Large names like Browning and Beretta come to mind, but there were plenty of other makers particularly in Germany and Italy that produced well-made, but inexpensive .25 ACP pocket pistols. With the lucrative American market cut off, these companies had decisions to make. Browning focused on other markets. Beretta got around the problem by establishing an American manufacturing facility in 1977. Many of the smaller firms faded away altogether.


American manufacturers stepped into fill the gap with cheap, pot-metal guns of dubious reliability, safety, and handling. Ironically enough, these “Saturday Night Special” type pistols were what the GCA was drafted to eliminate — to keep cheap guns out of the hands of criminals. The Raven, Jennings, Bryco, among others came to symbolize the new .25 ACP handgun, which led many to equate the .25 ACP itself as junk.


When the 1990s came and with it the emergence of concealed carry permit systems, the market for small, reliable pocket pistols was back front and center. The .25 should have seen a resurgence in new and improved handguns. But it did not. Today, you can buy an inexpensive, reliable pocket pistol in .380 that isn’t much larger than the old .25s. If you must go with a micro-sized gun, there are plenty of small .22 pistols out there. The .22 LR round is cheaper, easier to find, and no less powerful than the .25.


You can still get a new .25 ACP pistol today. Beretta and Seecamp’s .25 ACP handguns remain hot items simply because they are truly tiny and the .25 ACP retains advantages even the .22 LR cannot touch. With that said, there is no denying that the golden days of the “vest pocket” .25 are long over.