Anyone familer with this gun?

[fallenangel1]

I went to visit my father today and he was looking at my new Glock19 and went in the other room and brought this out for me to look at. I'm not knowledgeable of old guns at all so I was wondering if any of you knew anything about the make/model/value/rarity?

 

[Vladislas]

He is a link.
Raven Arms MP-25 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Mosinguy]

It's a Raven. Maybe worth $25 on a good day. Not very collectible just kinda cool paperweights. They were used mostly as throw away guns. Not very reliable. My dad had one and you'd shoot sparks out of the barrel and the point where the slide and frame meet! I'd buy it if he didn't want it.

 

[Leo]

Saturday night special

 

[rugertoter]

Well, you can still get magazines for them on Cheaper Than Dirt. I have seen them. The gun is not an expensive one. I believe the slide is made of a Zinc alloy.

 

[melensdad]

One of the local gunshops used to hang the broken guns on the wall. Lots of Ravens, Lorcins, etc.

 

[jwh20]

This is one of the guns that DEFINE the term "Saturday Night Special".

A relative of mine gave this this Davis Industries P380 which you'll note is very similar:

This one is nearly useless as a handgun. I've not been able to average more than about 1.5 shots before it malfunctions in some way.

But they actually are kinda pretty.

 

[jwh20]

I _really_ like the warning label on the box:

"All guns can be dangerous if improperly used."

Actually they can be a LOT MORE dangerous if PROPERLY used!

 

[fallenangel1]

haha .. thanks for all the info guys, I think it may hurt my Dads feelings a bit .. I asked him what he through it was worth and he said he'd let it go for $200 :P He was bragging about it never being shot. Maybe if he'd have shot it at some point he'd have realized it wasn't all that great of a gun!

rep all around!

 

[jwh20]

$200 would be VERY high. This class of gun sold for somewhere about $100 when new. Today, most are valued in the $50-$120 range. Actually the one your dad has with the box and owners manual might be a bit more valuable to a collector.

I think they are kinda neat. My Davis P380 is remarkably heavy for such a small pistol but that's due to the massive cast zinc slide. The frame is also cast zinc. Everything is chrome plated.

If he was really looking to sell it, I'll bet someone would pay $125 - $150 for it.

 

[mrjarrell]

http://youtu.be/mWBoeY0AAec

That said, it'll still put holes in someone.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Saturday night special

I started hearing that Lynyrd Skynyrd song in my head when I saw the pics.

 

[ecross0351]

I never had a problem with mine put 200 rounds through it with out a malfunction.

 

[HandK]

I don't think I ever saw one of those that has been shot! But you'll look long and hard for one that hasn't been thrown after it wouldn't shoot!!

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Don's Guns used to throw one in free with the purchase of a firearm. It's a .25ACP, weaker even than a .22LR. The only reason they rifled the barrel was it was required by law. Made largely of a zinc alloy commonly known as "pot metal", like what Hot Wheels used to be made of. Quality was hit or miss, mostly miss, and it's basically almost as dangerous to the target as it is to the shooter.

Raven, Bryco, Jennings, Jimenez, a couple of others, are all the same; one company would make them for a while, then disappear before being overwhelmed by liability suits, then the designs would show up again, made by a friend or a relative.

 

[WILSON]

fallenangel1,

As everyone already said, it's a cheap ($70 new) pot-metal pistol in the Davis, Jennings, Bryco, "Jiminez" family.

I'd avoid using it for anything serious at all costs (guess it might be okay at getting a lot of practice clearing jams though ).

 

[Dewidmt]

Guess I'm in the minority here! I bought a Raven ay back in the mid 80's. Gun shot fine, ultra reliable, don't ever recall having a jam with it. Reasonably accurate also. Massad Ayoob wrote about it as one of the few .25 Autos he would trust!
I paid $40 for it new back then and sold it years later to a buddy for $75. The company went out of business when all the small manufacturers in California got sued together in one big group (Jennings, Lorcin, Davis Arms). Some of them came back under different names, but sadly the Raven wasn't one of them.
I used to use the Winchester 45 gr. Expanding Ball ammo in mine for carry. Only concession I ever made when carrying it was to carry empty chamber as the safety was very tiny and it was not drop safe!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

That's the type of gun that you hope & pray for a gun buy-back so you can hopefully get 2-3x it's value.

 

[pellidon]

I have one and my grandfather had one. We collectively never had any issue with them failing to fire or function beyond the occasional limp wrist that these small things are prone to have. I did torture mine by shooting a couple of boxes of ammo without cleaning it and it still chugged along. But from what I recall, they were hit and miss.

They do like to bite the hand with the slide, especially people who have pudgy or chunky hands like mine. I used to carry mine around all the time until I was lucky enough to get a Seecamp 25 when they first came out. Still not the best caliber, but better than nothing.

 

[chibicascade]

If he's looking to get rid of it, I wouldn't mind having one. I wouldn't pay more than $100 for it though...