Raven Arms model MP-25 - Mr. Saturday Night Special's first design

[Slowhand]

Slow day today, but there was a Gun Show at the National Guard Armory. So a friend and I went off to see what was doing. Not a lot of WWII weapons, ammunition or collectable stuff. No ammo for the Japanese Nambu Type 94 8 mm but I did get a line on where to get some.

Loads of hunting rifles, shotguns, AR-15s the modern stuff. But the prices were through the roof. Some guy was walking around with a chromed, Ruger Mini 14, wanting $1,100. No apparent takers, that period was over last month.

Regarding ammunition. 22LR Remington 525 Golden Bullet Value Pack $70.00, with 100 rounds of boxes of CCI 22LR for $19.00. Prices were just nuts. But no surprise.

Surprisingly enough there were loads of firearms from companies like Cobra, Jimenez and Davis.

I ran into a Raven Arms Industry Model MP-25 Raven, owned by Bruce Jennings, and haven’t made them since their factory burned down in 1991. Their machinery got bought by Phoenix Arms, which was owned by family members, friends, ex-business partners or whoever. Do some research for Davis and you’ll get the picture.

I got a really good price on it, since the gun show was closing for the day.

I’ve taken a Cobra 380 apart so doing this one wasn’t going to be much of a challenge. It was used and hadn’t been cleaned up very well but. I got it done.

Raven Arms P-25 Take down/Reassembly

I ran into this fellow on you tube who outlined a real quick field strip.

Range trip sometime next week. I’ll round up some .25 ACP ammo and maybe have at it. No a lot of plans for this one. If you own a Cobra 380, buying a Raven 25 ACP is like buying its Granddad for a historical perspective. Jennings was Mr. Saturday Night Specials back in his day.

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 got passed it banned the imports of small, inexpensive handguns by requiring foreign made hand guns sold in the US to meet strict standards on size, weight, materials and safety features. Old school manufacturers (Colt & W&W) supported it and lost some competition.

Since these standards didn’t apply to US manufacturers, Jennings, who was running a machine shop making, parts for the aerospace industry had an epiphany. LGSs and Pawn Shops who were used to selling 500 or more a month of the cheap imports. Jennings went into production and sold an estimated 2 Million of .25 Caliber guns in 20 years.

So there is some history in this little midget, mouse gun. I’m sticking to 380s and larger calibers. Just in case.

 

[Verticoli]

Nice score. I've had a few and they all ran perfectly. Funny story; I had a Ravin and fired a shot at an old Desoto hub cap and hit it with the very first shot. We heard it and the hub cap fell over. When we looked at the hub cap, there wasn't a mark on it. I then fired the next 49 rounds and missed every time. Pretty wacky.

 

[BeyondTheBox]

I had one, loved it. Great gun, fun plinker, terrible safety, sliding switch very odd... mine had nary an issue. Gave it to a buddy who wanted something and regretted immediately. Had the high polish finish with Ivory grips, I had some custom wood ones put on, looked real good!

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

 

[davevabch]

I have heard a lot of good things about that gun regardless of what the gun snobs say. Last time I was at a gun show I wish I had picked up a Phoenix .25 cal. for $150.00. Should have jumped on it.

Personally, I think your Cobra is a cool looking gun. Thanks for posting and congrats!! COOL PISTOL!

PS $70.00 for 500 rds of .22 cal.? THEY MUST BE ON CRACK!

 

[Sassi]

I once owned one like this one shown. Unfortunately it got stolen!

 

[Slowhand]

After I reassembled the Raven from her first cleaning, the safety was really stiff. So I disassembled it again, only further. Left click with the mouse to enlarge photo.

Looking things over and after some reading had at it. Like the COBRA 380 reassembly centers around the Sear Assembly. Place the spring in first, and then press it down with the left thumb.

Take the Safety, machined stamped, on the right side, pressing it into place. Then replace the grip cover. The grips play a big part on holding the mechanisms on both sides in place.

Still keeping the Sear Assembly pressed down; place the Cam or Sear Plate on the top left side. Check the position of the Disconnector, it goes below this plate. Replace the right grip cover and tighten the screw. Release the Sear Assembly with your thumb.

Check the slide out and make sure the firing pin is inserted, followed by the Striker Spring and the Retainer. Put the Recoil Spring back into place.

Place the Slide Assembly over the Barrel and pull rearward until it can be dropped down onto the Frame. Be gentle about it, since the safety and all those other parts are made out of an aluminum alloy they aren’t tolerating a lot of slamming around.

Mr. Jennings started out making aircraft parts and when he jumped to making inexpensive firearms he wasn’t beyond cutting a few corners. The flat safety I have on mine was changed in later models.

Dry firing is a No Go with this thing. But Numrich does have parts.

 

[Slowhand]

I have heard a lot of good things about that gun regardless of what the gun snobs say. Last time I was at a gun show I wish I had picked up a Phoenix .25 cal. for $150.00. Should have jumped on it.

Personally, I think your Cobra is a cool looking gun. Thanks for posting and congrats!! COOL PISTOL!

PS $70.00 for 500 rds of .22 cal.? THEY MUST BE ON CRACK!

Here’s a Cobra 380, Ruger LCP 380 and the Raven MP-25.

I got this one for $150., including taxes. A few years back I was looking for a BUG for my Sig P-239. So I made the rounds. I decided to get a Ruger LCP and still carry it. Years before the LCP came along Raven was cleaning up as people opted over the more expensive heavier calibers. As they moved on to producing 380s based on the design of the Raven MP-25, the Big Companies soon got on the band wagon.

As far as the ammo prices go it was rather amusing. Also the gun prices were way up there. I bought the Raven as a Curio Relic addition. What's a collection without a Saturday Night Special or two?

 

[TRIGGER_1]

Nice score....Looks like its in good shape....Hope to see your range report soon.... 8)

 

[Sontag_Shooter]

Nice find, Slowhand.

Thanks for posting the pics and the interesting information.

I've always thought that the little Jennings and Phoenix minis were neat looking guns; I would definitely pick one up if I found a deal like you did.

 

[Slowhand]

Nice find, Slowhand.

Thanks for posting the pics and the interesting information.

I've always thought that the little Jennings and Phoenix minis were neat looking guns; I would definitely pick one up if I found a deal like you did.

I glad you found it interesting. I own a couple of stacks or two of pistols and revolvers and like to tinker around with them. I got into the habit of taking digital photographs which make it a lot easier to get things back in the right place and order. Most instruction manuals describe how to do a field strip and then simply say reverse the instructions for reassembly.

I've seen the line of Jennings, Davis, Phoenix, Jimenez, and others in their circle around for years. I'd also read a bit of history on the Jennings 25 and how things had evolved for him. But I always opted for a larger caliber.

I ran into the Cobra 380, new in a LGS for $150. plus tax and when I ran into the Raven, I had to pair them up.

 

[framedcraig1]

The milling inside the raven is pretty straight-forward. Nothing fancy..but looks clean. Thanks for the share!