The 225 Winchester

The .225 Winchester replaced the .220 Swift and PO'd a lot of folks. The Swift had a rep as a barrel burner and Winchester thought they would tone it down a bit and the.225 would be a hit, but the .22-250 came out shortly after and took off leaving the .225 in the dust. The .225 comes up about 100 fps short of the .22-250. My old boss had one and I helped him develop a load for it because ammo was hard to find even back then. The JD Jones line of cartridges based on the .225 have kept the brass in production, although production is limited and you better grab it when you find it. There may not be any more made for a couple of years. As far as I know Winchester is the only source for the brass.
 
I picked one up last year and have been using it here and there, while waiting to order a new barrel for it. It has been a grail gun for me and I came into it during a trade. I got the Winchester Model 70 in .225 Winchester (1964 - first year) with a bunch of factory ammo and a Ruger 10/22 Magnum. Both were beat up a bit, but they were perfect for my needs. I had the stock fixed-up and redone back to original. The barrel is next. I used it exclusively on a predator trip last fall, where I shot 9 badgers and 4 coyotes. It was a lot of fun and everything I shot just died. I have been shooting the .220 Swift for about 30 years, but I don't worry so much about speed. For me, it was pure nostalgia and the history behind the cartridge. As posted above, it really was a bonehead move by Winchester at the time. I have handloaded the Quality Cartridge brass (from Graf's) and it worked out perfect. My recommendation is to buy it, use it and enjoy the results. It is a blast to shoot and has the cool factor that is so hard to find with some of the recent modern cartridges.
 

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Well, if you can buy it for almost nothing, Iā€™d tell you to grab it up. I canā€™t pass up guns that are almost given away.Lol. But if the guys asking and a half the price, I wouldnā€™t be too excited about it since the brass is too darn expensive. I just bought nine guns, over 4000 bullets, a couple of tuna cans of loaded ammo, reloading equipment, and over 60 pounds of powder ALL for a total of $450 bucks at an estate sale last year. I spent pennies on the dollar. I already sold three of the Of the rifles, a 8 pound keg o& powder, and some of the reloading supplies for a littler over two grand. When the price is right I always buy! If itā€™s retail, or close to it, I usually pass. Too many guns and reloading stuff laying around already that Iā€™ve collected through the decades. Thereā€™s no gun or anything that I probably ever need again other than if I wake up someday and decide thereā€™s something I canā€™t live, without which probably isnā€™t gonna happen. Iā€™m thinning the herd and not buying more latley.
 
In the 1970s my neighbor used a Win 70 in 225 for local woodchucks and a few catsšŸ˜œ
As I got a few dollars I wanted one. Then another came my way. 225 is a fun caliber that is not incredibly difficult to find ammo for. I have acquired plenty of brass for my use and I reload all the center fire ammo I shoot
As stated once you have the brass and dies the other components are easily obtained
Winchester started chambering the 225 in 1965 so all the factory rifles are post 64 actions. Both of mine shoot very well 300 yard woodchucks are no problem
For me the older rifles have soul not found on plastic guns
I have too many varmint rifles so I use the 225 rifles in my gun room for a handful of woodchucks a year but make sure they get fired every spring
 
WTJones said:
Ok lemme look through my stuff and see if I have anything to get you up and running.
Click to expand...
If you still have the 225 ammo Iā€™d be interested, I got my dads after he passed away a 1 year and a half agoā€¦.its a nice 1964 Model 70 with the bull barrel and bausch and lomb scopeā€¦thanks JD
 
We had a swap meet at my gun club last week-end. A friend of mine had a Model 70 Winchester (very nice condition) in 225 for sale. Came with dies and three bags of new brass plus a bunch of loaded rounds for $850. He had a box full of other stuff that he said went with it but I'm not sure what was in it other than the brass. I got to look at it but it didn't last very long at all. It was a really nice rifle for the money or at least I thought it was. With three unopened bags of brass was kind of the cherry on top.
 
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