25-20 brass

by Otony, Saturday, January 10, 2026, 11:05 (11 days ago) @ Paul

I have a fair amount of 25-20 that is headstamped Starline. They make occasional runs of it, but only to contracted purchasers, never for general sale.

The last batch I purchased was through Huntingtons, just a short time before they closed up shop permanently. Unfortunately the demand was so great at that time they restricted the amount you could purchase, else I would have stockpiled more.

I warned Bryan about the lack of both brass and ammo when he announced the purchase of his 25-20, which I believe took him off guard. He may have assumed, as I had, that it was simply a matter of trotting down to the local gun store/bait shop and buying whatever you wished, but “shortages” and Covid pretty much ended that for many niche cartridges.

As you mentioned, 32-20 brass is often larger at the base, so converting it can result in out of tolerance specs. But like everything else, not all 32-20 is the same. Some appears to be similar in base diameter to 25-20\218 Bee.

Remington has recently resumed production of 25-20, but the scalpers seem to have cornered the market, and prices are hovering around an astonishing 100+ bucks per box, over 2 dollars a round! I remember as a kid in the mid 1960’s a relative who owned a Winchester Model 70 that had been rechambered to 300 Weatherby. He bragged then that every time he fired it, he was throwing a silver dollar at his target. That has stuck with me over 60 years, and now I find myself doing the same (and more!) firing the most mundane of rounds.

Holy smokes, I am officially an old codger!

Otony