BAUER 25 AUTOMATIC

Once upon a time pocket guns were commonplace in America.  They were the great equalizer.  A small piece of security that kept society in check.  Never big on firepower, they did put a measure of protection in easy reach.  One of the undisputed greats of the class was (and is) the Baby Browning.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Browning

After several assassinations during the 1960's, the United States passed the gun control act of 1968.  Included in the misguided act was a ban on the importation of certain small pistols.  Unfortunately, the Baby Browning was one of these pistols.  The market for pocket pistols, which had been flooded with imports good and bad, was now without much supply.  The act had banned the import of such pistols, but said nothing about domestic production.  Apparently it's fine to shoot someone so long as you use a domestic product?

Looking to fill the need for a high quality pocket gun, production of the Bauer automatic began in Fraser Michigan in 1972.  It was a near identical copy of the Baby Browning rendered in stainless steel.  As far as I know, the only real difference is that the barrel is rotated clockwise for removal, rather than counterclockwise on the FN.  There may be a difference in springs as well, but many FN parts will interchange.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauer_Automatic

Overall, the pistol exudes quality.  The quality of the machine work is very good.  Parts fit together well and the gun has a good quality feel.  This is NOT your run of the mill Saturday night special .25.  It is a well made piece of jewelry that you can shoot.

Now, I know that the .25 ACP is the most maligned cartridge ever.  And I understand why it has it's detractors.  It is no man stopper.  But, it is a gun, and it will kill you.  And really, people miss the whole point of the .25.  It is not the gun you pull to take control of a situation.  It is a gun you use to get out of a situation.  And there is no denying the concealability.  Sometimes even a small gun is too big.  In that case, you carry a .25.

Cleaning this pistol is more like cleaning a watch than a gun.  The small parts are really small and somewhat fragile.  This is not the gun you tear apart in a muddy ditch.  Most people consider the safety to be flimsy, but I have the opposite opinion.  My gun's safety is very positive and takes conscious effort to move.  

Handling a gun this size is not exactly second nature.  It is really tiny and it takes concentration to grip it correctly.  Accurate shooting can also be affected by the small size.  It's just hard to keep a 4 inch gun on target as you pull the trigger.  That said, this is not a target pistol.  It is a "get off me" gun that hopefully gets an attacker off of you in order that you can get out of Dodge.  Yes, you can buy a Kel Tec p3at and get a more powerful round in a a really small gun, but it is still not as tiny as the baby.

416 stainless steel investment castings were hand fitted.  These people knew what they were doing too.

Baby Brownings are still in production here in the USA.  Precision small arms out of Colorado makes some truly awesome pistols.  I believe they are licensed by FN, whereas Bauer never was.  The prices on their guns can easily reach $600-$800.  I paid $200 for the pistol in this article.  It has less than 100 rounds through it since it was purchased new the the 80's.  

http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/Baby/baby.html
http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/PSP-25/psp-25.html