Need some in-put / rechamber ideas ?

[stimpylu32]

Ok guys , I have a new 22" hornet barrel sitting here and can't make up my mind as to what to do with it , as of now I have it narrowed down to a short list of rounds .

1 - 219 Zipper

2 - 219 D Wasp

3 - 22-303 VR

4 - 22/30-30 Ackley

The barrel has a 1 in 12 twist so bullets will be kept to 55 grain or lighter and speeds ill be at 3500 FPS or less , I know Dalti has a Handi Zipper and just loves it so it got the # 1 spot so far . but do anyone of you shoot any of these other rounds in any other type guns ?

What I'm looking for at this point is some pro's and con's to each of these on the list , so fire away guys . 

stimpy

[cwlongshot]

I vote for the Donalson wasp!!!

CW

[Slufoot]

Hey stimpy, the pros and cons in my opinion will be the cost of the reloading dies.
Midway USA list Redding 2-die sets for both the 219's, the Zipper is $59.99 and the Donaldson Wasp is $67.99. I have an old Sierra manual that list data for both of these cartridges and they both top out at 3300fps with 55 grain bullets and both are tested in 26" barrels.
The 22-303 VR & the 22/30-30 Ackley will probably set you back alot more for dies. I'm not familiar with the 22-303 VR but the 22/30-30 Ackley should gain some respectable velocities over the 219's. The 22/30-30 Ackley should be slightly better than the 225 Winchester and that's pretty good company to be in!
If the cost of dies was a concern I would go with the Donaldson Wasp since you already know someone that has a Zipper. The DW case is .125" shorter than the Zipper and the DW case has noticeably less taper, this should provide better case life and less stretching.
I guess my vote would be for the 219 Donaldson Wasp!

GOOD SHOOTING!
Slufoot

[Booyah]

Have you considered the 221 Fireball.  Dies and case are available at reasonable prices. Factory ammo is still available but reloading is cheaper.  Rechambering is easily done and the improvement over the Hornet is very noticable.

[stimpylu32]

At this point I'm thinkin either the Wasp or Zipper , what I'm looking for is a round that is the ballistic equal to the 223 Rem or real close but in a rimmed case , and both will fit that nitch very well . The dies for both around the same price and both can be formed from either a 25-35 or 30-30 parent case .

As to the 221 FB , that's a whole diffrent project for this winter . ( savage Bolt  )

stimpy

[Badnews Bob]

I've been looking at doing this to a .223 barrel I have, The biggest point to look at I've seen is zipper brass is available with the correct head stamp. Not much diffrence otherwise, Maybe 150,200 FPS to the wasp.

[torpedoman]

w.w.w. ammoguide.com has a program that will give you ever option available and many loads for each one when you get ready to load it is one of the nicest sites for reloaders and is only 20 bucks a year for membership but a lot of info for free without a paid membership. I ran your barrel and it returned 50 choices to pick from

[Mitch in MI]

225 Winchester brass is still available, along with loaded 55gr PSP ammo.

If you want something truly unique (there are Handis out there with 225 chambers already), how about .22-.307 Winchester, or maybe 22-70 Government?

I don't think there's enough metal there to rechamber to .22 BMG. 

[BCall]

I've been looking at doing this to a .223 barrel I have, The biggest point to look at I've seen is zipper brass is available with the correct head stamp. Not much diffrence otherwise, Maybe 150,200 FPS to the wasp.

Not sure you can do the Zipper or Wasp on a 223 barrel, I think the shoulder is to far forward on the 223 to recut to either one of them. I was thinking about doing a Zipper on a 9" twist barrel, but I don't think you can. I was going to wait and see if the 9" twist Hornet barrels came out to do one. You could probably do a 219 Zipper improved though, or the 22/30-30 AI. Billy

[Badnews Bob]

It would be close on either but looking at it the .225 win would deffinatly work.

[LONGTOM]

I have a 223 1 in 12 rechamber in 225.
It can match a 22-250 anyday or cut back to 223 speed if need be.
The brass is still out there and factory is also.
Dies are regular price.

