25-20 - Anybody use it?

kelbro · 02-13-2006, 02:01 PM

Just brought my old Savage Sporter home from my dad's. Haven't used it for 30 years. Finally found some ammo for it and it still shoots like a dream. 3-4 inch groups at 100 yds. with open sights. Found some 75 gr. hollow points to load and plan to wreak havoc on the coyotes around here.

Anybody using this old round. Any loads?

Doe Dumper · 02-13-2006, 10:16 PM

LOL I thought I had the onlySavage Sporter in 25/20in existence. Yours makes the 2nd one I have seen.I havent ever really grouped mine..but it isnt a tack driver. Its a cool gun though. Have you looked at handloading ballistics compared to factory ammo on that thing? You can really turn one up a long ways handloading. Mine works and cycles like new....I need to defoul the barrel and see what kind of group i can get. Fun gun to shoot.

James B · 02-13-2006, 10:39 PM

One of my brother-inlaws had one. He loaned it to another brothe inlaw and we went hunting. My inlaw that borrowed the gun leaned it against the back of the pick-up while we ate lunch. After lunch he jumped in and backed the truck up forgetting about the gun. He ran over it and bent the HE*^ out of the barrel.

That brother inlaw is dead now. NO, the other brother inlaw didn't kill him although he wanted to. I don't believe they ever spoke after that incident. My Grandpa had one but his was a Winchester.

Doe Dumper · 02-13-2006, 10:54 PM

I know where there is a set of new Hornady dies for sale. I may as well buy them. You ever mess with them or reload em James? What were you guys hunting? I wouldnt imagine that being a stout deer round in factory or handloads. A guy I used to squirrel hunt with left a nickel 870 on top of his car and killed it like that.

Looking at a Hogdon manual I have here it says... 14.2 gr compressed charge of 4198 should give 2101 fps with the 60 gr hornady. Im sure deer have been killed with less.

James B · 02-13-2006, 11:08 PM

We were hunting Antelope. He never got to try it out though after he bent the barrel

. I reloaded for the 25-20 and the 32-20. I had Marlin reruns in both of those calibers. There are not many calibers that I have not dabbled in.

kelbro · 02-14-2006, 05:50 AM

I grew up shooting this gun in S. Texas. It brings back a lot of great memories. Shot many turkey, javelina, coyotes and even neck shot a few deer with it. Either it was more accurate back then or my eyes were LOL. I thought that I had stored it clean but didn't even know about de-leading barrels 28 yrs ago when it was temorarily retired. I got so much lead out of it that I considered calling the EPA to dump it. I did notice some pitting in the bore but it still shoots OK for what I want to use it for. I thought about having it drilled and tapped for a scope but decided against it.

Doedumper, Midway has dies for the 25-20. Lots of sources for cases and bullets. The SR primers aren't available everywhere but you can find them. I have a pound of H4227 that should do well. I'm also planning to get some of the little 60 gr. pills just so I can say that it finally broke 2000 fps. Should have a little flatter trajectory too. I'm betting that with a little load tuning, I can get the groups quite a bit tighter.