I need to add that 11 to 11.5gr load I mentioned in my previous post is with a 60gr Hornady bullet which works well in both the Rem 25 and the Savage Sporter. I use 4198 with the 86gr bullets, but I forget how much, but it�s the Hornady handbook load (as is the load mentioned above). I have a bunch of 75s, but haven�t tried them yet.
I agree the Rem mo 25 is the Holy grail of the 25-20s. I keep a nice one tucked away in a safe. My wife teasingly calls it "precious." For a shooter I got one for $400 that someone had overloaded, bulged the barrel at the chamber. Found a cut down (20") barrel for $25 (pure luck) that amazingly headspaced and indexed correctly without any more work. Put a tang sight on it and wala, a 25 that I can enjoy shooting without feeling guilty. Here�s a little trick if you have old eyes like mine. Make a .25� peep for the front sight. Works like a charm. I wont go into the details here, but feel free to EM or PM me if you are interested.
As to case life, I haven�t been able to wear out any 32-20 or 25-20 brass. And I shoot a lot. My original box of 32-20 brass is still going after being reloaded at least 20 times. I did anneal the necks once. Those have been shot with mild loads, 1400fps or less. But even the 25-20s and 32-20s shot with heavier loads are holding up well. Just keep the loads below 25ksi, especially in the Rem mo 25. You will know when you have gone too far because extraction will become a little sticky. The Savages will take higher pressures, but I haven�t tried to see how much. If I need more power, I have plenty of bigger guns. Shooting the 25-20 and 32-20 isn�t about power anyway.
