1873 go BOOM?

[TRAP55]

No idea what that is/was, pics of fire brass and head stamps please.

[bigbossman]

Look at the two on the right. Those are CLEARLY not 32-20 cartridges..... I don't care what the head-stamp says. The one on the far right has resizing dimples on the shoulder.....and the ones on the left don't look so good either. The far left looks to have no shoulder at all, and 32-20 is a BOTTLE NECK cartridge. I'd be very, VERY hesitant to shoot more of that ammo in any gun I owned, until I was sure what was what. OP, do you have a micrometer? Can you measure the bullet diameters? Unless the photo angles are tricking me, something is way off.

[bigbossman]

Also - look at the bullet/crimps on these two..... crimps are different, and bullets are seated at different depths.

[jwb28]

At least some of that ammo is not 32-20.
One does look like 25-20. The dents in the shoulder on one are from to much lube. And to me the pic with two rounds looks like one may have an undersized bullet crimped hard to keep it in the case.
I would not shoot any of it till someone who knows what they are doing sorts out what is useable for componets and trash the rest. Ammo is cheap compared to wrecked guns and or hospital bills.
Find some factory 32-20 and enjoy your rifle.

[bigbossman]

Picture of a factory 32-20:



Picture of a 32-20 (left) and a 25-20 (right). Notice that both are bottle-necked, and share the same parent case. the 25-20 is a .25 caliber necked down version of the .32 caliber 32-20. You can reform 25-20 to 32-20, and you will often (almost always ) get the dimples/wrinkling on the shoulder that is evident in your pictures. Also - 25-20 will chamber in a 32-20 rifle, but that practice is not generally encouraged :

[jwb28]

Maybe it's just a mix of 32-20, and 25-20. I don't own or am not familar with either.
Shooting 25-20 in a 32-20 probably won't hurt the gun, but yea, not encouraged. Lots of people have shot 9mm out of a 40 by mistake. Funky brass result but no harm. 44mag in a newer 45 colt, the same. Not sure I'd want to do that with an older one though.
Problem is you can chamber and fire a round that a gun was not made for with disastrous results.
OP. just trying to keep things safe for you and your gun. I have been handloading for 40+ years. It's as safe as the person doing it. Sounds like the ammo you got at a gun show is sketchy. Maybe just a few 25-20's mixed in and no real harm would be done.
But maybe it could be a less than desirable outcome.
Shoot factory, or get someone to show you how to reload safely. It's a neat hobby.

[otteray]

Never use ammo handloads made by anyone but a reputable company. Especially not from some yahoo basement reloader at a gun show.

[Spyder]

I bet its 32-20 that someone sized to 25-20. It can be done. But with a lot of case loss.

[prophei]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

Picture of a factory 32-20:



Picture of a 32-20 (left) and a 25-20 (right). Notice that both are bottle-necked, and share the same parent case. the 25-20 is a .25 caliber necked down version of the .32 caliber 32-20. You can reform 25-20 to 32-20, and you will often (almost always ) get the dimples/wrinkling on the shoulder that is evident in your pictures. Also - 25-20 will chamber in a 32-20 rifle, but that practice is not generally encouraged :

What you have in the images above is exactly what I have. As you, and others, have clearly described, is that some of mine must be 25-20. All of the ammo I bought, outside of exactly 40 cartridges in two bags, is bottlenecked very lightly... which is what I am seeing in your pics above as correct 32-20. All of that fired well.

The heavily bottlenecked, as shown in the 25-20 pics above is what was in those two bags that I think the reloader had mislabeled and sold me with all the other 32-20. I am just not familiar with 25-20, so I didn't know what I was looking at. Thank you everyone!

I would have initially bought proper stuff, but there was none. I couldn't find a single retail box outside of a few old and very expensive on an auction site. Since the ammo was so rare, I grabbed some of the bags we have been discussing at the gun show... and bought a bunch of more proper looking reloads off of an auction site. My thinking has been that I would use the brass from everything I bought to eventually reload my own. When I initially searched, I wasn't even finding the retail brass, everything was sold out.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me with this mystery. I'm pretty confident we have it figured out now, and I am contacting the guy I bought it from to see if I can swap out that 25-20 for the 32-20 I expected.

