Raven .25 auto
- Thread starter moosemike
- Start date
My Grandpa had one he kept in the house for my Grandma. Me and my cousin got a hold of it and took it out in the woods and were shooting at squirrels with it. We were just kids at the time. The adults never found out about that. Maybe that memory is why I got one for myself?
Raven Story......
I had this GF once. She was left the Raven by her ex-husband, for home defense. I took it out shooting and it was a pretty good experience. Similar to what you said. But, ammo was expensive for it. And, she was not a fan of the semi-automatic nor of it's capability as a home defense firearm.
Anyway, I traded my Charter Arms revolver in .38 Special for her Raven.
Later down the road we broke up and I sold the Raven with whatever ammo I had for $150.
Aloha, Mark
I had this GF once. She was left the Raven by her ex-husband, for home defense. I took it out shooting and it was a pretty good experience. Similar to what you said. But, ammo was expensive for it. And, she was not a fan of the semi-automatic nor of it's capability as a home defense firearm.
Anyway, I traded my Charter Arms revolver in .38 Special for her Raven.
Later down the road we broke up and I sold the Raven with whatever ammo I had for $150.
Aloha, Mark
Wow!! Did you wear a mask when you sold it - - or did you have several hundred rounds of ammo thrown in?
JK--
I seem to recall I paid roughly $49 each for both of the ones I bought.
One for me and another for my father in law.
My experience was the same as above - decent shooter for the price, but, I never trusted the gun or the caliber.
I remember years ago in I think it was "Gun Test" magazine they did a comparison between an ATM Hardballer (SS 1911 type), and a Raven 25.
The Raven won, because it worked every time they pulled the trigger. They couldn't say enough bad stuff about the Hardballer. Apparently, IIRC, they couldn't get it to run a full magazine.
I used to lust for one. Back then they sold for about $30.00 or so brand new. That I could at least imagine being able to afford. No way I could have gotten anything else. A hundred bucks? Might as well have been a million.
The Raven won, because it worked every time they pulled the trigger. They couldn't say enough bad stuff about the Hardballer. Apparently, IIRC, they couldn't get it to run a full magazine.
I used to lust for one. Back then they sold for about $30.00 or so brand new. That I could at least imagine being able to afford. No way I could have gotten anything else. A hundred bucks? Might as well have been a million.
TruthTellers
New member
I have one and like it. Would like to shoot it more, but .25 is way more expensive than it should be.
I was at a gun store last month and saw a tiny as heck .25, can't remember what it was, but it made me realize the Raven is too big to be a .25, but it's a blowback action with a zamak slide, so there is no getting around that. The nice thing is it is reliable and I've only had one malfunction in 50 rounds, a FTE on the last round.
I was at a gun store last month and saw a tiny as heck .25, can't remember what it was, but it made me realize the Raven is too big to be a .25, but it's a blowback action with a zamak slide, so there is no getting around that. The nice thing is it is reliable and I've only had one malfunction in 50 rounds, a FTE on the last round.
HisSoldier
New member
Work in the metals trade long enough and you'll develop a strong dislike for Zamak and other zinc alloys.
I have a Handgun Tests magazine, published in 1979, that has a chapter entitled: "Why a $49 Raven .25 Is Better Than a $220 S&W 9mm Model 59!" The author/tester Phil Engeldrum concluded that the Smith was one of the worst pistols, a "really scary" one, that he had ever tested because "it doesn't fire every time you pull the trigger".
Though Mr. Engeldrum conceded that the Raven "is not a great gun", he considered it to be a better gun than the Model 59 because "...everytime I pull the trigger on that little turkey, it shoots."
All that said, if given a choice between the two today, I would pick the...
Though Mr. Engeldrum conceded that the Raven "is not a great gun", he considered it to be a better gun than the Model 59 because "...everytime I pull the trigger on that little turkey, it shoots."
All that said, if given a choice between the two today, I would pick the...
Way back in the late 80's, the first gun I ever bought was a Raven .25. I am pretty sure it was maybe $50 or $60 dollars. I bought it at the Holiday Inn gun show in Midland Texas. Before the internet and every armchair gun expert in the world told me it was a POS, I loved that little pistol. It never jammed, was accurate and did what it was supposed to do. I carried that little gun in the pocket of my utes in the USMC and it withstood the challenge through dessert, snow and whatever.
I traded that gun off to another Marine for a pair of boots prior to joining the mishmash of suckiness that is the civilian world.
I would love to have that old gun back... it is kind of like my Rosebud of firearms... a simpler time when we made our own choices and learned our own way without the relentless machine of marketing and fake experts spouting off about endless silly drills, multiple backup guns and the latest wonder zapper ammo...
Anyways... they are surprisingly good little pistols and I doubt you could wear one out with normal use. It is not like the .25 is a high pressure round.
I traded that gun off to another Marine for a pair of boots prior to joining the mishmash of suckiness that is the civilian world.
I would love to have that old gun back... it is kind of like my Rosebud of firearms... a simpler time when we made our own choices and learned our own way without the relentless machine of marketing and fake experts spouting off about endless silly drills, multiple backup guns and the latest wonder zapper ammo...
Anyways... they are surprisingly good little pistols and I doubt you could wear one out with normal use. It is not like the .25 is a high pressure round.
Can't recall how I came into possession, but had one in the early '80s that I finally up-traded for a Beretta Jetfire and some cash.
Kinda wish I'd kept it, the thing did function.
Last Raven I saw in person was probably in the mid '90s.
Got sent out on a "found property" call.
Turned out to be a nickel-plated Raven they'd stumbled across.
In a lake.
150 miles away.
Outside looked fine, insides were rusted.
They had no explanation of why they'd brought it home to turn in to our PD, instead of calling local LE on it.
Coulda been a dumped murder weapon, and I'm sure our guys were over-worked enough to close-case it without following up with the appropriate jurisdiction.
Denis
Kinda wish I'd kept it, the thing did function.
Last Raven I saw in person was probably in the mid '90s.
Got sent out on a "found property" call.
Turned out to be a nickel-plated Raven they'd stumbled across.
In a lake.
150 miles away.
Outside looked fine, insides were rusted.
They had no explanation of why they'd brought it home to turn in to our PD, instead of calling local LE on it.
Coulda been a dumped murder weapon, and I'm sure our guys were over-worked enough to close-case it without following up with the appropriate jurisdiction.
Denis
Hey Mike! We got ours working so we will be heading to the range with them this weekend. I love these little pistols! Thanks for your encouragement. Btw...we paid $75 for my husbands and $84 for mine. Mine was like brand new in the box. Didn't appear to have been fired much. My hubs gun looked to have seen some action but still nice.
Can't wait to fire them!
That's awesome. Glad to hear it!Hey Mike! We got ours working so we will be heading to the range with them this weekend. I love these little pistols! Thanks for your encouragement. Btw...we paid $75 for my husbands and $84 for mine. Mine was like brand new in the box. Didn't appear to have been fired much. My hubs gun looked to have seen some action but still nice.
Can't wait to fire them!