.25-45 Sharps

[richhodg66]

Anyone loading cast for this in something other than an AR?

Always seemed to me like the .25-20 loaded with a lead, flat nosed bullet at low to moderate velocity ought to be the ultimate small game rifle. Alas, rifle in it are rare and the brass is rare too.

Thinking of reworking a rifle and since it's a 5.56 case, brass would never be a problem. Looks like MGM will make a barrel for my Contender rifle. Dies are a stock item from Lee. Only problem is all MGM offers is a 1 in 10" twist. I'm wanting .25-20 performance and this may not be optimal.

Thoughts?

[john.k]

The first gun I really wanted was a 25/20 in a late Winchester with a new Sportco barrel.....long gone,and Ive never seen another for sale.Plenty of 32s,tho.

[richhodg66]

I'm with you, and I have been watching Savage Model 23Ds for a while. Overcoming the brass situation would be the biggest problem. This .25-45 would overcome that rather nicely, you can go to any public range here and walk away with as much once fired 5.56 bras as you can carry for free anymore it seems.

[ole_270]

10 inch twist shouldn't bother much. I've got an old marlin 94 25-20 that was sleeved by turning down a 25-06 barrel, 9 1/2-10" twist. It shoots very well with all three molds I have. Lyman 257420gc, Lee group buy 80 gr rnfp gc, and the one I'm using now, a NOE 260283 pb. The old 14" twist was sometimes problematic with the longer 89 gr bullets. This particular barrel seems to like to go fast, but is plenty accurate at just under 1300fps with the NOE bullet.
That Lyman 257420 bullet was a bit much for small game with the faster twist at the 2000 fps velocity I used to run it. Head shots only if you were looking for table fare.

[Wayne Smith]

Why?? I much prefer a rimmed round in a single shot and Starline makes 32-20 brass. Several of us neck this down to 25-20 without major problems. Go with the original, in MHO.

[bruce drake]

http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/bx2520-25-25-20-cal-1-06-od-4140cm-1-14-turned-bbl-blank/
THis may be your best bet for a barrel blank in the twist rate you are looking for.

[jbohio]

<<< has a good supply of new and once fired 25-20 brass 215000

[Dan Cash]

Neck a .30 Mauser to .25 and put it in a 10 twist barrel. Bet that thing would really sing.

[dk17hmr]

If you want a 25/20 you might as well get one. Brass isn't really a problem as other have pointed out. If you want 25/20 performance with 223 brass maybe a 25 fireball would be better suited.

That said 25/223 or 25/45 is a wonderful little cartridge I have had some bolt action 25/223 in my safe well before the 25/45 was standardized.

[Texas by God]

John Wooters had his 25-222 Copperhead as well. All would be very neat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Fast Asleep]

I built a Contender in 25-47 (222 Mag case) to give a longer neck to cover Bullet lube grooves. The barrel and is a 1 in 10 twist as I am shooting up to 120 grain bullet weights. Haven’t had enough time available for any significant load but the rifle shows indications of sub-moa performance with 100 and heavier bullets.

[Jeff Michel]

I have a Contender carbine barrel in 25-20, MGM could whip you one up in a jiffy. Forming the brass is easy as pie. Mine shoots cast great.

[richhodg66]

I have a Contender carbine barrel in 25-20, MGM could whip you one up in a jiffy. Forming the brass is easy as pie. Mine shoots cast great.

Been reading up a little on it and forming brass from Starline .32-20 brass doesn't seem all that easy and the reject rate seems high. I'm sure buying a forming die from Redding would make it easier.

I just happen to have a Contender simply because it was too good a deal to pass up, but it is an accurate and easy to shoot rifle. Mine is .17 HMR, which is pretty much a useless caliber, but figured with easy barrel swaps and rimfire to centerfire, it was still a good deal.

[Jeff Michel]

Actually it's not all that hard. There is a method described on the Marlin forum, that is the route I went to produce .218 Bee brass. To produce 25-20, just stop sooner. My reject rate is almost zero, with either W-W or Starline brass.
http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/32...-easy-way.html

[richhodg66]

Reviving this old thread. I think I'm going to build this on a Savage 219 rather than the Contender (might still do the MGM 25-45 eventually) and do it in .25-20. Options would be either 1 in 14" or 1 in 10".

This is going to be primarily a squirrel rifle and exclusively cast bullet shooter. My gutt tells me to go with the 1 in 14", but Ol 270s comment about it being problematic with an 89 grain bullet makes me wonder.

Thoughts?

[Harter66]

I searched all of this once when I was doing a 257 Roberts .

I'm kind of surprised nobody suggested a 256 Win .
The 1-10" is ok with bullets up to 115-7 but can be hit an miss with 120s
The 1-12 as I recall was good up to short/flat base/RN 100s and was what hampered the 250 Savage .
The 14" is probably about ideal for "nominal" pistol weights in 25 cal .

25 cal barrels are rather scarce in the open markets and it seems like folks want a premium for them from the makers .
I'd like to happen on one for a small shank Savage then all I'd have to do is decide on which 25 .

[35remington]

The short neck of 256 makes it less than desirable as a cast bullet rifle.

My 25-20 Contender custom barrel is 1-10 twist. It shoots cast from 1000 to 1450 fps in plainbase persuasion very well. If slower velocities are your forte with cast there are no flies on it. 1-14 may have some limitations with 90 grain at slow velocities, but 1-14 is arguably better with higher velocity gas check loads approximating 1800-2000 fps.

Take your pick. My rifle shoots the 75 Vmax into .25-.35” bug holes at 2200 fps at fifty yards, but such loads are a bit above the low SAAMI spec. Perfectly fine for a Contender.

Jacketed bullet options are limited for a 219. Aftermarket barrels are easier to find in 1-10 twist than 1-14 in 25 caliber but you may have a source I do not know of.

[cwlongshot]

I have one 25/45 and a couple 25/20’s.

I like the Sharps but feel that they are pushing things to reach ballistics they claim. When Hornady released the 110 FTX we had a awesome 25/45 hunting bullet!! I load it with AA2200 to 2600 FPS and sub MOA accuracy.

The 25/20’s get different. One 23 is dedicated with the 75g Speer as it shoots it very very well. My Marlin gets cast as does another Savage. I haven’t shot them much. But enjoy varmint hunting with that first Savage 23.

Took a couple deer with the Sharps and it works just fine

CW

[35remington]

I understand the 75 Speer has been discontinued.

[cwlongshot]

Wouldnt suprize me. I like Speer bullets allot but damned if they dont discontinue my favorites. Happened FAR TOO MANY TIMES to recount all
Of them. I seriously hesitate ever using them for fear of that...

I luckily stocked up a few boxes.

One of my all Time favorites for 30 cal deer was there 165 RN. I luckly found a shop in Wyoming who sold me ten boxes. That was ten years or so back. I have five or six left. Between my father brother and I they sure dont last long. I dont even shoot make of them anymore!! I dont
Own a 308, and sold my 307 two years ago. My ‘06’s are set with different bullets. My lil brother like the 300 Savage 99 with them and my pop the M88 & Savage 99 both in 308.

My maxi LOVED THE 170 GD Deep Curl... its gone. The great 300 plated SP in 45.... GONE.

CW

[PositiveCaster]

I have two .25-20s, one a 15” BF single shot with 1:10” twist. The only cast I’ve tried is a 90-grain LBT with GC. It groups under 0.75 moa with the right cast load, under 0.55 moa with a 75-grain jacketed. With good bullets twist rate is not as important as many people think - as long as the bullet is stable and you don’t want BR accuracy.


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