Please educate me on the 25-20 cartridge and Winny 92

[osteodoc08]

Looking at adding to my Winchester collection and have come across a few Winchester 92 models in 25-20. I'm not well versed on the cartridge or the model. I'm looking for a shooter grade and not an heirloom. What can you tell me about the cartridge and the rifle model. Limitations? Common problems? Reload ability of the 25-20 cartridge? I did see our very own Grumpa has brass listed on the S&S.

[Mk42gunner]

Winchester Model 92's are a slick little lever action, the biggest downside to them for me is they aren't easy to scope. Up until a few years ago I subscribed to the belief that scopes do not belong on lever actions, but now I find iron sights are fuzzy blobs.

The .25-20 is a neat little round for smaller than deer sized game and varmints that was fairly popular until the .22 Hornet and larger centerfire .22's started becoming popular for varmints. Recoil is pretty light, at least with the loads I have made with the Lyman 257420.

My .25-20 is a Husqvarna single shot bolt action, that shot pretty good groups when I could still see the sights. Now I am thinking of mounting a scout type scope on it for ease of use.

I have not killed anything with mine, but I have read that they don't give up any real lethality to the c/f .22's until you get to the .22-250. or farther than 150 yards of range.

The biggest down side to the cartridge is the cost of factory ammo and brass availability. If you are serious about getting one, buy the reformed brass from Grumpa. I looked at it and if I didn't have 2-300 rounds already for a single shot rifle, I would buy some of it. I did neck down some Remington .32-20 brass, with a horrendous loss rate. Those little cases have thin mouths.

Robert

[Uncle Jimbo]

Having owned a Marlin 1894 in 25-20 for 50+ years I have to agree with Mk42gunner about everything he said about the 25-20.

[UBER7MM]

The 25 WCF is fun to reload and shoot. The case capacity is relatively small. Published min and max loads not far apart. You can neck up and trim .218 Bee cases. Seems to work fairly well. 32-20s are a tad short after necking down. (That's my experience, with reforming, others might have better results.)

Don't go ejectin' those spent cases like in the movies, they'll fly over your shoulder and hard are to find on the ground. Get a spotter for your target and another for your spent cases.

The way today's prices are, a shooter will become an heirloom pretty quick.

Enjoy,

[GRUMPA]

To tell you the truth, I generally always have the brass. UNLESS...... you don't see the thread for it which will happen when I soft delete the thread. Just read my signature, the link is right there.

About the rifle or cartridge.....I have no clue about. I can't afford to own everything I convert brass for, I wish I could but that's another story.

I must have formed at least 7K of those so far, and at first lost a lot of them due to the thin necks like already mentioned.

Right now the case passes through 4 different form dies to make it all happen. And don't get me wrong here either, I still have some that go bad but not like it was in the beginning. If anyone attempts the conversion, they need lots of patience and attention to detail. To much lube results in nothing but problems with dimples, not enough and it's like trying to form sand, really gritty during the forming processes.

With the amount of forming those get from 32-20 I just went and annealed them. Those things almost scream at me when I form them, they're not to forgiving at any stage of the forming process.

[atr]

I really enjoy shooting the 25-20 and I find it very easy to reload for. I have a savage bolt action and it shoots both cast and jacketed equally well. 65 gr and 85 gr seem to be the preferred weights for my rifle's twist rate, and surprisingly both have almost the same point of impact at 50 yds. Its vary accurate out to 100 yards (my rifle is scoped with a 3x weaver) and I have shot numerous raccoon out to 75 yds. It think it is very effective on small game. In my opinion the 100 yard mark would probably be at the limit of its effective range.

[MarkP]

I have a Marlin 27S (pump) in 25-20 fun to shoot I have only shot the 60 gr Hornady FN in it; it should be one of those perfect cast rifle cartridges.
The cartridge has more snort than it is given credit for.

