The .25-21 Stevens was an American
centerfire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...
rifle
A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
cartridge.
Designed by Capt. W. L. Carpenter, 9th U.S. Infantry, in 1897,
the .25-21 was based on the longer
.25-25.
It was Stevens' second straight-cased cartridge (after the .25-25)
[Barnes, p.75, ".25-25 Stevens".] and would be used in the single shot
Model 44 rifle, as well as the
Model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided into ...
, which first went on sale in 1903.
In addition, it was available in the
Remington-Hepburn target
Target may refer to:
Warfare and shooting
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artille ...
rifle.
While the .25-25 was popular, the .25-21 offered "practically the same performance and was a little cleaner shooting."
It was also found the usual
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
charge of the shorter, bottlenecked .25-21 offered "practically the same ballistics" as in the .25-25. It was highly accurate, reputedly capable of generating groups at .
In power, the .25-21 was outpaced by the
.25-20 Winchester and
.32-20 Winchester, while today, even modern pistol rounds such as the
.38 Super offer superior performance.
[Barnes, p.164, ".38 Colt Super Automatic".]
Notes
Sources
*Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".25-21 Stevens", in ''Cartridges of the World'', pp. 74 & 123. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
*______ and _____. ".25-25 Stevens", in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 75. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
*______ and _____. ".25-20 WCF", in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 20. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
*______ and _____. ".32-20 Winchester", in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 46. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
*______ and _____. ".38 Colt Super Automatic", in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 46. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:25-21 Stevens
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Stevens Arms