-17 |title=Federal Punch Self-Defense Ammo Has New .25 ACP Option |url=https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/federal-punch-self-defense-ammo-has-new-25-acp-option-44814382 |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=thefirearmblog.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tested: Buffalo Bore 25 ACP 60 Grain Hard Cast Ammunition |url=https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/tested-buffalo-bore-25-acp-60-grain-hard-cast-ammunition/ |access-date=2024-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=25 Auto 35 gr FTX® Critical Defense® |url=https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/25-auto-35-gr-ftx-critical-defense |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Hornady Manufacturing, Inc |language=en}}</ref> | ||
The .25 is viewed by others as inadequate for personal defense. Self-defense instructor Greg Ellifritz conducted a study using statistics from almost 1,800 real-world shootings. Of the 68 people shot with a .25 ACP, 35% of them were not incapacitated. 25% of the hits were fatal, one-shot stop was 30%, and 49% were incapacitated by one shot. The .380 ACP, on the other hand, left 16% of people shot not incapacitated. This was a 30% increase from that of the .25 ACP. Ellifritz stated: "I would skip carrying the "mouse gun" .22s, .25s and .32s." However, he also pointed out that shot placement is more important than caliber (a common argument from .25 users) and concluded his review by stating: "caliber really isn't all that important."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alternate-look-handgun-stopping-power | title=An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power | Buckeye Firearms Association }}</ref> Other critics of the .25 ACP have pointed out that the round has trouble penetrating through bone and typically does not have enough energy to ensure the reliable expansion of hollow-point projectiles, and that even if the projectiles do expand, that results in a decrease of penetration.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/rise-fall-25-acp/ | title=Throwback Thursday: The Rise and Fall of the .25 ACP | date=13 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/ammo-test-hornady-critical-defense-25-acp/|title=Ammo Test: Hornady Critical Defense 25 ACP - The Mag Life}}</ref> | The .25 is viewed by others as inadequate for personal defense. Self-defense instructor Greg Ellifritz conducted a study using statistics from almost 1,800 real-world shootings. Of the 68 people shot with a .25 ACP, 35% of them were not incapacitated. 25% of the hits were fatal, one-shot stop was 30%, and 49% were incapacitated by one shot. The .380 ACP, on the other hand, left 16% of people shot not incapacitated. This was a 30% increase from that of the .25 ACP. Ellifritz stated: "I would skip carrying the "mouse gun" .22s, .25s and .32s." However, he also pointed out that shot placement is more important than caliber (a common argument from .25 users) and concluded his review by stating: "caliber really isn't all that important."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alternate-look-handgun-stopping-power | title=An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power | Buckeye Firearms Association }}</ref> Other critics of the .25 ACP have pointed out that the round has trouble penetrating through bone and typically does not have enough energy to ensure the reliable expansion of hollow-point projectiles, and that even if the projectiles do expand, that results in a decrease of penetration.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/rise-fall-25-acp/ | title=Throwback Thursday: The Rise and Fall of the .25 ACP | date=13 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/ammo-test-hornady-critical-defense-25-acp/|title=Ammo Test: Hornady Critical Defense 25 ACP - The Mag Life}}</ref> | ||
However, urban legends about the .25 ACP's inadequacy (such as claims that a .25 will bounce off a skull or be stopped by thick clothing)<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfycMCuuKxY |title=Is .25 ACP Literally the Worst Self-Defense Cartridge? |date=2018-10-30 |last=Lucky Gunner Ammo |access-date=2024-08-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> are inconsistent with the cartridge's historically proven track record. [[Vasily Blokhin]], [[Joseph Stalin]]'s chief executioner, killed 7,000 people in the [[Katyn massacre]] using only a [[Carl Walther GmbH|Walther]] Model 2 pocket pistol chambered in .25 ACP.<ref name="Brackman2003">{{cite book|author=Roman Brackman|title=The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nA7YzQMzO9YC&pg=PA287|access-date=29 April 2012|date=1 May 2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-7146-8402-4|pages=287–}}</ref><ref name="Rayfield 2005, p. 488">Rayfield 2005, p. 488.