Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors What do people do with a .25-20 M92?

Okay it is fun to shoot, but what do people shoot with them? It seems too little for deer hunting and we can't use rifles for turkey. With an octagon barrel it is kind of heavy. Is it just a unique wall hanger or useful for anything? Back when the M92 was made all the ammunition had corrosive priming so lots of the bores are pitted, this one included.

If the rifle shoots well, the cartridge works well for game up to the size of coyotes.

This. + 1.

I worked with an old guy 40 years ago, who as a kid in Pennsylvania in the 20's and 30's used a .25-20 for deer. Kept his family fed, and when he joined the CCC he smuggled the gun along and then kept his camp mates fed with venison too. Not something I would recommend, but there you have it.

I'd trade a 25-20 for a 22 win mag any day.


I mean every day...

There have a been a lot of deer butchered on my family's kitchen counter that would be surprised to find out they were not dead enough. My family, from my great grandfather on, have shot countless deer and black bear with the .25-20 along with quite a number of feral cattle. Personally, I've killed a couple of raccoons and 4 black bear with the .25-20, all with the old 60 grain HV HP factory load. Dad's rifle is a Winchester '92. My great grandfather shot a bolt action Savage. I stocked up on WW and Rem brass, 60 grain Hornady and 75 grain Speer bullets in hopes of liberating that rifle from my cuz who inherited. That seems unlikely now but dad still has a rifle to feed. If I ever find a good Low Wall or even Ruger #3 donor I might have one rechambered to .25-20. Easiest would be to start with a .218 Bee.

After you see a deer die from .22 long rifle poisoning, .25-20 doesn't seem so puny after all. Skill ... yes. Finesse ... yes. Care ... yes. But it's not like we shouldn't be trying for all of those anyway.

Tom

I use my 92 SRC primarily for varmints like rock chucks, ground squirrels, and jack rabbits. I do think it would be a good cartridge choice for dispatching a mountain lion out of a tree because it's not going to blow a big hole out the other side. I don't know if I'd ever use it to hunt any other big game animal just because the margin for error is so small, but hats off to those that do.

Hang them in the gun racks in their early Broncos?

I don't recommend the .218 for deer, except for head shots. Shoot them between the eye and ear and you get a bang flop! Don't rebore a .218. Use it as is. In the Ruger, one can use better bullets than the flat nose.

Jack

Winchester 92's that have had corrosive ammo as a steady diet in their earlier years can surprise you, even if the bore resembles a sewer pipe.

My own 1896 vintage 1892 .44WCR looks like it has been through hell, inside and out. It will still shoot tight groups at 50 yards and hit steel gongs quite a bit further ....

Back when I was loading I cooked up some 60 grain hollow points for it that probably had it like a weak .256 WM. Those 87 grain factory loads are sure on the mild side. I really like that smooth action with the double vertical set of lock up lugs on those M92's. I loaned it to a guy who wanted to shoot deer quietly just out of the city limits and with a few neighbors around, he didn't want to use a big banger. He offered me a grand for it, but since it was granddad's it should probably stay in the man cave here. Just for nostalgia sake, I should probably get a picture of the Jordan Buck that fell to a M92 .25-20 back in 1914 and hang it on the wall with the rifle. If I remember that story of Jim Jordan's world record whitetail hunt correctly, while it got the job done, it was far from a one shot kill.

I got an exit on the small deer I shot with my 25-20. the 86 grain Rem and 75 grn Speer are hard bullets and don't expand much at listed velocities. I used a 70 grain Sierra for the deer as it will expand. I used the 75 grn Speer bullet for small game. The 70 hits 1/2-3/4" higher than the 75 for me at 40 yards. I wish I had a m92, but I have a Rem m25 carbine instead. The 25-20 is basically a .22mag with twice the bullet weight, if that is interesting/useful.

If the first game animal you find, big or small, is going to be dinner the 25-20 is not a bad cartridge to use. It would be a terrific small rifle for calling turkeys.

Oh man great round....I use 85 gr cast bullets in mine.....great for close range work around the farm....fun plinking..cheap to load....if I'm not mistaken one of the famous world record bucks was kiled with a 25-20..... It wouldn't be my choice but if I had to I have no doubt it wouLd do the job....the 92 in 25-20 was probably the perfict trapping rifle...good for dispatching fur ....esp coyotes...and the old trappers killed there meat while on the trap line...the 25-20 could bring down a deer, while not being too damaging on fur...