.25 AUTO who here reloads it.

Chin · Sep 2, 2018

Dont wanna discuss weather or not it is worth it if you haven't already tried it.

ditchtiger · Sep 2, 2018

2 quarter inch round balls from my slingshot mold worded as well as a single slug in the Davis I had for many years. Traded it, dies, components to a friend for a shotgun.

CLT65 · Sep 2, 2018

I have. Many years ago I found a set of dies with a coffee can full of .25 auto brass at a gun show for $10. Years later I stumbled across a thousand .251" 50gr fmj bullets closeout for crazy cheap. I figured I was set for a lifetime for this caliber.

I loaded a couple boxes and they shot just fine, and it turns out I do have a lifetime worth because I just don't shoot that old FN Browning very much. A hundred rounds goes a long ways.

As far as the loading process itself goes, it's pretty much like any other round, with a couple caveats:
1. You need to have nimble fingers and good eyes
2. My limited experience tells me that these tiny cartridges don't lend themselves easily to variety and experimentation in loading. Find that load that basically duplicates the factory load and use that. Again, just my limited experience with .25 acp, .32 acp, .32 S&W, and a couple others.

Certaindeaf · Sep 2, 2018

Chin said:
Dont wanna discuss weather or not it is worth it if you haven't already tried it.

not even if whether or not it's inclusive of inclement weather?

ageingstudent · Sep 2, 2018

CLT65 said:
I have. Many years ago I found a set of dies with a coffee can full of .25 auto brass at a gun show for $10. Years later I stumbled across a thousand .251" 50gr fmj bullets closeout for crazy cheap. I figured I was set for a lifetime for this caliber.

I loaded a couple boxes and they shot just fine, and it turns out I do have a lifetime worth because I just don't shoot that old FN Browning very much. A hundred rounds goes a long ways.

As far as the loading process itself goes, it's pretty much like any other round, with a couple caveats:
1. You need to have nimble fingers and good eyes
2. My limited experience tells me that these tiny cartridges don't lend themselves easily to variety and experimentation in loading. Find that load that basically duplicates the factory load and use that. Again, just my limited experience with .25 acp, .32 acp, .32 S&W, and a couple others.

.380 is as small as I go, and it's difficult enough even with nimble fingers. I actually find tweezers helpful for setting the short bullet and feeding the brass. It takes a little getting used to but the tweezers help. I would think even more so for the dimunitive .25.

xlsbob · Sep 2, 2018

I load .25 every great once in a while, maybe 25 at a time at most. It's really awkward with everything being so small and such a minor amount of powder. It's sort of like stumble over the .25 dies so might as well load a few. Rarely ever shoot the pistol. Think mine is a Raven

Steve M · Sep 4, 2018

Reloading is fun. Therefore every cartridge than can be reloaded is worth reloading for that reason alone.

ZA_Survivalist · Sep 4, 2018

Not to take away from the OP, but after JUST purchasing a .25 pistol, Im really digging the .25acp threads as of late.

Ill save my brass for this one just in case. Glad to know it "can" be done.

Chin · Sep 4, 2018

Steve M said:
Reloading is fun. Therefore every cartridge than can be reloaded is worth reloading for that reason alone.

Beautifully Spoken

scrandall01215 · Sep 4, 2018

Chin said:
Dont wanna discuss weather or not it is worth it if you haven't already tried it.

Yes I reload it!!! And to me it's not issue if it's worth it, I do it because I enjoy it and I think mine is more accurate.
1 gr. Of 700x isn't much powder though! Lol

Stacy

CLT65 · Sep 4, 2018

At one time I really thought I needed some molds to cast .25 acp bullets, with the silly notion that I needed molds for everything. I never did buy any, as I just can't see myself shooting it that much. I don't mind casting bullets, but there's just no way I can justify it when I've had a thousand FMJ bullets in that caliber sitting on the shelf for over a decade.

I have to admit, the old WWI era FN-Browning .25acp pistol is a quality made handgun. It is fun to shoot, but after a couple magazines through it, I'm pretty much done. The sights are practically non-existent. The worst part of shooting it is trying to find any of my empty brass among all the .22lr brass in the gravel at the range.

Capn Jack · Sep 4, 2018

Don't tumble them with other calibers,

They're a bugger to fish out of the larger cases.

gmerkt · Sep 17, 2018

I'm up for reloading just about anything but the only .25 I ever owned was when I was 17 years old, a Mauser 1910. 51 years ago. I wasn't hand loading then and in those days, guns didn't stick around long due to trades. Haven't owned one since. The .25 was once considered a defensive handgun. I don't think most people would argue that it's a range gun that might see a lot of shooting. Most people who have one don't load because they simply don't shoot it often enough to justify doing so.

Somebody out there is loading .25. Not long ago, I had a batch of hand loading equipment that I bought, kind of an estate situation. In that stuff there were many molds. Including a home-made mold block for .25 ACP. It had a couple of serious rust spots on it, I was gonna throw it away but decided what the heck, see if it will sell on ebay. It did and the buyer gave me a big A+++.

The guy who made the mold had a Browning. I was told he loaded hundreds of rounds for it using his home-made mold. The rounds were stored in a coffee can. His daughter decided to keep the Browning and all the hand loads.

At one time, I loaded .32 ACP but that's over. I just don't have any need for a .32 automatic pistol. Same comment for .380. Both of these are basically defensive cartridges, not really for range shooting. Not that there isn't a bunch of people who shoot .380 these days. But typically, they are blasters, keeping familiar with their carry gun or just having fun. .25, .32 and .380 are pretty much in the same category: You can buy a box or two of factory ammo to have on hand and that will do it for most people. Generally speaking.

When I was loading .32 ACP, I found it to be kinda fiddly being a relatively small size. I've kept a couple of boxes of .32 ACP because I have a chamber adapter that permit shooting it in a .30-30. Problem is, I don't have any .30-30's anymore. I have another chamber adapter that does the same thing for 7.5x55mm Swiss; I've got one of those but I've never yet tried the .32's in it. Some day.