Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 225 Winchester opinions , experience , loads ?

My fondness for out of the mainstream firearms and cartridges caused me to bring home a winchester 670 chambered in .225 winchester. I'm familiar with the history of the cartridge and the fact that remington's introduction of the .22-250 caused it to be a non starter with regard to ever gaining any market share. Like all 670's this one is every bit as pretty as a mud fence, but I have high hopes that it shoots better than it looks.

I'm sure there are some of you who also hang around the island of mis-fit toys, so I'd like to hear your experiences with the .225 winchester.

I have no intentions of trying to hot rod my handloads, in fact an accurate load just a tad faster than a .223 remington would suite my needs just fine. Basically it's going to be a coyote, armadillo, crow buster.

I picked up the 670 along with 6 boxes of factory winchester 55 gr softpoints, and I've already purchased a lee handloader which of course only sizes the necks so the brass should have long life.

I would appreciate any advice, experiences, suggestions etc regarding the .225 winchester.

Thanks

Weagle

I have no experience with the .225 but am sure you eventually need to purchase some FLS dies. Even with moderate loads the cases will expand in time to the point where neck sizing will no longer be sufficient. Just a word of warning.

Jim

I've got a '64 vintage 70 .225. Picked it up at a gun show in the early '90s for $265. It was absolutely mint and had probably been fired very little. It's one of the "ugly 70s" but it shoots like a dream. It shoots the factory load into 1/2" all day long. Don't have a lot of varmints around here but I did kill a pretty nice 7 point buck with it shooting the 53 gr Barnes X and it worked like a charm. I'm going to do a little off season coyote hunting in the next few months so hopefully I'll get a little more field time with the .225.

I must have the twin rifle to SCgunNut: '64 manufactured M70,just as ugly as everyone claims, but boy does she shoot! She likes IMR4064 or Varget with Dober's fav bullet, the 63gr Sierra. Also very much likes the 50gr VMax or TNT with the same powders. Coyotes and cottontails do not like this rifle, but I really do.

I usually use the 63gr Sierra when calling 'yotes, or expect close targets, and the VMax or TNT general purposes.

Bet you will enjoy the 225. Let us know how she performs.

Harvey Donaldson had a Remington 722 rebarreled to 225 and he was a pretty fair shooter. IIRC, ol' Harv thought that the 225 had more accuracy potential than the 22-250, sort of a 219 Improved Zipper with a little less rim.

The only 225s that I've owned, that I recall, have been Savage 340Vs and I always felt that they were iffy, being a 1-lug design.

As much as I like the unusual and unique, I have to try harder to keep myself from buying mis-fit toys.

Jeff

I had a .225 in the Ugly Winchester heavy barrel format for many years, and it shot very accurately. I do recall an occasional feeding problem. A friend killed a couple of deer with it but all of my experience was limited to the range. It is a very accurate cartridge and gives up very little to the .22/250.

Where do you get brass for that?

Never had a problem finding brass. For example Midway has it:

Classic load is about 33 grains of 4064 and a 55 grain bullet. A friend of mine had one back in the mid 70s for killing ground hogs in the soybean fields. He had me to work up a load with his Lee loader thingy. The gun was really accurate. I couldn't tell a difference between its performance and that of my .22-250.

Weagle,

I have an extra set of RCBS dies if you are in need. I have a 1885 High wall in .223 that is intended to be rechambered to .225 Win.

Like you, I just can't resist strange toys...

Edw

All I can add to the conversation [from experience ] is that one will chamber and fire in a 22 250 AI but it makes the case look funny .

I had a Model 70 in 225 Winchester in the mid-1960s. It shot like a dream with a Leupold fixed power 8X scope. Eventually, I sold it and bought another 220 Swift (my favorite varmint cartridge).

Never had any problems with the cartridge. Good cartridge, but it just never appealed to me nor, had the excitement of the 220 Swift.

I bought a .225 WIN post-64 M70 in June 2001, which had been built in 1966. My .225 has the second version impressed checkering, slightly better looking than the "Triple Diamond" impressed checkering of the 1964-1965 version. The Winchester Super-X 55 grain PSP factory load turned in 4 shot 3/4" groups in July 2001 that measured an average velocity of 3276 fps. My best handload uses the Hornady 50 grain V-Max, WIN WLR primers, WIN Brass, and 35.0 grains of H380. That load shoots 1/2" to 7/8" 5-shot groups at 100 yards and clocks 3300 average fps. I bought 300 cases from Huntington's back in 2001 - should last me a long while.

Thanks for all the information. Here's a picture of the rifle. Note that it is the model 670 so it is the econo model without the 3 position safety,it has a blind mag instead of the hinged bottom metal and the stock is probably birch. Despite the cost cutting downgrades, the action and barrel should be the same as a standard model 70, so I hope it shoots as well as some of the rifles you guys have owned.

I've got access to some FL dies, but my plans are to stick with the lee handloader. I'm a little nostalgic about the little Lee kits as I loaded for my .243 with one for years back when I was young.

I got the gun and the 6 boxes of ammo for $370.00 from a dealer at a recent gun show.

Weagle

Sounds like you got a great deal! Hope you enjoy the rifle. Let us know how it shoots!

You got a great deal! I had a late 1960's Mdl 70 in 225. I was working the gun department at the Sportsman in Reno, and they had this sitting there for 8 years, and never knew it was in the back room in a box. I dug out Superposed o/u's in 410 and 28ga, too, that had gone overlooked for years. I never got to keep a paycheck; they got it all back, but I got some super deals on great guns.

That 225 shot like a benchrest rifle. I loved it, so I sold it.

Weagle, your rifle looks like it has hardly been used, out to be a lot of shooting fun. Not being a varmint hunter, I use my .225 to introduce young shooters to centerfire rifles; looks and feels exactly like a "big deer gun" to them, but no kick at all.

My .225 is a Model 70 Deluxe bought new in 1970. It must have been on the shelf for a while because it was on sale at half price. Loaded it with 55gn Hornady SX and IMR4064 and could hit any ground squirrel I could see through the 6X scope. 4064 was a bit touchy when approaching max loads. A 1/2 grain of powder would make a big difference in pressure.

The .225 stayed in the safe for some years while I used the Swift exclusively but I dusted it off recently and put on a 12X Leupold. It loves moly-coated 52gn Sierras. Half-inch groups and 3600 fps with a maximum of 36.0 grains of Reloader 15 or 34.5 grains of IMR4064 and 210M primers.

Walt

I have a Ruger No.1 V that was a 223 and I had rechambered to 225 Winchester about 5 years ago. I use it for p-dogs in Montana. The best load for my rifle ended up being 34.2 grains of Win 748 powder and a 50 grain Hornady V-Max bullet for 3534 FPS.