All I want to know is what is the absolute hottest .25acp ammo that has been manufactured. Please refrain from making comparisons to 22LR or some other smallish cartridges, I understand the differences. If you don't like .25acp, that is understandable, but that's not what this thread is about. What I would like to know is has any company come out with the 25acp +P or ++P?
Who makes hottest .25acp ammo?
- Thread starter Skans
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Spats McGee
Administrator
I don't know the answer, but I know where I'd start looking: http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/25auto.html
Onward Allusion
New member
All the commercial loads hover around 65 ft lb. If you truly want a hot .25ACP load, roll your own. If you do a search, there are guys out there who claim to have reached 1,000 fps with their secret sauce loads.
As an aside, in a short barrel pistol - 2" or so, I'd pick a .25ACP over a .22LR any day of the week.
As an aside, in a short barrel pistol - 2" or so, I'd pick a .25ACP over a .22LR any day of the week.
A "hot" .25acp? Isn't that an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp and military intelligence?
I've never seen a +P .25 load, in my experience the best you can do is FMJ and hope for some penetration. There used to be a load available that had a little BB in the end of the bullet to help with expansion, I tried them and it didn't work. You may not want to hear it but, IMO, you're better off with a .22 - better ammo choices and availability at a much lower cost.
I've never seen a +P .25 load, in my experience the best you can do is FMJ and hope for some penetration. There used to be a load available that had a little BB in the end of the bullet to help with expansion, I tried them and it didn't work. You may not want to hear it but, IMO, you're better off with a .22 - better ammo choices and availability at a much lower cost.
spacecoast
New member
Which equates to about 765 fps with a 50 gr. bullet
Definitely. Hodgdon lists 970 fps max. using a 35 grain bullet and Titegroup (2" barrel). That's about 73 ft-lb.
.25ACP was designed for short barrels... when's the last time you saw a .25ACP rifle?
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bonefamily
New member
The OP said please...
bamaranger
New member
not
Hot and .25 acp kinda don't go together.
Hot and .25 acp kinda don't go together.
Bill DeShivs
New member
Sellier & Bellot used to be pretty hot.
Derbel McDillet
Moderator
MagSafe: 22gr @ 1750 fps (from a Beretta model 21)
Glaser Safety Slug: 35gr @ 1100 fps
Glaser Safety Slug: 35gr @ 1100 fps
I looked up the specifications on the glaser safety slug 25acp. So far, that seems to be the best I can find, and not bad at all for 25acp. I might have to try some of this, if I can find it.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Mfg Item Num: 00200
Category: AMMO CENTERFIRE
Caliber :25 ACP
Bullet Type :Round Nose
Bullet Weight :35 GR
Muzzle Energy :94 ft lbs
Muzzle Velocity :1100 fps
Rounds/box :6 PK
SPECIFICATIONS:
Mfg Item Num: 00200
Category: AMMO CENTERFIRE
Caliber :25 ACP
Bullet Type :Round Nose
Bullet Weight :35 GR
Muzzle Energy :94 ft lbs
Muzzle Velocity :1100 fps
Rounds/box :6 PK
Onward Allusion
New member
^^^^^^^
RE: Glasers
Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnXqplNZr6k
before you spend your hard earned money. Stick with FMJ...
RE: Glasers
Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnXqplNZr6k
before you spend your hard earned money. Stick with FMJ...
Auto pistol ammo is pretty constrained by the gun designs, and no one (AFAIK) has ever bothered to develop ammo for the .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning) that would be any more powerful than that standardized c. 1906. Further, there are so many cheaply made guns in that caliber that no ammo maker is going to risk lawsuits by exceeding SAAMI standards to produce a ".25 ACP +P+".
Some makers have gotten around the pressure problems the same way .22 LR makers did by going to light bullets, but that doesn't really gain anything. The higher velocity is cancelled by lower energy and less penetration.
Jim
Some makers have gotten around the pressure problems the same way .22 LR makers did by going to light bullets, but that doesn't really gain anything. The higher velocity is cancelled by lower energy and less penetration.
Jim
EveryCaliber
New member
I don't have the stats, but I know that after shooting some Federal Classic .25 ACP and some PPU .25 ACP back-to-back, the PPU definitely seemed hotter.
spacecoast
New member
I was thinking Nate Archibald... but that's ancient history
Walt Sherrill
New member
spacecoast said:
What, exactly, is different about the .25 a.c.p. round that makes it more suitable for handguns than .32 a.c.p., 9x18, or .380? When was the last time you saw a .32 a.c.p., .380 or 9x18 rifle?
I don't think "short barrels" was as big a factor as short cases -- which have to fit in a grip that is easily grasped but can still contain a magazine.
Most ammo used in handguns rarely makes it to a rifle format, because stuff that works well in handguns doesn't do the job that rifles typically do as well as ammo designed for rifles. Camp rifles may be an exception, and but most serious handgunners (guys who hunt with handguns) would probably prefer a good quality handgun...
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Onward Allusion
New member
^^^^
.25ACP's were made for TINY pocket pistols with barrels of around 2". You can't even compare a Colt Vest Pocket size-wise to a Seecamp, NAA Guardian 32, or Kel-Tec P32 (which all happen to be some of the smallest, lightest pistols around). I have all of the above, except for the Seecamp, and the NAA and P32 covers the Colt - not to mention the width.
All those that say that they would rather have a .22LR pocket pistol are mistaken. Out of something like a Beretta 21, the .22LR has slightly less (even with Stingers) "umph" (if one can even say that), than a standard 50gr 25ACP out of a Colt Vest Pocket. Hypothetically bringing down the Beretta to a 2" barrel, and the .25ACP wins hands down and that's not even talking about centerfire -vs- rimfire or heeled -vs- crimped.
As an aside, I have no idea why folks would knock the .25ACP pocket protectors but would not hesitate to say they would carry a .22LR of the same size.
.25ACP's were made for TINY pocket pistols with barrels of around 2". You can't even compare a Colt Vest Pocket size-wise to a Seecamp, NAA Guardian 32, or Kel-Tec P32 (which all happen to be some of the smallest, lightest pistols around). I have all of the above, except for the Seecamp, and the NAA and P32 covers the Colt - not to mention the width.
All those that say that they would rather have a .22LR pocket pistol are mistaken. Out of something like a Beretta 21, the .22LR has slightly less (even with Stingers) "umph" (if one can even say that), than a standard 50gr 25ACP out of a Colt Vest Pocket. Hypothetically bringing down the Beretta to a 2" barrel, and the .25ACP wins hands down and that's not even talking about centerfire -vs- rimfire or heeled -vs- crimped.
As an aside, I have no idea why folks would knock the .25ACP pocket protectors but would not hesitate to say they would carry a .22LR of the same size.
George Hill
Staff Alumnus
There is no such thing as Hot .25ACP.