....... am going to load some 25-20 and am wondering about the crimp die. Is there any reason to use a crimp on ammo that is not going into a tubular magazine?

Also, what are the 'standard' bullet weights to start with? Will be shooting fixed ammo with BP.  Any reason for BR or magnum primers?

Thanks.

SShooter,

 Altho it doesn't make any difference... which 25/20 are you planning on shooitng? The WCF or SS.

 For the SS I use CCI-BR-4 primers but not because they are any better. Just that I had a lot of them on hand when working up the load.

 Crimping is unnecessary. I flare the mouth of the case so as not to bugger up the base of the bullet. I then set the seating die so it just takes out that flare. But, depending on your chamber, you can also leave that flare on as it helps to align the cartridge better in the chamber if it's a little oversize, like most of the originals are.

 As Bent_Ramrod mentions the "standard" original bullet wgt.'s are in the 85 gr. range. BUT....... all the .25/20SS shooters I shoot with, including myself, use a bullet wgt. between 100 & 120 grs. Mines a Darr 105 gr. Of course our guns have 1-10" twists to.

Pete

I see that Track of the Wolf does not offer an expander plug in the standard 25-20 dimensions. Is none required for this caliber?

Thanks for the info. Was able to purchase the Lyman M expander die to go with my Lee 25-20 set and am still $$ ahead. Wish that Lyman would offer their 'through the die' powder dispenser in 25-20. Unfortunately, the smallest they have is .32 caliber.

You are correct. It would be nice to have a lathe of most any size. Even a decent quality drill-press would be nice. Perhaps in another life.