The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers 25-20 non-leadGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| 25-20 non-lead | Login/Join |
| One of Us |
Here's a good one, what are the non-lead choices. My rifle is a marlin 1894 1980s version. I know Barnes makes an 87g varmint bullet that could be single loaded. Anyone ever try it? | ||
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| one of us |
I would recommend the Hornady 60 gr. flat point. I do not have a .25-20 but I use it as a varmint bullet in my .256 Win. Contender 10". It is accurate and works good on prairie dogs and rockchucks. | |||
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| one of us |
I think I may have misinterpreted your question. I was thinking you were looking for something other than a cast bullet. | |||
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one of us |
I haven't tried the Barnes bullet you mentioned, but a friend and I have been shooting a Model 43 Winchester and a Model 23-B Savage, not lever guns I know, but we have been shooting the Sierra 70 grain HP with 2400 and getting nice groups at 100yds. Many under an inch. Single loading of course. I finally gave up on the Hornady 60 Grainers. Just couldn't get them to group. Sold them all. Jerry NRA Benefactor Life Member | |||
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| One of Us |
Sorry, I wasn't clear on it. I'm talking about lead-free bullets (California). | |||
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| one of us |
The requirement or lead-free bullets is a big challenge, not just for the .25-20, but for many "classic" cartridges from the black powder or transition period. Most of these cartridges were intended for cast or blunt jacketed bullets which are much shorter than an all-copper (monometal) bullet of similar weight. Besides, monometal bullets are known to sometimes "pencil through" (fail to expand) even at MV's in the 3,000 fps range. The much slower velocities typical of classic cartridges would put them at greater risk of non-expansion. No-lead regulations may put a lot of fine old rifles on the shelf. | |||
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| One of Us |
I wonder if you could cast a few bullets using lead free solder? Might be worth a try. I have a Lyman 257420 mold that drops 65 gr lead bullets that take a gas check. Shoot very accurately in my relined Winchester 92. | |||
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| One of Us |
Les, that's not a bad idea, I wonder how hard that stuff is. Of course the problem is that you may have to convince a game officer who isn't going to be a metallurgist. A commercial choice would be best, somebody could probably design a dense enough alloy that would allow shorter bullets. But 25-20 bullets aren't exactly a hot seller even with traditional materials, its looking like I'll need to get my enjoyment out of this rifle in another state. But the lead-free trend is spreading..... | |||
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| One of Us |
I guarantee that the Fishy Game Cops have every techie gadget that your license money can buy them including LEAD detectors. Cast up a few and take them in to their office. Bet they'll tell you if there's lead in them. | |||
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| one of us |
Lead-free solder can be any of several alloys. The most common is 96.5% tin, 3.5% silver. It melts at 215 degrees C, and is harder than 60/40 tin-lead that we grew up with. There are a number of tin/silver/copper/antimony alloys in use, most of which melt at higher temperatures than tin/lead. Bismuth alloys might be worth a look. I don't know what composition Winchester uses for their tin-based rimfire bullets, but they didn't group so well from a 513T when I tried them two years ago. I think rimfire hunting is going to be a mess in 2019 when California prohibits lead bullets for hunting. X-ray backscatter instruments used to cost about $30k, not entirely out of range for a warden driving a $50k pickup. TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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| one of us |
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| One of Us |
Gerard, looks like a good solution for a required lead free bullet. I'm keeping this page handy. Thank you. | |||
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| One of Us |
with a minimum impact velocity of 1400 fps the 25-20 will become quite the short range affair. | |||
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| One of Us |
I think I'll just take a jacketed lead bullet, heat it until the lead melts and runs out leaving the copper jacket... which I'll then fill with mercury and seal with a bit of epxoy. It'll be lead free, which should keep the fish cops and tree huggers happy, and expansion at any velocity above sling-shot levels should be fantastic!  Tell 'em this is an unintended consiquince of poor rule making.I reeeeallly like my .25-20 and .32-20s, I shoot them more than any other caliber I own. I guess I'll have to try casting with lead free solder and see how it works out. They tell us that the reason behind the lead ban is to protect the condors. Where I grew up in Northern California, they're introducing surplus condors into the local Indian reservation (where I don't belive they ever existed (because the area was dense forest) to reinforce their claim. Anybody know any good condor recepies? Porosonik. Vetting voters= racist. Vetting gun buyers= not racist. Got it? | |||
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| one of us |
It is good for an easy 2550fps in a 24" barrel and 1400 comes up at about 150 yards. So it will be good to about 200 yards. Given that the average shot with a lever gun is about 80 yards, that is what we reckon on. Hodgdon Lil gun, starting at 12.3gr and not exceeding 2625fps in a 24" barrel will do that. With a bolt rifle things are different and one could use a more streamlined bullet to reach out a bit further than 150 yards. | |||
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| One of Us |
Thanks Gerard, just what I was looking for. | |||
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| one of us |
You could use something like 158-Low, melts on the kitchen stove in boiling water. I think there are a couple of those alloys that don't include lead. TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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| One of Us |
Interesting.... How heavy is it compared to lead? Porosonik. Vetting voters= racist. Vetting gun buyers= not racist. Got it? | |||
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| one of us |
I don't remember the specific gravity of lead, but most of the alloys like 158-Low are in the neighborhood of 9 (water is 1.0). Some of them include cadmium, not environmentally friendly (but might not be prohibited by legislators focused on lead). TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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| one of us |
Speer makes a 25 caliber 70 gr. flat point specifically for the 25-20..I have tried them in my 25-35 Win.s, but they don't shoot well in the 25-35, suspect its the twist as the 25-35 is rifled (twist rate) for the 117 gr. bullets.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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| One of Us |
Pretty much irrelevant, the OP asked about non lead bullets. | |||
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| One of Us |
Years, more like decades ago, companies offered zinc bullets cast in the same moulds as lead design. These were light weight for length and might satisfy the lead free requirement. If you are going to cast, that might be an alternative. I worked with some in a 7x57 rolling block in my mid teens. The Harvey designed pistol bullets for 357 & 44 used a zinc washer on the base of a lead cast bullet so no harm to the bore. Thaine "Begging hands and bleeding hearts will always cry out for more..." Ayn Rand "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance" Jeanne C. Stein | |||
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