25 Autos
 

Besides lugers I have an interest in 25 cal automatics. Don't have much of a collection but here's what I have. (Besides, it's raining hard.) They are interesting and not too expensive. At least the ones I have bought. Essentially worthless except for display. Although I sometimes carry one when riding my motorcycle. Why, I don't know.

Top L-R
Walther #9, serial #571529
Bayard, serial #33218
Astra, serial #683446

Bottom row L-R
Colt, serial #145623
Deutsche Werke Ortgies, #182220
Mauser 1910/1912, #251095

I also like the .25 autos.
My favorite are the 1910/1934 Mausers.
Bob

Nice set Wylon! I know what you mean about liking something for no apparent reason. I love old Spanish handguns (Campo-Giro, Astra, Llama, Star etc) and mics. .32's. Keep us posted when you get new ones!

Linda

A fine collection!
I have a little FN 1905 vest pocket that was given to me. Unfortunately it has someones name electro-penciled on it but it's a fun little pistol to shoot. Very ambitious safety mechanisms for such a tiny gun.
I think the .25 cartridge is more effective than it's generally credited with being.

I too also am fond of the Spanish pistols. Maybe its because my Dad had Llama .32 that was one of the first guns I ever shot.

I have several and like them for the hell of it.
Goy a bunch of old .32s as well.
I used an old air conditioner as a target yesterday for a 1910.
Got a reasonable group of dents in the side of it.

Big bang-little effect.

I have 2 wartime Duo's and a post war CZ model 1945, both neat lil guns.

The coolest .25 Calibre I ever saw was a fully functional, fully automatic miniature 1921 Thompson Submachinegun.

It was some years ago at the old "Great Western" gun show. I wonder where that gun is today.

Will,

Nice collection, or, as you said, display.
I had never paid too much attention for vest pockets pistols until a collector that was leaving the hobby for good gave me a bunch of them for free.

I had bought some other (bigger) stuff from from him and he was somewhat anxious to get rid of them, so I got an "instantanious collection". I just need to pay for the necessary paperwork. A few were refinished, but as I had paid nothing, I was quite happy.

After that I started to pay more attention to these little guns, and learned to enjoy their creative mechanical features and designs. If you want, I can post some pictures, just don't want to hijack your topic, Bill...

Douglas

Douglas
Post away. The more the better. Bill

Bill,

Thanks!
Your wish is my command.

Here we go.

CLEMENT MODEL 1907
Obviously refinished, but I loved its unique design.
Very low serial number (# 810). I need to find the correct grips.
Rare Belgian gun, made for only a couple of years.

COLT VEST POCKET 1908

Some slight pitting on the slide, but it doesn't bother me.
Serial #14903, second year of production (1909).

SIMSON MODELL 1926

This is was also refinished. But what really caught my attention was the inscription on the slide:

"Fur Oberleutnant Vogel - vom den seine Truppe - 22 -X - 1938"
("To First Lieutnant Vogel - From Your Troops - October 22nd, 1938")

Probably an officer's back up gun that was brought back by a Brazilian soldier uring WWII. This is the highest serial number known (as far a I know) of this scarce pistol (#34645).

STEYR MODEL 1909

Plain example, made in 1922, serial # 115948 A.

THUNDER MODEL 1919

Impossible not have a pre-Civil War Spanish .25 ACP pistol, isn't it? :rolleyes:
Here is a Thunder Model 1919 (made by a company named Martin A. Bascarán), with original finish. Interesting design, a kind of departure from the standard Browning copies we often seen. I still need to find its serial number location...

WEBLEY & SCOTT MODEL 1912

What about an English vest pocket pistol, mates?
Webley & Scott Model 1912 (with what looks like original finish).
Serial #129426.

VESTA POCKET MODEL 1912

Another Spanish pistol (made by Hijos D. Angel Echevarria), but somewhat different!:rolleyes:

In my opinion this is not real gold, but the grips are real mother-of-pearl. I don't think the engraving is factory-made but well done for the average Eibar made gun. I enjoyed its fancy look. Very low serial number (#62).

That's it, I guess. Hope you enjoy my meager array of vest pocket pistols.:bigbye:

Douglas.

Douglas
Very nice!
Great collection,especially for the price!
Love the Webley & Scott pistol,never knew they made a pocket pistol.
Are all these guns chambered for the .25 ACP?
Thanks
bob

Douglas
Very very nice!!! Thanks for sharing. Bill

Bob,

Yes, they are all chambered for .25 ammo.
I almost posted a Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless in mint condition but I remembered that this topic was about semiautomatic pistols...

