225 Winchester Rechamber

[dfletcher]

I have an extra T/C Encore 222 Remington barrel that I'm considering having rechambered to either the 225 Winchester, 22-250 or 220 Swift. I already have and reload for 22-250 and 220 Swift, I have nothing in 225 Winchester.

It seems to me the 225 Winchester really doesn't offer anything different from the 22-250 or the Swift, but I've found rimmed cartridges in the Encore to be just a touch easier to use. Headspace on the rim is simpler, so is extraction. So unless there is a major issue finding 225 brass or that dies cost $150.00 a set - I'm leaning that way.

I see brass is a bit hard to find, can 225 brass be made from anything else?

Is rechambering from the 222 to 225 case anymore difficult that going 222 to 22-250 or Swift?

Any other suggestions for cartridge changes - not to 223 or 222 RM, already have those.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

.225 Winchester is one of those obsolescent cartridges that has hung on because there are still guns that shoot it, and it is a reasonably decent .22 caliber round. I don't believe that it can be made from anything else without a lathe and some skill. But brass was still available last time I looked. It may be a bit scarce at the moment because everybody is buying up anything that shoots, and the manufacturers are suspending many of their lower demand items until they fill their back orders. All that being said, it is an ideal cartridge for the T/C platform. Since you are going to be handloading, you might even look at going with an Improved version of the cartridge if you can find the dies and somebody to rent the reamer. That could easily buy you an extra 50-100 fps, depending on your load and barrel.

On the other hand, if you are looking for simple, a .22-250 is easy to get, and does about the same thing as the .225 will. IIRC, the .22-250 is what killed the .225 off in the first place. Reaming the barrel for one versus the other is moot. All the gunsmith will do is rent one reamer instead of the other.
-Mb

[russ69]

You have an interesting proposition. You want to re-chamber a Contender that is currently a 222 Rem. The problem is that the 222 is a fairly long cartridge, so you'll need something that is longer than the 222 unless you set the barrel back and that kind of work will cost more than a new barrel.
I didn't check the cartridge drawings but it looks like the natural choices in a rimmed cartridge would be a 220 Swift (semi-rimmed) or a 22 Savage.

[dfletcher]

You have an interesting proposition. You want to re-chamber a Contender that is currently a 222 Rem. The problem is that the 222 is a fairly long cartridge, so you'll need something that is longer than the 222 unless you set the barrel back and that kind of work will cost more than a new barrel.

I didn't check the cartridge drawings but it looks like the natural choices in a rimmed cartridge would be a 220 Swift (semi-rimmed) or a 22 Savage.

I'd assumed the 22-250 case was long enough, will have to check. I'd considered the 22 Savage Hi Power, but that cartridge uses a .227 diameter bullet. I suppose depending on who did the rechambering they might cut it for the Savage neck being sized to take .224 diameter bullets, similar as to what many do when cutting the 7.62X39 from .310 to .308.

If all else fails I suppose the 225 or Swift is fine.

[russ69]

I'd assumed the 22-250 case was long enough, will have to check.

I was thinking just off the top of my head (I think you are right, it's longer than I remember), you'll have to do the homework to make sure you have enough material to do the conversion. I agree a rimmed cartridge is a Contender favorite but there are not that many rimmed 22 rifle cartridges. I like the idea of a 22 Savage, it's fully rimmed. It wouldn't be much trouble to throat it for a 224 diameter bullet and make a loading die.

[ar15barrels]

225, 22-250 or 220 swift will all clean out a 222 chamber.

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd222remington.jpg

You should be able to make 225 Winchester by necking down 30-30 brass.

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd225winchester.jpg

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd3030winchester.jpg

Just have the rim counterbore setup for the 30-30 brass instead of the 225 brass.
Of you are sizing the brass properly to headspace on the shoulder, you can use both types of brass.

And if anyone needs a TC barrel worked on, I can help...

[dfletcher]

225, 22-250 or 220 swift will all clean out a 222 chamber.

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd222remington.jpg

You should be able to make 225 Winchester by necking down 30-30 brass.

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd225winchester.jpg

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd3030winchester.jpg

Just have the rim counterbore setup for the 30-30 brass instead of the 225 brass.
Of you are sizing the brass properly to headspace on the shoulder, you can use both types of brass.

And if anyone needs a TC barrel worked on, I can help ...

That was my plan.

I'll be in Reno this weekend, hopefully giving my C & R a workout. Will have the barrel & order sheet sent next week.