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Someone else wrote it but, while we could most of us get by nicely with a .30/06, a .22 long rifle, and a 12 gauge shotgun, it would be a dull world and we wouldn’t have anything to argue about.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Zebulon said
Someone else wrote it but, while we could most of us get by nicely with a .30/06, a .22 long rifle, and a 12 gauge shotgun, it would be a dull world and we wouldn’t have anything to argue about.
Bill,
I actually prefer the older 30 U.S. (30-40 Krag) over the 30-06… but I do own (3) different rifles in both of those cartridges. Lately though, I have reverted back to the even older 7×57 mm (I just loaded 100 rounds last night). I had a supply of Norma 7 M/M brass and loaded them up with 43 grains of IMR 4064 under a Speer 130 gr SP flat base bullet (my grandfather first used that load in the 1940s and passed it down to me with the rifle).
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Anthony said
Steve, I can agree with you, as I also liked them in both barrel configurations. I think many of us would love the older style early octagon barrel, especially an old cowboy style rifle that screams old west heritage. I don’t have you’re experience, or others, with the 25-20, as far as shooting it, as like you if it wasn’t a deer caliber, we wouldn’t mainly go after it. I just recently traded a model 92, round barrel, in 25-20 as part of a trade deal for a nice 73, I had been looking for, and even though it was in nice condition, and showing some normal receiver bluing flaking, I just never could warm up to that rifle. I had it a pretty long while, and never did find time to shoot it. We would always use the other calibers for varmints and such.Tony
Anthony –
One thing I think deeply impacts my favorable feeling toward the .25-20 (and others) is the fact that I am a handloader. I’ve fired a lot of .25-20 rounds and the smallest fraction of those rounds have been factory ammunition. Factory .25-20 ammo has never been cheap, but for years now, it’s been very expensive. If I weren’t a handloader, I would have fired darn few .25-20 rounds over the years. Despite owning many .25-20’s, I’ve never once used one to hunt anything. However, as a handloader, I find the .25-20 a round that is fun and inexpensive to load for and a joy to shoot 
Henry Mero said
Where I live , in Southern Ontario, We have a .27 caliber restriction for guns in the field. This has been the case since the days after W.W.2 and all the, ($6.00) 303 Enfields being sold, which were deemed to dangerous for the more densly populated areas. So You can use Your .270 or .243 for varmints, but not Your 32-20 or 44-40, and shotgun only for deer, a (common sense?), political solution. So if You want to use Your old Lever Winchester it better be a 25-20 or a ’94, 25-35, which don’t hurt My feelings any anyways.
Henry –
I’ve seen illogic like this play out similarly before, but it still leaves me nearly speechless. The idea that in a densely populated area where there are safety concerns… that a .270 or .243 would be viewed as adequately safe, as compared to something, “dangerous” such as a .32-20 etc. etc. 
On the bright side, I guess obsolete calibers gives me a reason to learn about reloading, which is on my to-do list.
Bert said
I actually prefer the older 30 U.S. (30-40 Krag) over the 30-06… but I do own (3) different rifles in both of those cartridges. Lately though, I have reverted back to the even older 7×57 mm (I just loaded 100 rounds last night). I had a supply of Norma 7 M/M brass and loaded them up with 43 grains of IMR 4064 under a Speer 130 gr SP flat base bullet (my grandfather first used that load in the 1940s and passed it down to me with the rifle).Bert
If you’re lucky enough to have a good Krag-Jorgensen, I envy you. The magazine is too expensive to build today, I’d guess, but it’s a beauty and you can kill anything in Texas with the 30/40. I have a Miroku-built 1895 carbine chambered in .30 Govt ’06 but I wish they’d offered it chambered for the .30 Army. Numerous Texas Rangers gave up their 1892 and 1894 Winchesters for a 95 carbine so chambered because it had considerably more reach. Custer would have approved.
But my guess is yours would be a High Wall. Likewise highly desirable (to me) and probably more so for the handload you described
PS
Did you get down to College Station for graduation?
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Jeremy P said
On the bright side, I guess obsolete calibers gives me a reason to learn about reloading, which is on my to-do list.
Jeremy,
There is nothing like “rolling your own”. It is my “quiet time” when I can lock myself away from my infernal computer (and the Spousal Unit).
You are lucky in that you have Mike (TXGunNut) nearby to lend some support and knowledge if needed.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Zebulon said
Bert said
I actually prefer the older 30 U.S. (30-40 Krag) over the 30-06… but I do own (3) different rifles in both of those cartridges. Lately though, I have reverted back to the even older 7×57 mm (I just loaded 100 rounds last night). I had a supply of Norma 7 M/M brass and loaded them up with 43 grains of IMR 4064 under a Speer 130 gr SP flat base bullet (my grandfather first used that load in the 1940s and passed it down to me with the rifle).
