Q: I own an old Winchester Model 1892 in .25-20 calibre. I haven’t been able to find any information about the performance of this cartridge.
What sort of game would you hunt with this rifle? Can you recommend a good reload for my rifle?
Scotty Campbell
A: Factory loaded today with an 86gn bullet, the .25-20 WCF cartridge exits the muzzle at 1460fps and develops 405ft-lb of muzzle energy.
It’s an oldtimer dating back to 1895 and won quite a reputation with farmers as a roo rifle. It performed well out to about 150 metres with a factory load that featured a 60gn bullet at 2250fps.
The cartridge got a shot in the arm after Marlin chambered its Model 1894CL lever-gun for it back in 1989 but it didn’t last.
Hornady makes a 60gn flat-nose bullet and a compressed charge of AR2207 drives it at 2100fps. It achieves maximum expansion at a range between 50 and 75 metres.
On the other hand, Speer makes an excellent flat-nose 75gn bullet for the .25-20. I’ve used it on goats out to 150 metres with excellent results, but precise bullet placement is essential for clean, quick kills. I achieved a muzzle velocity of at about 1800fps ahead of 8.6gn of W-296, which is no longer available here, but as an alternative, ADI lists a maximum load of 12.8gn of AR2207 for 1877fps; start working up from 10.5gn in your rifle.
Top Winchester Model 53, middle Winchester Model 55, lower Winchester Model 65. All were chambered in the .25-20 WCF
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