My search skills on this forum are apparently not working very well.  I tried to find references to some proven 25-20 Single Shot loads.  I have a fairly good supply of old factory loaded ammo which I will shoot to break in the new barrel of my low wall and provide brass for my own loads. 

I know some of you Quarter Bore Corps aficionados are shooting this round.  How about giving a guy a hint so I know where to start?

TIA ~ Froggie

Were it my original factory ammo I would pull the bullets and de-prime them so as to anneal the brass for every chance of avoiding case failures upon initial firing. .25-20SS brass is too dear to take unnecessary risks!

I used 8.0 grains of 4227 with a 100 grain Borton bullet in a highwall. It was not a starting load.

uscra112 wrote on Jun 16^th, 2024 at 3:30pm:


That 86 grain bullet is one my Perfection mould can drop, and I still have 20 lb plus of the old H108 that is virtually identical to #9.  Since it measures and drops about like water it should be very easy to load into those skinny little necks. 
I’m really not looking forward to breaking down 200 round of factory ammo ro re-anneal them, but as $carce and expen$ive as they are, I guess I’ll “process” a small batch as I need them.  If I go with fixed ammo though, I’ll have to prep a bunch more.    Anyway, thanks for all your help. 
Froggie

Thanks, Charlie.  I spend a lot of time over on that forum where they can’t spell, but I guess I had no interest in the venerable 25-20 SS in ‘09… too busy with handguns.  I seem to have the long term concentration of a goldfish!

I’m wondering how they got the sticks and twigs of 4759 through that .257” neck… must have worked slowly with a really good funnel!  I vaguely remember hearing somewhere about using it (4759) in this caliber though.  I’ve still got a small a stash of 4759 for my high wall 32-40s, but if I can use H108/Accurate #9, I’ll be golden.   

Froggie

oneatatime wrote on Jun 17^th, 2024 at 12:37am:


Ding, ding... winna, winna, chicken dinna!  It looks like oneatatime has given me a perfect starting point for my low wall loads!
This is one I can make from the git-go with what I’ve got on hand.  That bullet weight is possible with my Perfection mould and at 6.8 grains/round, my supply of H108 will last my lifetime and can continue with one of my nephews!  As long as my Green Mtn barrel has the old, classic twist rate, this will do well, and if it’s faster, I’ll jack up the bullet weight and stair step up on my powder charge accordingly.  Although it’s a new barrel, all the rest of the steel is over 100 years old in the lightest configuration low wall Winchester ever built, so I’ll “tread lightly”. 
Thanks again to all who responded here and by PM.  All of the info received will be filed and available as needed.
The Original Green Frog

There are the loads shooters are using  on the ASSRA Forum and in the Single Shot Journal. The latest journal came today and has .25-20 SS loads in the Match Listings.

For the brass, 
1) disassemble, 
2) deprime, 
3) clean, 
4) anneal the neck area, 
5) load with starting loads, 
6) examine each case after first firing for neck splits,
7) trim to uniform length,
8) deburr inside and outside.

Realizing this is redundant to many answers, I was given 200 pre-1950's .25-20 WCF brass that was reformed to .218 Bee, this is the only way I was able to save the brass.