Got my Raven!!

[oldgranpa]

With all the good reports on the Raven I decided to go looking for one at one of the larger dealers near by. He has cases full of used handguns, looks almost like a museum. No Raven seen. So I asked my old timer dealer there if he had one. Sure, he pulled a black, banged up one from under the counter, marked $65. I said, 'is this the only one?'
"Wait a minute, I'll look in the back" was the reply.
Five minutes later he returned with 2 NIB Phoenix Raven 25's. Neither had a price marked. (Ravens are kept out of sight and only shown to us collectors, he indicated, since they're not popular with the Fed's.) Since he knew I wasn't planning to use it for a real "Saturday Night" job, he let me have the new, unfired, chrome plated one for $75 plus tax, $81 OTD!! and threw in a box of ammo. Better than any deal I've found on Internet auction sites.

So I'm officially a genuine Saturday Night Special member now (#17).

Very easy to field strip for cleaning and re-assembly is a snap.
I'll range test it this week and post a follow-up here later and a picture.

og..........Ravens are out there if you look, but you might have to ask.

[cowboywannabe]

congrats......

you'll find it to be a good little "fun gun" though pricey to shoot a lot with.

[oldgranpa]

cowboyw'bee,
thanks, old friend, range test is tomorrow a.m. and maybe report tomorrow p.m.

BTW, at another shop today looked at an 'original' Raven 25, nickle, with pearl grip, marked $85. Plus tax of course. It was used, in excellent condition but the action seemed loose like maybe the spring needed replacement.
Do any of you guys know if the ones marked Raven, original, are any different in reliability compared to the Phoenix Ravens??

og....curious

[cowboywannabe]

the old school Ravens had a thumb safety that slid side to side.

the newer gens have one that flicks up and down.

i havent had the chance to compare a new to an old one, as in side by side........but im sure they are of the same design, just like the davis and jennings/bryco pistols.

[oldgranpa]

Range tested my new Phoenix Raven 25acp today and it worked perfectly. I only had time for 20 rounds as I had to help a friend zero the scope on his new rifle.
With the Raven I fired 5 rounds into a wetpack, 10 rounds at the target shown in the picture attached, and 5 more rounds to watch the ejected cases so I could pick up a few. The extractor shoots the empty case high up in the air and way over your head a long ways away.
The target shows my accuracy is not too good but short barrel, fixed sights pistols like this are never very accurate. The wetpack test was a nice surprise as penetration was excellent at 8+ inches (equivalent to over 12" in gelatin). The recovered bullets are shown in the photo.
Oh, sure, many will say the wetpack test or water jug test is no good...unless you're attacked by wet paper, ha ha.
Nobody ever said the wetpack test was some kind of valid, FBI approved terminal ballistic test. It's just a fun, easy, cheap way to compare ammo and firearms. That's all it is, a way to compare your own ammo and handguns.
Get you a Phoenix Raven if you can find one. You won't be sorry.
Cheers,
og

[cowboywannabe]

i dont care what anyone says, but even .25acp 50gr. fmj at 800 f.p.s. will go deep enough to puncture a heart.......

i know i know, they are crapola rounds and a pissy caliber..... but id take them over a .22lr in the same sized gun and they penetrate as deep as a .380acp h.p. as some have claim is "enough" penetration for them.


id like to have a little beretta 950, except ammo is expensive!


thanks for the pics and testing evals. its fun and good to see.

OG- Thanks for the testing! I have been thinking about getting a Raven as a "knock about gun".

Do you plan on doing any other testing? I would appreciated it if you could do some testing through harder barriers such as 2x4s or even sheet metal, if you could.

Thanks again!

[oldgranpa]

Hi, HMC...

Previous tests I've done (that got me banned from M&S site).....

http://www.ktrange.com/articles/a10/a10.html

these are only comparison tests, not certified terminal ballistic info, like some people think I'm suggesting.

