225 Winchester Question

[GRUMPA]

I had someone ask me to see about forming some 225Win brass. Well me liking a challenge got some things out and started forming. I have the gauge for it and when I form them the new form only goes as far as just barely forming the new angle. So off to the charts I go and noticed the length for the shoulder is .090 longer than the 30-30 for the 225.

What do you guys and girls do? Just fire form them?

I'm thinking that or Hydroforming but I have to make the tooling for that and man......it gets involved. Not to mention very labor intensive.

And yes.....I'm working with a 30-30 case. And I realize it's not as strong as factory but it's better than nothing.

[country gent]

I would size down with a false shoulder in the neck where it needs to be then foreform to finish.

[Tenbender]

Better check the rim size. I'm thinking the 225 has a smaller rim than the 30 30.

[GRUMPA]

Better check the rim size. I'm thinking the 225 has a smaller rim than the 30 30.

I got all that, even the width is smaller on the 225....

[bdicki]

I just use 225 brass, i bought a lot a long time ago. Sorry not much help, I can fire form some for you if needed or send you a few new 225 cases.

[GRUMPA]

I just use 225 brass, i bought a lot a long time ago. Sorry not much help, I can fire form some for you if needed or send you a few new 225 cases.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm trying to do this forming here. I Hydroform other cases and I might just need to make what I need to do that. Don't really want to but I may do it for the experience, like I really need it. I was just wondering if it was something I was missing, you know, like something so obvious I over looked it.

And I don't think I'll be adding these to my list of the available either, these would be $1ea by the time I got done with them...

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have ben there and tried that. I bought my friends collection of rifles when he passed. In the collection was a beautiful single shot rifle with double set triggers chambered for the 225. I tried all that you did and gave up on it. You have already been advised to buy 225 brass. I agree with that and have this one little addendum. Sell the rifle. You can't make the brass from other cases without more trouble than it is worth and the rim is so thin that you can't use an inertia bullet puller without bending it. I was fortunate in getting brass when others on this sight and the ASSRA site were kind enough to send me new brass. One fellow in New Mexico drove about 80 miles round trip to a gun shop to buy some new brass for me that they had for sale. I have attached a picture of my 225. It is so pretty I find it hard to sell. I can't recut the chamber because the 225 case is so large no other 22 caliber cartridge would work.

[GRUMPA]

Well......I'm not 1 to give up all that easily, and I don't own the rifle either. I got a request to make them and the person sent me the dies and the gauge for them. I've done harder conversions, at least I like to think I have. I'll put up pictures of the before and after, Hydroforming is a bit of an art especially when you have to make the tooling for it.

[EDG]

Have you ever tried hydroforming with a grease gun? For volume use it would be too messy but for 20 or 30 it might work ok.

[GRUMPA]

Nope......never a grease gun. But I have been thinking of an electric hydraulic pump, but I don't want to make Hydroforming a full time occupation either.

[Mk42gunner]

I wonder if the 7-30 Waters case, if you could find any, wouldn't be better for using as the donor case?

Robert

[Tenbender]

I have ben there and tried that. I bought my friends collection of rifles when he passed. In the collection was a beautiful single shot rifle with double set triggers chambered for the 225. I tried all that you did and gave up on it. You have already been advised to buy 225 brass. I agree with that and have this one little addendum. Sell the rifle. You can't make the brass from other cases without more trouble than it is worth and the rim is so thin that you can't use an inertia bullet puller without bending it. I was fortunate in getting brass when others on this sight and the ASSRA site were kind enough to send me new brass. One fellow in New Mexico drove about 80 miles round trip to a gun shop to buy some new brass for me that they had for sale. I have attached a picture of my 225. It is so pretty I find it hard to sell. I can't recut the chamber because the 225 case is so large no other 22 caliber cartridge would work.
Gopher. Change it to a 219 Zipper Ackley improved. That is the same exact case with a larger 30 30 size rim. You can make brass all day from 30 30's . I had a Ackley Zipper and you can even use 225 loading data. Great round. Wish I had it back.

[nekshot]

possible thread drift here but, I used a 6.5 carcano case and made a few(no rim). I had great ideas to put a 22 barrel on a carcano action for 225 win then I remembered a 65-06 douglas barrel in a corner so cut off most of the chamber and on to the carcano for a real true .264 diameter. I still like the way the 225 cases came out from downsizing the 6-5 carcano.

[GRUMPA]

I finally made the parts I needed to Hydroform the cases, here's a before and after picture. Just keep in mind I didn't do any of the head work to these yet..

143565

143566

The new shoulder is roughly .090 longer than the 30-30 parent case.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Tenbender, since I have acquired well over 200 cases for my 225 and have loading dies for it, it would not make economic sense to change cartridges now. I did have a 219 Zipper Ackley improved on the same type of action I have now. A previous owner had cut the butt stock to fit his teenage daughter which made it too short for me and restocking would have been too expensive so I traded it off. I will say it was a hairy varmint rifle. When I pulled the trigger I think it raised the roof at the range.

[leadman]

I do think 7 Waters would make the conversion easier. Think I have some in the shed so will compare them to my one remaining 225 case I should still have.
I understand that the OP must like a challenge like I do sometimes. I had a Contender 14" 223 barrel that I had rechambered to 225 Winchester. Due to case head thrust I could not equal the original 223 Rem loads, finally sold it. The 7 Waters was a 21" carbine barrel that I reformed 30-30 to use in it. That was easy, size, load, fire, done.

[GRUMPA]

The ones I did turned out real well. Making what was needed to Hydroform those cases is something that took some figuring but I made it all work. Now the person I sent them too was beside himself, he's never seen cases look that good.

But me being the way I am cares less about how things look. I'm more interested in how well they work.

The entire process takes a bit of skill and tools, one or the other wont work you need both. But after I got done with those they aren't something I would do for anything under $1ea plus shipping. The thing those don't need compared to a majority of what I do is reaming. Those fell right into place for the neck diameter....

[Ken in Iowa]

Good job Grumpa. The 225 was one of the most sensible varmint cartridges to come along.