Bert
If you’re lucky enough to have a good Krag-Jorgensen, I envy you. The magazine is too expensive to build today, I’d guess, but it’s a beauty and you can kill anything in Texas with the 30/40. I have a Miroku-built 1895 carbine chambered in .30 Govt ’06 but I wish they’d offered it chambered for the .30 Army. Numerous Texas Rangers gave up their 1892 and 1894 Winchesters for a 95 carbine so chambered because it had considerably more reach. Custer would have approved.
But my guess is yours would be a High Wall. Likewise highly desirable (to me) and probably more so for the handload you described
PS
Did you get down to College Station for graduation?
Bill,
I do have a Springfield Krag (my first deer hunting rifle back in 1970). It is a Model 1892 (manufactured in 1895) that was sporterzied by my Grandfather in the early 1950s. I carried that rifle in the woods of northwest Oregon until the Fall of 1974 when I began carrying my (new to me then) Model 54 in 30-06 Govt.
I do also own two original high-wall rifles factory chambered for the 30 U.S. One of them is a very high condition Take Down (see pictures below).
Yes, I did get to spend a full week in Texas, two days of it in College Station. It was a real pleasure being there to watch my granddaughter receive her B.S. in Health Sciences, and to chide her about getting out there in the world to earn a living so that she can support her Grandpa’s retirement checks from Uncle Sam.
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert H. said
Jeremy P said
On the bright side, I guess obsolete calibers gives me a reason to learn about reloading, which is on my to-do list.
Jeremy,
There is nothing like “rolling your own”. It is my “quiet time” when I can lock myself away from my infernal computer (and the Spousal Unit).
You are lucky in that you have Mike (TXGunNut) nearby to lend some support and knowledge if needed.
Bert
Yes, he has offered and I’ll get started one day and take him up on it.
Jeremy P said
Bert H. said
Jeremy P said
On the bright side, I guess obsolete calibers gives me a reason to learn about reloading, which is on my to-do list.
Jeremy,
There is nothing like “rolling your own”. It is my “quiet time” when I can lock myself away from my infernal computer (and the Spousal Unit).
You are lucky in that you have Mike (TXGunNut) nearby to lend some support and knowledge if needed.
Bert
Yes, he has offered and I’ll get started one day and take him up on it.
I believe that once you do get started, you will find it addictive (just like collecting old Winchesters)
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert H. said
I believe that once you do get started, you will find it addictive (just like collecting old Winchesters)
That’s what I’m afraid of! HAHA
Jeremy P said
Bert H. said
I believe that once you do get started, you will find it addictive (just like collecting old Winchesters)
That’s what I’m afraid of! HAHA
Just one more 12-step program to add to your calendar
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
Offline
Jeremy P said
Bert H. said
I believe that once you do get started, you will find it addictive (just like collecting old Winchesters)
That’s what I’m afraid of! HAHA
Believe it or not the minimalist approach to reloading is viable and often produces great results. Hand reloading tools and moulds were sometimes carried in saddlebags or toolboxes in wagons back a hundred or so years ago with little more required to make ammunition. Apparently I’ve taken another path but I enjoy keeping the old tools around for eye candy and occasional use. Loading with a simple single stage press or casting with a single or double cavity steel bullet mould is indeed therapeutic. For safety reasons food, drink and phones are not allowed in my loading room while I’m loading or casting. That rule also tends to make it more enjoyable.
But no, reloading is NOT addictive. Shooting is addictive and reloading allows some shooters to shoot more. All kidding aside I would never have been able to be a competitive shooter and I certainly wouldn’t be able to shoot most of my centerfire Winchesters without reloading.
At this time, however, I don’t load for either 25-20 but if I owned a rifle so chambered I’d want to shoot it so I’d certainly need to load for it.
Mike
Bert H. said
Zebulon said
Bert said
I actually prefer the older 30 U.S. (30-40 Krag) over the 30-06… but I do own (3) different rifles in both of those cartridges. Lately though, I have reverted back to the even older 7×57 mm (I just loaded 100 rounds last night). I had a supply of Norma 7 M/M brass and loaded them up with 43 grains of IMR 4064 under a Speer 130 gr SP flat base bullet (my grandfather first used that load in the 1940s and passed it down to me with the rifle).
