.25 caliber molds

[3leggedturtle]

How does the Lyman 65gr FP hold up accuracy wise out to 200 yards. Not match shooting; but general plinking, paper punching and busting up dirt clods and rocks. Down to that mold or an NOE 80gr FP. BTW Will be shot out of 25/20, 256 and 250....

[6pt-sika]

How does the Lyman 65gr FP hold up accuracy wise out to 200 yards. Not match shooting; but general plinking, paper punching and busting up dirt clods and rocks. Down to that mold or an NOE 80gr FP. BTW Will be shot out of 25/20, 256 and 250....

Never tried it that far so can't say for sure . But if I had to make a guess I'd say no . Lyman made a 257312 mold which is an 88 grain gascheck mold and that one shot a bit better for me in the 25-20 and the 25-36 marlin . I also had an NEI mold for a 114 grain FP GC mold that did well . Same can be said for the Lyman 257325 that one's a 112 grain RN GC .

[Alphawolf45]

My interest in this question is caused by my own failure to find ANY mold in .25 at this time..I would take almost anything right now.These Obamy days are wreaking havoc on this hobby.

[3leggedturtle]

Alphawolf45 Midway has the 65grFP in stock for $68.99 Noebulletmolds.com has 80 and 100gr FP's in stock from $77 to $107

[ollogger]

I bought 300 85gr.Ranch Dog bullets from Carolina cast bullets to test in my 25-20
cuz I couldnt scrounge a mold, I was shocked how good they shot, great little bullet
think they were bout 35.00 shipped

ollogger

[6pt-sika]

I bought 300 85gr.Ranch Dog bullets from Carolina cast bullets to test in my 25-20
cuz I couldnt scrounge a mold, I was shocked how good they shot, great little bullet
think they were bout 35.00 shipped

ollogger

When i still had 25-20's I had a 257312 as well as the RD 258-85GC and those two pretty much shot the same for me !

I tried them mainly for pistol cartridge lever silhouette . Matter of fact two of the 25-20's I had at the time were used for the chamber casts for RD's bullet .

[3leggedturtle]

I bought 300 85gr.Ranch Dog bullets from Carolina cast bullets to test in my 25-20
cuz I couldnt scrounge a mold, I was shocked how good they shot, great little bullet
think they were bout 35.00 shipped

ollogger

Just checked there site. They are $49.50 for 500, $5.15 shipping. Looked t Ranch Dog's site. Its a nice looking boolit.

[ollogger]

the only reason I didnt order more is my 25-20 has a far from pristine bore,but got a good suprize

I may try them in 25-35 also


ollogger

[Sixgun]

My interest in this question is caused by my own failure to find ANY mold in .25 at this time..I would take almost anything right now.These Obamy days are wreaking havoc on this hobby.

I had the same issue last month. Solved it by sending $ to NEI Handtools and 2 weeks later, my 4 cavity 348 mould came. A week after that (today) I shot the Model 71 in a match, and yes.....I shot a 32 and got match winner.

As for the 25-20 at 200 yards, I've just plinked with 'em at that range and they did OK but shooting the 25-20 at 200 yards is like shooting the .22 RF at long distance..........hard to see the hits, unlike a bigger bullet that throws up dirt and all.

Go get some Speer 70 grainers to test it out and you will see what I mean before you invest in a Lyman. My strong suggestion is to stay away from the RCBS 86 grainer. I had zero luck with it as have most others I have talked to. The Ranch Dog did the best out of all of them but I hear they no longer catalog it. With that bullet (Ranch Dog) I have shot some impressive scores at the silhouette matches.-------------------Sixgun

[6pt-sika]

The Ranch Dog did the best out of all of them but I hear they no longer catalog it. With that bullet (Ranch Dog) I have shot some impressive scores at the silhouette matches.-------------------Sixgun

Ranch Dog has shut down his entire buisness as far as mold sales are concerned .

[3leggedturtle]

So to rephrase my original topic question ; Would I be better off to buy a 80-90gr FP mold for my 25/20 than a 60-70gr mold? Have a couple custom mold makers in mind and at $90 to $120 for the mold it will be a one time only purchase. thanks

BTW I have been reading the 80 page sticky over on the Marlin forumn about the 25/20 by the author who goes by .35 Remington What a wealth of information. thanks to whoever recommended that

[Sixgun]

So to rephrase my original topic question ; Would I be better off to buy a 80-90gr FP mold for my 25/20 than a 60-70gr mold? Have a couple custom mold makers in mind and at $90 to $120 for the mold it will be a one time only purchase. thanks

BTW I have been reading the 80 page sticky over on the Marlin forumn about the 25/20 by the author who goes by .35 Remington What a wealth of information. thanks to whoever recommended that

I tell ya what to do------buy both and test. Its not cost prohibitive. The 25-20 is one of the hardest calibers to get to shoot accurately. That's not me talking from what I read....its from personal experience with Winchester Model 1892, model 53, Remington pump guns, Marlin pump and lever guns.

