220 Swift
- Thread starter pyscodog
- Start date
I had a long running love affair with the Swifts years ago:
Savage 112 J's single shot, had several
Ruger 77 Tang safety, had several
A gunsmith friend in San Diego turned me onto a new load and I got away from IMR 4064.
44.5g of AA2700
50g Nosler ballistic tip
9 1/2 primer
Rem cases
4000 fps
Groups the size of a pencil eraser, watching my friend shoot this load in his tang safety ruger reminded me of watching someone shoot a 6 PPC benchrest rifle.
The AA2700 load seems to be a generic load for many Swifts, and you should always work up to a load like this in your rifle.
Note: In the heat index of how hot a powder burns, AA2700 is one of the very coolest powders you can shoot, hence the throat life will last longer than IMR 4064 and R#15.
IMR 4064 seems to also be a generic powder for the swift, but it is a barrel eating son of a gun. We shot a lot of ground squirrels, chucks, crows, jack rabbits. Jack rabbits at that time were in the peak of the cycle, and shooting a hundred or more per day each was the norm.
I had a pard that shot the barrel out of his swift in one afternoon on a red hot chuck field outside of Gooding, Idhao in 1987, smoked that barrel real good, IMR 4064 with 50g Sierra spt at 4000....we picked up over 300 that afternoon. I put some serious wear on a new Shilen barrel 22/250 and polished off a sporter Rem 700 in 22/250 that was on it's last legs.
We shot 222's the rest of the trip. I have a picture of the chucks we pilled up, somewhere, taken with one of us standing on the top of the truck looking at them lined up. Sheriff of the county owned the property and he was one very happy son of a gun!
This trip taught me the value of shooting a powder with a cool heat index.
My swift brass had many firings on it, annealing saved it for many, many firings. I then went to the 22/250 AI. I have always wanted a 220 Swift improved to shoot a 60g V max, 60g Berger, and now the 60g Sierra TMK which I think you could get close to 4000 fps out of. That would be one heck of a coyote rifle!!! About .020 Freebore would be all you would need on a reamer for long barrel life. With Speer making the 62g Bonded Gold dots, you could have one heck of a deer, antelope, and hog rifle, also. The Swift AI could be the kissing cousins with the 22-243 AI...I don't know.
Two years later, I was on a virgin dog town outside of Eagle Butte, SD I had been trying to get on for four or five years. Two Dutch brothers owned this large farm that looked like a p. dog breeding farm. We finally caught one of the brothers home when he had to go to a funeral. The other brother was up in Mt. where they had moved their cows. I shot 800 rounds on a 22 br with zero freebore with 12 twist using 30.5g of R#15, 50g Nosler BT in one day. That barrel had 6" of the barrel washed out when I examined it, shocking since I had less than 100 rounds at the start. Good thing I had two barrels installed at the same time, which I shot Win 748 in.
Swift shooters that try the AA2700 with 50g and 55g bullets are very happy, and I am sure that the 60g bullets would excel with this powder also. AA2700 is not listed as a temp in sensitive powder, so cold & warm weather loads will be the norm if you want to use it for all occasions. I would be tempted to try H4350 and Enduron 4451 with the 60g Sierra in 14 Twist barrels, for cold weather.
Savage 112 J's single shot, had several
Ruger 77 Tang safety, had several
A gunsmith friend in San Diego turned me onto a new load and I got away from IMR 4064.
44.5g of AA2700
50g Nosler ballistic tip
9 1/2 primer
Rem cases
4000 fps
Groups the size of a pencil eraser, watching my friend shoot this load in his tang safety ruger reminded me of watching someone shoot a 6 PPC benchrest rifle.
The AA2700 load seems to be a generic load for many Swifts, and you should always work up to a load like this in your rifle.
Note: In the heat index of how hot a powder burns, AA2700 is one of the very coolest powders you can shoot, hence the throat life will last longer than IMR 4064 and R#15.
IMR 4064 seems to also be a generic powder for the swift, but it is a barrel eating son of a gun. We shot a lot of ground squirrels, chucks, crows, jack rabbits. Jack rabbits at that time were in the peak of the cycle, and shooting a hundred or more per day each was the norm.
I had a pard that shot the barrel out of his swift in one afternoon on a red hot chuck field outside of Gooding, Idhao in 1987, smoked that barrel real good, IMR 4064 with 50g Sierra spt at 4000....we picked up over 300 that afternoon. I put some serious wear on a new Shilen barrel 22/250 and polished off a sporter Rem 700 in 22/250 that was on it's last legs.
We shot 222's the rest of the trip. I have a picture of the chucks we pilled up, somewhere, taken with one of us standing on the top of the truck looking at them lined up. Sheriff of the county owned the property and he was one very happy son of a gun!
This trip taught me the value of shooting a powder with a cool heat index.
