Rigarmi .25 Auto

I blame my late friend Pete Dickey for my addiction to cheap auto pistols and break-open revolvers. If these are so-called “Saturday Night Specials,” then every night was Saturday night at Pete’s. He had them made into bookends, lamps and all sorts of novelty gifts. His enthusiasm for, and he fun he had with them, was contagious.

As much a novelty as these guns are today, there are many of them that are well made and served dutifully as third guns or for deep concealment. I personally don’t think it makes a difference what cartridge these little guns are chambered for. They aren’t “stoppers,” but rather “get off me” guns where reliability trumps power.

The one I used to carry in my front pocket is a Rigarmi in .25 ACP. Why .25 ACP? No reason. It just had to work reliably, especially on contact shots. With its fixed barrel, blowback action, semi-rimmed cartridges and single-stack magazine, there’s not much that can go wrong and, as far as cheap old guns, it’s pretty well made.

My little .25 has since been replaced by my Kel Tec P3AT, It’s just as reliable, holds as many shots, and is pretty much the same size but its polymer construction makes it much lighter than the Rigarmi—not to mention being chambered for a significantly more powerful cartridge.

So as it was with Pete, so it is with me; the little .22 Short and .25 Auto pistols are more of a novelty to me today. They’re still fun to shoot, but there are better third guns on the market.

Scott Mayer

www.tacticaltshirts.com

www.john1911.com

“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”

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Scott Mayer

Writer at John1911

Mayer began his outdoor industry career in 1993 on the NRA Technical Staff where he became American Rifleman magazine first Shooting Editor. Mayer left NRA and entered the business end of publishing in 2003 as Advertising Account Executive for Safari Club International SAFARI Magazine and Safari Times newspaper. In 2006, Mayer was named Publisher of Shooting Times magazine where he was also tasked with launching and leading Personal Defense TV, the first television show of its kind.

In 2008, Mayer returned to the editorial side of publishing, this time in the digital field, as Editorial Director for Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Handguns and Rifleshooter online magazines. After a brief stint in 2011 as the Digital Media Director for an ABC TV affiliate, Mayer returned to the outdoors industry and Safari Club International where he is currently Assistant Publisher and Multi-Media Communications Editor.

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