[clum553946]

I am just getting ready to load some 25-20's! I've been using the Missouri 85 gr bullet over 5 grs of Unique. I have three Win 1892's in 25-20 (I started out to just acquire one!) & all three really like this load. I just received a Noe mold for this gun that I bought on the great sale last week, but to be honest, these bullets from Missouri are so reasonable because of the light weight, I don't see any monetary advantage casting them. I just like casting so I'll start doing that when I use up my supply! These are just fun to shoot, way more fun than a 22 lr or a box of rocks!

[lobogunleather]

One of the holes in my Winchester collection over the years was the .25-20, which I corrected a while back when I acquired a Model '92 rifle in that caliber (1914 production). Rifle came with the Lyman tang sight, a box of R-P .25-20 86-grain soft points, 200 rounds of new brass, two boxes of Montana Bullets' (hard cast 65-grain GC and 95-grain GC), RCBS die set.

Having quite a few years of experience with the .32-20, .218 Bee, and others of the period, I immediately ordered the Lyman M-die for neck expansion (this will save you a LOT of wear and tear on your brass, as well as the occasional crushed case during seating).

The 65-grain cast bullets seat nicely to an overall length that will function properly in the Winchester '92. The 95-grain bullets require very deep seating to get the COL required for function in the rifle (way down into the powder space).

Started with modest loads of IMR-4198. No small rifle primers were to be had at the time, so I used CCI small pistol primers. No problems at all on that.

First time out the rifle functioned perfectly and I found groups of under 3" at 100 yards were not difficult with either bullet. Not at the range so I was using an improvised rest on a folding camp table. After an enjoyable morning shooting the century-old rifle I returned to my camp trailer for lunch. As if on cue, a nice 3-lb. blue grouse flew over my camper and landed in a tree about 40 yards away, which I took as a sign that I was intended to have grouse for supper (in season, license in pocket). The old Winchester did the rest, using one of the 65-grain cast bullet loads for a neat hole through center of breast (didn't prove to be any problem come supper time).

Negligible recoil in the Winchester rifle. Modest muzzle report. Both bullets easily penetrated 5-6" pine stumps, so I would expect through-and-through penetration on just about any game critter.

For my purposes I see no advantage in the heavier bullets. I will probably order a mold for a bullet of 65 to 75 grains, round nose with flat point of course. Haven't decided on whether or not to go with a gas check design, as I won't be pushing these very hard (probably around 1500FPS or so at most). Should be more than sufficient for anything to the size of a wild turkey, and plenty for the occasional coyote.

Excellent cartridge! And the old Winchester fits right in with its peers in .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40.

[TXGunNut]

I prefer the 32-20 over the 25-20 mainly because of the brass issue, even passed on a very nice 92 earlier this year because of the chambering. It's a sweet little cartridge but I have no shortage of rifles that are a lot less hassle. My big clumsy fingers have enough trouble the 32-20 and .380. 92's are sweet little rifles and if you keep your eyes open you can find one pretty reasonable, 25-20's are usually less money and in better condition. Headed out shortly to look at one in 38-40 to possibly add to my 32-20's.

[Beerd]

Having owned a Marlin 1894 in 25-20 for 50+ years I have to agree with Mk42gunner about everything he said about the 25-20.

I don't have a '92 Winchester, yet.
Like Uncle Jimbo my 25-20 is a Marlin.
It shoots this 80 grain Lee group buy bullet on top of a modest charge of Green Dot.
155752
..

[jwhite]

I don't have a '92 Winchester, yet.
Like Uncle Jimbo my 25-20 is a Marlin.
It shoots this 80 grain Lee group buy bullet on top of a modest charge of Green Dot.
155752
..155801

I just used that Lee boolit this evening to take a few rabbits with my 25-20 Marlin, great cartridge.

[TXGunNut]

Some pretty decent 25-20's at my local Cabelas last weekend. Prices looked fair but I've spent way too much money in there lately, didn't take a closer look.

[jwhite]

Some pretty decent 25-20's at my local Cabelas last weekend. Prices looked fair but I've spent way too much money in there lately, didn't take a closer look.
I saw two for sale at the LL Bean retail store in Freeport, ME last week, one was a Marlin classic for $999 and a Win 92 for $1350. I think i paid $389 for my Marlin Classic brand-new!

JW