The mystique of thee 220 Swift

Lodgepole

New member
I never owned one ,maybe I should . Have they been abandoned by the manufacturers of rifles ? Are they being recreated as the 22-250 has by the fast twist barrels and bullets long as a jack handle. Why do it ?Why not ?I suppose it would now be a custom only or used though not many for sale .
 
I've got a Swift, Criterion 12 twist on a Savage action that is lazer accurate shooting 64gr Berger Varmint flatbacks. It is most definitely a keeper.
 
I saw a bag of WW new brass in town today 100 for I think $60 or $70 cant remember which . Would 243 bolt face be the right size ?
 
I have a 700 vs 24", 700 vsf 26" in a Hogue ghillie stock, and a savage I put together with a 12 twist 22" Pacnor. The vs was my dedicated daytime hunting rifle until I discovered night hunting with an AR. I never really pushed any of them real hard and Im sure a 243 or 22 250 will do the same job but I also prefer the 6mm rem over the 243. Just a Nostalgia thing for me I guess.
I had to send the vsf back to Rem because of accuracy issues but now I have one load that shoots well out of it. The VS shot awesome the first 15 or so rounds but then groups opened. After about 275 rounds I bedded it and it shoots great now. Imo the copper fouling has also lessened a bit after 350 or so totals rounds. I guess it "broke in" some. The Pacnor I bought here used for cheap. It copper fouls but is well under 1" for 5 shots with both loads for my Rems. My advice would be to start with a quality aftermarket barrel.
 
Last edited:
Nothing against the Swift so I'm no bashing them at all. I've had two. First was a Savage heavy barrel. It just shot OK and I sold it to a friend and he made a Creed out of it. Second was a Remington in a plastic varmint stock. At first glance, it looked like it had a custom barrel because there were no visible Remington markings on the barrel and it was stamped 220 SWIFT. After a range trip,I could barely keep it on paper at 100 yard. I pulled the barreled action from the stock and all the Remington info was on the bottom side of the barrel under the stock. I pulled the barrel and there was no rifling for about 2 inchs of the throat, so it had been set back at least once. That barrel is at the bottom of the pond right now and was replaced with a 7mm08 barrel. If I was in the market for a Swift, it would have to be one that I built or new in the box factory rifle. No more second hand Swifts for me.
 
The .22-.250 is such a beautifully balanced cartridge and easy to load for accuracy. The Swift takes over once you get to 600 yards with 60 grain bullets. Comparing the .243 and 6mm is a similar relationship with velocity.

i've found the .243 actually caused more throat wear than the Swift with modern metallurgy. The .243 also had more trajectory with 80 grain bullets and up (deep throated Ruger VT) than the Swift (Savage BVSS-S).

The Ruger and Savage have new owners and an old 700 ADL .22-.250 fills that niche now (courtesy Ackleyman). Seems there are fewer 600 yard shots nowadays.

Hope the one you pick is a real shooter.
 
I think for some, myself included, the 220 Swift is just kind of one of those nostalgic varmint cartridges that will live on forever. Even though neither of these is from my era, a Pre 64 Model 70 220 Swift is kinda like a 57 Chevy, doubtful I've ever own either one, but I still think they're really cool.

My dad had a 220 Swift built off of a Pre 64 Model 70 30-06 that, his dad, my grandfather, bought new. As a kid growing up hearing all the near legendary stories of the 220 Swift, I naturally thought a Swift was the ultimate badazz gun and couldn't wait to get my little hands on the one my dad had. Unfortunately, some POS broke into his pickup back in the early 70's and stole it.

I'm kind of a self admitted brass snob, so for me, unless Lapua starts making 220 Swift brass, which is highly doubtful, it's pretty unlikely I'll even own a Swift, but I definitely think they're cool and I always like seeing old cartridges chambered in new guns.
 
B23 my story as a kid was the same I always heard my dad talk about his uncle's Swift and like you I thought it was the ultimate as a child. I still have it at my house today. It is a Mauser action with an enormous bull barrel on a big ol bench rest stock. It sports Flaig barrel and from what I understand he was a Nazi. It has a 24 power Unertl on top of it and is quite an impressive piece of steel. So naturally I couldn't wait to have a few Swifts myself. It just has that added Nostalgia and cool factor, because when you're out there looking over a river bottom sitting in the brush you got to look cool LOL. Just feels like you're sitting there with a gun that will shoot a lightning bolt. It's the swift man
thumbup.gif

 
Last edited:
I think it is an old hot rod that brings back a bunch of good memories. My father and 2 uncles had then back in the late 70's. One was a savage heavy barrel and the 2 my uncles had were both the ruger heavy barrels with the tang safeties consecutive serial numbers. About a year or so before my father passed he trade one of them a handgun for one of the swifts and 2yrs ago I bought the other one from my other uncle. Both have been only used for coyote hunting and have had roughly no more than 200 rounds shot through them. They will be in my safe for my kiddo. Because they bring back good memories when we all would go coyote hunting.

If you are looking at a used swift you really need to have the bore checked out because I know that there were a bunch that have spent a good share of their life on a PD town. So expect to put a new barrel on it.

