I also like odd chamberings. Which is why I picked up a 225 Winchester is Savage model 340. Took it to my gunsmith and he also said it was the first Savage model 340 he had ever seen chambered in 225. And he is a model 340 fan. The nice thing about the Savage is you can pick them up fairly cheaply ( paid 375 for mine). It came with a box of goodies including the dies, a full box of factory ammo, about 30 handloads, and 20 more pieces of brass. So basically got 70 pieces usable brass with it. The stock was previously refinished and did not look that great, so I painted it and sprayed a webbing paint on it. I did not feel bad doing it as it is not a collectors piece by any stretch of the imagination. Before I took it to the gunsmith (the trigger was horrible) I put together a load using 50 grain v max and 4064 powder. With the bad trigger, and the old bushnell sportview that was on, it shot right at an inch at 100 yards. With a better scope and trigger it should get better.
I did get the gunsmith to check the twist and he came up with 1:15. I don't know how he measured it, but factory has it at 1:14. I will probably also try some 40 grain bullets as well. I figure if I can get good groups using those I will use them. A 40 grain bullet at 3800+ fps should be a good little groundhog gun out to 400 yards or so. I had thought about trying it for deer, but with the twist rate I will just make this my dedicated groundhog gun. Good to see some more love for the 225!
