Older Rifle Advise

[jslo]

Picked up a couple 100+ year old rifles from a client who's husband passed away.
1st would be where would be the best place to find ammo for them. Looking for 30-40 Krag for an 1898 Springfield and 25-20 for an 1892 Winchester.
2nd, I'm also thinking it might be wise to have someone look them over before taking them to the range. So any suggestions on who to take them to in the south metro area? The both seem to be in pretty good shape.

[Great-Kazoo]

depending how much you want to invest. 30-40 krag runs $30+ per box. Make a nice wall hanger or find a home where someone collects them.
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/30-40-krag


https://ammoseek.com/ammo/25-20-winchester

[Bailey Guns]

Original, unaltered 1898 Krag Jorgensen rifles can be pretty valuable. And obviously the Winchester might be, too.

[jslo]

From the research I've done, the rifle seems to be original. Not sure on the sling and no bayonet. Read they had cracking issues with the single locking lug on the bolt when they experimented with hotter loads. Don't know how you would tell but don't see anything obvious with it. Bolt is as smooth as anything I've used.
As for the Winchester, it looks to good to be unaltered. Thought is, although done very well, it's been refinished.

[flogger]

The Shooting Shop South by ACC off Santa Fe & Church st. Good guys and I'm sure they could give you some advice.

[Hummer]

My advice would be to buy any ammunition as soon as you can find it because manufacturers produce uncommon calibers in limited productions runs. And if you reload, even the bullets can be hard to find. Last summer a friend mentioned that he was unable to find .30-40 Krag. I did the common meta searches and was unable to find any available. Just a few weeks ago .30-40 Krag began showing up on Grab-a-Gun and some other sites. Get it while you can.

When I was a kid my first elk rifle was a borrowed 1895 Winchester lever gun in .30-40 Krag. I'll never forget the whump of that steel butt plate.

[Martinjmpr]

Original, unaltered 1898 Krag Jorgensen rifles can be pretty valuable.

They're great for "civilizing" filipinos, too. ;)

[Seamonkey]

I've had good experiences with Denny at AllCaliberGunsmithing in Parker.

http://allcalibergunsmithing.com/

[earplug]

25-20 can be made from 32-20 brass. You might as well buy brass and a reloading kit for the model 92. Its to much fun to shoot. Ideal made some nifty tong tools for the 25-20 that included a bullet mold which doubled as a powder measure if you used Unique. Room mate in college had a Remington model 25 with such a kit.

[jslo]

The Shooting Shop South by ACC off Santa Fe & Church st. Good guys and I'm sure they could give you some advice.

Had a nice visit with Dave at Shootin Shop, good guy. Was pleasantly surprised at the evaluation of both rifles. Ordered a box of ammo for each and looking forward to the next range trip. May have to grab the other 25-20 and start stocking up on a couple more calbers.
Thanks to all for the advise

[rondog]

The Shooting Shop South by ACC off Santa Fe & Church st. Good guys and I'm sure they could give you some advice.

Huh, I thought that place closed and moved years ago, and then that new location closed too......

[jslo]

It's on Rapp St. and guessing it's been there for a least 4 or 5 years, just never had gone in.

[rondog]

It's on Rapp St. and guessing it's been there for a least 4 or 5 years, just never had gone in.

Man, that looks like the same place it used to be in several years ago, but I swear they moved to another place a few years ago, and then that location closed. Maybe they moved back there again, or real close to there.....

[jslo]

Went back to the client's house to do some work today which included modifications to change the gun cabinet into a "trinket" display cabinet.
Found this in the bottom drawer to finish the matching set.72511
72512

[wctriumph]

That is awesome! I have been trying to get one of those for quite awhile. The prices just keep them beyond my reach.

Have fun and keep me in mind if you want to possibly trade.

[OtterbatHellcat]

That's pretty cool, Jslo. I'm envious.

[flogger]

Very nice shape and the bayonet is complete with hanger/scabbard, certainly a bonus.

I had one many years ago, great historical piece. Congrats on the score!