Anyone still use the .25-20 win round to hunt with? I like it in the Marlins, deadly with tree rats. It is big enough to take white tail deer and has a lot of them.
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Anyone still use the .25-20 win round to hunt with? I like it in the Marlins, deadly with tree rats. It is big enough to take white tail deer and has a lot of them.
I'D prefer something bigger for white tails, but I'm sure the round can dispatch them with surgically precise shot placement. I sorta wonder how it might work on coyote and bobcat, also.
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Carpe SCOTCH!
Well, the round killed the world record holding whitetail for many decades.
It's kind of funny - if you aren't using a 500 super ultra mag it obviously can't kill a deer.
Wonder how many would be equally shocked that the world record elk was dispatched with a 30 Army?
It's a fantastic cartridge, it has enormous potential for amazing things in the hands of someone who pays attention to their job and is an actual hunter (as opposed to the typical shooter).
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I’m considering it (and my 32-20). Thinking the 60 gr Hornady will hit hard enough
In 1982 when dad had his open heart surgery he used his buddies 1892 25-20 to take a very nice whitetail buck. His surgeon stated it was too soon to use his 30-06 so he borrowed the 25-20. Some years later I borrowed the same rifle simply because I wanted to take a deer with the 25-20. I took a basket rack 4x4 whitetail and a coyote. Later the same rifle killed a trophy class mule deer. Again as a loaner for a person that injured his shoulder right before deer season.
My father-in-law born in 1926 grew up in very remote Alaska. He was 17 before he had seen at town. He was not a gun guy but he claimed the 25-20 was the best moose cartridge ever. His dad had two rifles. One was a 303 Brit and the other a 25-20. They would wait until the moose was eating out of the garden for a bit than they would put a couple of 25-20 into the lungs from the cabin. The moose would continue eating and they would watch until it started get wobbly than they would chase it out of the garden as to not have the gut pile in the garden. If they used the 303 he claimed the moose would run a long ways and they have to pack it back. To him the 25-20 was a much better moose cartridge than the 303. He didn't remember and possibly never knew but it sounds like the ammo for the 303 was ball.
The 25-20 was very popular back in the day. I have read when it was introduced it was marketed as an all "round woods cartridge for small game up to deer sized".
Last edited by M-Tecs; 01-28-2022 at 03:20 AM.
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As an aside - a number of Inuit hunters swore by the 25 WCF for their daily rifle. One elder I had the pleasure of knowing swore by it for seals and walrus and blow hole shots in whales. I sent my sister with 250 loaded rounds to an island village where she taught. She was heralded as a provider - she said those cartridges fed many. That spoke volumes to me about cartridge power perception.
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Last edited by todd9.3x57; 01-28-2022 at 02:51 AM.
I have a 1913 vintage Winchester 1892 in 25 20 that is a hoot to shoot. Pioneers used the 25 20 and 32 20 as an all purpose tool around the farm. They were ( imagine that these days) economical to shoot and with skill and patience would kill anything needed. I still have my wife’s grandfather’s old Savage 32 20 that he used at his Dutchess County farm just like a shovel, hoe or saw. He killed rabbits, woodchucks and deer around the farm.
I've enjoyed the 32-20 for a very long time , I'm so thankful Browning made a run of them .
Jack
Buy it cheap and stack it deep , you may need it !
Black Rifles Matter
My Model 92 Winchester, 24" barrel is a joy to use and shoot. Quite accurate also.
My uncle used his Model 25 Remington 25/20 for many decades for his deer hunting, never lost one. Albeit woods range shooting. I love the round, very efficient. I wish Speer would bring back their 75 gr flat nose, but the rest of my 86 gr Remingtons and 60 gr Hornadys will have to do. I haven't shot cast yet, but would really like to. Tons of data for them over on the Marlin Owners Forum.
Mine is a Remington Model 25 that refuses to load from the magazine . It shoots great as a single shot . Unfortunately parts availability for them and smiths willing to work on them number 0. I got 100 rounds of factory ammo but have not been able to catch anyone with brass in stock with the occasional exception of GB and I ain't paying them prices . I'll eventually find some and get the action sorted , I hope. I have everything to load with but want to find a good mold so I don't have to depend on bought bullets .
Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!
When I was ten my father bought a Remington model 4 for my older brother, he was 12. My father just happened to stop in at a second hand store and owner was going through a trunk he just bought. In the bottom was the little #4 rolled up in a blanket and it look like new. Price was $8. My brother soon realized it was not big enough for hunting deer so he put the word out on his paper rout that he wanted something big enough to hunt with. One of the old timers sold him an 1892 in 25-20 for $35. He still has it but I did clean it up and put a liner in it a few years back. I ended up with the #4.
I have two, the first I bought at auction thinking I would use it as a basis for a project. It had the configuration I like: octagonal barrel and button nose mag. It needed a complete refurb and has remained at the back of the safe. I kept looking for another in the same configuration and found one two years ago for a reasonable price. This one is totally original with a good barrel.
It’s a great little cast bullet cartridge, almost like a reloadable 22 magnum. Cases can be hard to find. I bought some Redding forming dies and several hundred Starline 32/20 cases but before the dies arrived a fresh batch of Winchester 25/20 brass landed and I picked up several packs of those. Bullet wise I have several moulds and there are a few commercial cast bullet offerings here as this cartridge and the 32/20 were quite popular in Australia. In fact more 92’s were sold in Oz than in any other country, including the USA. However judging by the gun auctions here, a lot of the best ones are finding their way back to the USA. We still see plenty for sale but the really good originals are not common any more.
Last edited by JFE; 01-29-2022 at 04:26 PM.
If you have old cases you even think might have been hot loaded, anneal them.
Or even decades old ones in general. I begin to see mine more and more all the time are starting to split necks, and the bottle necks.
Back when Marlin first brought out their 94CL in 32-20 & 25-20, I bought one of each. When Marlin said they had the Ballard Deep Grove rifling I was hooked since I am an avid bullet caster . I immediately bought bullet molds for both , which I still have today. My 25-20 uses a Lyman mold stated to drop 65gr bullets with a GC. I cast from straight scrap wheel weights so my bullets come out at 73grs. Driven to about 1500 fps they are deadly accurate out of my Marlin 25-20 Marlin 94 CL. They always shot great with standard sizing & lube , but today I PC. Back around the late 1990's to the early 2000's I bought several hundred real 25-20 & 32-20 brass. Both Win & Rem. I now have at the very least a life time supply.Attachment 295407
Last edited by Dom; 01-29-2022 at 01:05 PM.
Dom, which powder(s) do you favor?
I've been wanting a Marlin 25-20 to go with my 32-20 and 218 Bee for years. I already have 100 rounds formed and loaded up ready for the occasion when I find one. Back when 32-20 was easy to get from Starline, I ordered up a bunch just for conversion and made up a bunch of 25-20 and 218 Bee. Super easy with the right forming dies and no losses. Here is a progression to 218 Bee, with 25-20 in the middle...
I use Unique & a CCI SR primer. Have used this powder from the start & has always worked perfectly.Originally Posted by tejano
I have not been without a 25-20 since 1960. Today, I have two, a Win. 92 and a Rem. 25, both with peep sights. I shoot GC cast bullets in them at about 1650 fps. I would not shoot a deer with them, but they do fine on coyotes and javelina and anything smaller.
Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.
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| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
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