Twist Rate and Chamber for 1894 25/20 reline

[peterso]

I just purchased an 1894 Marlin in 25/20. The barrel needs to be relined. It has a 26" barrel. I plan on shooting primarily lead bullets in the 80 grain range for cowboy silhouette and the occasional squirrel hunt. I have read that some originals have throats that are to long. Would anyone be able to recommend what the twist rate should be for this bullet weight? Also is there a particular reamer that I should request be used to give optimum accuracy with lead bullets in this weight range? Recommendations as to gunsmiths that specialize in relining would be appreciated.
The wood is in very good condition but most of the original finish has been worn off. I suppose it would be sacrilegious to have it refinished? Any thoughts on that would be appreciated as well.
I like NOE bullet molds and notice that they have two different styles of bullets for the 25/20. One is a Ranch Dog design with smaller grease groves and the other one is more of a traditional design with larger grease groves and a flatter nose. Any feedback on these would be greatly appreciated as well. I don't plan on shooting over 1400 fps.
Thanks,
Ferret Master

http://images.gunsinternational.com/listings_sub/acc_11661/gi_100436513/100436513_11661_461386A4DF85E3FC.JPG

[Outpost75]

I had John Taylor reline a Winchester 94 with shot out bore, an English rook rifle and a pump .22 gallery gun and have been happy with the results. I would trust his judgement on the twist and chamber.

[ratboy]

i am shooting the ranch dog in mine on top of 4.5 grains of unique. the bore on mine is awful. if you didnt look down the bore you wouldnt know it because it shoots so well. i shoot at 5x7 boxes at 100yards offhand and it will bounce them around the backstop with no problems. i wont have it relined because it might not shoot as well.:p take yours out and see what it does.

[enfield]

I just got an old 92 Winchester in 25-20 ( probably should be relined ). the bore is quite rough but shoots pretty good concidering. I got the NOE 260 80gr RF(plain base ). nice little boolit, I think the twist is 1-14 and theres no sign of tipping or unstable boolits. my first load was 5 gr 2400 ( quite mild ) next was 6.3 gr 2400 and they were going 1300 fps out of a 24" barrel and had a nice crack to them. Enjoy that rifle.

[50target]

Peterson, is that a picture of the gun in question? If so, looks pretty nice to me. Notice how flat flat and sharp the flats and edges are. They won't be that way after refinish. It will also have a dark almost black blue job that won't compliment the old Marlin at all. Leave it like it is and enjoy the performance from a reline. As mentioned I think the twist rate was 1:14". I have one that is really nice with lots of CC and blue with a tapered octagon barrel and like it a lot. I have 3 in 25-20; the Marlin 94, Win. 92 and a Rem. model 25.1300-1400 fps is pretty much the sweet spot for that cartridge. From what I have read, John Taylor would be the guy to trust on the reline and advice on twist rate. The throat area should be fine on a new reline and that was the problem in a lot of the older guns. Leave the old Marlin finish alone and enjoy her for what she is; a vintage gal with a soon to be new heart.

[bones37]

If You like NOE molds, check out the NOE forum for a thread on a shorter, lighter plain base boolit for the 25-20. It may interest You for the lower velocity loads.

[UBER7MM]

I was told years ago that the early Win. Model 92 had a twist of 1:14". Those shot a 65 grain boolit well. Later 92s have a 1:13" and can use 75-85 grain boolits. Have you considered re-boring to 32/20?

[ohiochuck]

There is good reloading information on the Marlin Owners.com forum. http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/reloading/26002-25-20-reloaders.html
It is worth your time to view the many pages of information concerning reloading the 25-20 Winchester (cast & jacketed bullets)as well as recommendation for the twist rate. John Taylor does excellent work!
Jim

[FLHTC]

I would shoot it before I did anything. I had a Savage 23 that looked like the bore was filled with salt water and packed away, but it shot beautifully. If you must reline it, I wouldn't worry about a match grade chamber if you're going to use the period buck horn sight.

[John Boy]

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellCB25-20Win.htm

[beagle]

Years ago, I bought one of the new M1894 Marlins. They do have a 1:14 twist (at least mine did). I had problems with heavier bullets other than Lyman's 257420. The 257312 and a NEI clone both showed elongated holes at 100 yards. I was able to get decent accuracy even under these circumstances by pushing the velocity with heavier bullets but they still displayed elongation (double diameter holes). Not being able to live with this, I re-barreled with a 1:12 Douglas barrel. I left this one at 24" and at the same time, I added a full magazine. At the time we laughed as it exceeded the ten round capacity of the Clinton days. The 1:12 twist handled my 75 grainers as well as the 89 and 90 grainers I put through it with no elongation.

For further input, I built a .25/35 on a 336 Marlin and used a 1:10 twist Douglas. This rifle handled bullets from the 75 grain through the 120 grain RCBS.

Based on these ventures into the .25s, I'd recommend a 1:12 twist on the .25/20./beagle

[Beerd]

not tryin' to tell you what to do, but does it need to be relined or do you just think it needs to be relined. Some rifles with sewer pipe looking bores can surprise you.

For what it's worth, the original Ranch Dog bullet designs (with the shallow lube grooves) were intended to be tumble lubed with Lee Liquid Alox.

And that's a nice looking Marlin by the way.
..

[peterso]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the info. I picked up the rifle today and the inside of the barrel looks better than I been led to believe. I have been cleaning the barrel all evening, what a mess. If I can get to a relatively clean patch by tomorrow afternoon I'll take it to the range and see how it shoots. The only ammo I have is the Remington 86gr JSP ammo. Once I have fired some of that I will reload with the 85 gr Miester lead bullets and see how they do. Has anyone used the Redding form and trim die to convert 32/20 to 25/20? I saw a posting on another board using RCBS 32/20 and RCBS 25/20 to do the conversion but my dies aren't cut like the ones they used. I'll keep you posted after the trip to the range.
Thanks again,
Ferret Master