I bought a Raven .25 and... I like it :-)

[44 AMP]

IMO, the .25 is nigh worthless today. 110 years ago? It had a place given what was capable in manufacturing then.

It was pretty nigh worthless then, BUT it did have the one advantage it keeps today, besides being cheap. Compared to the same guns in .22LR, the traditional fmj .25acp almost never jams.

Despite the fact that it often fails, it is a gun, and it CAN kill.

As to the term "Saturday Night Special" it goes back a ways, and is very racist in origin (by today's standards) and was originally applied to a certain knife type. The info is out there, I won't repeat it here.

[Bill DeShivs]

44 AMP-
I have studied cutlery for about 50 years, and have never heard "Saturday Night Special" involved with knives in any way- only guns.

[TruthTellers]

It was pretty nigh worthless then, BUT it did have the one advantage it keeps today, besides being cheap. Compared to the same guns in .22LR, the traditional fmj .25acp almost never jams.

Despite the fact that it often fails, it is a gun, and it CAN kill.

Yes, and the lesser chance of jams made me decide that a micro .22 pistol, like the Beretta 21A, wouldn't be a gun I'd trust. It's a cool gun tho, not many .22's out there like it.

While .25 is at times not even as powerful as hot .22 LR, it's just better in a pistol. If there was a choice between the two in a revolver... it'd be a tough choice.

I don't agree that .25 ACP was nigh worthless 100 years ago because if you think back to that time medicine, trauma surgery, etc. was nowhere near as good as it is today, thus getting shot with a .25 or any other bullet had a high chance of causing death. That psychological factor alone would likely cause shock in someone at that time and back then we didn't have people hopped up on insanely mind altering narcotics that they wouldn't feel it. At most they'd be drunk, but I'm sure getting shot would sober someone up pretty quick.

[GunXpatriot]

When I finally move out of NY in a few months, I am thinking of starting a saturday night special collection. I was actually going to start with one of these since I've heard they're not the worst of the lot.

I'd like to collect at least once of each model from the "Ring of Fire" manufacturers, but then there's all sorts of variants of each...

Still, gotta start somewhere. Should be a cool project.

[Oysterboy]

Wikipedia has an interesting take on "Saturday Night Special".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_night_special

[44 AMP]

And like a lot of other things, Wiki does not have the full story.

[Oysterboy]

Of course, Wiki is open to editing.

[JERRYS.]

I owned a nickeled Raven .25 a few decades ago. I could not get that thing to jam. I only used FMJ in it, but I fired it side ways, upside down, as fast as I could pull the trigger, it never failed even with the aluminum cased garbage.

[Cheapshooter]

The info is out there, I won't repeat it here.

Links would add much needed credibility. Especially since multiple searches turn up nothing but references to cheap handguns.
Inquiring minds want to know.....Or at least mine does.

Been tempted a couple times to buy another 25acp just for grins. But every time I have seen what should be a cheap one, it isn't!

[Carmady]

I'd like to see a Titan with a scope on it.

[dgludwig]

A Raven is probably worth the money-plus everybody needs a good throw gun.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Want a new 25 ACP that's state of the art - get

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...tol-shot-2017/

Fires two shots at once. Debate is whether it is a machine!

[Cheapshooter]

The cheap pot metal guns are fun. I have a HP22a in .22lr, both me and my girlfriend enjoy shooting it. Just turned a 1000 rounds, all is well and still alot of fun.

(we need a thumbs up smiley)

When a Raven grows up does it become a Hi-Point?

[turkeestalker]

No shame in that TruthTellers, Congrats!

I just came home yesterday with two little pocket .380s. An NAA Guardian in the factory lockbox with all the paperwork and three magazines, plus an AMT Backup DAO with two magazines.
Scrap copper money burning a hole in my pocket and I've always had a fondness for the all steel little pocket .380s.
Out the door for a little over $400, I'm not ashamed.

[Cheapshooter]

Scrap copper money burning a hole in my pocket

LOL, Retired almost eight years, but fondly remember those days. My safe is well represented by "Copper" guns!

[smee78]

I have a Beretta 418 25acp and dont have any problems with it, makes a great light pocket gun when walking the dog. It is what it is and nothing more, just dont pretend it's something it's not.

[Cheapshooter]

Want a new 25 ACP that's state of the art - get

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...tol-shot-2017/

https://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2017...yfire-handgun/
Hum? Under three hundred bucks MSRP. Just goofy enough that I want one. But maybe wait until the 22 WMR comes out.
Bet Peggysue wants the yellow or pink one!

[TruthTellers]

When a Raven grows up does it become a Hi-Point?

Funny you mention Hi Point. I've been thinking that if they put out a .25 or .32 pistol that's shrunk down and given a smooth finish on the zamak slide, they could fill a niche in the market for a sub $150 pistol that would appeal to women as a purse gun.

[Bill DeShivs]

The Raven is the granddaddy of the Hi Point.

[peggysue]

When I started collecting 4 decades ago I first bought less expensive guns as I was on a budget. I had a Ravens, Jennings, Sterling, JS9 Stallard ( The real granddad of the Hi-Point), FIE, Davis, and Bersa. Since then those are long gone and now I have everything I want +. All in all they are a good starting point.