Does anyone shoot a .225 Winchester? I have one in a Ruger #1 Single Shot. This rifle was originally chambered in .223. It is the varmint model w/ the heavier barrel and it is very accurate, especially with 50 and 55 grain bullets.
joe

I had one in a '65 M-70.....a super accurate rifle.....equivalent to a 22-250 in performance and the only gun I could never improve with handloads.....factory loads were king in that gun.....I shot the crap out of it on prairie dogs and finally burned the barrel to the point that I had trouble holding 1.5" groups so I re barreled it to 22-250....but it never was as good as the original 225 chambering.....

Sounds like a nice combo in a No.1. A fine cartridge that just never got the hype (positive) of the 22-250 or (negative) of the Swift.
Lots of semi-orphans out there, that still work just as well as other more well known ones.

As Dennis Gage says "honor the timeless classics."

Joe,
I shot this one at PD's and paper for 14 years before rebarreling it to my .204 Wasp wildcat. It had already been rebarreled to .225 when I bought it used and I put around 4500 rounds through it. Don't know the make of the 14" twist straight taper barrel. I shot 40 gr NBT's at a moderate 3800fps with 35.0gr of either N140 or Varget. That load shot about 1/2" and the mild recoil allowed me to see hits with the 15X Unertl.

Dave

Very nice. I have two Ruger #1's; the .225 and the other is a 7x57 sporter weight. I love those Ruger single shots.
joe

My 225 1965 sporter weight M70 is super accurate and a joy to shoot. Basically a 22-250 less 100fps. I always keep my eyes out for another. I understand that they are increasing in price.

If you pull the manuals and study the diagrams carefully, you will discover that the .225 is a .219 Zipper improved --VERY, very close, with a smaller rim, "semi-rim" to feed thru bolt action Mauser style magazines without trouble.

Turn of the century, the work was with the .30/30 case because it was a Ballard target invention, .32/40 and .38/55 very popular. .219 Zipper was the .22. Great history adapted, finally a factory move with sense, and made available. Harvey Donaldson did the "Ace" series, .219 Don Ace and 6mm Don Ace on the case for bolt actions. Too bad younger shooters have to have something new and shiny but little better. Happy trails.

I have one built on a Martini Cadet action. Very accurate. Lovely rifle, but I do hold the loads down because of the relatively thin wall of the barrel threads at the action. It's possible to bulge that chamber with a hot load and there's no need to do that. Means it's more like a .223 than a .22-250, but I can live with that.

the .225 win on a m70 is what got me started on my quest for model 70's... i got mine as a college sophmore from tristate a&m sporting goods in college station in 1978.. it had a weaver k-6 dot... and no buttplate.. i traded a westerfield ( mossberg) .243 with a bad scope and $200 for it... and it took me nearly 6 months to pay the $200... its digested over a thousand rounds, and still is an honest 1 1/2" gun... it especially likes the 52 gr hpbt at about 2900 fps... not the fastest, but most acurate that i've been able to find...nowit wears a redfield 4-12 duplex... and an original winchester buttplate... ive taken several whitetails, lots of jackrabbits, several squirrels, and various other critters... good luck with yours!!!

The first centerfire rifle I ever fired was my Dad's M 70 in .225 WIN. He still has it and we still shoot it. That rifle has taken everything from Whitetailed deer to 13 striped ground squirrels. It is a very accurate rifle. I am always on the lookout for another on but they are very far and few between. Someday when I get big I'll own one of my own to match his.

There was a Model 70 (pre-64) at the Lakeland gun show today in .225 that was selling for $750. I was in great shape. I think that was a pretty good deal.
joe

quote:

Originally posted by Joe R. Lock:
There was a Model 70 (pre-64) at the Lakeland gun show today in .225 that was selling for $750. I was in great shape. I think that was a pretty good deal.
joe

Was that a rebarreled pre-'64? Or was it being sold as an riginal? Either way, that sounds like a pretty decent price these days, but I'd be very suspicious of what the seller told me if he said it was "original".

It has been my understanding that the .225 Winchester chambering was part and parcel of the then much hated change to the "post-'64" Model 70....they dropped the .220 Swift chambering and introduced the .225 cartridge in that re-hash, reportedly. At least that is what was being reported back then in the periodicals I was reading at that time.

Anyway, I still have an original 1965 M70 HB chambered in .225 Winchester. It still shoots just like they were reputed to do with the early factory loads. I.e., very very accurate indeed.

I also have a TCR '83 with their custom shop (Fox Ridge IIRC) medium heavy barrel in the same cartridge. It does not shoot anywhere near as accurately as the old '65 Winchester of mine does.

Al, you are probably right. I did not look at it very cloes. It is possible it was not a pre-64. I just assumed it was and kept walking. Whatever it was, it was probably a good deal.
joe

most of the .225's ive seen ahve had the std wt barrel. like mine does... ive seen 2 that had the heavy varmit barrel.. most have 3 diamond checkering on the pistol grip and a red "w" on the grip cap...

"most of the .225's ive seen ahve had the std wt barrel. like mine does... ive seen 2 that had the heavy varmit barrel.. most have 3 diamond checkering on the pistol grip and a red "w" on the grip cap..."

Interesting! I recently picked up a sporter weight M70 in .225 that has that checkering (also as illustrated in a period article by George Nonte), but just a plain black cap on the grip. The serial number indicates that it was one of the first, made in 1964. So, it appears that, technically, the push feed Win. M70s are "post '63" rather than "post '64" .


I've only managed to get to the range with it once so far , but from its performance with factory ammo it looks like it has potential, since one of the two lots I was able to find is MOA capable. Unfortunately the other lot is lousy, averaging about 2-1/3" for two 100-yd 5-rd groups . It will be interesting to see how it performs with reloads.

Cheers, Al

Robert Peterson, founder of Peterson Publishing had a double buile using the .225. He wanted a small light double for varmints and wanted a rimmed cartridge. The .225 was the logical choice. An old friend of mine got to shoot the rifle once and he said it was really a sweet shooting rig.

I have a mod. 70, 225 win. with a heavy
varmit barrel , in a custom fajen stock.
This gun rolls coyotes over at 300yrds.

I want to get a single shot H&R Ulta Varmiter in 223Rem (1/9") and have rechambered to 225 Win. I would like to have it as a 219 Donaldson Wasp but Wasp is too short. I am still looking for a gunsmith that will cut the chamber. Any ideas on smiths?

I think most any smith with any experience at all can cut the chamber for you. The problem is that the average smith won't have the reamers. There are several options. You can buy the reamer your self and let the smith use it, the smith can order it keep it and add a portion of the reamer cost to the total bill, or you or the smith can rent the reamer from several sources. A google search should turn up some places that will rent reamers. I know a good experienced g'smith in Ft. Meade, FL who would do a great job for you.
joe