I just picked up 3 boxes of factory ammo tonight off a guy for $10.00 a box.

I have 6 225s!
I have two model 70s, one standard and one heavy varmint, a model 670, a 26" custom BULLBERRY ENCORE, the Handi, and my baby - a full custom REM model 30S EXPRESS with a 28" PACNOR #5 heavy sporter barrel that is a constant 3 shot 1 hole shooter at 100.
It will keep 5 under a dime at 100 and 3 under a quarter at 250 if I do my part.

What more could you want.
All easy to get, easy rechamber, rimed case, factory ammo, easy to reload for.


LONGTOM

[Steve P]

5.56x50R.  A little stouter than the .223 but with a rim. 

Steve

[BCall]

I was interested in the 5.6x50R myself, but the cost and availability of brass nixed it for me. I have a barrel here just waiting until after Christmas to be rechambered to 225. Brass is cheaper and more plentiful, and the dies are easier to get as well. Just gotta wait until after the first, then it will be sent out. Hopefully later on, I can get a Zipper done, but some other things I have been given may be done first. Thanks, Billy

[skifastchad]

Not sure you can do the Zipper or Wasp on a 223 barrel, I think the shoulder is to far forward on the 223 to recut to either one of them. I was thinking about doing a Zipper on a 9" twist barrel, but I don't think you can. I was going to wait and see if the 9" twist Hornet barrels came out to do one. You could probably do a 219 Zipper improved though, or the 22/30-30 AI. Billy

^  What he said.

The shoulder on a 223 is .354" at 1.438" deep.  On the zipper, at that same depth, it is .331" in diameter. 

The chamber would have 2 shoulders.

 

[Datil]

 I would have to agree with Bcall on the 5.6x52, brass exspencive probably hard to get.
 Dies be high custom made. Just my 2 cents.
 Thats the reason I with 219 Zip, But I bought my Dies at a Gun show IIRC $5.00. That was 30 years ago.
 Marv.

[krod47nw]

My vote is for the wasp.  I think the case size of the 22-303 and 22/30-30 are not necessary if you can stabilize the the heavier bullets.

Kevin

[cwlongshot]

I still like the Donaldson but the 225 has much appeal in die cost and brass availability....

CW

[ken-wv.]

i have a 225 win. rechamber,havent loaded or shot it yet,it dose have a rim,close to a 22/30-30 in looks,and the brass is built like a tank,real thick and heavy,it should last a life time.

[jedman]

Stimpy,  I know you like wildcats....and you have said you don't mind the case forming process to make your brass,  here is a idea that I have thought of doing for several years but have never got to because of many projects in bigger bores.  For a rimmed case to start use a 303 British or a 30-40 Krag,  take a 22-250 sizing die and have someone with a lathe trim off the bottom of the die until the diameter is about .004 larger than the ACTUAL head diameter of the case you are using.
Then with the neck expander / depriming pin and lock nut removed form some casings, I'm sure you will need to do this in several steps going from 30 to 22 cal. but you knew that, When you get some nicely formed brass trim the neck back to what the 22-250 has and see what you think of it ?
I'm estimating it will be approximately 1.5" long and have a bit more powder capacity than a 223.
I like to use LEE dies to cut down and form with because they are cheep and there neck expander is the best I have used and easy to modify to your needs.
Doing this on a handi barrel is a simple matter of opening the rim cut from the hornet to what case your using then using a standard 22-250 reamer ream the chamber slowly until your formed casings will headspace on the shoulder then you have it, a 44 mag extractor / ejector might work or could be made to work.
Your bullet seating die will also need shortened a like amount and if you like Lee collet neck sizing dies they are easy to shorten and work great.
I know this methood might seem strange but I have a bunch of handi barrels done with the same methood ( all rimmed ) and they are all fine shooters.
Case forming such as this is not for everybody but it's not that bad either, once you have some good casings and neck size them you can get a lot of case life out of these if you load them to a moderate pressure level.  just something to think about.   Thanks,  Jedman