Has anyone used a 25-20 on deer, or have any reports about the cartridges effectiveness?

It seems to me that the 25-20 is right at or below the edge of what is a reasonable 75yrd +/- deer cartridge. Does anyone have any real hunting experience with this round?

They are puny. I would never use one for deer.

He's right, much to weak. Better stick to a 375 H&H minimum.

Some years back I killed a smallish blacktail buck with a 25-20. Range was less than 50yds, shot him the neck, went right down. I wasn't really "deer hunting" at the time, but I did have a tag and the situation presented itself. But no, I wouldn't recommend the 25-20 for deer.

Would not recommend it. But...............

I'm sure many deer have been felled by the 25-20 and it would probably work again. I wouldn't shoot past 50 yards and would take only broadside rib shots.

25-20 is not suitable for anything bigger then a jack rabbit.

Check out the attached link for 25/20 ballistics. Slightly more muzzle energy than a 22WMR. Not a deer cartridge by my lights

http://www.shootingtimes.com/b...5_20_winchester.html

Only if you can get close enough to club him with it.

Wasn't the Jordan buck killed with a 25/20?

Back in the dark ages, when I wss a kid, a couple neighbors had Marlins in 25/20. I wanted one when I first hunted, cause I had to use 12 guage punkin balls or ringed shells. Those little rifles didn't kick and didn't hurt your ears when you shot them.
Jim, a neighbor kid, shot a buck with his one Saturday morning. Buck fell down, then got up and ran away. We looked for blood, but found none. No idea where or if he hit it. He might have lied about it falling down. His Grandad had taken several deer with that old Marlin over the years. I suspect they were shot over a corn shock or perhaps shot with a flashlight taped to the barrel.
I would class it as a 'would do the job in an expert's hands' kind of gun, but certainly less than a good tool for the job.
Bfly

I should have added that a number of my neighbors preferred a 22lr for deer hunting, as they didn't make much noise when fired in a truck cab. So for them a 25/20 was a step up in power.
Just for the record, it has always been illegal to hunt over bait, hunt from a vehicle or use a rimfire for deer hunting here in PA. It was also illegal to make your own shine, too. Nobody bothered these folks about such things until the late sixties.
Bfly

It sure isn’t much of a cartridge by today’s standards.

I have always wanted one of these things, 25-20 in just about any configuration, and can't really see why, other than I want it. 86grn bullet @ 1700-1800fps.

Looks like it would make a great turkey rifle, but I'm not sure how much bigger game you can go after with it.

I'm a bow hunter on smallish properties, and have been considering going this route for 40yrd and closer type tree stand hunting...bow hunting with a rifle basically. I'm still undecided if this is a legitimate idea or a crazy stunt.

quote:

Originally posted by dave-t:
I have always wanted one of these things, 25-20 in just about any configuration, and can't really see why, other than I want it. 86grn bullet @ 1700-1800fps.

Looks like it would make a great turkey rifle, but I'm not sure how much bigger game you can go after with it.

I'm a bow hunter on smallish properties, and have been considering going this route for 40yrd and closer type tree stand hunting...bow hunting with a rifle basically. I'm still undecided if this is a legitimate idea or a crazy stunt.

Dave if you want one just because you want one, that’s good enough reason to own one. It might make a good little turkey rifle but as far as a tree stand rifle for deer I’m like you, “undecided if this is a legitimate idea or a crazy stunt”.

My Speer manual #14 said, “advertising even suggested using the 25-20 for deer. However, it probably wounded as much game as it killed. It is not enough cartridge for deer sized game by any measure beyond emergency survival”. I think that’s a fair appraisal of the round.

Here in Colorado it would be illegal to use it as a deer rifle because it doesn’t produce enough energy. Running some numbers through QL on this round, it can’t produce the required energy at muzzle let alone at 100 yards.

It would be legal in my home state. A .22 Hornet is also legal for deer hunting though. Legal doesn't mean effective or intelligent.

Like I said, I hunt some small properties outside of town, with homes, cattle, and other various objects that I don't want to endanger with a bullet comming out of the far side of a deer. Its not 300mag territory, and I'm considering my options as to what is a safe minimum without going stupidly small/ineffectual.

I can understand your reasoning but like you said, “safe minimum without going stupidly small/ineffectual”.

If it helps QL shows a 22 hornet with a 50 grain bullet producing more energy than a 25-20 with a 75 grain bullet.

Thanks Mick.

Back in the'60s when I was a kid, Grampa's 25-20 Win was one of my favorite deer rifles.
I kept the shots taken to between 50 and 75 yds.,no farther and never had a problem.
Then it was all we had, now I'd never recommend it.
Years later when driving truck I happened to stop at a logging camp a few times around meal time and the resident cook kept the boys in Moose meat with a 25-20.
Claimed he never lost an animal and killed them by getting as close as he could and shooting them in the ear, another thing that should never be tried...period.

Back in the 1930's Granddad hunted with a group of guys that mostly had 25-20's and 25-35's. He was the only one with a new modern .270 Win. Needless to say, he typically filled more tags then just his own. He absolutly HATTED the 25-20's because they usually resulted in the deer being shot to hamburger.

Did it once with a cast bullet, 73grain gas check, at 2015fps. Shot was broadside, in the crease behind the shoulder, in bow range. Midsized buck kicked out to the side like he'd been bee stung and wondered up the ridge. I waited a bit and found him 50 yards away, dead. Bullet exited.

quote:

Originally posted by dave-t:
I have always wanted one of these things, 25-20 in just about any configuration, and can't really see why, other than I want it. 86grn bullet @ 1700-1800fps.