Plus IT IS A SWIFT!!!!
 
In the past maybe 25 years, I've always had a 220 Swift around in 4 different rifles. The current one is a Ruger Hawkeye walnut/blue with a sporter weight barrel that is by far the most accurate Swift I have ever seen. It loves 52 grain Sierra BTHP bullets.

As someone stated, I too keep one around just for nostalgia's sake. A 220 Swift won't do anything that you can't do with a 22-250. And with the mystique comes some weird chit. I've even heard right here on the pages of PM that for at least one Swift owner, the rifle talks to him from the safe. I'm guessing it keeps telling its owner, "You won't believe what I can do to a tomato juice can".

Just guessing on that.
 
I have a Ruger M77 that was handed down to me from my grandfather. That thing shoots 50 gr. V-Max like a laser. Everything I have ever shot with it (coyotes and those big AZ desert jackrabbits) looks like it was struck by Thor’s hammer. It still has the old Bushnell 3-9 Scopechief that is probably nearly 40 years old. Still holds zero with clear glass. So, yeah, I like my .220 Swift.
thumbup1.gif
 
I bought my first .220 Swift when Ruger made a limited run of M77V's back in 1975. I noticed it on the rack of the gun shop because it had a longer barrel than the other Ruger varminters did and after asking the salesman what it was I bought it on the spot. I topped it with a 12X Leupold and after hitting the range shot my very first 5 shot ragged hole 100 yard group with it. A few years later I got tired of having no place to shoot it but at the range and I stupidly traded it off. But several years after that when Remington started making their M700 varmint in .220 Swift I grabbed me one. Complete with an H-S Precision stock it shot just as good as the Ruger when fed its favorite loads. After toasting the factory barrel I later had George Vais do an action job on it and install a 28" Krieger barrel and had him put one of his famous muzzle brakes on it. It wears an older Bushnell 6-24X scope and it is my still my favorite rig today. No, it does not get shot as much as it used to as my primary targets are ground squirrels but for sure it has put a lot of animals to sleep. So many hundreds of prairie dogs, various species of ground squirrels and a few rock chucks and a couple of badgers as well. Yes, I am a .220 Swift fan. Always will be too.
 
The interest began in the late 70s when a friend and I took a 300 mile tour along the east front in late January looking for coyotes .I had the lowly 788 in 22-250 and he had a tang safety Varmint barrel Swift ,he drilled a running coyote at about 400 yds .I was sold ! It was probably the best BS shot he ever made ! It got so it quit him and he had Ruger re barrel it ,he had barley got it back a week and somebody stole it .He got several elk and B bears with it ,it looked like it was 100 yrs old he packed it everywhere in fact his pickup probably refused to start with out it !
 
My first Swift was the Ruger M77 in the "200th Year of American Liberty" edition back in the late 70's. Had the most beautiful wood on a Ruger I have ever seen. Took many coyotes, fox and sod poodles with that rifle over the years I had it and then lost my mind and thought I needed to trade it for something else. That is one trade I wish I could take back, it was a beautiful rifle.
I have been shooting the mighty Swift since the late 70's, currently toting an older Remington 700 VSSF. It is a tack driver and has put many varmints on the ground. I don't shoot thousands of rounds through it as we don't have and prairie dog towns on public land like we used to years ago so I doubt I will ever shoot the barrel out of this rifle.
I guess since this was the first varmint gun I owned, I am very partial to the Swift and will always have one. Mine is not a safe queen and has always been my "go to" rifle when heading out to the country.
 
Aye the mighty Swift you say...I’ve wanted one since I started calling coyotes 20 years ago. Unfortunately my now ex wife always vetoed me anytime I brought it up. Anyway I decided to get myself a present since I was now single and I built the first completely custom rifle I’ve owned. Stiller Predator action with Manners stock and 28” Bartlein barrel heavy varmint. I’ve tried about 12 different load combos in it and this thing is my Honey Badger. It Shoots everything sub moa and fast. I decided to chamber it in the Swift AI and glad I did.
 
Classic cartridges have a nostalgia that can be pretty strong. By far the most rounds i've put down the barrels have been with the .222 and Swift. As much as i like the Swift, an Ackley improved .22-.250 makes a great deal of sense, will do what the Swift does, brass lasts longer, and there are more quality brass choices. But my favorite looking cartridges have to be the .22-.250, 6.5 Swede, and .222.
 
It’s funny what makes somebody do something or for that matter not do something. Almost 30 years ago I started shooting a Remington 700 in .22-250 Rem, loved it. Shot a lot of Coyotes with it. Friend of mine bought a Ruger .220 Swift. Alway thought the Swift was a really cool cartridge and almost bought one in a Remington Classic. But this Friend of mine was always shooting his mouth off about how his Swift was so much better than my .22-250. So when it came time to rebarreling my rifle I decided to chamber it in .22-250 Ackley Improved. Needless to say my friend doesn’t trash talk anymore he realizes that his Swift can’t touch my Ackley in anything. So now all he can say is the whole “Nostalgic Factor” B.S... Best decision I ever made......
 
Back
Top