Stevens 840 225 Winchester conversion.

[firebyprolong]

Just picked up another Stevens 840 last week and the fact that these where factory chambered for the 225 win sticks in my mind. The more I think about it the more interesting a 225 win sounds, I've seen that the 225 and the 219 zipper AI are pretty similar case designs except the rim and head dimentions.

Numeric has new 223 barrels as a donor barrel to be reamed to 225 in stock for this action at pretty good prices but bolt heads are a bit more involved and pricey.
The more I think about it why go to the bother of the lathe work to cut down the rims on 30-30 to form true 225 win. The rifle already has a 30-30 bolt face, why not just form the case and leave the head alone? The plan I'm formulating is to cut a 225 chamber in the 223 barrel and set it to headspace on the rim. If I ever decide to run factory 225 I can always use a 225 bolt head, loosen the nut and reset headspace to actual 225.

Am I way off track here or does anyone see a glaring issue that I don't? This looks to me like a very practical and simple way to take about half the work out of 225 case forming.

[CA Dude]

I have a 219 Zipper Improved. It is a great cartridge. I have read that the 255 Win case is stronger than the 30-30 case you will have to use to make your cartridges with; but I haven't cut a 225 Win case in half to confirm this. They are just too hard to fine, to cut up. You could form a "225/30-30" case with the 225 dies and some intermediate dies that would work like you purpose. There isn't much difference between the 225 Win and the 219 Zipper Imp. My rifle is built on a Number 4 SMLE. I run 55 grain bullets at about 3150 to 3250 fps without any pressure issues. A couple of years ago I shot a PD at 615 yards. That is proof that even a blind squirrel can find a nut now and then.

CA Dude

[James Wisner]

The Sav 340V for the 225 Win cal used a whole differrent type of bolt head and extractor. Yes GPC has those parts.

Did not understand why until a couple of years ago when my father rebarreled a 340 into a 25-35 Win caliber. He did not have any problems until he started to reload it up to the max listed in some books. Seems the clip type extractor for the 30-30 will only work up to a certain point when the cases start to stick in the chamber then the extractor hook simply slides off the rim. Not enough material thickness to make it stiff and really grip the cases.

That would explain why the late 222 and 223 rifles used a plunger type extractor, pressure vs chamber tension when extracting the case.

The 225 used a small pivoted hook extractor and they seemed to work OK.

FYI, any of the factory 222 or 223 barrels will have a 1 x 14 twist in them for the lighter wieght bullets

JW

Just my 2 cents

[screwcutter]

I did a Stevens 325 to 219 Zipper with a Nurmrich 340 .223 reamed. I guess I haven’t loaded it hot enough to have extraction issues.

[firebyprolong]

Ive got the dies to build brass for pretty much any of these rounds, so at this point I'm thingking the next gunshow takeoff barrel that floats my way is going to get set up for this action and chambered in something interesting. If not 219 or 225 then 7-30waters or 25-35. I'll think on James comments about twist in those numeric barrels and the weakness of the sheet steel extractor and decide if I want to deal with it or not.. Thank you all for sharing your experiences on this, that is the exact reason I asked the question. I've got a nice early 340 in 30-30 with a brand new barrel as well so this is a project I can stew on for a while.

[gnoahhh]

.225 is the one factory chambering I would avoid in that rifle. Just one dinky locking lug remember. An acquaintance of mine had one and it developed excess headspace pretty quickly. Just my opinion, based on a single observation. But note also that Savage dropped it from the line up pretty quickly, and word on the street pointed to that as the cause.

[Texas by God]

I'd go with .219 Zipper; rechambering one of the .223 Numrich 340 Savage barrels. The 1-14" twist will handle 60 gr spitzers as well as the 63gr and 70 gr semi spitzers just fine. But 50 to 55 gr bullets are the ticket.

[SvenLindquist]

Scratching my head as to why anyone would want to change (spend $) on any of those budget, far from pretty, terrible trigger rifles when there are so many better choices out there ?

Back in 195 something, I had one in Hornet that worked okay but quickly went away once I found a 722 in 222 Rem. Still have a 722 in the safe was a 222 now a 223AI. A change worth doing.

[gnoahhh]

There is that. I didn't want to be the one to say it.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

The 225-30 is a 'common' wildcat, used in the single shot rifles needing a rim and not too difficult to form, IF you you start from 25-35. If you are paying for the labor/machine time, a 22-250 T-C, Mossberg Predator, Savage might up a better deal. If you are doing it yourself, enjoy the experience. The action has the locknut for headspace. The 225 headspace is set on the shouler, but the 225-30 could be set on the case rim, though the shoulder would be better in case actual 225 brass or ammunition was found. The 225 was loaded well above 30-30 pressures by the factory so you are above normal bolt thrust levels with the 225 factory in a 30-30 action. Yes, later Savage 340's were available in 225 so...?

[firebyprolong]

Why is always a good question, I'm doing the machine work, the base rifle was of pidddling cost, has a decent trigger and reamer rentals are fairly cheap. I had considered that the 225/30 might be a bit too snappy for this action at factory pressures, even though they where offered as such originally. I didn't know anyone that had an original in 225 to ask and the information on the web is pretty thin on the ground about the longevity of that chambering in these rifles. I appreciate first hand or even second hand information you guys provided, thank you.
Sure a new factory 22-250 would be easier, quicker and if you count time, cheaper. but I'd have to take up golf to fill my time if I didn't have 4 or 5 rifle projects to work on and lay awake at night thinking about. You guys start asking why, I don't have much of an answer other than as long as it's a safe conversation why not. Sounds like this one might be on the edge so I'll find a more suitable option.