Little Bitty Pistols
Over the years I have had little tiny pistols ... single shot .22 Derringer types .. black powder .. but the best of the little guns were the Astra Cub .22 Short autoloaders.
I had 2 of them and carried both at the same time. They took up the space of a pack a cigarettes and by that time I had quit smoking.
One of the Astra's I replaced the front sight with a wider ramped target sight and squared up the rear notch. It was an accurate little thing. I used to lay on the ground under the tamarack trees on the ranch and shoot birds out of the trees for the ranch cats.
They would gather around me as I shot and catch the birds I hit before it hit the ground. I shot up a mess of .22 Shorts in those little guns back in the early 1970's.
Eventually a private detective that I knew talked me out of one gun and a year or so later I was recently married and needed money and sold the other.
They were a great little gun.
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I had one marked "COLT" but by Astra
It was also a .22 short. For that caliber though I much preferred the Beretta Minx. They made them with a 4" barrel and I've always wanted one, on my bucket list. They fetch around $500+ these days.
In my opinion, the best small .25 ACP ever is the Astra Firecat. I find it better than the Baby Browning or Colt 1908, which it loosely copies. It sports a magazine safety, which is a rarity that I don't mind on this one. Also a slide release/safety and a very easy working grip safety. The reliability and accuracy is astonishing. If you run across one you might check it out.
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My favorite small revolver is the original Ruger Bearcat but I have another. The Colt Pocket Positive, a later version of the New Pocket. The post 1920 versions have a matted topstrap and wider squared rear sight groove. At 15 yds. it will group the .32 Colt New Police cartridges (.32 S&W Long) all touching if you are up to it. The most common barrel length is 2.5" but they made them up to 6"! It's a 6-shot too.
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The older I get the more I enjoy "small" guns. For some reason wise old me always share enjoyment of little pocket guns. I'm growing into it. I truly admire Kase's view point on firearms. One would be foolish not to at least hear the reasoning given his livelong exposure. He does truly great work on the auto pistol too. I was delighted he enjoyed my little Colt at HHC and fingered it a considerable time twirling it in his hands. About 4-5 stories worth, a high praise. His stamp of approval was given.
I admire the little NA guns but don't consider them very valid. I know some of the .22 WMR can be wielded with some skill but the smaller guns don't perform as well. But I have always wanted the smallest of them, the .22 Short version.
i call them IBG's...
like EBR = 'evil black rifles'
these are IBGs = " itty bitty guns ". I have a drawer filled with them. all types, and some of the best are similar to that one: the bernadelli semi autos. they were beautifully made and available in 22 short, 22 long, and 25 acp. the gun control act of 68 prevented further imports like these.
I also have mini revolvers, derringers of all types, etc
I used to pack a brief case filled with them and take the teenagers out to the gravel pit and let them learn how to handle all of these. they are often quite accurate if you know how to properly shoot them.
Your post got me to thinking.
There was a gun-writer I enjoyed very much. Robert T. Shimek. I hope one day he gets better recognition, I think he earned it. Besides a writer and gun fancier, historian, he was also a police officer. I think this gave him a better perspective and some credibility with me. His articles were a treasure of historical information on the subjected arm complete with technical take down information and design shortcoming notes. One of the most remarkable parts of his typical articles were the actual shooting tests. He shot "pocket autos" at 25 and even 50 meters! (he was also one of the first American writers to use "meters" that I can remember) It was crazy to me, him shooting WWII .25/.32/.380 autos at 50 meters and getting pie plate groups! Maybe I was just impressionable or perhaps he WAS that good. I loved it and was inspired.
That is a roughly 55 yd. group with a WWII Beretta .32 auto! He didn't say how many groups he shot to get this one. lol
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It is a little known rumor that he was the fellow responsible for coining the term "Wonder Nine" referring to modern high capacity auto pistols. I think I found reference that Mr. Shimek passed away in October of 2000. His articles and compilations in "Surplus Firearms" collections will forever be a useful source of information on the specific guns.
Many of his tests were the small officer sidearms of WWI and WWII. It showed me that the mechanical accuracy was there, it was only the shooter's ability that limited accuracy from many larger guns.