25-20 SS

Talk with other Shiloh Sharps shooters.

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stevenjay1
Posts: 106
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 1:44 pm
Location: Living in the Great North Woods

25-20 SS

Post by stevenjay1 »

I love my 44-77 Sharps and other "BIG" bore rifles I have but as I settle into my early 70's I find I don't enjoy the recoil as much as I use too. I recently won a Stevens Model 44 (25-20 SS) in an auction. The rifle came with what looks like the original Lyman tang sight and Stevens beech type front sight. Overall the rifle is in very good condition except for the bore which is at best a 5 on a scale of ten with pitting through out but strong rifling present from breech to muzzle. Thanks to the generosity of boards members here and on the ASSRA forum I have acquired 37 25-20 SS cases. So far I have found that 85 grain .259 coated bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. and 4.0 grains of Unique give excellent accuracy at 50 yards from a less then perfect bore. However, I would like to look at other loads and would appreciate knowing what others who shoot the 25-20 SS are using. Thanks, Steve BTW, These are fun little guns and I don't miss the recoil of the big boys, well maybe just a little.
Just another homesick Texan that shouldn’t have left in the first place!
Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club - 8/69 to 8/71
NRA Life Member
George Babits
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:53 am

Re: 25-20 SS

Post by George Babits »

The 25-20SS is a neat little cartridge and fun to shoot. I was lucky enough to pick up a decent LoWall 25-20 at a gunshow 4 or 5 years ago for only $400. Bore doesn't look that great, but it shoots pretty good. I was able to get 100 new Jamison (I think) cases for it. I have been using 6.9g of 4227 and an 73 grain (Ideal #2 alloy) bullet cast from an ancient Ideal mold. Somedays it shoots really good,; other days groups seem to open up. Maybe it is operator error? Another really fun cartridge is the 32-20 for which brass is a good bit easier to find. Having said that, I still enjoy my big bore rifles just as well.

George
gunlaker
Posts: 2764
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:16 pm

Re: 25-20 SS

Post by gunlaker »

Steve, you might also want to check out the ASSRA forums as there are some there who shoot this cartridge. I had a very similar rifle to yours once, although I only ever shot it with black powder. It worked well, but bore fouling is a much bigger issue than in the large caliber rifles we use in the bpcr sports.

Chris.
stevenjay1
Posts: 106
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 1:44 pm
Location: Living in the Great North Woods

Re: 25-20 SS

Post by stevenjay1 »

Thanks Guys, the bore is pitted bad enough that I don't think the rifle would do well with black powder. I'm a member on the ASSRA board but a good friend suggested I post on this board as well as there are some 25-20SS shooters here that have done load development and could share knowledge on this round. Thanks, Steve
Just another homesick Texan that shouldn’t have left in the first place!
Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club - 8/69 to 8/71
NRA Life Member
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: 25-20 SS

Post by mdeland »

I rebuilt a Low wall some years ago for a friend and chambered it in 25-20 bottle neck. Bob Engelbach wound up with the gun and said he really loves both the cartridge and gun. I've kind of migrated to the .357 Max and Mag for my main competition guns for the same reason as I near the 70 years mark. No mid-range BP cartridge matches being held in AK any more so have migrated to the monthly Clang and bang off hand type shooting where it only necessary to have cartridge enough to tip over the rams at 200.
Just recently finished my third Martini Cadet (Francotti version) in .357 mag with a new Douglas barrel . I sure love these little guns.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: 25-20 SS

Post by mdeland »

I forgot to mention that about five years ago a fella I do glass work for gave me an original Stevens 44 barreled action in 32-40 which I have yet to do anything with. Barrel is toast but your post is giving me ideas for it.
These actions are well made but the design is not strong enough for large cases using smokeless powder. They should be adequate to the 25-20'
s though and low pressure loads. I believe they were chambered in cartridges as large a 38-55 and worked well as long as BP was used but would stretch if smokeless was loaded. My 32-40,44 Stevens is and original factory chambering.
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