</ref> The reputation of the .25 ACP has long suffered from the cartridge only being offered in low-capacity pocket pistols with 2-inch barrels. This short barrel length limits the velocity and energy that a .25 can offer and contributes to the | However, urban legends about the .25 ACP's inadequacy (such as claims that a .25 will bounce off a skull or be stopped by thick clothing)<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfycMCuuKxY |title=Is .25 ACP Literally the Worst Self-Defense Cartridge? |date=2018-10-30 |last=Lucky Gunner Ammo |access-date=2024-08-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref> are inconsistent with the cartridge's historically proven track record. [[Vasily Blokhin]], [[Joseph Stalin]]'s chief executioner, killed 7,000 people in the [[Katyn massacre]] using only a [[Carl Walther GmbH|Walther]] Model 2 pocket pistol chambered in .25 ACP.<ref name="Brackman2003">{{cite book|author=Roman Brackman|title=The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nA7YzQMzO9YC&pg=PA287|access-date=29 April 2012|date=1 May 2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-7146-8402-4|pages=287–}}</ref><ref name="Rayfield 2005, p. 488">Rayfield 2005, p. 488.</ref> The reputation of the .25 ACP has long suffered from the cartridge only being offered in low-capacity pocket pistols with 2-inch barrels. This short barrel length limits the velocity and energy that a .25 can offer and contributes to the popular belief that the .25 ACP is less powerful than the [[.22 Long Rifle]]. Modern .22 LR self-defense ammo though, gets tested in handgun length barrels and has no problem with achieving speeds of 1000 - 1300 feet per second with a jacketed hollow-point or flat-nose projectile, while most 25 acp loads are subsonic ball ammo. The .22 LR is a rifle cartridge and, as such, is typically tested in rifle-length barrels, which is why the .22 LR appears to be more powerful than the .25 ACP. In reality, the .25 ACP is only half as powerful as .22 LR in pocket pistols, and the velocity, penetration, muzzle energy and maximum pressure of the .25 is lower than the .22.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brandon |date=2021-11-17 |title=22LR vs 25 ACP - Pocket Pistol Caliber Comparison |url=https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/22lr-vs-25-acp/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=The Lodge at AmmoToGo.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=.25 ACP & .22LR: Comparing Pocket Pistol Calibers For Concealed Carry |url=https://nightgalaxy.com/blog/post/25-acp-22lr-comparing-pocket-pistol-calibers-for-concealed-carry |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=nightgalaxy.com |language=en}}</ref> In an 18-inch barrel, a .25 ACP performs similarly to a .22 LR being fired from a 2 inch barrel, with a 50 grain projectile traveling at about 1000 feet per second and producing in excess of 100 foot-pounds of energy, while .22 LR gets such energy with twice the velocity from a 2 inch barrel pocket pistol. <ref>{{Cite web |title=BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .25 Auto Results |url=http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/25auto.html |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=ballisticsbytheinch.com}}</ref><ref>https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/pocket-pistol-caliber-gel-test-results<ref> | ||
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px"> | <gallery widths="200px" heights="160px"> | ||
File:Browning 6,35 (6971783925).jpg|[[FN 1905]]/6 | File:Browning 6,35 (6971783925).jpg|[[FN 1905]]/6 | ||
| Line 84: | Line 83: | ||
{{Commons category}} | {{Commons category}} | ||
* [http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/25auto.html Ballistics By The Inch .25ACP results.] | * [http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/25auto.html Ballistics By The Inch .25ACP results.] | ||
* [https | * [https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/pocket-pistol-caliber-gel-test-results/] | ||
{{John Browning}} | {{John Browning}} | ||
{{Colt's Manufacturing Company}} | {{Colt's Manufacturing Company}} | ||
Revision as of 23:34, 17 June 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The .25 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .25 Auto, .25 Automatic, or 6.35×16mmSR is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled centerfire pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning in 1905 alongside the Fabrique Nationale M1905 pistol.
Design and history
The .25 ACP was designed because .25-caliber was the smallest John Browning could go while still retaining a centerfire primer pocket, which would be more reliable for self-defense than rimfire primers. As such, the .25 ACP allows for a very compact and lightweight gun, usually a semi-automatic pocket pistol.[1] The .25 ACP was hugely popular after its introduction, with many millions of pocket .25 "mouse guns" being offered on the market.