Douglas

Love that little Vesta! Thanks for the share!

Thanks Douglas, very nice and very interesting historically.

I like 25 acp's, I just have a couple and they aren't special ones ;)

I do go through phases of where I pick up 32 acps and have a couple.

Here is a little Mauser WTP2 with holster I bought a while ago.

Shown with a bigger brother for size comparison :)

And a M1910.

My 2 Duos and CZ 1945

over forty years ago this was found on a nva officer and he was relieved of it. never really gave it much thought till i saw mr's bill's thread . Looks in pretty good shape for it;s age. Do not know much about it, just made in hersal belguim and marked 7.65, model depose.

thanks. Makes you wonder how it made it to south east asia ???? I carried it around with me for awhile at the time thinking i was well armed /lol.

Oh my ...So many interesting firearms so little money. Bill

Maybe through a French Connection.

.25 acp
 

My father-in-law used to carry a .25 Browning everywhere he went. I told him he'd better file the sights off of it. When he asked why I told him that if he decided to carry it he might feel the need to load it, and, if he loaded it he might feel the need to pull it out if trouble threatened, and if he pulled it out he might feel the need to shoot someone with it, and, if he shot someone with it they would get mad, take it away from him and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

We had a strange and strained relationship. He got in the last laugh. He willed the darned thing to me when he passed. :p

Best to all,

John

Great story John, yes it was called french indo china, You know something you really do not think too much about , then over forty years later you remember you have some odd little pocket pistol that you got a long time ago in a place you sometimes you try not to think about.I have had it this long i might as well keep it.lol.

Nice pictures, guys! I'm glad to see that there actually are some people interested in these little pip squeaks. They are cheap and plentiful so many people still use them as tackle box guns, which makes it difficult to find them in good condition. One day the collector community will wake up and say: "Where did they all go?"

My favorite .25 is the Mauser 1910, it is a blast to shoot. For some reason I find the scale of it intriguing, it just goes "pop", "pop" and throws those little cute .25 shells out. It almost feels like a model or a miniature copy of a "real" gun. :cool:

The grip safety sure makes them interesting to shoot. My hands are average size, but with the palm of my hand pressed against the safety, I can barely curl my index finger back far enough to pull the trigger. :rolleyes:

Rich
Had a nice Beretta 25 once. Sold it, no interest at that time. With this gun collecting I sometimes think I should be committed. Wife might agree. Bill

Bill, I am frequently surprised that of all the weapons [rifles, shotgun (just one), and handguns] I own, most have never been shot [by me]... :eek:

Some are brand new, some decades/a hundred years old...All made shootable [thanks Alvin & LugerDoc!] and although I have a pistol range right across the street, i rarely find the 'spare time' to shoot anymore... :(

Anyone remember Barry Sadler, the Green Beret that wrote and sang the ballads. The same Gent that cast too much sunshine on folks that work in the shadows. IIRC, he met his demise at the wrong end of a 25 acp in some rundown bar for expats in Central America. One of his serving peers once told me how effective the little, subtle 25 acp is when whispering in someones ear.

I've had two of those Colts. I bought a very nice one for $200 and later traded it for an Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite even up. The very next day I bought an even nicer one to replace it for $200. I still have both the Sprite and the replacement Colt and I have yet to decide if I got the short end in the trade.

Barry Saddler was shot in the backseat of a cab in Guatamala city in1989.

Indeterminate if it was robbery, assassination, or his drunken playing with his beretta .380 found in his lap.

He was with a girlfriend and endulging in one of his frequent binges.

FMJ entered his gourd and he died in a day or two.


My Star CO .25-very sturdy.

Mike, I agree with the head shot in the cab, I was wrong about the .25 in the bar. Looked it up on wiki, for what it is worth, says he was evacuated back to States and lingered in a coma for almost a year. Thanks for your service.

you know when i posted one this bayard auto i thought it was a .25 auto which is 6.35 this is a 7.65 or .32 auto. I never even rememberd what the caliber was/lol. It seems it does not work , as it does not dry fire. Not a clue how to disassemble it. you know after forty years we tend to forget things.

Many of these small pocket pistols have a set of witness marks on the slide/frame that need to be lined up. Once lined up, twisting the barrel will generally initiate takedown.

Of course after following all common sense safety precautions.

Roger that. only thing is the barrel is on the bottom and the slide on the top and the barrell does not reciprocate