Bert
If you’re lucky enough to have a good Krag-Jorgensen, I envy you. The magazine is too expensive to build today, I’d guess, but it’s a beauty and you can kill anything in Texas with the 30/40. I have a Miroku-built 1895 carbine chambered in .30 Govt ’06 but I wish they’d offered it chambered for the .30 Army. Numerous Texas Rangers gave up their 1892 and 1894 Winchesters for a 95 carbine so chambered because it had considerably more reach. Custer would have approved.
But my guess is yours would be a High Wall. Likewise highly desirable (to me) and probably more so for the handload you described
PS
Did you get down to College Station for graduation?
Bill,
I do have a Springfield Krag (my first deer hunting rifle back in 1970). It is a Model 1892 (manufactured in 1895) that was sporterzied by my Grandfather in the early 1950s. I carried that rifle in the woods of northwest Oregon until the Fall of 1974 when I began carrying my (new to me then) Model 54 in 30-06 Govt.
I do also own two original high-wall rifles factory chambered for the 30 U.S. One of them is a very high condition Take Down (see pictures below).
Yes, I did get to spend a full week in Texas, two days of it in College Station. It was a real pleasure being there to watch my granddaughter receive her B.S. in Health Sciences, and to chide her about getting out there in the world to earn a living so that she can support her Grandpa’s retirement checks from Uncle Sam.
That sure is a nice one Bert!
TXGunNut said
Believe it or not the minimalist approach to reloading is viable and often produces great results. Hand reloading tools and moulds were sometimes carried in saddlebags or toolboxes in wagons back a hundred or so years ago with little more required to make ammunition. Apparently I’ve taken another path but I enjoy keeping the old tools around for eye candy and occasional use. Loading with a simple single stage press or casting with a single or double cavity steel bullet mould is indeed therapeutic. For safety reasons food, drink and phones are not allowed in my loading room while I’m loading or casting. That rule also tends to make it more enjoyable.
But no, reloading is NOT addictive. Shooting is addictive and reloading allows some shooters to shoot more. All kidding aside I would never have been able to be a competitive shooter and I certainly wouldn’t be able to shoot most of my centerfire Winchesters without reloading.
At this time, however, I don’t load for either 25-20 but if I owned a rifle so chambered I’d want to shoot it so I’d certainly need to load for it.
Mike
Another mind-blowing thought I often think of….the frontiersmen not having convenient access to ammo like we have today and having to be prepared to make their own if necessary.
Would 25-20 be a good starter round or would a straight wall cartridge be better to start?
steve004 said
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1078689031
Yikes!! At $4 per round after shipping, that’s $48 per full magazine…that’ll certainly ruin the fun factor…
November 7, 2015
Offline
Jeremy-
I load to shoot. I enjoy loading but it has to be a round I enjoy shooting. Factors contributing to selection of a round to reload also include the price & availability of quality factory ammo. For years I did not load for the 30WCF or 380ACP because good factory ammo was cheap and plentiful. I even bought 45ACP ammo for awhile even though I was set up to load for it. Needless to say I load for almost everything I shoot these days. In your case the 25-20 repeater cartridge is a great candidate. As Steve points out a factory 25-20 round can cost upwards of $3 each. Sad thing is that price is not unreasonable considering the going price for brass. In years past economy was not a valid argument for reloading, it just allowed you to shoot more. Nowadays it may be possible to save a little by rolling your own. For many of us buying reloading equipment and components is somehow more enjoyable than buying factory ammo. Another factor is quality of ammo and for a vast majority of applications today’s factory ammo is pretty hard to beat. I tend to ignore that reality because I enjoy loading and pretend that my ammo is tailored to a particular rifle when in most cases my carefully assembled ammo is no better than factory ammo, if as good.
I could tell you that I load the very similar 32WCF for about 20 cents per round. That does not take into account the price of brass, loading dies, bullet mould, casting furnace(s), sizing dies, loading press, powder scale and measure, or brass prep equipment and supplies. Most of my reloads utilize scavenged lead and that involves more equipment.
But yes, the invitation stands. I think my loading room is finally ready for use but it would be best if we load a round we both shoot so it costs next to nothing for you to give it a try. I feel like a drug dealer giving out free samples.
Mike
TXGunNut said
I feel like a drug dealer giving out free samples.
Mike
Getting hooked is my fear! I don’t need another “passion” until I find more time on my hands, but yes we’ll decide on a mutually-beneficial caliber and I’ll start taking notes. I have a little factory 25-20 to shoot and I’ve been keeping all my brass for future use one day. 
steve004 said
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1078689031
Wow….I’ve gotten some recently for 2-2.50 a round from MidwayUSA I think…but man. 😮
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