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Smaller than the .32-20?


H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

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I am asking this question mostly out of curiosity.   It is also partially inspired by another thread about an old .32 Rimfire Marlin being brought back to life.
 

Simply put, are there any calibers smaller than the .32-20 that have ever been chambered in CAS type rifles?  By smaller I mean things like the following...

 

.32 Smith and Wesson

.32 Smith and Wesson Long

.32 Short or Long Colt

Anything else either back in the day, or today, that would fit the bill.

 

.25-20 would qualify, technically, and I do know that rifles were chambered for it.   I don't consider .32 H and R Magnum to qualify.   I an specifically curious about these "pipsqueak" type rounds.  But I don't know if any of the above, or anything else in that class, was ever chambered in a rifle.  Based on the other thread, .32 Long Colt was one option in a Marlin rifle that could be converted between it and .32 rimfire, but was there anything else?

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Nice looking Marlin.   

 

The .25-20 has always been interesting to me.   It's one of only two "SASS type" calibers that I don't have anything chambered for.  [The other being .38-40]   While I am not really interested in the .38, the .25 is something that I have always been curious about.  I may yet get something in that caliber, someday.   Only time will tell.   

I first "heard" of the cartridge in a story I read in elementary school about some kid who wanted to run away from home, and he found a .25-20 bolt action rifle in the attic wrapped in oil soaked rags.   He took that with him when he went off to hide in the woods and used it to hunt for squirrels to eat.   His friend who had a .22 told he was gonna have to always aim for the head, because the .25 did so much more damage than the rimfire.   If memory serves, the story takes place in the area where I actually live.   To this day, there are a lot of woods in the area, although that is sadly changing, where a kid could have done that.   References to local towns are made in the narrative.   Wish I could remember the name of the story.

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9 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Nice looking Marlin.   

 

The .25-20 has always been interesting to me.   It's one of only two "SASS type" calibers that I don't have anything chambered for.  [The other being .38-40]   While I am not really interested in the .38, the .25 is something that I have always been curious about.  I may yet get something in that caliber, someday.   Only time will tell.  

In a rifle, I'm missing .32 H&R mag (got in pistols), the .41 mag (got it in pistols), and .327 Federal, at least in "mainstream" cartridges. There are others, like the .44 Evans, for example - always wanted to try one of those.

Rifles:

.25-20

.32-20

.38 spl

.357 mag

.38-40

.44-40

.44 spl

.44 mag

.45 Colt

.56-.50

Dedicated chamberings, meaning I don't shoot specials in a magnum chamber to add to my caliber count - the specials are specials, and won't chamber a magnum.  ;)

 

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I have 3 rifles chambered in .25-20, a Marlin 1894 made in 1907, a Marlin 1894CL "CLASSIC"  "DUCKS UNLIMITED" I changed the mag tube from half to full, and a pump Marlin Model 27-S.  The two lever guns have been used in SASS.  My 1907 was a special order with a 26" barrel.  The .25-20 is a good deer and small game round.  It is one of few small rifle rounds not chambered in a commercial pistol.  When fired in a pistol the brass backs out and ties the cylinder up.  Colt and S&W tried to chamber the round in their production guns in early 1900's.

 

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I've often wondered about the .25-20 revolver problem.   Might it have been caused  by black powder?   Or was perhaps the pressure, although obviously according to specs, been too high for the cartridge in a revolver cylinder?   Would smokeless and/or the low pressures we typically load to for CAS solve the problem?

It's an interesting thought ecxersize.

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Seems I once read about a Marlin .32 rimfire having a centerfire block installed to shoot... .32 short/long Colt?

 

(edit) https://www.shootersforum.com/threads/marlin-1892-in-32-long-colt-or-32-rimfire.57159/

 

(more edit) Warden Callaway is working on one right now!

 

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Advice for those eyeing the old Marlin 1891/92 as a possible new race gun.  The gun was designed and built in the horse and buggy days to fire pretty wimpy black powder loads. The action is not a strong one.  The bolt is blocked by the lever only. The lever is blocked by the lever pivot screw that amounts to a screw with a really tall head.  It only has a few threads that screw into the frame on one side.  This action is not any where near as strong as the 1894.

 

This design evolved into the 39A 22.  I have a 1887 22 that is the grandpa of the 39A and it's only strong enough to fire standard velocity ammo.  Modern 22 long rife, especially high speed is too powerful and may run the risk of cracking the bolt.  In fact, when I bought it, it had excessive head space from shooting the long rifle high speed loads.  

 

A7F0934A-F179-4BF6-A175-D42D72371DCE.jpeg

 

Photo by Cypress Sam. 

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