An excellent site for barrier tests.....

http://www.theboxotruth.com/

And another excellent site for waterjug tests, he has some .25acp....

http://stevespages.com/page8f.htm

Also, HMC, I note you have a Heritage Rough Rider .22LR/.22Mag. Here is a test report using .22mag ammo.........

http://handgunsandammo.proboards36.com/index.cgi?board=calibers&action=display&num=1111168486

You will have to register to see that report so in case you can't here is the first picture comparing the Heritage with a NAA mini-mag...

Always happy to hear from anyone interested in "unballistic" testing.^c

og

Thanks for the links OG.

I was really suprised that you got the CCI MAXI MAG 40 grain JHPs to expand from the 4 1/2 inch barrel, becuase last summer I shot them from a 6 1/2 inch barrel into soaked newspaper and they completely failed to expand, along with Remington Premiers 33 grain VMAX. The cylinder gap was a little larger than normal, but I would still expect it to get more velocity than a shorter barrel. I sent it back to the factory and it is back to normal now.

Im really interested in getting my hands on some of those 50 grain Gold Dots too. I would bet that from a barre l2 inches longer they would more than likely produce more reliable, and possibly larger expansion. It would be a nice hunting round IMO.

Was it keyholing in the 4 1/2 inch Rough Rider?

Thanks again!

[oldgranpa]

HMC......
No keyholing seen with the Heritage. Only the NAA mini-mag, the short barrel and shallow rifling doesn't stabilze the bullet.

The 50gr GoldDots may be hard to find. I saw somewhere CCI had discontinued them.

og

[needaglock]

Originally posted by cowboywannabe
the old school Ravens had a thumb safety that slid side to side.

the newer gens have one that flicks up and down.

i havent had the chance to compare a new to an old one, as in side by side........but im sure they are of the same design, just like the davis and jennings/bryco pistols.

I assume the new safety still just blocks trigger movement.

I remember carrying an old Raven P-25. Never malfunctioned on me. I did carry it chamber empty, and I removed the safety. I'd hate to have Israeli style racked the slide and then be left with an engaged safety.

[BillK@tcmhmrs.o]

Hope you enjoy it. I've got a nickled one with black grips. You can get extra mags if wanted from CheaperThanDirt.com fairly inexpensive. I keep mine stoked with Glazer rounds and they are pretty awesome. The Speer Gold Dots work just fine...

[oldgranpa]

Hi, BillK,
no tax refund this year, have to pay some this time, so no more gun buying for awhile. wish I could buy another Raven, real collectors item will be worth double someday.
Interesting deal on the ammo I got from the gun dealer, MagTech 50gr FMJ, box of 50 for $10 OTD. Checked at WalMart and they had Winchester 50gr FMJ, box of 50 for $12. No other ammo on their shelf.
So WM ain't always the best.
og....anybody with a Raven they don't want, pm me with real cheap price.

[Urban_Cowboy]

I bought one of the P25's a few weeks ago. Its become part of my range bag since its just fun to plink around with.

[390ish]

I used to keep a Raven .25 in my spice rack. Had to take take off the grips a lot to fiddle with something that would always come loose and make the gun inoperable. Gave it to a buddy. He shot it for a while, until a round fired and stayed lodged in the barrel. Don't know what he did with it after that.

[michael t]

Before I was married I kept a 25 in a cereal box . No one ever look their. A 25 will hurt you I wouldn't want shot with one.
I got my Bauer out today and fired it My 10 year old daugther keep them on a paper plate at 21' She likes a 22 rifle better.

[oldgranpa]

good point, michael t, the .25 sure will hurt you and in the right place, kill you too. Under-rated caliber for sure. The M&S data says you can't get a "OSS"^b with it more than 24%. And that's why nobody wants to carry a .25 "SNS". But what about data with more than one shot. M&S didn't publish any.

If anybody has any data like that, more than one shot at a BG with a .25, it would sure make a good thread.

What say?

og