25 Auto for defense?

[The2ndamendment]

Hello folks. Ive been thinking about the effectiveness of my old 25 ACP handgun for self defense. My question is...
Within 3 to 5 feet of an attacker, would I be better off with a 4 inch knife or the 25 handgun? Or if attacked by someone armed with a knife, would I stand much of a chance with 25 acp?
Thank you guys

[AK all day]

Pretty pathetic round, but it will kill or definatly slow somebody down. There is always a chance of a vital strike or headshot :/. A gun is better than no gun IMO. Knives are never the way to go when it comes to something you are going to depend on to save yourself or someone else. Is a knife better than nothing? YES! Is a .25 auto better than nothing? YES! Is a .25 auto better than a pocket knife? YES, except when trying to get into a cardboard box. So the final answer is... Yes a .25 is just fine compared to a knife, so carry both, of you can.

[510shooter510]

25 auto is about as weak as they get. Within 3 to 5 feet? Depends on the knife and the person I guess. I imagine a guy within 5 feet of you coming at you quick and mean with a kitchen knife and he might manhandle you if your trying to get a little 25 auto out of your pocket.
If its 25 auto within 5 feet... heck even 10 feet... you should run away instead. Just my 2 cents.

[a1c]

A lot of people have been killed with that round. Better than nothing. Shot placement, period.

Within 3 or 5 feet, you probably will have barely any time to react anyway. Sounds like you're asking the wrong question here. In such a scenario, the skills you need to learn are self defense moves.

[cannon]

From 3 to 5 feet just empty the gun into the ten ring and if they haven't stopped. Kick and run. They'll bleed out.

[Yugo]

i have a beretta .25 auto and when i shot it at angeles at there pistol range (7 yards or less i think) where you staple a target and the grouping was all over the place (i was taking my time to aim) so I was thinking the same thing a knife would be better and cheaper but the beretta I have has some gold writing so it looks cool and I dont want to sell it for that reason.

[VegasND]

I have several old .25 pistols and find them fun to shoot.

The smallest pistol I ever (as in 'almost never') carry is a KelTec .32 -- it's barely bigger than the .25s and the round, while still anemic, is more powerful.

I would carry a .25 before going unarmed and, in a confrontation, I'd prefer any handgun over a knife.

[johnny_22]

Good enough for my Dad.

My father had a .25 caliber semi-auto (the one with the pop-up barrel). Never had to use it (thank God), but, he did practice with it.

I always worry about ammo cost. The less expensive the ammo is, the more likely I won't use that as the reason not to practice.

[-hanko]

I'd recommend a shotgun with birdshot.

-hanko

[saki302]

At arm's length, push the barrel into your target and fire.

A contact wound from a .25 would still be quite nasty.

At longer distance, empty the thing into your attacker and run. It'll at least slow him down.

-Dave

[BRANCHER]

Old Saying, "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight", comes to mind.

And to the shotty comment, try low recoil 00, it seemed to have a little less recoil than birdshot (praticing on Monday this week) and I have been reading some good articles about how low recoil 00 is the best man stopper in some FBI/LE tests. sorry on iPad and not going to look up threads on it - google it.

[cabinetguy]

I think I would rather have a more powerful round, but on the flip side I would not want to get shot by one

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Use the hottest high performance round you can find, like Cor-bon. I'd aim for the eyes & face/neck zone. Less chance of the low powered round getting deflected by the skull or sternum. Make sure your pistol/magazine feeds OK with rapid fire.

[Ribkick]

As your attacker is running at you, make sure he has reached 1200 fps before you fire. You're welcome.

[JSolie]

A long time ago, I read a thread about someone who ran a pawn shop in Florida who was attacked by a patron with a sword. The shop owner was skewered by the sword, and the only thing he had was his .25. The perp went down, but the shop owner got it pretty good, too.

Found a link, and just re-read the account...

http://armslocker.com/gun-rights/25966-sword-vs-handgun-real-life-mess.html

Any gun is better than no gun. This shop owner made some errors and nearly paid for them with his life, but that little .25 mouse gun saved his life.