.25-36 Marlin for deer?

[KWK]

With 117 gn at 1850 to 1950 fps (depending on the reference), this seems quite anemic, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has tried it.

With respect to momentum and energy, it's in the same class as the .30 Carbine (which doesn't have the best reputation) and the .357 Mag 125 gn (which is considered decent on deer sized critters at short range). So, would it be outrageous to consider this a 75 yd deer cartridge?

With modern powders, pressures should be well below 30,000; and it might do for a (potentially) weaker single shot action I'm trying to acquire.

[Hobie]

It seems to me that the .25-36 does 2100-2200 and the .25-35 does 2200-2300 in most references. Of course each rifle is different. They worked when they came out the .25-35 even being used to kill large bears. The .25-35 and equivalents have been used in the TC Contender for deer. I just don't see a problem for a hunter to use one.

[KCSO]

You are going from the original ballistics of the early 1900's. In a modern rifle you can break 2000 with that 117. Now as to hunting deer??? #1 is it legal in your area? Here you need 900 fp of energy at 100 yards. If it is legal and you can wait and put your bullet where it needs to go the 25-35 will do the job. It's not made for Nebraska heart shots but any good heart lung shot will drop a deer. My buddy fudges some with his hand loads and uses a 1930's 25-35 to drop his deer every year.

[AmBraCol]

The old 'Family rifle" is a Winchester '64 25-35 wcf that my grandmother bought for the boys to hunt deer with in Arizona. It took every kind of game animal in Arizona, cleanly. Well, I'm not sure it took desert sheep, but everything else fell to the report of that old 25-35. According to Cartridges of the world, the older rifles chambered for the Marlin 25-36 are not capable of digesting higher pressures than the original factory offerings. If you were to chamber a newer rifle in this caliber I suspect that you'd be able to drive it at least as fast as the Winchester round, probably a bit more. And if you were then to Ackley Improve it - you'd have a fast stepping little levergun. The main drawback to this chambering is the scarcity of appropriate bullets. The last I knew, only Hornady offers a RN configuration in jacketed bullets.

[Adobe Walls]

Howdy.

I've never read where the .25/35 Win. or .25/36 Marlin was not able to kill deer size game on a consistent basis when wielded by a competent hunter that recognized his and the cartridge's limitations. You have to remember the .22 mag and any of it's smaller siblings are not deer cartridges, but look at what they do daily somewhere. Go with that 117 gr. Hornady RN bullet at anything from 1900 FPS and above and it'll be ok for any lung shot. I'd be suprised if it didn't pass through most of the time. I wouldn't ever exceed 150 yards if it was me though. If comparing to the .30 carbine don't forget that ballistic coefficient and sectional density of a 117 gr .25 RN is way higher than 110 gr. .30 RN.AW

[Hillbilly]

I dont have a picture... but my 25-35 Winchester does pretty well... you have to use some common sense.... after all we kill deer with arrows... the 357 mag and 25-35 (or -36Marlin) will deliver out to 50 yards (more with a accurate shot in the boiler room).

The same "folks" who poo-poo on the 30 carbine will try a harder shot from a handgun with a 6 inch tube......

[tman]

it will work, if, the deer you hunt , don't read guns and ammo.

[jlchucker]

it will work, if, the deer you hunt , don't read guns and ammo.

Amen to that, Tman! Throw Shooting Times, Gun World, and a few others as well. Instead, ask some old geezer who's been using his 25-36 and never bought a gun mag, but has hunted successfully with this as his only rifle for 40 or 50 years after his daddy gave the only rifle he's ever had to him as a hand-me-down. 25-35 also can fit in that category as well. There's already been enough posts here about the 30-30, so I expect that some deer have learned to read this website by this time and tend to really be shy of the latter caliber.

[BigSky56]

KWK, I dont know about a marlin 25-36 but a my dad kills elk with a 25-35 117 RN hornady load from the manual. danny

[jnyork]

it will work, if, the deer you hunt , don't read guns and ammo.

[Kansas Ed]

25-35 from this year...


Ed

[KWK]

Thanks for all the comments, guys. If the action seems up to it, I'll go with a .25-35 at full pressure, else I'll derate it to .25-36 levels--and not hesitate to go after a deer (at suitable range).

[airedaleman]

With 117 gn at 1850 to 1950 fps (depending on the reference), this seems quite anemic, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has tried it.

With respect to momentum and energy, it's in the same class as the .30 Carbine (which doesn't have the best reputation) and the .357 Mag 125 gn (which is considered decent on deer sized critters at short range). So, would it be outrageous to consider this a 75 yd deer cartridge?

With modern powders, pressures should be well below 30,000; and it might do for a (potentially) weaker single shot action I'm trying to acquire.

What specifically is the action you are trying to acquire?

[KWK]

airedaleman, Uberti is releasing a No.2 rolling block in .30-30. While modern steels may keep it from flying apart with that case and pressure (hopefully), I suspect it will stretch the brass badly. Dropping the pressure from the low 40s to the upper 20s should help in that respect, and with modern powders I'd still meet older factory specs for the .25-36.

The desire for the 25 caliber is to get the recoil down to the point where I can straighten the stock. The Uberti stock has (to my eye) excessive perch belly, probably to reduce muzzle rise with the chamberings they are now offering. The No.2's were usually made with a straight stock, and the angle built into the receiver gives a lot of drop, which was ok for the mild recoiling rounds in which it was originally made.

If the action is to my satisfaction, I'll have it restocked and a long, straight tapered octagon barrel fitted. If the action is stiffer than I expect, I could also consider the .219 Zipper, another mildly recoiling round on the same case head, but I'd prefer the more versatile .25-35 at those pressures.

Karl

[Hobie]

The extreme taper of the .25-35 (and I would think the .25-36 too) case accentuates that borderline where acceptable pressure ends. It seems to me that it is less than the .30-30's 40K psi.

[KWK]

Hobie, I've read that case taper affects breech thrust, but I've never seen proof of it. Looking at the SAAMI drawing on the main Leverguns.com site, one computes the body taper (one side) of the .25-35 is only 1.3 degrees (.023" in 1.05" of run). Then I compare this to the angle of the threads of a screw such as a holds the head of an engine in place, and I really wonder if there is anything to the theory that case taper radically increases breech thrust. Another way of looking at it: the sine of the case taper angle indicates 2% of the case wall pressure is converted to thrust, but this is far below the coefficient of friction of the brass to steel (which is about 25%). A well lubricated case certainly ups thrust. A discussion of it is found here.

Case cling can carry a fair amount of thrust, and I think pressures in the upper 20s will have a significant amount of the thrust carried in the case. That's why I've got my fingers crossed a No.2 roller can gracefully take a derated .25-35 (or .25-36). Experienced BP shooters such as Lee Shaver feel that at BP levels, all the thrust (except that in the primer) is carried by the case, so I can punt to the .32-40.

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by this action. I'll prepare matched handloads at various pressures, and compare case stretch of these pairs in the wee Uberti to that in my friend's 336.

If this all works out, I'll have a light, gorgeous little stalking rifle. If it doesn't, I'm out some money, but a bit wiser for the adventure. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Right now, I still haven't found a dealer that can get me a place in the queue for this Uberti; I plan to be a pest, for I want to try this.

Karl