Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Case Forming: .25-20 Single Shot Cartridge

Who's got a procedure/starting point for forming .25-20 Single Shot brass? Or is there a source to buy this brass?

(Not .25-20 Win: this is the longer cartridge, as chambered in Winchester High Walls, etc.)

News Flash: I found 'em at Buffalo arms. Not cheap. Still interested in a forming procedure, but don't know where to start. Also wonder if .25-20 dies can be "limped along" to load for this caliber (neck size only, or whatever).

Thanks.

As far as I know, this case cannot be formed from any other existing case. Legend has it that it was originally formed from .32 Wesson brass, but that case has been defunct longer than the .25-20SS. It can be made from 2R Lovell cases (a wildcat based on the .25-20SS) but those were only made from the parent case and also a very few runs of proprietary cases back in the 1930s and 1940s.

Bertram of Australia used to offer .25-20SS cases; quality was a crapshoot but they were all there was available. They may still offer them: try www.buffaloarms.com or have a look at the Single Shot Rifle Assn. (google ASSRA) magazine; somebody may be making custom cases. Good luck; it's an excellent cartridge if you can feed it.

Looked up this ctg. in Handbook of Cartridge Conversions. No help there. Only alternatives are lathe-turned cases from brass rod stock or new mfr.

I picked up a Stevens Model 44 in 25-20. Haven't had a chance to get brass yet but Buffalo Arms is the best price I have found. I have been told but have not tried it yet, that 25-20 WCF seating die is all you need. Neck tension and a light crimp. Stuffed with a little BP and it should be a blast. Just size the neck. No need to resize the whole case. Mine came with a beech front sight and a nice Lyman tang sight. Gonna have to off my rump and get some brass now.

Shortgrub

Graf & Sons has two brands of 25-20SS brass cheaper than Buffalo:

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/675?

It can be made from 223 with lots of work, but not worth it now that Jamison brass is available.

http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1281035134

Bruce

I obtained some brass from Dave Casey at rockymountaincartridge.com. It works very well in my Winchester Lo-wall. I found some 73 gr. cast bullets with gas checks on gunbroker.com. They shot so accurately that I ordered 900 from the maker. They hit with authority on ptarmigan and ground squirrels. I'm using 2400 powder.