Winchester 92 in 25-20

[Lizard333]

Today I got the pleasure of shooting a very nice 92 chambered in 25-20 and it was very fun. We aren't talking moa accuracy, but golf balls at the back stop were not safe. We didn't hit them every time, but they did not get away unscathed.

If I wanted to get one of these, what mold are you using and where would I look for brass?? I know the load I used today was not gas checked. I'd like to keep it that way. Im trying to remember, but the boolit was around 80 grains.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for Winchester lever actions, but I really enjoyed it.

[runfiverun]

more like 70 grs is what i use.
the rapine 72 gr rfp plain base actually,it's one of the nicest casting molds i have.
it's similar to a lee two cavity but the boolits just pop out of it.
my carbine loves them, the rifle really likes them too, but doesn't feed them well.
i just use my homemade tumble lube and don't size them.

win and rem both make cases.
i pick them up here and there and find them at sportsmans warehouse sometimes.
i think i ordered the remingtons from midway some time ago.

[joe i]

....Maybe I'm just a sucker for Winchester lever actions, but I really enjoyed it.

A .25-20 is food for the soul, in any configuration. One of the truly great cartridges, overlooked by most as they chase after the magnum craze. Sort of like a .22 that you can reload for - it seems to bring me a step closer to my younger days even though I never had one then.

[CENTEX BILL]

I love the 25/20 as a fun cartridge. It has more capability that most people give it credit.

I call it a 22 MAGNUM ON STERIODS!!!!!!!

Bill

[LtFrankDrebbin]

I love the 25/20 as a fun cartridge. It has more capability that most people give it credit.

I call it a 22 MAGNUM ON STERIODS!!!!!!!

Bill

Cannot agree more on that coment!

Lyman 65gn boolit works well in mine. 80gn boolit is good for low velocity plinkers. 85gn boolit plain base is right on the edge between geting speed to stablize and blown out groups (gas cutting/ leading)
But thats just my 92.
Slip on over to marlin owners forum/ reloading/ 25-20 reloaders sticky.
70 pages and counting of info.
I love the 25-20, gowon! get one! 8-)

[Marvin S]

You may have been shootin the 85gr RCBS. Do go look at the thread over a MO boards it will take a day or two to read it. The 25 and 32 wcf cartridges are a must have for the frugal reloader in lean times. The squirrel's in my avatar would agree also.

[ohiochuck]

Marvin S is correct visit this site for detailed info on loading the 25-20.
http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/reloading/26002-25-20-reloaders-60.html
The mold you may want/need will depend on what you are shooting/hunting and what level of accuracy you want to achieve.
Please spend some time and read the entire thread- it is somewhere around 65 pages.
Jim

[UBER7MM]

Lyman currently makes a 65gn mold and a did make a 86gn bullet mold. Jacketed Remington's are 86gn, IIRC. Find out what twist the rifle in question has. Older '92 have a 1/14" twist. Newer guns have a 1/13" twist. 1/14" twist guns will tend to like the shorter bullet. That's a generality. Each gun is it's own law.

I hope this helps,

[rbuck351]

I have one made in 1921 that is rough but still tight with the last couple of inches of rifling light but it still shoots the Lyman 65gr( actually 72grs with check and lube ) at 1950fps and about 1.5" at 85yds. This is one of my very favorite rifle/cartridge combos. A 22mag on steriods is a very good description and at 5/6 cents per round it is fantastic. You owe it to yourself to have one of these. I just wish Rossi would make their 92 in 25/20 or 256Win.

[LtFrankDrebbin]

I have one made in 1921 that is rough but still tight with the last couple of inches of rifling light but it still shoots the Lyman 65gr( actually 72grs with check and lube ) at 1950fps and about 1.5" at 85yds. This is one of my very favorite rifle/cartridge combos. A 22mag on steriods is a very good description and at 5/6 cents per round it is fantastic. You owe it to yourself to have one of these. I just wish Rossi would make their 92 in 25/20 or 256Win.

Can I ask some detail on your load recipie, and barrel length please?
Results like that you may just have some valued input to offer over on the Marlin Owners 25-20 reloaders.
My best groups so far with the Lyman boolit have been @ 1700fps over a capacity charge of 4198, thats with a 20" barrel.

