Despite being designed by John Browning .25ACP is the Rodney Dangerfield of cartridges; it can’t get no respect. The esteemed Mr. Browning designed it as a better, more reliable cartridge than .22 Long Rifle for use in small, semi-automatic pocket pistols.

It was, to say the least, a big hit and was wildly popular, in part because the guns were discreet, often inexpensive and people rarely have to actually shoot other people, so it’s shortcomings were not widely advertised.

So, how close does it come to .22 Long rifle? A quick look at the ballistics will tell you ‘not very,’ but that’s deceptive. The performance figures for .22 LR are generally taken from firing them out of rifles. The .25 ACP’s performance figures are typically from firing them through a 2″ barrel. So how do they compare when both are fired on equal terms? I happen to have some pocket pistols chambered in both cartridges, so let’s find out, shall we?

Representing the .25 ACP are my F.Dusek Duo with a 2″ barrel and my Colt Junior with a 2-1/4″ barrel. In the .22 LR corner is the S&W Escort weighing in at 2″ and the Robar Mercury sporting a 2-1/4″ barrel.

For both types of ammunition we have a standard-velocity round-nose bullet and a light high-velocity HP. In .25 ACP we have the bog-standard 50gr. FMC round-nose over 1.6 gr. of Unique (factory-load equivalent) and the 35gr. Speer Gold Dot JHP over 1.8gr. of Unique. For .22 Long Rifle we have some old Sears-brand standard velocity 40gr. LRN and CCI Stinger 32gr. LHP.

I set up the Chronograph and ran some numbers. Velocities are the average of three shots. I’m sure there’s some fancy way to lay out a table for the results, but I’m just going to list them.

.25 ACP

50gr. FMC-RN

2″ 831 fps. 77 ft./lbs

2-1/4″ 887 fps. 87 ft./lbs

35gr. GDHP

2″ 858 fps. 57 ft./lbs

2-1/4″ 912 fps. 65 ft./lbs.

.22 Long Rifle

40gr. Sears RNL

2″ 778 fps. 54 ft./lbs

2-1/4″ 789 fps. 55 ft./lbs

32gr Stinger LHP

2″ 953 fps. 65 ft./lbs

2-1/4″ 958 fps. 65 ft./lbs

So I have to say it does a pretty fair job duplicating the performance of .22 LR from a 2″ barrel. Yes, velocities can vary from gun to gun and that sort of thing, but it’s pretty clear they are in the same ballpark. This is especially true if you remember that when the .25 was invented all .22 LR was what we now call ‘standard velocity.’

It seems like everyone on the internet has a story about how they shot a .25 at something wooden and it either barely stuck in of bounced off. Given those stories I used sections of Douglas Fir 2×4 as my backstop. The 50gr. FMC blew through one section of 2×4 every time and embedded itself in the one behind. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t ever been deflected by wood, but clearly it’s not the normal result. The hollow-points did not make it through the 2×4, though they came close. The .25 ACP hollow-points did not expand in the wood, the Stingers did. The .22 RNL also did not make it through the first 2×4, penetrating about 3/4″.

So what does it all prove? Not much except that JMB did a good job reproducing .22 LR performance in small handguns. Not that surprising. Oh, and that if someone is shooting at you with a tiny pistol hiding behind 2x4s might save your ass.

I’m recasting my gel block, and tomorrow I’ll be doing some FBI-protocol testing with these guns and bullets. It will be interesting to see how they compare!

In the meantime stay safe and take care.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 24 January 2022

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I shot IPSC competition in the 1980s. We used techniques developed from those used in the 1970s, which were based on techniques used in the 1960s and so on. I’ve shot only a couple of matches since then, so I haven’t really kept up with developments, and suddenly it’s decades later. Meh, I’m old. No worries, what I know works well enough, I told myself. I don’t need to learn this new stuff.

Sure, Uh-huh. Thing is, it’s not always about need.

I was at the range with my newly-minted speed gun and tried a few things. Then I tried a few different things and that produced some interesting results. Doing double taps at seven yards it was apparent I could keep things in the A-zone on a target. That’s what the game requires so good enough, right?

OK, it bugs me. It’s sloppy and feels un-controlled. I decided to do some rapid-fire. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page here a double-tap is when you aim, then fire twice very fast. The second shot is not aimed. When I am speaking of rapid fire in this context I mean firing as fast as I can get a decent sight picture. This means two, maybe three shots a second. It’s a little slower, but the results were a lot better.

Time for an experiment. Two targets side by side, two shots each. Double-taps were BoomBoom-pause-BoomBoom. OK, that was pretty quick. Now rapid Fire, which went Boom Boom Boom Boom. Rapid-fire was actually noticeably faster. No, I wasn’t running a shot timer, but it was obvious.

I’m not sure why. A mental issue? A training issue? Lack of practice? Don’t know, but Rapid Fire was not just faster, it was seriously more precise. I backed some targets out to ten yards, where I can’t consistently keep double-taps in the A-zone and tried rapid fire over and over. Interesting. I was not shooting any slower than I had at five yards.

OK, so double-taps are not The Way. I’m maybe the last person on the planet to know this. yes, there will be some stages and targets where the split-seconds saved justify them, but as a rule? Rapid Fire.

I also noticed my front sight is too wide. I’m slower getting a sight picture because I have to insure it’s centered; it’s wide enough that this isn’t obvious. Time to narrow down the front sight a bit.

I also tried a different grip and stance. I learned a modified version of the Weaver Stance. If you’re too young you can Google it. These days a ‘thumbs-forward-isosceles’ seems to be the hot ticket. using my old grip my right thumb rides the safety and the other is clamped on top of it

I tried to grip the gun in a more modern fashion-

This genuinely felt better doing rapid-fire, so now I am going to over-write my old training and decades of habit to use the new grip. Yay. I have found the the axis of the slide release makes a nice, natural place for my thumb and does not prevent it from working, so I am going to go with that.

So, to be hopelessly cliché, it’s time for the old dog to learn some new tricks. Yippee. Hope you all stay safe and take care.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 20 January 2022.

I posted a Youtube video about this gun, but I’m still learning and thought some close-ups might be a useful supplement to the video. So, here they are-

Big enough to use for duty, not too big for EDC. Slide lock is small but useable, safety is positive and easy to use, but too small to ride with my thumb as I’d prefer.

The safety is ambidextrous, the slide lock is not. The magazine release is brilliant; push it in from either side and the magazine drops clear. I love this.

The slide lock is smallish and it can be used to release the slide, but you’d be better off sling-shotting it.

Here’s the weirdly prominent loaded chamber indicator. It’s not in the way or anything and It’s useful, it just seems excessive.

Elevation-adjustable rear sight. That’s a pretty nice bonus on an economical service-type gun.

Punching out the pin at the bottom of the grip-frame allows you to reverse the backstrap is you prefer a more rounded profile.

So there you have it- just a little more detail to supplement the video.

ADDENDA:

Interesting. I called Ruger and they gave me instructions for sending the gun in. They also gave me some history on the gun- it was in in 2018 and rebuilt because it was basically worn out! The barrel was not replaced.

Who sent it in? Champion Arms, the indoor range where I am a member. It appears this may have been a range-rental gun. Given the price I paid I’d have still bought it knowing that, but it would have been nice to know. As expected Ruger customer service was super-nice and professional. They suspect a barrel replacement is in order.

Stay safe and take care.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 19 January 2022