Following the Gun Control Act of 1968, most foreign .25 pistols were too small to be imported; however, some domestic manufacturers continued to build guns in the caliber. No new .25 ACP pocket pistols have been developed in well over a decade, and it is unlikely that this will change anytime soon. The most common pocket pistols in the United States today are in .22 LR, .380 ACP or 9x19mm.[2]
The cartridge is of semi-rimmed design meaning that the rim protrudes slightly beyond the diameter of the base of the cartridge so the cartridge can headspace on the rim.[3] This semi-rimmed design allows for it to be used in revolvers. Although rare, .25 ACP revolvers were produced in the early twentieth century by Belgian, French, and German gunmakers such as Adolph Frank and Decker.[4] In the late twentieth century, Bowen Classic Arms produced a custom Smith & Wesson revolver in .25 ACP.[5]
Performance
The .25 ACP is viewed by some, including Gun Digest magazine, to still be a relevant choice (with it being over a century old) for a personal defense handgun when compared to more modern subcompact handguns & cartridges due to its small size, low recoil, centerfire primer, effective penetration and proven track record of being reliable.[6][7][8][9] Because of the delicate nature of the majority of .25-caliber automatics, the vast majority of commercial .25 ACP loads are not loaded as powerfully as they could be. However, more modern ammunition offerings from manufacturers such as Buffalo Bore hard cast lead, Federal "Punch" and Hornady Critical Defense are designed to be closer to the cartridge's full potential. Some more powerful loadings of the .25 ACP can even get close to .32 ACP territory.[10][11][12]
The .25 is viewed by others as inadequate for personal defense. Self-defense instructor Greg Ellifritz conducted a study using statistics from almost 1,800 real-world shootings. Of the 68 people shot with a .25 ACP, 35% of them were not incapacitated. 25% of the hits were fatal, one-shot stop was 30%, and 49% were incapacitated by one shot. The .380 ACP, on the other hand, left 16% of people shot not incapacitated. This was a 30% increase from that of the .25 ACP. Ellifritz stated: "I would skip carrying the "mouse gun" .22s, .25s and .32s." However, he also pointed out that shot placement is more important than caliber (a common argument from .25 users) and concluded his review by stating: "caliber really isn't all that important."[13] Other critics of the .25 ACP have pointed out that the round has trouble penetrating through bone and typically does not have enough energy to ensure the reliable expansion of hollow-point projectiles, and that even if the projectiles do expand, that results in a decrease of penetration.[14][15]
However, urban legends about the .25 ACP's inadequacy (such as claims that a .25 will bounce off a skull or be stopped by thick clothing)[16] are inconsistent with the cartridge's historically proven track record. Vasily Blokhin, Joseph Stalin's chief executioner, killed 7,000 people in the Katyn massacre using only a Walther Model 2 pocket pistol chambered in .25 ACP.[17][18] The reputation of the .25 ACP has long suffered from the cartridge only being offered in low-capacity pocket pistols with 2-inch barrels. This short barrel length limits the velocity and energy that a .25 can offer and contributes to the popular belief that the .25 ACP is less powerful than the .22 Long Rifle. Modern .22 LR self-defense ammo though, gets tested in handgun length barrels and has no problem with achieving speeds of 1000 - 1300 feet per second with a jacketed hollow-point or flat-nose projectile, while most 25 acp loads are subsonic ball ammo. The .22 LR is a rifle cartridge and, as such, is typically tested in rifle-length barrels, which is why the .22 LR appears to be more powerful than the .25 ACP. In reality, the .25 ACP is only half as powerful as .22 LR in pocket pistols, and the velocity, penetration, muzzle energy and maximum pressure of the .25 is lower than the .22.[19][20] In an 18-inch barrel, a .25 ACP performs similarly to a .22 LR being fired from a 2 inch barrel, with a 50 grain projectile traveling at about 1000 feet per second and producing in excess of 100 foot-pounds of energy, while .22 LR gets such energy with twice the velocity from a 2 inch barrel pocket pistol. [21]<ref>https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/pocket-pistol-caliber-gel-test-results<ref>
-
FN 1905/6
-
Modern jacketed hollow point loads for 6.35mm/.25 cal.
-
The Walther Model 9 pistol uses 6.35mm
-
Raven MP-25 .25 ACP chrome with faux mother of pearl grips and push up safety
-
Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket used .25 ACP
.jpg){kind=link}
See also
References
External links
Template:John Browning Template:Colt's Manufacturing Company
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ *Wilson, R. K. Textbook of Automatic Pistols. Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943. p. 258. Template:ISBN.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Bowen, Hamilton. The Custom Revolver. Privately printed, 2001. Template:ISBN.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Rayfield 2005, p. 488.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".