Taurus Pt-25 Problems - This is the third part of our series on pocket pistols! If you're just joining us, you might want to check out Part 1 for some context. Later in the series, we'll delve deeper into aspects like recording techniques and wearables, but for now, let's focus on the various hardware options available. Today, it's all about the caliber everyone loves to hate: the humble .25 ACP. Details in the video below, or scroll down to read the full transcript.
"Carry a 25 if you feel like it, but never load it. If you charge it, you can shoot. If you shoot it, you can kill somebody, and if you If you hit someone and they find out, they can be very angry with you."
Taurus Pt-25 Problems
As our pocket pistol series continues, we'll begin looking at the pros and cons of individual capabilities, how to get the most out of them, and some of the gun and ammunition choices available for these calibers.
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We start with the .25 ACP. More than any other cartridge, the .25 is derided as the ultimate example of a caliber underpowered for self-defense. On the other hand, small-caliber gun advocates always have some story about the little old lady who took down a 300-pound Tagasaurus with a single shot from her .25 caliber pistol at PCP. But there are many other factors to consider when evaluating a self-defense cartridge than just terminal ballistics.
The biggest advantage of the .25 ACP is that a pistol chambered for this cartridge can be smaller than any other semi-auto. This is why John Browning reproduced it in 1905. It was designed to have the same ballistics as the short-barreled .22 LR, but without the reliability problems associated with rimfire ammunition.
25 caliber micro-sized semi-autos were popular for most of the 20th century, but that popularity faded in the 80s and 90s. Today, hardly any pistols are still in production in .25 ACP caliber. But ammo is still in such demand that every major ammo company carries at least one .25 ACP load, and there are even premium hollowpoints available from companies like Spear and Hornady.
When we think of a pocket pistol now, most of us imagine a .380 like the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard. These rifles are incredibly small and light, but many .25s were even smaller. For example, this Beretta 950 Jetfire fully loaded with nine .25 ACP rounds weighs just 11.5 ounces. It's significantly smaller and lighter than the Bodyguard, which clocks in at 14.2 ounces fully loaded with seven rounds.
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Unfortunately, using one of these little guys usually means sacrificing more than just ballistic performance. Since most .25 autos are based on older designs, they have the same flaws common to small pistols of the era. Sights are almost non-existent, control placement is awkward, and it can be difficult to get a good shooting grip on the gun without occasionally screwing up. This is the case for this Beretta, but also for a Colt 1908 West Pocket or Baby Browning, or any other common micro-size .25 auto.
If you're just casually typing around the range, you may not notice any of these problems. But if you put time pressure and emphasis on accuracy into your range practice, you'll run into some challenges that you won't have with larger pistols, or even some modern pocket pistols.
I will continue to use the Beretta and the Bodyguard as examples to illustrate what I am talking about. We can see some other models that have features that these two don't have, but overall, I think they are pretty representative of their pocket pistol categories.
As an aside, I have to point out one unique feature of this Beretta because I think it's really cool. Moving the slide on these small guns is difficult, in part because there isn't much of a slide to hook onto. But with Jetfire, you don't really have to. Instead, you just push this lever forward and the tube pops out. Load your magazine, then manually fire a round, close it, and you're good to go.
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So here I have a .25 with almost no recoil, a short single-action trigger, and virtually no scope and a .380 with plenty of velocity, a long double-action trigger, and In this case, there is a beautiful set of sights. Which one is better for getting a quick and accurate hit at a typical self-defense distance? Well, it has a lot to do with the shooter, and the only way to really know is to do some side-by-side testing.
I decided to test these two pistols with the drill for failure. These are two bullets on the body and one on the head. I used the black center of the B-8 target for my body shots, and all headshots had to be inside the 3×5 index card. Starting from the low ready position, I ran the drill six times with each gun. The first three runs were for seven yards using a two-handed grip, and the other three were for three yards, shot only with the strong arm. I timed each run and added a full second to my time for any hit outside the black circle or index card.
Judging by the results, at seven yards I had a clear lead with the bodyguard. My raw times were slightly faster and I was more accurate. It has to do with signs. Here is a picture of me with the Beretta. Even with a bit of neon orange nail polish added to the front visual blade, it's really hard to find in the small rear notch in any kind of rush. Compare that to the bodyguard shot, which is much easier to see and has given me a lot more confidence in where my shots are going.
At three yards, the sights offered less leverage. This time I was faster and more accurate with the Beretta. With only one hand on the gun, the .25's short recoil and short single-action trigger gave me about a half-second velocity advantage. But I was also tempted to go too fast with this gun and missed two of my three shots on the last run.
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So what I learned from this little exercise is that for me, based on performance alone, it would make more sense to wear a bodyguard. With a little practice, I can improve my ability to manage a retreat and trigger a bodyguard. I'm sure it would take much less effort than learning to shoot accurately with a Beretta Jetfire.
Before testing, I also found that with the Beretta, if I clamped it in such a way that I could quickly remove the safety, my hand would be too high on the backstrap and cause me to slip. Biting will start and sometimes stop. This will cause a failure to feed by slipping from the movement. And if my thumb was in the wrong place, I would occasionally activate the fuse between bursts of fire. I don't have particularly large hands, but for me there just isn't enough real estate for a manual safety gun.
Of course, everyone's hands are different and every .25 caliber pistol is slightly different in terms of grip dimensions and control placement. But these are the kinds of problems people have when trying to use these small guns, and they're questions worth considering before carrying them.
As I said at the outset, I didn't want to limit my evaluation of this cartridge to its ultimate ballistic performance, but I did a few quick ballistic gel tests with my heavy wear barrier to see if it would. How would it compare to the FBI's standards?
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First I tried the 35 grain spear gold dot. The average depth of penetration was only 8.4 inches. Remember, ideally, we want at least 12 inches of gel penetration - which correlates with good real-world performance. Round four out of five is a bit wider, but that doesn't help much if we don't get decent access. This type of performance is quite common for small caliber hollow points. If we use an expanding bullet, we sacrifice penetration. So you're better off going with a non-expanded full-metal case in many of these pocket pistol calibers.
When I tested the 50-grain American Eagle full-metal jacket, the average depth was 12.3 inches. One in five bullets stopped at 8 inches. It looks like it was cut from the second bullet wound channel with some distressed gel, so that's it
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