I have a Savage Sporter in 25-20 that was my first centerfile rifle. When I was a kid, I killed everything with that rifle. Deer (neck shots at less than 75 yds), javelina, coyotes, hogs, rabbits, turkey, crows, you name it. But, I shot it nearly every day and I was very familiar with the trajectory.

For deer hunting, I would strongly suggest another caliber. There are just so many better choices. My next centerfire was my .270.I never used the 25-20 for deer after I got the .270.

I still take it on a coyote hunt or two every year for sentimental reasons. It knocks them down with ease. It is also a fantastic turkey rifle.Javelina don't stand a chance against it.

This was my dad's rifle when he was a kid. The bore is rough looking but it's still very accurate. It has a LOT of rounds down the pipe and has put a lot of meat in the pot. For fun shooting, it's very cheap to reload. The brass is cheap and it doesn't use much powder. You can get 60gr, 75gr, and 86gr pills for it. The 60s get up to about 2300 fps out of my rifle and the 86s are much slower. I shoot mostly the 60s now. The only factory offerings that I've seen are 86gr.