32-20 Husqvarna Model 25

tokguy

tokguy

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Ok by Canadian law it's not an antique.
But I'm guessing that the members here will have more to contribute than Reloading or Hunting & Sporting rifles; a hunch but call me crazy or move me if I'm wrong, mod's.

Interweb says it's based on an 1871 Mauser action so it should fit here...?
It's still en-route, so I'm trying to do a little research ahead of time.
C & H has dies on the way and Rustywood has already made the brass and bullets arrive at the post office ( they were there Friday morning but our Post mistress is pretty lethargic...attempted delivery notice at 4:15? Really...f:P:).
Anyone with experience or knowledge...chime in, I'm listening.
What kind of performance can I eke out of Starline 32-20 brass combined with this beauty?
My father has some higher - performance load data with 4227 powder, but 1800 fps seems pretty brisk, although the manufacturing run is 1908-1925 so it should have decent strength.
But I'm thinking of more of a gopher / target loading. No sense abusing the old girl.
Thanks for any help
tokguy
 
antiqueguy said:
neat little rifles nothing else to add other then id like one in .25-20
Click to expand...

We got one in really nice shape awhile ago in 25-20 caliber from Tradex for my wife.She loves it and has a real blast with it.I primarily handload for it but she also put a couple boxes of Winchester factory loads through it,lots of fun to shoot.I wouldn't mind picking another one up for myself to be honest.Neat rifles of high quality.Tokguy,I'm guessing you are going to have a ball with that rifle.Very economical to load for and gobs of fun.
 
TradeEx has a few in stock, but all seem to have warts. Better ones are missing their extractors. Don't know what would be involved in making an extractor.
 
You will love it, I have one in 30-30. I sort ofcollect and have a few Husqvarna's, what you have tokguy is a Studsare Nr. 25 made 1908-1925
my 30-30 is a Nr. 35 and as Tiriag says they made one in 45-70
 
I too have one in 32-20 - cast only as well (but it's been a while). Mine has been "improved" with the addition of a peep sight, so no collector value there.
 
An update on this rifle.
I can see where some of the legend behind the 32-20 comes from.
The effect on gophers is quite spectacular. 4.5 grains of Unique behind a 60 gr Speer personal defense bullet (they were giving them away...no personal defense allowed in Canada) and it looks like the gopher stepped on a landmine!
No recoil and very little noise out of that long bbl. The combination of decent speed and a large meplat (and a massive HP cavity) makes the effect upon hitting a gopher seem well beyond what you might imagine. No pic's; that's macabre, but wow. Sometimes the gopher would end up scattered over about a 10' diameter.
I've shot gophers with fast movers before (243 and such) and big bores (.54 cal BP) too. But they pale in compassion to this round on small game.
Varmint grenade bigtime.
Must get it crono'd soon. Very happy with it.
Though the extractor drags the shell out, the rifle requires being inverted to actually have the empty clear the gun. Which isn't a huge problem as I'm collecting from reloading anyhow; but...the extractor sucks big time.
 
tokguy said:
An update on this rifle.
I can see where some of the legend behind the 32-20 comes from.
The effect on gophers is quite spectacular. 4.5 grains of Unique behind a 60 gr Speer personal defense bullet (they were giving them away...no personal defense allowed in Canada) and it looks like the gopher stepped on a landmine!
No recoil and very little noise out of that long bbl. The combination of decent speed and a large meplat (and a massive HP cavity) makes the effect upon hitting a gopher seem well beyond what you might imagine. No pic's; that's macabre, but wow. Sometimes the gopher would end up scattered over about a 10' diameter.
I've shot gophers with fast movers before (243 and such) and big bores (.54 cal BP) too. But they pale in compassion to this round on small game.
Varmint grenade bigtime.
Must get it crono'd soon. Very happy with it.
Though the extractor drags the shell out, the rifle requires being inverted to actually have the empty clear the gun. Which isn't a huge problem as I'm collecting from reloading anyhow; but...the extractor sucks big time.
Click to expand...
My wife's 25-20 is pretty much the same way with the extractor too.She really enjoys this rifle,kinda wish I had snagged another one in a different caliber when I had the chance.Very good quality and very economical to shoot,with reloads of course.
 
They are really neat. I had one in .30-30 that I couldn't seem to get to shoot well. I should've kept it and played with loads longer. The extractor is just sitting in a recess in the bolt, so be ultra careful if you ever take the bolt out!
 
I load my 32-20 Win leverguns to about 1600 fps..both shoot very well at that speed.

Just a note on reloading these thin walled little buggers, case crinkling is very easy to do with them...slow and easy in the press & good lubing (just"good adequate", not excessive or denting will be evident) is the name of the game when reloading them.
 
The extractor originally has a bevel to it...on mine at least. But not a shining example of Teutonic engineering by any means
 
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