Bert (and others no doubt),

  I note that the caliber marking on your 1885 (which I know zero about!) is the 30 US designation, and the rifle is ‘new’ enough that it is proof marked.

The 1895’s that are ‘new’ enough for proof marks had changed the caliber designation to 30 ARMY to avoid confusion with the 30 US Mod 1903 or the 30 Gov ’06, etc.  Naturally before the newer 30 caliber rounds were developed, the earlier model 1895 also used the 30 US designation.  

  Thus my question is, why did the 1885 not change its caliber designation when Winchester changed it for the 1895?  Also I will add that up until somewhat recently, Cabela’s advertised Remington brand 30-40 Krag at a price that was not too horrible.  Brass indeed has not been available to my knowledge for some years.  Once upon a time (like any good fairy tale) I was told that Winchester made brass for less popular calibers in “batches” and often that was only once every couple of years for such as the .25-35, .30-40, .38-55, etc.  I am not sure they have made the .32-40 in a goodly number of years.  I am sure Remington operates similarly.  When the crunch hit several (or 5) years ago or more for ammo which was in high demand, I imagine production capacity switched almost entirely to calibers that were hard to keep supplied, and low demand calibers went on the back burner for some years.  Thus supplies of brass or loaded rounds for these less popular calibers dried up and disappeared.  Having said that, northern Minnesota seems to have a recurring demand and recurring supply in the stores of 30-40 Krag, and I believe my buddy in Alaska can obtain calibers that are not stocked in the lower 48.  Stores up there may have had orders placed for this ammo for many years, and thus a “spot” market?