The .25-20 Winchester, or WCF (Winchester center fire), was developed around 1895 for the
Winchester Model 1892 lever action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigg ...
rifle. It was based on necking down the
.32-20 Winchester. In the early 20th century, it was a popular small game and
varmint
Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterp ...
round, developing around 1,460 ft/s with 86-grain bullets.
But two years earlier Marlin Firearms Co. had already necked down the .32-20 Winchester, and called it the .25-20 Marlin. It was first chambered in Model 1889 lever action Marlins long before Winchester did the same thing and put their name on the .25-20.
While the
SAAMI
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Ameri ...
pressure rating is a full 28,000 CUP, modern ammunition is often loaded lighter in deference to the weaker steels used on many of the original guns. The early black powder cartridges were loaded to about 20,000 psi, but the SAAMI rating is close to that of the high velocity smokeless rounds produced later. The high velocity loadings developed 1,732 ft/s.
It was easy and economical to reload and was once a favorite with farmers, ranchers, pot hunters, and trappers. Though the .25-20 has been used on deer and even claimed the
James Jordan Buck, a whitetail deer of long standing record in 1914,
James Jordan Buck
at the Burnett County, WI web site, accessed 09-2009 it is now rarely used on large-bodied game due to its sedate ballistics and light bullet construction, which make humane one-shot kills unlikely. Though the higher velocity loads would be destructive for small game use, the handloader can run heavier cast lead bullets such as the 85 gr. LRNFP at more sedate velocities around 1,000-1,200 FPS to anchor game with much more authority than the .22 Long Rifle, yet not destroy meat. The .25-20 is still a very viable small game, fur bearing and trapping cartridge.
The .25-20 Winchester is sometimes confused with the similarly named .25-20 Single Shot; the two cartridges are markedly different and do not interchange with one another.
See also
* List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 HM2,2 .17 HMR, 2.5 .17 wsm, 3 .22LR, 4 .22 WMR, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm/35 SMc, 7 .22 Hornet, 8 .223 Remington, 9 .2 ...
* Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
* 6 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets of a caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardle ...
References
* Cartridge dimensions from ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-1992 p. 45
*
External links
The Reload Bench
{{DEFAULTSORT:25-20 Winchester
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Winchester Repeating Arms Company cartridges