Rich,

 The .25/20 WCF should be a good cartridge for 200 yd. Schuetzen shooting. It pretty well duplicates the .25/20SS in ballistics as it was Win.'s answer to the SS for the 1892 lever gun. Many clubs and EG have regular matches just for the .25 cal.'s.

 Accuracy-wise it should shoot as well as any of the bigger Schuetzen calibers..... IF you have calm conditions, or are one heck of a good wind and mirage reader.

 The big advantage of the WCF is the easily availability and price of cases. Good SS cases go for around $1.50 apiece if I recall right. I make my own.

 I'm not aware of anyone in our club that uses the WCF but several of us use the SS. Some even shoot nothing but!

 As for the .38/40 or .44/40 I'd forget about them if you want to shoot in the matches. They are strictly short range pistol cartridges with some lever guns chambered for them. Even if you set a gun up specifically to shoot Schuetzen I'd make a guess that you won't get the kind of accuracy you need.

 If you want a nice pleasant/cheap caliber to shoot you can't go wrong with a .25/20 WCF.

PETE

If the price is even remotely right, grab the High Wall in .38 Long.  Run, don't walk.  You can always resell it to someone who is or WAS  a participant in this Forum.  But before you sell it for a tidy profit, you have an opportunity to try the frustrating sport of getting an old rifle in an odd caliber banging away again.  Keep us posted.

waterman

rish,
I have a wall with an eldon montgomery barrel in 25-20 wcf. and it shoots extremely well.
he barreledit and made the mold. i have seen one other low wall with one of his barrels shoot consistant 248's at 200 at brady. yes they are good shooters, and are very competitive with lead slugs.
cheers
irish

Tommy,
I would shoot the 25-20 SS for several reasons . The first is for the cool factor having an odd caliber rifle. The second is that they have a reputation as good shooters. third is because of the nostalgia. I enjoy trying to shoot the single shots like they existed in the old days. .25 Match shooters mostly used.25-20 SS back then. After all my main interest is in the lore of the old single shot rifles.
 
The brass availablility thing is somewhat overstated. Yes, .25-20 SS brass is about $1.50 each but when you breech seat how many do you actualy need? a half dozen will last for a couple years.

As far as bullets and twist. I like 100 grain bullets and 12 inch twist. This was popular among match shooting with .25's. Pope used somewhat faster twist and I have heard where sometimes heavier bullets were used
in his rifles.

Tommy, 
Barrel lengths varied according to taste from 26" to 30" generally. Although I have seen longer barrels, you seldom encounter barrels shorter then 26". Although this may have been caused by need for length to burn black powder and for balance of the rifle, even to this day single shots with shorter barrels look better with barrels 26" or longer. Barrels are often in lighter weights in .25 also, though they still need some weight if going to be used for match shooting. As far as whether ocatagon or round, again that is a matter of taste. Very nice looking rifles can be made up in either style. I personally like octagon or 1/2 octagon. I have no idea why. Maybe because they were the standard configuration durring "the period".
I am not sure whether you mean barrel maker or action maker? There are many good barrel makers. Who did you have in mind? As far as actions I always suggest original Stevens 44 1/2's because they are relatively inexpensive and have many features that suit them to Schuetzen. This is not critical and most any of the standard old single shots will handle .25-20SS.
If you are a beginner and really want a "feel" for single shot rifles I recommend that you get and read "Major Ned H. Roberts and The Schuetzen Rifle" by Gerald O. Kelver. Some of the facts of this book can be argued but the feel of the information is unbeatable. It is available on E-bay.

Rich,
P.M. sent.
               Rich Hicks