The .25-20 is a nifty little cartridge, and has been used on deer a lot. My father killed his first deer, a forkhorn muley buck, with a .25-20 Winchester 92 in 1938, with a neck shot as the buck ran toward him at close range--pushed by one of my dad's high school buddies. The long time B&C record whitetail, the Jordan buck, was also taken with a .25-20--though it didn't die nearly quickly or easily as my father's little mule deer.
I have owned three .25-20's, two Savage 23s and an 1892 Winchester. Probably the best load for "big" game is an 86-grain flatnose softpoint--if you can find any. They can be safely pushed to around 2000 fps.
What model did you inherit?
