Would you carry a 25-Caliber?

[MrBlue54]

Greetings Everyone,
New guy here. I have my father's Valor 25-caliber pistol. I understand that you cannot hit the side of the barn at 15-yards with it. I have not yet decided if I will shoot it or not at this time.
So, would you carry this?
Note that I do have an FNX-9 already, but that might be a tad big at times to carry.
Thanks

 

[gunman41mag]

My BERETTA 950 JETFIRE 25 acp is a fine little gun, it's ok for a man to carry, only cause he can fight back if the little rounds don't stop the bad guy, it will be accurate if you don't jerk the trigger

 

[rnmcguire]

I carry a Beretta Jetfire occasionally. I think the .25 is an ok round as long as the gun is a quality piece. It's not my favorite caliber but not bad for a backup gun or deep conceal weapon. I wouldn't carry a Raven or Lorcin though.

 

[sgreen3]

I would not activley go look to buy one for carry, but if its something you already have or got for free yea I probably would. Beats nothing at all!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

No.

I posted this in another thread asking a similar question:

I would leave them in the safe. .25 is very sub-par as a self defense round. It doesn't have the penetration power to get through bone and even a head shot isn't a reliable stopper. I've seen several people hit with it, only one was fatal, and he had absorbed 7 rounds, 5 at almost contact distance directly into his face. Most weren't even reliable stops. People able to drive themselves to the hospital with a torso hit, for example.

If you do insist on .25acp, I'd suggest gut shots. You aren't going to get a reliable physical stop, but gut shots are painful, there's no bone so you're going to get as much penetration as you are ever going to get, and you may get a psychological stop faster than a less painful, and no more physically damaging, chest hit.

 

[DanVoils]

The little 25's and 22's are called "getaway guns". They are designed to be loud and if shot within a few feet accurate. The idea is that when you fire it at close range the noise and impact either startle the attacker or even scare them enough so that you can get away. They are not man-stoppers with heavy knockdown power. They pretty much are a last chance act of self defense. They rose to fame as "Saturday Night Specials" because of their small size and ready availability. The quality of them wasn't the greatest either. In the early days the Mob and gangsters used them as assassination guns because when pressed against the skull the round would enter but not exit. It would pinball around and cause death.
Carrying it as a primary self defense if questionable at best. I've carried my 25 in my sock at places that a IWB gun wouldn't work. If SHTF at least I could do something up close but not from afar.

 

[gunman41mag]

I would shoot the bad guy in the face & throat with the 25 acp

 

[indiucky]

Yes...You can use it to fight your way to your pocket knife..

 

[2cool9031]

Only if I had nothing else.

 

[Latewatch]

Yes...You can use it to fight your way to your pocket knife..

It beats a pocket full of small rocks but beyond that a .25 is next to useless unless you can screw it in an attackers ear.

 

[Disposable Heart]

I would shoot the bad guy in the face & throat with the 25 acp

This. Gut shot? Painful? If one is jacked up on adrenaline or worse, they aren't going to notice being shot in the gut... When I was mugged, the guy didn't really notice I shived him in the fuel processor a few times until I started for his face and neck.

.25 will work, it will kill. It's shot placement, pure and simple. Unfortunately, .25 is usually in small guns and does not allow for the accuracy necessary for this style of shooting. In my mind, it's a roll around with the guy type of gun. Get it out early in the fight and use it against their face/head/throat/underarms/junk/upper-inner thigh. Count on it not working immediantly and probably end up with some cuts. If you are hoping on dropping a guy immediantly with a single round, go with something else.

It's better than nothing. A family friend in Toledo (Toledo Metro police) had to use his Beretta .25 on a guy when his main gun was taken. Pretty grabbed it from his ankle holster while fighting with the guy, planted it into the assailant's chin and emptied half the mag. Guy hit the ground, comatose for a week, can't do math now and can't use his left eye. The second guy that was attacking him absorbed the rest of the magazine into his chest and arm, ran away, docs left the bullets in him (one was pretty close to the heart, but deflected off a rib). He told me that the only reason the second guy ran was the mere presentation of a gun and the banging. "His heart wasn't into the fight anymore after seeing his friend hit the pavement after he got my gun and took some fire himself".

It will do the job, but not to the extent one may like. A slightly longer ranged knife is what I would consider it, nothing more. A backup, maybe, never a primary unless I had a rapidly deployable knife, baton or could run like a giddy schoolgirl towards Bieber tickets...

 

[possum_128]

Only if I had nothing else.

This. If you have something else, by all means leave the toy gun at home. Ask yourself one question, if you knew you would need a weapon to defend yourself or better yet a love one, would you trust a 25acp to get the job done? If not, then why on earth would you carry it?

Myself, I don't carry anything that I don't think will do it's part if I do mine and I don't feel that a 25acp will do what I want it to do.

You said you have other options, use them.

 

[jontheturboguy]

Id rather have a 22LR cci stinger and a knife than a 25 acp

 

[gunman41mag]

I have my BERETTA 950 25 acp as a back up, even the 25 acp is better than nothing

 

[40calPUNISHER]

No.

 

[singlestacksig]

sometimes it is all you have..

Gun Dealer's Personal Account of Saving His Own Life with a Gun

 

[palerider0485]

This. Gut shot? Painful? If one is jacked up on adrenaline or worse, they aren't going to notice being shot in the gut... When I was mugged, the guy didn't really notice I shived him in the fuel processor a few times until I started for his face and neck.

.25 will work, it will kill. It's shot placement, pure and simple. Unfortunately, .25 is usually in small guns and does not allow for the accuracy necessary for this style of shooting. In my mind, it's a roll around with the guy type of gun. Get it out early in the fight and use it against their face/head/throat/underarms/junk/upper-inner thigh. Count on it not working immediantly and probably end up with some cuts. If you are hoping on dropping a guy immediantly with a single round, go with something else.

It's better than nothing. A family friend in Toledo (Toledo Metro police) had to use his Beretta .25 on a guy when his main gun was taken. Pretty grabbed it from his ankle holster while fighting with the guy, planted it into the assailant's chin and emptied half the mag. Guy hit the ground, comatose for a week, can't do math now and can't use his left eye. The second guy that was attacking him absorbed the rest of the magazine into his chest and arm, ran away, docs left the bullets in him (one was pretty close to the heart, but deflected off a rib). He told me that the only reason the second guy ran was the mere presentation of a gun and the banging. "His heart wasn't into the fight anymore after seeing his friend hit the pavement after he got my gun and took some fire himself".

It will do the job, but not to the extent one may like. A slightly longer ranged knife is what I would consider it, nothing more. A backup, maybe, never a primary unless I had a rapidly deployable knife, baton or could run like a giddy schoolgirl towards Bieber tickets...

im glad to hear the good guy came out on top, sounds like it was a hand to hand fight, the officer that took on 2 men with a .25 didnt come out on top because the .25 but rather because he could fight hand to hand, having said that, if your not a tough guy you need more then a .25.

 

[peberly400]

Its better than nothing. Would not be my first or 2nd choice my any means.

 

[gunsisgood]

Only as a drop gun

Pepper spray would be a better defense.

 

[draftyranger]

If it was all I had, I would carry it. Anything is better than nothing. Personally, I dont go with anything smaller than a 9mm. Thats just me. Not saying a .25 wouldnt work!