.225 Winchester
Encyclopedia
The .225 Winchester cartridge
was created in 1964 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
. Based upon the .219 Donaldson Wasp
cartridge, it is a semi-rimmed cartridge, which was an oddity for a cartridge introduced at the time. It was intended as a replacement for the .220 Swift
cartridge, which despite being a very powerful varmint round, had a reputation for wearing out rifle barrels prematurely. The .225 Winchester was initially chambered in factory rifles by Winchester (Models 70 and 670) and Savage (Model 340). All commercially produced rifles chambered in .225 Winchester were turn-bolt operated actions. It is also the basis for the some of the most popular JDJ cartridges from SSK Industries. These include the 226, 6 mm, 257, 6.5 mm, 270, and 7 mm JDJ. SSK developed them for hunting use in the popular Contender
.
The round never achieved great popularity and was soon eclipsed by the .22-250 Remington
, which was introduced commercially the following year. The .22-250 Remington was already a popular wildcat, a non-official custom cartridge, and, as such, many more people were familiar with the round. Winchester ceased production of any rifles chambered in .225 Winchester in 1971. Very limited production of loaded ammunition and brass cases are continued by Winchester. Reloading dies for the round are still produced by Hornady and RCBS.
Ironically, the .220 Swift, which the .225 Winchester was intended to replace, has remained popular and has experienced a renaissance in recent years. The .223 Remington
(also designed in 1964) and its variants have largely supplanted this round, being very similar in caliber and overall performance. A rimmed cartridge, the .225 Winchester was far less suited for use in autoloading rifles than the .223. With the military adopting a .223 variant as the 5.56 NATO cartridge, and the increasing popularity of autoloaders, the demise of the .225 was effectively a foregone conclusion.
The .225 Winchester's case is the parent case for SSK Industries' line of JDJ cartridges designed by J.D. Jones. The most popular are the 226, 6 mm, 257, 6.5 mm, 270, and 7 mm JDJ. The .225 Winchester case is utilized because of its strong design.
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
was created in 1964 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
. Based upon the .219 Donaldson Wasp
.219 Donaldson Wasp
The .219 Donaldson Wasp cartridge was created in 1937 by Harvey Donaldson. It is based on the .219 Zipper case, which is in turn based upon the .25-35 Winchester case. While popular amongst match shooters in the 1930s & 1940s it has fallen by the wayside in favor of cartridges such as the 22 PPC...
cartridge, it is a semi-rimmed cartridge, which was an oddity for a cartridge introduced at the time. It was intended as a replacement for the .220 Swift
.220 Swift
The .220 Swift is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935. It was the first factory loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over...
cartridge, which despite being a very powerful varmint round, had a reputation for wearing out rifle barrels prematurely. The .225 Winchester was initially chambered in factory rifles by Winchester (Models 70 and 670) and Savage (Model 340). All commercially produced rifles chambered in .225 Winchester were turn-bolt operated actions. It is also the basis for the some of the most popular JDJ cartridges from SSK Industries. These include the 226, 6 mm, 257, 6.5 mm, 270, and 7 mm JDJ. SSK developed them for hunting use in the popular Contender
Thompson Center Arms
Thompson/Center Arms Company is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company is best known for its line of interchangeable barrel single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson Center manufactures muzzleloading rifles and is credited with creating the resurgence of their...
.
The round never achieved great popularity and was soon eclipsed by the .22-250 Remington
.22-250 Remington
The .22-250 Remington is a very high-velocity , short action, .22 caliber rifle cartridge primarily used for varmint hunting and small game hunting, though it finds occasional use on deer. This cartridge is also sometimes known as the 22 Varminter or the 22 Wotkyns Original Swift...
, which was introduced commercially the following year. The .22-250 Remington was already a popular wildcat, a non-official custom cartridge, and, as such, many more people were familiar with the round. Winchester ceased production of any rifles chambered in .225 Winchester in 1971. Very limited production of loaded ammunition and brass cases are continued by Winchester. Reloading dies for the round are still produced by Hornady and RCBS.
Ironically, the .220 Swift, which the .225 Winchester was intended to replace, has remained popular and has experienced a renaissance in recent years. The .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...
(also designed in 1964) and its variants have largely supplanted this round, being very similar in caliber and overall performance. A rimmed cartridge, the .225 Winchester was far less suited for use in autoloading rifles than the .223. With the military adopting a .223 variant as the 5.56 NATO cartridge, and the increasing popularity of autoloaders, the demise of the .225 was effectively a foregone conclusion.
The .225 Winchester's case is the parent case for SSK Industries' line of JDJ cartridges designed by J.D. Jones. The most popular are the 226, 6 mm, 257, 6.5 mm, 270, and 7 mm JDJ. The .225 Winchester case is utilized because of its strong design.
See also
- .224 Weatherby Magnum.224 Weatherby MagnumThe .224 Weatherby Magnum is a sporting cartridge that was developed in 1963 by Roy Weatherby after about 10 years of development. It is a proprietary cartridge with no major firearms manufacturers chambering rifles for it other than Weatherby...
- 5 mm caliber5 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge.All measurements are in mm .-Rimfire cartridges:...
other cartridges in .22 caliber - List of rifle cartridges
External links
- .225 Winchester at Chuck Hawks