25/20 or 357

[3leggedturtle]

OK its hypothetical. Say you are going to slim down to a smaller collection. Which of these in a 20" lever action would you choose. Not a whole lot of difference in amount of powder they use. If casting, 25cal bullets use about 1/2 the lead .357's do.

[Mescalero]

If you part with the .357, and find you made a mistake; it will be easier to replace than the .25-.20.

[Snaketail]

I have to agree. A 25-20 in good shape is hard to come by.

[3leggedturtle]

Mescy n Snaketail; There's a line of thought I never took into consideration. What about from a hunting, varminting and plinking perspective?

[Mescalero]

.25-.20 is just sexier.

[Grizz]

depends on what you want to do with it.

I've killed deer with both and consider the 25-20 less than adequate, the 357 less than ideal from a revolver. they get more useful from carbines tho.

But it's probably possible to plink cheaper with the 25 than the 35.

I still remember looking at a puddle the shape of a bear's foot that you could take a sitz bath in, holding my Winchester 1892 25-20 and wondering what in the world I was thinking....,

[Ray Newman]

I would opt for the .357 Magnum:

--- Far more versatile and you can “load it down” with .38 Specials. I would not be apprehensive about taking a wild pig or a whitetail with a properly loaded .357 and if the game was in range. Another plus would be if you have a.357 pistol to accompany the rifle afield.

--Ammunition will be more easily found for a .357 if you happen to leave the house without it and you are headed to the cabin or hunting camp.

--Reloading components for the .357/38 Special are easier to come by than .25-20. I do not know when I last saw .25-20 Winchester ammunition on local dealers’ shelves.

--Not only is a .25-20 in decent shape hard to find but when and if you do find one, it will not be economical to buy.

[2ndovc]

.25-.20 is just sexier.

I'll second that!

jb

[Ysabel Kid]

.25-.20 is just sexier.

I'll second that!

jb

Novelty-wise, I agree. Just a cool round and fewer and fewer people shoot it. For practicality though, the .357 Magnum has a lot more choices in loadings (factory), and is a lot more readily available.

[AJMD429]

How about getting a 256 Win Mag (357 Mag necked to 25 caliber). Marlin made them in their Model 62, and supposedly Universal made some M1 Carbines chambered in the round. It seems like the round would feed in anything able to feed a 357 Magnum, levergun-wise, so you could re-barrel a Marlin or Rossi (or Winchester ).

Then if/when you got yourself a second levergun in 357 Magnum, they could be parts-compatible.

Not quite as punchy as a 25-35, but in league with the smaller-bore 221 Fireball, the cartridge shot 60 grain bullets around 2700 fps, and 88 grain bullets around 2100 fps, so would probably shoot flatter than the 25-20. (According to AmmoGuide.com, there are 'Spectre' and 'Paxton' wildcats in 22 cal and 30 cal out there, as well.)

You can find factory brass, or if needed, just form them from 357 Mag cases.

Of course one could make the same argument for having the 25-20; i.e. that you could get a compatible levergun in 32-20, and/or 218 Bee...

[ollogger]

IF thinning the herd & you had a 22 LR , 25-20 , & a 30-30 or some thing bigger
your bases are covered, I like my 25-20, the 357 would go first


ollogger

[Mescalero]

I remember (years ago) reading about Paco shooting a bear, down around Tucson; with a rebarreled Rossi in 256 Win.
It was some time before I found the forum.

[Rusty]

I'd have to keep the .357. The 25/20 is just rare, at least around here. As a mater of fact I don't think I've ever seen one, much lessamm for it. With the .357/.38 you can go as lite as you want. BUFFALO BORE 180 gr .357 s are claimed to have more energy than a .30-30.
In fact I'm thinking about another .357 now.

[BenT]

Keep the one you that puts the biggest smile on your face when you shoot it. Although guns chambered in 357 are still being made 25-20 aren't. You can always get another 357 if you want later.

[gundownunder]

25-20 is more nostalgic, 357 is more powerful.
With cast bullets in both, I would suspect the 25-20 would be more accurate, based on the accuracy of my 357.
If you have a rifle caliber gun in the safe I'd opt for the 25-20 for smaller (up to dog size) game and use the rifle cal for the bigger stuff.

[Tycer]

Have you cast many 25 cal bullets?

[earlmck]

Not a realistic question, Tycer. Nobody who has both would willingly part with either.

[3leggedturtle]

How about getting a 256 Win Mag (357 Mag necked to 25 caliber). Marlin made them in their Model 62, and supposedly Universal made some M1 Carbines chambered in the round. It seems like the round would feed in anything able to feed a 357 Magnum, levergun-wise, so you could re-barrel a Marlin or Rossi (or Winchester ).

Then if/when you got yourself a second levergun in 357 Magnum, they could be parts-compatible.

Not quite as punchy as a 25-35, but in league with the smaller-bore 221 Fireball, the cartridge shot 60 grain bullets around 2700 fps, and 88 grain bullets around 2100 fps, so would probably shoot flatter than the 25-20. (According to AmmoGuide.com, there are 'Spectre' and 'Paxton' wildcats in 22 cal and 30 cal out there, as well.)

You can find factory brass, or if needed, just form them from 357 Mag cases.

Of course one could make the same argument for having the 25-20; i.e. that you could get a compatible levergun in 32-20, and/or 218 Bee...

I have a 256WM in a 24" Contender carbine. I make my cases out of 221FB necked up and shortened to 1.305. My chamber is long but the leade is short. I have necked down 357, but like the look of the Rimless version better.

[3leggedturtle]

Have you cast many 25 cal bullets?

None, I have however cast about 2 thousand Lyman 55gr boolits, 225415H I think the mold is marked. Found no different than any other just took about 2-3 minutes longer to get mold up to temperature.

[3leggedturtle]

.25-.20 is just sexier.

I'll second that!

jb

Novelty-wise, I agree. Just a cool round and fewer and fewer people shoot it. For practicality though, the .357 Magnum has a lot more choices in loadings (factory), and is a lot more readily available.

I have never bought any 38 or 357 factory loads. I started shooting them in '76, I have enough components to make about 3M 25/20 rounds. Probably 2-3 times that for 357's.

[3leggedturtle]

IF thinning the herd & you had a 22 LR , 25-20 , & a 30-30 or some thing bigger
your bases are covered, I like my 25-20, the 357 would go first


ollogger

Was thinking my 22LR, 22Mag, 25/20, 30/30, 375WIN and 45/70 would cover all my lever needs. giving me enough variety to get thru my senior years. M99 in 250 will have to stay too.