I think that weighs heavily on my decision. For some odd reason, i am very interested in casting and loading for 25-20. I bought a bunch of brass here from Grumpa (I think that was his name as I recall) before he passed.
I scrounged maybe 600 powder coated and 600 jacketed bullets. I have 2 moulds for it. It took me some time to accomplish all that.
I am working up the most accurate load I can for it. So far, so good but my eyes are just not doing it any more.
The man that gifted me the rifle for helping him move has passed. It took a while to find an original magazine for it.
I LIKE the idea of a 3x red dot.
All of those facts make this gun very sentimental to me. Now all I have to do is convince myself to spend the money....or not. The suggestion to buy a gun specifically for this use is a good one. But then, it wouldn't be that old classic.
I know...the woodchucks won't know the difference.
I once had a small lobster boat and 25 traps that i fished in a Portsmouth NH harbor when I lived on the seacoast. I figured once that lobster was costing me some $30 a pound by the end of a season....bait, fuel, lost gear, etc. - lobster that I could BUY for $6 or $7 a pound.....but that wasn't the point.
This rifle is heading down that same path.