[atr]

I have good success with the 65gr GC in a 1:14 barrel....good squirrel accuracy out to 75 yds.....easy to bust clays at 100 yds
I also have tired the 86gr RCBS plain base and its still a work in progress as that boolit doesn't stabalize well in the 1:14 barrel
the 86 grain J's work very well
atr

[Clark]

59981
I got a 25-20 two weeks ago for $400... oi, is the rear stock not original.
I have not shot it yet.
I will take the rifle and a cowboy hat to Montana in the spring:)

[rbuck351]

LtFrankDrebbin
I'm using the lyman 69gr with wcww FWFL and an aluminum gc. Win small pistol mag primers and 12.2 H116 gives 1950+ fps. I didn't chrono this load but I did chrono a 12gr load at 1943fps from a 20" Win 92. 1.5" to 1.75" are the norm at 75 yds. I must have fat fingered the 85yd number.I have run as much as 14.5grs of H116 for 2208fps but accuracy goes away much above 2000fps. Another load that worked well is 9.5grs of 2400 for about 1950fps. I recently got a new mold from NOE that drops a very nice looking 84gr boolit with lube and check but I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.

[jlchucker]

59981
I got a 25-20 two weeks ago for $400... oi, is the rear stock not original.
I have not shot it yet.
I will take the rifle and a cowboy hat to Montana in the spring:)

Very nice, Clark. You'll like that shotgun butt, too. When I had a Marlin 25-20 Classic, I see by my notes this morning that I got excellent accuracy with a wheelweight boolit (Lyman 257420) behind 5.6 gr Unique. No chrony so I've got no idea what the velocities were. I did notice, and it didn't take long, that if I pushed loads--j-word as well as cast, more trimming than I wanted to do was required on those little cases. No need to push this caliber. It's a great round with lots of uses, and in my family, when we were kids, it killed quite a few whitetails in the woods. That having been said, it wouldn't be my first choice for that purpose. Your trip to Montana sounds like it's going to be fun. I've never been there but I've heard there's big critters there. You may want to also bring along a trusty 45-70 as well.

[shdwlkr]

I have one made in 1921 that is rough but still tight with the last couple of inches of rifling light but it still shoots the Lyman 65gr( actually 72grs with check and lube ) at 1950fps and about 1.5" at 85yds. This is one of my very favorite rifle/cartridge combos. A 22mag on steriods is a very good description and at 5/6 cents per round it is fantastic. You owe it to yourself to have one of these. I just wish Rossi would make their 92 in 25/20 or 256Win.

I ended up with a model 92 action and have been in the process of making it into a 256 win mag for many years as money is tight so only a little gets done each year. One day I will have it maybe if we are allowed to have firearms that is.
I went the 256 win mag route because when I started I had a 32-20 divorce took care of that issue. So really hope one day I can have my 256 win mag as it was made around the time my dad was born and he has been gone for a few years now and it would be my way of connecting with him again.

[rbuck351]

shdwlkr
Yup, I think the 256Win would be just the ticket for the 92s. I have a beater Win 92 in 32/20 that is going to become a 256 when I get a little time. I have the barrel and the gunsmith has the reamer. I have dies and molds and a gas check maker so maybe sometime this summer I will have my 256 in a 92.

[ofreen]

I bought a very nice 24" M92 25-20 at the old Fred Braun's store in Kenai many years ago. It has a Lyman tang sight, so it has a sight radius that won't quit. It shot jacketed loads very well but I struggled getting it to shoot cast (257420) that would stay in a 12 inch circle at 100 yards, really just shot wild most of the time. I tried different alloys, powders, etc. 8.5 gr H110 seemed to show promise, but wasn't consistent. I was about to resign myself to just shooting jacketed in the rifle but one day I got the inspiration to try Remington 6 1/2 primers. I loaded a few up with those and groups immediately went to around 2 inches at 100. It has been the most dramatic change I've ever seen reloading with just a change of primers. The bore hasn't seen a jacketed bullet for over 30 years now. The rifle is a favorite around here.

The recipe is 257420 cast 6/1 WW/Lino, 8.5 grain H110, Rem 6 1/2, RP brass, LOA 1.6". I neck size the brass in a Redding neck sizer and expand with an M die.

[uscra112]

Try Huntington's for brass. Last I looked they had some. Check also Midway, Natchez, Grafs, Mid-South. Get plenty when you find any. It comes and goes. When it goes, it tends to be gone for up to a year.

Of course it's not out of the question to just reform .32-20 brass for it.

85 grains was the canonical boolit weight. IIRC the twist won't handle anything heavier, but 85 will work. I shoot 86 grainers from a Stevens .25-21 with a 15 twist and they do just fine.

I have a Browning replica of the '92, and it is the only Winchester I've hung onto over the years. (I'm much more of a Marlin guy.) Something about that action appeals to me much more than any other Winnie. It's .32-20, but I truly wish it were a .25. Every good thing said about that cartridge is true.

Phil

[moptop]

Clark, You have a nice very rifle there. I'm very envious! Enjoy.