We had company this afternoon and talked about tons of stuff, including their Savage 225 Winchester. It's the wife's gun, with the stock cut down to fit her, and she loves the old rifle. They are getting low on ammo and are having trouble finding more. They didn't listen to my suggestion to save all the brass, so I can't help them reload (with my gear). He asked what I would suggest, and I was thinking that a Savage rebarrel to 22-250 or having the barrel rechambered to 22-250 might be the way to go. I also suggested a Ruger American in 243 or 223 or 22-250, but they didn't want a new rifle.

I thought it might be good to put this question to the Savage guys on the forum. What would you suggest?

Or do one of you have a big box of new 225 brass?

225 can be made from 30-30.
In doing a search it looks like the US supply dried up around 2009.
I did find a place in Canada that does not say out of stock. I added to cart and it was accepted. Not sure if they can ship to US.
http://www.armesetplus.com/en/reloading/...-225-win-pkg-50

Added,
I just ordered 5 bags of 50 from Armeset plus, it said I would be contacted with shipping cost and for payment. Will report on what they say.

M

The rim diameters on the two rounds are different, so if the bolt on that Savage is to spec, then you would have to turn the rims down on the 30-30 brass in order use it.

You could check with JD Jones. Most of his smaller JDJ cartridges are based on on the .225 Win, and he sometimes has Winchester brass in stock.

I see that, and the 30/30 rim is thicker.
RCBS sells the case forming dies, I guess they would not be very useful.

M

After I brought up this topic, I found my book on cartridge cases and saw that 30/30 cases could be used to make 225 Win cases. The rim thickness problem was mentioned, but it appears that it's only a problem with some rifles, whereas other rifles will accept the thicker rim.

The bigger problem is that this isn't my rifle. It belongs to a buddy that doesn't reload and is rather clueless about cases in general. And I'm not going to reform 30/30 cases for him, though I would help him load or reload 225 Win cases. The 225 is his wife's gun, and she has sentimental attachment to it. With all of the above in mind, and the fact that she wants to keep using that old rifle, all I can think of is a rebarrel to something else with a 0.473 case head, or maybe have the old barrel set back a bit and re chambered. I think the guy would go for the rebarrel/rechamber if it didn't cost too much.

I'm not a Savage guy, and I've never had a barrel rechambered. What'll it cost to have a Savage barrel in 22-250 put on it versus what's the approx cost of rechambering (which I expect is the cheaper way to go).

Naturally, I suggested that just buying one of the available low cost rifles on the market today would be a good alternative, but it didn't seem to interest him much.

You didn't say what model, I'm guessing a 340? Numrich has barrels for $62. Rebarrel that sucker to 30-30 or .223.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/593830.htm#593750A

Armeset plus Is also out of stock.
But they did respond on a Sunday morning.

Mark

http://gadcustomcartridges.com/

Give this guy a call. He's a crotchety old phart, sucks at emails but answers the phone pretty good. He doesn't show the 225 on his web page but that doesn't mean he can't do it. I had him load 100 rounds of 32-40 by forming my 30-30 brass. Did I mention he's a grouch?

It's available on Gunbroker. Runs about 1.75 per piece.

Not many 225's around anymore, I'd think twice.

After feedback from you guys and a little internet digging, I emailed my buddy with what I saw his options to be, in order of increasing cost.

1. Buy the online brass and shoot reloads, while putting in back orders at one or two suppliers.
2. Rebarrel to 30/30, to match the .473 case head size on the 225 brass.
3. Park the rifle and get a Ruger American Compact in 223, 22-250, or 243.

An option I didn't mention is changing over the rifle to 223. The barrel can be had, but the existing bolt face is .473. Can an old Savage 340 bolt face or bolt be swapped out for 223 size? I didn't mention it because I didn't know if it's possible (the bolt change).

I can only speak from what I've read over the last few years, as I don't have a .225 Win. I read several instances of die-hard reloaders that have made .225 brass from .30-30's. They all used a lathe to thin the rim & then reformed. Since the primer pocket depth is fixed, the rim must be reduced from the front to the back. It sounds like your friends just want to buy a box a ammo & go shoot. If not, the wildcat .22/30/30 Imp should clean-up the chamber easily. No case taper & 40 deg shoulder. But only a reloader can love & care for a wildcat!

Yup, they just want to have ammo to shoot. I just found out that they have some ammo left - about 60 rounds. If they'll just buy some more brass, I can help the guy load up some ammo as needed. And they have another buddy that reloads and has the dies.

Now...what's really going to happen is that they'll shoot up their ammo, buy no new brass, and finally run out. I've made my suggestions and helped as much as I can. What happens happens. If they have questions, they can call me.

Nosler says that the brass "is not too difficult to find." https://www.nosler.com/225-winchester/

Call'em up and see where they get it from.

Tell them to sell/trade it to me.