25-20 Winchester cast bullets

[badwolf]

Anyone casting for this? Since remington 86 grs dried up im looking at getting a mold, what's available, what's your favorite

[bob208]

I have been using lyman 257420 for my .25-20's it is gas check. feeds right and shoots good has rolled ervey groundhog I have shot with it.

[rbuck351]

I also like the lyman 257420. I also have an NOE mold that works well. I don't remember the number but it is an 85gr gc similar to the lyman.

[Calamity Jake]

257420 or the NOE version is the answer, I've shot the 257420 for 30 years in my 1920's Marlin LG.

[atr]

I have been casting using a 65 gr GC which shoot very well in my Savage 25-20 with 1:16 twist
I tried a 85 gr non GC but could never get it to stabilize or be as accurate as the 65 gr.

I too wish the 85gr J's were still in production as they shot very well

[badwolf]

Those 86 gr remington shot great in my Winchester 92, maybe the same weight cast would be best. Never used gas checks befor though

[pworley1]

One more vote for the 257420.

[Barman54]

I do not cast, I use Missouri Hard Cast 85 Grain.
Used all types of Rifle, and pistol Powders they shoot pretty Good.
Barman54
Out

[Drm50]

I have a old Ideal 85g hp. I use it for my Win 53, original Mar 94 and a Savage 23. This is plain base bullet. I has been got shooter for me. I hade a HP pin for it that is adjustable and can be backed off to pour a solid FN.

[Baja_Traveler]

I've got several thousand NOE 260-85-FN-D3 cast up. Love the quality of an NOE mould...

[badwolf]

Is that lyman 257420 65 grs?

[georgerkahn]

I have an old (1918 manufacture) Winchester 1892 in .25-20, and frankly have it more as a wall-hanger (oxymoron: it lives in safe) than anything else, it having belonged to my great-uncle. Endeavoring to shoot it, I came across a dedicated Winchester .25-20 wood-handled single cavity mould at -- sorry, I do not recall price -- what seemed a most reasonable ante. It casts quite nicely, I use the Magma blue lub, and I've been quite happy with it. Note, again, I probably have yet to put 100 rounds through it, having had the rifle since the mid-1960s. MY greatest challenge has been having brass for it. A quick look on eBay did not find any of these in .25-20 listed now -- but, I added a photo of one just like mine, but in another caliber, so what I use may be clearer. Good luck!
geo236186

[sharps4590]

Put me in the 257420 column as well. However, my rifle is a bit different. It's a Jeffrey Champion Rook rifle, originally in 255 Jeffrey, that when I bought it had a sewer pipe for a bore and had already had the chamber cut to 25-20 WCF. I had it relined and chambered back to the 25-20 because the 255 Jeffrey was cost prohibitive for me...wish it hadn't been. Anyway, the 257420 has been a...Champion...in that Rook rifle.

[Bent Ramrod]

I have a bunch of .25-20s, Single Shot and Repeater, all, AFAIK, with the 14” twist.

For the purpose with which the .25-20 was originally developed, a walking-around 125-yard small-game/pest cartridge, something in the 65-75 gr weight range is best. The twist handles it better than the ~87 gr+ variants, the trajectory is flatter and the terminal effect is just as good on the targets it is appropriate for.

The easiest mould to get hold of is the Ideal 257420. If you are going the custom mould route, something closer to 77 gr, for me, at least, seems to do a little better in accuracy. But I shoot a lot of 257420s.

[Gunslinger1911]

Buddy of mine has a Win and a Marlin 25-20. Also running into a lack of bullets (and cases).
I just got an NOE 260-63-WFN-BX1 mold for him - he dosn't cast (I know, I should disown him !)
Beautiful mold ! Still getting it broken in and figuring out how it likes to cast. Really big alum blocks for a lil bitty 2 banger - hard to keep it hot enough. May have to go the hot plate route.
.44 boolet for scale

236188236189

[quack1]

My 23 Savage shoots the 257283 86gr flat point the best. I tried 257420 and 257454 also, but they werent as accurate as the 257283 in my gun.

[badwolf]

That's a sweet looking NOE bullet gunslinger. How's it feed in the Winchester 92?

[jhammer]

Another vote for the Lyman 257420. My Marlin 1894cl loves them and imr-4198 in reformed 32-20 starline brass.


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[badwolf]

Can you reform 32-20 brass in a 25-20 sizer die?

[Gunslinger1911]

Thanks badwolf, NOE makes a great mold ! Just got the mold, figured out it's quirks - that chunk of alum and bitty boolets don't seem to mix well - granted I'm used to molds throwing 200+g 45 boolets.
I get a few made we'll see how they feed - others have had positive results.

236237

After a lot of fussing and experimenting, good boolets !! Alloy ended up needing about 4% tin, even running it hot, have to cycle mold quickly to keep the heat up. No cycling 2-3 moulds with this one !

As to reforming 32-20 to 25-20; yes BUT, my research indicates size 32-20, run through 270 ish sizer, then 25-20 sizer. Plenty sizing lube, anneal cases first.
Buffalo Arms has 32-20 resized to 25-20 for $42 / 100.
Gun Broker had a listing for correct 25-20 cases $65 / 100 - ouch !

[jhammer]

I use a Redding 25-20 form and trim die, and then run the case into a 25-20 full length sizing die to finish it. It takes patience and a fair amount of force. Full length sizing in a 32-20 die first seems to improve the process, but expect to lose 2-3 out of 100.
After I fire them the first time I set my 25-20 to only resize the neck, not set the shoulder back at all.
Case life has been very good. I’m at 10+ reloads and they show no signs of giving up.


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[badwolf]

That's not too bad

[Baja_Traveler]

I use 32-20 Starline brass to form both 25-20 and 218 Bee, the 25-20 is just an intermediate step along the way. Super easy to form with zero losses, but I get one or two wrinkles out of 100 going down to 218 Bee. 32-20 on the left, and two steps to perfect 25-20...
236241

[DeputyDuke]

I shoot the RCBS 25-85-CM as cast, tumbled in BLL over IMR-4227. Excellent! I consider 35 Remington, (forum name), to be one of the most knowledgeable loaders of the 25-20.
Duke

[ole_270]

Another for the 257283, only mine is the Noe version in plain based form. My Marlin '94 has been lined with a faster than standard 10" twist but handles the 257420 very well. That's all I used for years, loading it over 13 gr 4198. Later I got one of the group buy 80 gr and it shot even better. Finally a couple years ago I ordered a Noe 260283 in plain base instead of gas checked. They drop about 89 gr with my alloy, I pc them and load over a reduced 9.2 gr 4198 for 1290 fps, take it easy on a 110 year old rifle. Very accurate load in this rifle.

[badwolf]

Got a lot of molds to look at

[Beerd]

This one shoots well in my '94 Marlin.
cast with a group buy mould from the last century:
236328
Could probably get Accurate Molds to make something similar

[ohiochuck]

If you are reloading for or are interested in reloading for the 25-20 Winchester by all means check out this site:
Marlinowners.com
Thread: 25-20 reloaders

Much, much information about reloading cast bullets for this cartridge. Over 100 pages a really good info.
Jim