My first bolt rifle was a M-70 in .225 Winchester.....The year was 1964 and the .220 Swift was no longer available.....it was extremely accurate and no handloads I made would equal the 55grain factory loads.
Many times I bet that I could hit a penny on my first shot at 100 yards and then proved it.....I called it my 24 cent rifle as it cost me a penny to win the quarter.
My friend that I hunted prairie dogs with had a Remington 788 in .22-250 and it could keep up with my .225.....together, we decimated prairie dogs.
Groups finally opened to roughly 1.5 inches and it was time for a rebarrel…..it just made sense to rebarrel to .22-250 but for some reason the .22-250 didn't extract well in the M-70 action and further accuracy of the rebarrel wasn't to my liking.....then I discovered the .223 and haven't looked back since.
