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Common uses: Self-Defense
| Type | pistol (centerfire) |
| Typical load | 50gr Federal American Eagle Handgun FMJ |
| Muzzle velocity | 760 fps |
| Muzzle energy | 64 ft-lb |
| Published G1 ballistic coefficient | 0.11 |
| Case length | 15.6 mm |
| Overall length | 23 mm |
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Energy (ft-lb) | Drop (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 760 | 64 | -1.5 |
| 50 | 716 | 57 | -2.5 |
| 100 | 675 | 51 | -20.5 |
| 150 | 637 | 45 | -57.6 |
The listed uses do not identify an explicit big-game hunting role, so deer- and elk-sized energy references aren't shown. Evaluate the named load using its available source data and any displayed trajectory, then verify the result for the listed target, competition, defensive, tactical, or duty context.
Your barrel, ammunition lot, and conditions will differ — always verify against the manufacturer's data and your own firearm.
The .25 ACP is the classic deep-concealment and backup cartridge, valued far more for the tiny, easily hidden pistols it enables than for its ballistics. Firing a 50-grain bullet at modest velocity, it produces very little energy or recoil, and its main practical advantage over the smaller .22 has always been the greater ignition reliability of its centerfire primer in a semi-automatic action. Terminal performance is weak by modern defensive standards, with full-metal-jacket loads relied upon for adequate penetration since expanding bullets rarely have the energy to work. Today it survives mostly in vintage vest-pocket guns and a handful of pocket automatics, kept alive by shooters who prize an extremely small, light pistol over stopping power.
Designed by John Browning and introduced in 1905 alongside Fabrique Nationale's Model 1905 vest-pocket pistol, the .25 ACP was created to give small blowback-operated pistols a centerfire cartridge more reliable than the .22 rimfire rounds of the era. Browning settled on the quarter-inch bore as roughly the smallest diameter that could still house a centerfire primer pocket, and the round became known as the .25 ACP in the United States when Colt chambered it in the Model 1908 Vest Pocket. It became one of the defining pocket-pistol cartridges of the early 20th century and was widely copied, spawning countless licensed and unlicensed European "baby" automatics.
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