Why .25 ACP is a better choice

[Sandman]

You can train all you want. My dad's .25 won't do any better than to put the shots inside a pie plate from 15 feet. Might be able to get them in an attacker's body, but absolutely no garantee of hitting anything important.

[Grousetrapper]

I'll add my $.02 worth. I have two .25 ACPs, and while they are certainly not my preferred self defense tools, they go places where my 9mms or .357 can't. I often have a .25 in my pocket or in an ankle rig, and a 9mm in my briefcase, except when I open carry or can more easily conceal a larger gun. I definitely feel better carrying a .25 than nothing at all. As for comparing .25 ACP to .22 LR, there was a day when rimfires were considerably less reliable, but from what I've seen with modern ammo, you usually get only one to three duds in a brick, so the question then is whether you take the risk that 0.5% won't fire. Of course, .22 LR costs only 10% of what .25 costs, but aside from occasional (once/month or so) shooting of my .25s, they aren't designed to be target guns and neither are .22 pocket guns. I could also make the argument that although neither .25 or .22 pack much punch, they are both a lot easier to handle and keep on target than the ultra small .380 or 9mm; and in my opinion, a well-placed shot from small caliber is better than a poorly placed shot from a larger caliber.

[EVERETT]

Originally Posted by Bill DeShivs

.25s have been working as defense guns for over 100 years. Maybe not the best defense gun, but nevertheless a gun. Any pistol can inflict gruesome wounds from yards away. A knife can't do that.
Yes, the new .32s and .380s are small, but a .25 can be made even smaller.
There are no one shot guaranteed stops, and no pistol (not even the .45) is a death ray.

Everett- "I kept shooting because he was still a threat."

hey im not saying a 45acp is a death ray by anymeans but itll do better then any punny 22 or 25 any given day of the week month hour or minute or millenia for that matter , an if i was gonna compare anything to a "death ray" i would have to compare my 500 s&w mag ,, an if you cant say that thats a 1 hit quiter theres sumthing wrong with your preception on the whole aspect , , an he was only still a threat cause ur bb gun couldnt do what you needed it to do in 1-2 shots the only shots i see actually counting for any use from that 25 will be the ones that are about a foot close to the attacker , wich sorry to say is gonna be to close an thats to say he only has a knife hopefully he dont pull out sumthing bigger an let you have it ,

[Regular Joe]

By no means is your .500 S&W a gauranteed one shot stopper. The .357 is generally a better stopper than the .44 Mag. because the .44 has already passed thru before those big heavy bullets begin to expand. Same with the .500. With the big guns, it's all about bullet design, and marksmanship.
IMO, this discussion about .22 vs. .25 is just plain silly. The Ruger LCP is the smallest gun that registers with me. If you can't find a way to hide one of those, you're just not trying.

[jstgsn]

OMG here I go again, spouting off my opinion, which is very similar to my .....
Anyway. I have been in law enforcement since 1968 (although in 1968 I didn't know my head from my butt, but I looked good in uniform.) I have been to numerous autopsies from .22 wounds, along with .38, .9mm, .44, and some .40s (although the .40 came along late in my career). I had one case where a man chased an old man into his house and the old man shot him with a .25. It hit the attacker in the neck and scared him, he drove himself to the hospital and I interviewed him several hours later. He was upset they didn't have his flavor of soda in the hospital. I shoot many guns on a regular basis. I shoot targets and on occasion critters, such as ground hogs.

I'm a private detective now and I still get to see autopsies. Two years ago I bought a .32 Keltec as it was "small" and easy to carry. A couple months later, they came out with the .380 of the same size. I bought one of those and loved it. Then Ruger came out with the LCP in .380. Had to have it. I read up on the specs and the .380 was close if not better that the two inch .38 I carried for years into dark alleys and houses in the city I policed.

A month later, I had an investigation where a young punk shot a lady. First in the hand and then in the head, using a Keltec .380, solid lead bullets. The hand wound was devastating. Obviously it was close contact, but the head wound was probably two feet from the muzzle. It was also devastating. The .380 which was the same size as the .32 and both were smaller and lighter than the .25 colt I have, plus hold more rounds.

So, yes, the .22 is probably better than the .25 in so many ways, but the .380 is better that the .22 and the .32. I would even say it is better and more concealable than the .38.

Of course that is just my humble opinion.

In the end, if you are going to a gun fight, take a long gun. If you can, take all your friends with their long guns. Never shoot anyone once when you can shoot them a bunch of times. The more time you spend shooting them, the less time they spend shooting you. Next year, no one will remember your stance, moves, facial expression, or number of shots fired. They will only remember if you won the fight.