Oh... btw... for those who asked... all of the brass said 32-20 on it. That was the first thing I checked when the first incorrect shot happened. The guy definitely just tapered that down for the smaller bullet size.

[Spyder]

25-20 is very hard to find and costly, but not so much if it looks like those garage made ones you've got. May be worth it to someone for components or something? I've got enough 25-20 to last my life after some fortunate finds.

Hopefully you can get it swapped out. Both rounds are great fun to shoot, but the 32 is much easier to find.

[prophei]

Originally Posted by Spyder

25-20 is very hard to find and costly, but not so much if it looks like those garage made ones you've got. May be worth it to someone for components or something? I've got enough 25-20 to last my life after some fortunate finds.

Hopefully you can get it swapped out. Both rounds are great fun to shoot, but the 32 is much easier to find.

Ultimately, I will need to learn to reload to do much with this rifle. Just need to make some time to learn a new skill. Hopefully I can trade out that 25-20, as I really have no use for it.

What shoots that caliber?

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by prophei

Ultimately, I will need to learn to reload to do much with this rifle. Just need to make some time to learn a new skill. Hopefully I can trade out that 25-20, as I really have no use for it.

What shoots that caliber?

So - a few things.......

1) 25-20 is a common caliber in vintage lever guns. Winchester 1892's, Marlins of the era, and a few other rifles here and there.

2) Yes, you should reload for the 32-20 f you're going to shoot any quantity. It used to be easy to find factory ammo and brass (but no longer, it seems), and you can still find bullets. Pistol primers are now showing up in quantity and work well in this caliber. There are several suitable powders to choose from as well. 25-20 is likewise a fantastic caliber to shoot, but finding brass is strictly a secondary market affair - no one has made any for a while.

3) Now...... please don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to admonish or embarrass you - but, even with you not being familiar wit these calibers, the physical differences between the two should have given you serious pause about shooting them, and going forward you should be extremely circumspect about putting reloads of unknown pedigree in ANY firearm you own.

A lesson was learned here for all of us, to continue to be diligent about what we chamber in our firearms. In this circumstance there was no harm or danger, but that will not always be the case. Be Careful. You have a genuine piece of American Old West history in your possession - take care of it.

[prophei]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

So - a few things.......

3) Now...... please don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to admonish or embarrass you - but, even with you not being familiar wit these calibers, the physical differences between the two should have given you serious pause about shooting them, and going forward you should be extremely circumspect about putting reloads of unknown pedigree in ANY firearm you own.

A lesson was learned here for all of us, to continue to be diligent about what we chamber in our firearms. In this circumstance there was no harm or danger, but that will not always be the case. Be Careful. You have a genuine piece of American Old West history in your possession - take care of it.

I am a bit embarrassed. This is not something I have ever generally been careless with. In this case, if I look at all the reloads, the obvious difference was the extent of the bottleneck. With it in a pile of bags labeled 32-20, and at a quick glance it looking almost identical... it got past me. Even the brass said the right caliber... so when I point to my lack of familiarity, it is that perfect storm that made me not realize quickly enough that what I had was fundamentally different.

Not an excuse, but how it happened.

All that said, it is my responsibility to be sure. My responsibility for anything that goes into it. I do take it seriously, and this has definitely been an eye-opener for exactly how something can slip by. BIG lesson learned!

I really appreciate everything being said in this thread, and the incredible learning experience it has been for me!

[TRAP55]

prophei, what's the serial number on that '73? Let's see when it was made!

[prophei]

Originally Posted by TRAP55

prophei, what's the serial number on that '73? Let's see when it was made!

Sorry for taking so long with this!
serial#392825B

[TRAP55]

Made mid/late in 1891, with 38,901 made that year.

[prophei]

Originally Posted by TRAP55

Made mid/late in 1891, with 38,901 made that year.

Really fascinating. Thank you!

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by prophei

What shoots that caliber?

I think I'm up to 4 old lever guns in 25-20 as well as an old pre-1900 Marlin in .255 Dean (which is sort of a 25-20 Ackley Improved, sorta). While I have 7 or 800 rounds for it, I wish I had more, but it's such a low pressure round the brass will likely last me forever.


https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...hese%20locally.