The .25 Stevens was an American rimfire rifle

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. To differentiate from the related .25 Stevens Short it is sometimes also referred to as .25 Stevens Long. Developed by J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company and

Peters Cartridge Company The Peters Cartridge Company was a company located along the Little Miami River in Kings Mills, Ohio, which specialized in gunpowder and ammunition production. Founded in 1887 by Gershom Moore Peters, the company supplied military ammunition to va ...

, it was developed between 1898 and 1900; catalogs suggest it was introduced in 1898, but most sources agree on 1900. It was offered in the Crack Shot No. 15 rifle, which debuted in 1900. It was also available in the

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rifle, which was first released in 1894 and discontinued in 1935. It originally used a black powder charge under a slug; this was later replaced by

Smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...

. Some handguns were also chambered for .25 Stevens, most notably the Stevens-Lord single-shot pistols. The round was available with either solid lead or

hollow point upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...

bullets and developed a good reputation for small game (such as rabbit) and

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s. In comparison to the

.22 Long Rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...

some sources note that its ballistics suffered from an excessively high

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for a rifle cartridge (a drop of at ), while others praise its inherent accuracy, and larger versatility due to being much more powerful, especially when used in revolvers. Serving as the parent for the less-successful .25 Stevens Short and experimental

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.267 Rimfire, it was dropped in 1942. Notable handgun authority

Elmer Keith Elmer Merrifield Keith (March 8, 1899 – February 12, 1984) was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum, as well as the later .44 ...

lamented its demise and advocated its revival for use in revolvers.

References

Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimfire cartridges Stevens Arms {{ammo-stub