Design
The cartridge was designed for early blowback pistols that lacked a breech locking mechanism. The cartridge is of semi-rimmed design meaning that the rim protrudes slightly beyond the diameter of the base of the cartridge so the cartridge can headspace on the rim. A recessed extractor groove allows an extractor to grab the cartridge reliably. It is the smallest centerfire pistol round in production, and is commonly chambered in small, so-called "vest pocket" pistols. The .25 ACP achieved widespread use after Colt introduced the Browning-designed Fabrique 1905 Vest Pocket (sometimes referred to as 1906) to the United States as the Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket.
Though the .25 ACP was designed for semi-automatic pistols, various .25 ACP revolvers were produced in the early 20th century by Belgian, French, and German gunmakers such as Adolph Frank and Decker. In the late 20th century, Bowen Classic Arms produced a custom Smith & Wesson revolver in .25 ACP.
Following World War II, the Italian Lercker machine pistol was chambered for the .25 ACP, but achieved little distribution.
Read more about this topic: .25 ACP
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