Looks like it would make a great turkey rifle, but I'm not sure how much bigger game you can go after with it.

I'm a bow hunter on smallish properties, and have been considering going this route for 40yrd and closer type tree stand hunting...bow hunting with a rifle basically. I'm still undecided if this is a legitimate idea or a crazy stunt.

Take a good look at the 218 Bee. I know a couple guys who have used it for years in situations very similar to what you've got going. It works quite well for them.

quote:

Originally posted by DPhillips:
Wasn't the Jordan buck killed with a 25/20?

Yes, it was.

Far from a clean kill...he very nearly lost it in the Yellow River.

Not sure what sort of hit he had on it though...so it could have been at least partly the fault of the placement.

Tim

I think a 22 Hornet would be a better choice. You have to make a head or neck shot, but at 50 yards that not hard, and ammo for the Hornet is much easier to find than the 25-20. All the same, I have two boxes of Win 25-20 ammo that I hope to one day have a rifle to shoot them out of. I think it would make a neat little rifle.

The 25/20 makes a wonderful small game round out of a revolver. Much better killer with less meat damage than a faster 22 cal bullet, like the hornet.

DM

I can't recall ever seeing, hearing, or reading about a revolver chambered in 25-20. What gun might you be refering to?

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
I can't recall ever seeing, hearing, or reading about a revolver chambered in 25-20. What gun might you be refering to?

S&W "K" frame with 5" bbl.,





And "no" it wasn't a factory S&W model, but it sure is a great small game gun.

DM

Nice gun, who did the work?

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Nice gun, who did the work?

Master pistol smith, Vern Ewer did the work on it.

I designed a .257" SWC bullet that i swage just for this revolver. It's a pretty good small game combo.

DM

Toomanytools just finished up a martini cadet in 25/20 for me, half octogon to round, old style 3 leaf winchester sight. it loves 60 grn hornady's and AA1680 powder, 2200 fps. I think it's a perfect woods loafing gun, would kill a coyote or stop a charging toadstool in it's tracks. Deer ..... I could do it, but have plenty of deer rifles I'd use instead.

How about a custom left hand single shot centerfire T-Bolt, chambered in 25/20WCF?





As you can see, it isn't finished yet, but i have fired it.

DM

quote:

Originally posted by theback40:
Toomanytools just finished up a martini cadet in 25/20 for me, half octogon to round, old style 3 leaf winchester sight. it loves 60 grn hornady's and AA1680 powder, 2200 fps. I think it's a perfect woods loafing gun, would kill a coyote or stop a charging toadstool in it's tracks. Deer ..... I could do it, but have plenty of deer rifles I'd use instead.

I'd really like to see some pictures of that. John does very nice work.

I dont have a camera a the time, but if I get a chance to borrow one I'll try and get a photo to you. Maybe John took some pictures of the metal work before he sent it to me, you could ask him.

some old timer stories about 25 20--head shot knocking deer out but not penetrating skull, not shooting tru wooden milk crate sticking in the wood, and shooting a black bear and having to kill it with an axe

Wasn't the Jordan buck killed as the guy was about to cross a fence and he saw the deer coming and he crouched down and shot the deer as it jumped the fence right over the guy? Practically had the barrel against his chest.
If you got within 25 yards and hit the deer in the neck and broke the spine it might kill him.
I might use a Marlin 1894 in 357 mag. Any of the 158 gr hp bullets at around 1700-1800 fps should work better than the 25-20

My 25-20 put a lot of venison in the freezer before I learned it was grossly underpowered and incapable of killing anything larger than a jackrabbit .

Killed a lot of turkeys with that little Savage 23B too. Now, it's been relegated to the range and goes on an occasional coyote hunt. Since I have many more appropriate rifles now, it would be far down the list to go on a deer hunt. But if it was all you had (as when I was 13) I would say learn the gun, pick your shots, and you wouldn't starve.

When I was a boy dad hunted with an old WWI vetern who went blind and dad moved him in. He lived with us 2-3 years until his death in 1973. The old man told me many stories of hunting deer to feed him and his family around Lampasass, TX after "The War" and said he never had a deer get away from him. He had a Remington pump 25-20. I never asked, but knowing him he probably shot them in the head. I know my dad shot several deer with a 410 using slugs, but I wouldn't unless my survival depending on it. I agree, the 357 carbine is a better choice, but it CAN be done with a 25-20.

Eterry

I had a conversation with an older gentleman at the campfire, in South Africa, years ago. He was a resident there, who stopped by to visit.
He stated that his favorite, "impala gun", was the 25-20. But at the time was short on ammo.

Years ago I was helping my dad butcher a couple of young bulls. These bulls were a little on the wild side so I thought we should kill them at exactly the same time, because if we shoot one the other would probably break out of the coral. I did not want to use the usual 22 longrifle. 22 rimfire works ok on cows and steers but does not always put bulls down (thats another story). My next rifles up in power were a 25/20 and a 243 winchester. The two bulls with their heads in two buckes of feed were about 6" away from the muzzles. With the buckets just on the other side of the logs of the coral, I counted to 3 and we both shot. The one I shot with the 243 dropped instantly but to my surprise the one my dad shot with the 25/20 just walk away shaking his head. A quick shot through the side of the head with the 243 put him down. With the 25/20, we were using factory soft point Dominion ammo made by CIL.

When I bought the little winchester the guys wife said her husband had used the rifle for hunting black tail deer on Vancouver Island.

Personally I think it is a little light as you may find it may not work exactly as expected every time.

Hart