More 25 ACP Goings On

Ahab at What Would John Wayne Do has been ruminating upon the efficiency of the .25 ACP, and anything that provides fodder for intelligent discourse regarding firearms is hale met and welcome. Especially considering the gun boards upon which the chairborne pontificate as if they'd actually done something with a gun besides shoot an animal. Nothing wrong with that. But they don't shoot back, and discussing self-defense means listening to the experts who know it all because they've skinned enough deer to feed a small country....OR...even worse, have spent megabucks attending one armed camp or another and have come away with imaginary combat action ribbons.

From a handgun platform, I prefer the .25 to the .22 LR. Better munitions such as Gold Dots. Along with personal experience. I was going to comment over at Ahab's haunt but this is too sensitive a subject to perhaps soil someone else's parlor with. I am comfortable using tools that have been proven to work well. Your mileage may vary, considerably so, and more power to ya. I have seen what a well placed .25 does to a human target and this gives me confidence in tucking such a mousegun in my pants pocket when shuffling out for the mail or moving a garbage can, or something else that doesn't usually warrant hazardous duty pay. At distances up to 15' I can unload a magazine of 25 ACP into the eyes of an oncoming threat. There were times when it was all I had left to fight with and believe me, even so diminutive a piece feels good in the hands of a man down to his last straw. This isn't to say I'm a shot-placement preacher above all else. But of course hitting what you've aimed at is a good and hence desirable thing but counting on it during the bad times is just silly.

As is the case with everything else in life on planet earth, a BALANCE is what all men of good will should strive to achieve. A decent caliber practiced with oft times enough to acquire proficiency with is all we dare hope to achieve. Remove one variable and you are therefore looking at less of the problem and this is not a good thing. Draw, fire, and hit the target exactly where you want to, is wonderful advice but a recommendation full of more holes than Bill Clinton's alibi's. The proper attitude, the right cartridge, a learned hand, all play important roles. Then, after you've done it time after time after time again, you'll come to understand what you can expect from yourself during such travails.

If you've personally used a .25 ACP without much luck, then by all means dismiss it without further ado. I shouldn't be so damned lazy, and take my own recommendation to ALWAYS carry a respectable firearm.

But it ain't gonna happen. Being dead-red round the clock is a weary way to exist. Don't take my word for anything but if you've bearded a lion or two in it's den and want to share the story then do so. Thats all any of this is. Telling the tale. Not everyone is going to appreciate nor believe everything you say but they can't take what you've done away from you.