.225 winchester from .30/30 brass

[bensonwe]

Finally was able to get some .30 30 brass squeezed down to .225 winchester. Loaded some j-word sierra 55 grain with 30.0 grains of H4895. Tried some last week at the range and getting very acceptable grouping. Hopefully get to try them on pdogs this spring.

[GRUMPA]

I needed to Hydroform the ones I did. Notice the 2 on the right, that's just using the sizer die......which.....still leaves the gauge dimension .090 to short. The 2 on the left are Hydroformed......then I machined the rest which worked out just fine for the person that got them.

[Three44s]

I have been pondering this for sometime upon seeing this thread.

Don't want to stir anything up but I recalled that 225 Win cases were thought to be pretty thick walled by JD Jones and thus was his selection for the 6.5 JDJ in Contenders.

And on the flip side, 30-30 brass is somewhat thin walled.

Wondered if you might have cross sectioned each sample and compared?

Best regards

Three 44s

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I also tried to use 30-30 brass for my 225 Winchester chambered single shot. The 30.30 case has a rim that is 200 K thicker than the 225 and that posed a problem. I had my lathe then so it was no trouble to take off the excess brass. I have since found plenty of 225 brass. The 30.30 case is also shorter than the 225.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I have been pondering this for sometime upon seeing this thread.

Don't want to stir anything up but I recalled that 225 Win cases were thought to be pretty thick walled by JD Jones and thus was his selection for the 6.5 JDJ in Contenders.

And on the flip side, 30-30 brass is somewhat thin walled.

Wondered if you might have cross sectioned each sample and compared?

Best regards

Three 44s

That is true. I think you could get .225 brass, and that is the best way to go. My Load from a Disk computer programme database gives the .225 wall as .040in. immediately in front of the solid head (this is the important one, and .020 near the shoulder. The .30-30 figures are .024in. and .012in. respectively. I would imagine that these are SAAMI specifications.

I wouldn't automatically reject the use of .30-30 cases on this account. People do successfully make .22 centrefires from them. But I would want to make sure the finished cases are a good match for the chamber (not too difficult with a fairly recent development like the .225), and I would avoid exploring the greatest pressures of which the .225 is otherwise capable.

[GRUMPA]

I have been pondering this for sometime upon seeing this thread.

Don't want to stir anything up but I recalled that 225 Win cases were thought to be pretty thick walled by JD Jones and thus was his selection for the 6.5 JDJ in Contenders.

And on the flip side, 30-30 brass is somewhat thin walled.

Wondered if you might have cross sectioned each sample and compared?

Best regards

Three 44s

In that case I would just weigh a couple of each. And by that just make a few using 30-30 brass, do all the trimming, forming yada yada. Now since all the outside dimensions are the same just weigh the cases. Any weigh variance will be a direct result of internal differences, generally thickness.

[BAGTIC]

Problem with weighing to determine internal volume is that it doesn't tell where the extra thickness is. .375 Winchester was designed for higher pressures. Both still require trimming the rims as they are too large for a .225. As a temporary 'make do' a few might be okay but I would prefer to wait until factory brass is available and the 'get enough to last' as the situation won't get any better in the future.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yes, it is thickness close to the head that matters, and simply weighing the brass or the water which will fill it can be deceptive. I would suspect that just about any cartridge could harmlessly be .012in. or less in thickness near the shoulder, and making them fairly thick there is partly a natural result of the drawing process, and partly to resist accidental denting.

[Iowa Fox]

Structurally I don't think the 30-30 case is intended for the pressures the 225 was created for.

[Three44s]

Structurally I don't think the 30-30 case is intended for the pressures the 225 was created for.

That was what I was getting at ........... if the .30-30 was it's equal, JD Jones would not have gone to the trouble of using the .225 case for his series (the 6.5 JDJ etc.)

On the other hand, in normal applications such as just shooting a .225 Win bolt gun is the added thickness just ahead of the web necessary? ............. Darned if I know.

But in a Contender and a JDJ cartridge I suspect that a true .225 Win case is still the better bet.

Best regards

Three 44s