The Remington pump guns LOVE the 69 gr Lyman------The easiest to work with to get to shoot accurately.

The Marlins LIKE 69 gr Lyman and the 86 Rem JACKETED

The Winchesters are a hit or miss, mostly favoring the 69 Lyman

The Win. HATES the 60 gr Hornady

Some guns like some bullets at 1200 but despise them at 1600---The Marlins LOVE the 86 Rem. at 1700 but cases only last a couple of loadings and besides, I HATE spending money on jacketed bullets

I load for over 60 calibers and nothing has frustrated me like the 25-20. Different manufacturers cut their rifling different and use different throats. Loading the 25-20 ACCURATELY to 100 yards or more requires endless experimentation with bullet alloys, seating depths, gas checks, velocity.....etc...etc........

I could go on and on but here's the bottom line----------you gotta experiment--Remember, almost all of the guns will shoot all of the bullets.......decently...out to 50 yards.....at 100 is when the problems come in.-----------------------Sixgun

[3leggedturtle]

Thanks Sixgun, have you ever shot cast out of a M99 in 250 Savage or know anyone that has?

[457121]

Thanks Sixgun, have you ever shot cast out of a M99 in 250 Savage or know anyone that has?

I do. I use a LBT LFN 100gr. gas check. I shoot them pretty fast with excellent accuracy out of my 1946 EG.

[Shasta]

[quote="3leggedturtle"]So to rephrase my original topic question ; Would I be better off to buy a 80-90gr FP mold for my 25/20 than a 60-70gr mold? Have a couple custom mold makers in mind and at $90 to $120 for the mold it will be a one time only purchase. thanks

3leggedturtle,

When I was having bullet problems with my original '73 Winchester in .44-40, I received much help from forum member w30wcf (John Kort). He went so far as to send me samples of several different cast lead bullets to try, along with a recommendation for Accurate Molds, who will make just about anything you want or need. I was able to actually test shoot the bullets he sent and wound up ordering a beautiful 3 cavity mold from Accurate specifically tailored to my gun.

I would like to pass on that kindness to you. For .25 caliber, I have Lyman 257420 (a 70 grain gas checked bullet), RCBS 25-85-CM (an 85 grain plain base bullet) and some commercially made Meister brand 85 grain plain base bullets. I would be happy to send you some of each, so that you could at least confirm or eliminate their suitability for your rifle. If you are interested, PM me your address and I will send them to you pronto.

SHASTA

[3leggedturtle]

Thanks Sixgun, have you ever shot cast out of a M99 in 250 Savage or know anyone that has?

I do. I use a LBT LFN 100gr. gas check. I shoot them pretty fast with excellent accuracy out of my 1946 EG.

More details please. I have a 1952 EG with 24" barrel.

Shasta I'll send you a PM thanks

[Sixgun]

Thanks Sixgun, have you ever shot cast out of a M99 in 250 Savage or know anyone that has?

Funny thing. The 250 Sav. is one of few cartridges I have never played with but...............I can tell you that the 99 in 38-55, 300, and the 30-30 will shoot cast better than any Winchester I have ever owned.--------6

[3leggedturtle]

30WCF; You are as much a 25/20 expert as anyone else. Some of the pics and history about the components and factory loads and the boxes they came in brought back lots of memories what I have seen at he gunshows in the early to mid 70's. Also would like to hear a little more about the 22K Hornet H335 cast loads. thanks Todd

[3leggedturtle]

Thanks Sixgun, have you ever shot cast out of a M99 in 250 Savage or know anyone that has?

Funny thing. The 250 Sav. is one of few cartridges I have never played with but...............I can tell you that the 99 in 38-55, 300, and the 30-30 will shoot cast better than any Winchester I have ever owned.--------6

Is that cuz they isn't micro-grooved 250 Savage is the only cartridge I've ever wanted more than the 30/30, 45/70 and 222 combined. Finally bought mine in Nov 2010. So far its everything I thought it would be. Passed on a 303 Savage for $400 that literally had only 2 boxes of shells ran thru it because they had the 250. I couldn't afford both at that time.

[457121]

3leggedturtle,
i shoot the LBT LFN 100gr. gas check sized @ .261" and lubed with LBT blue soft. i oven heat treat the bullets and expand the case neck with a homemade (i have a lathe) RCBS style expander plug @ .260" in a RCBS die body. I barely squeeze them with a Lee factory crimp die to remove the bell. i have excellent accuracy with 27.0 gr. IMR 4895, 25.0 gr. IMR 3031, and 22.0 gr. RL-7. All loads use Precision Reloading's Spherical Buffer (shotshell buffer) over the powder charge to hold powder in place.