My swift brass had many firings on it, annealing saved it for many, many firings. I then went to the 22/250 AI. I have always wanted a 220 Swift improved to shoot a 60g V max, 60g Berger, and now the 60g Sierra TMK which I think you could get close to 4000 fps out of. That would be one heck of a coyote rifle!!! About .020 Freebore would be all you would need on a reamer for long barrel life. With Speer making the 62g Bonded Gold dots, you could have one heck of a deer, antelope, and hog rifle, also. The Swift AI could be the kissing cousins with the 22-243 AI...I don't know.
Two years later, I was on a virgin dog town outside of Eagle Butte, SD I had been trying to get on for four or five years. Two Dutch brothers owned this large farm that looked like a p. dog breeding farm. We finally caught one of the brothers home when he had to go to a funeral. The other brother was up in Mt. where they had moved their cows. I shot 800 rounds on a 22 br with zero freebore with 12 twist using 30.5g of R#15, 50g Nosler BT in one day. That barrel had 6" of the barrel washed out when I examined it, shocking since I had less than 100 rounds at the start. Good thing I had two barrels installed at the same time, which I shot Win 748 in.
Swift shooters that try the AA2700 with 50g and 55g bullets are very happy, and I am sure that the 60g bullets would excel with this powder also. AA2700 is not listed as a temp in sensitive powder, so cold & warm weather loads will be the norm if you want to use it for all occasions. I would be tempted to try H4350 and Enduron 4451 with the 60g Sierra in 14 Twist barrels, for cold weather.
WyoBull
New member
Originally Posted By: ackleymanI had a long running love affair with the Swifts years ago:
Savage 112 J's single shot, had several
Ruger 77 Tang safety, had several
A gunsmith friend in San Diego turned me onto a new load and I got away from IMR 4064.
44.5g of AA2700
50g Nosler ballistic tip
9 1/2 primer
Rem cases
4000 fps
Groups the size of a pencil eraser, watching my friend shoot this load in his tang safety ruger reminded me of watching someone shoot a 6 PPC benchrest rifle.
The AA2700 load seems to be a generic load for many Swifts, and you should always work up to a load like this in your rifle.
Note: In the heat index of how hot a powder burns, AA2700 is one of the very coolest powders you can shoot, hence the throat life will last longer than IMR 4064 and R#15.
IMR 4064 seems to also be a generic powder for the swift, but it is a barrel eating son of a gun. We shot a lot of ground squirrels, chucks, crows, jack rabbits. Jack rabbits at that time were in the peak of the cycle, and shooting a hundred or more per day each was the norm.
I had a pard that shot the barrel out of his swift in one afternoon on a red hot chuck field outside of Gooding, Idhao in 1987, smoked that barrel real good, IMR 4064 with 50g Sierra spt at 4000....we picked up over 300 that afternoon. I put some serious wear on a new Shilen barrel 22/250 and polished off a sporter Rem 700 in 22/250 that was on it's last legs.
We shot 222's the rest of the trip. I have a picture of the chucks we pilled up, somewhere, taken with one of us standing on the top of the truck looking at them lined up. Sheriff of the county owned the property and he was one very happy son of a gun!
This trip taught me the value of shooting a powder with a cool heat index.
My swift brass had many firings on it, annealing saved it for many, many firings. I then went to the 22/250 AI. I have always wanted a 220 Swift improved to shoot a 60g V max, 60g Berger, and now the 60g Sierra TMK which I think you could get close to 4000 fps out of. That would be one heck of a coyote rifle!!! About .020 Freebore would be all you would need on a reamer for long barrel life. With Speer making the 62g Bonded Gold dots, you could have one heck of a deer, antelope, and hog rifle, also. The Swift AI could be the kissing cousins with the 22-243 AI...I don't know.
Two years later, I was on a virgin dog town outside of Eagle Butte, SD I had been trying to get on for four or five years. Two Dutch brothers owned this large farm that looked like a p. dog breeding farm. We finally caught one of the brothers home when he had to go to a funeral. The other brother was up in Mt. where they had moved their cows. I shot 800 rounds on a 22 br with zero freebore with 12 twist using 30.5g of R#15, 50g Nosler BT in one day. That barrel had 6" of the barrel washed out when I examined it, shocking since I had less than 100 rounds at the start. Good thing I had two barrels installed at the same time, which I shot Win 748 in.
Swift shooters that try the AA2700 with 50g and 55g bullets are very happy, and I am sure that the 60g bullets would excel with this powder also. AA2700 is not listed as a temp in sensitive powder, so cold & warm weather loads will be the norm if you want to use it for all occasions. I would be tempted to try H4350 and Enduron 4451 with the 60g Sierra in 14 Twist barrels, for cold weather.
Ackleyman, I too discovered AA2700 several years ago but still shoot IMR4064 because I have a big jug of it.
The load I worked up with the AA2700 is for the Barnes 36 gr Varmint grenade. I ran it up to max and started seeing pressure signs so backed it off a full 2 grains and am still chronographing 4500 fps with sub-MOA accuracy. It is a wonderful powder for sure.
I will have to try it using my 55 gr Sierra HPBT bullets. I have hesitated doing that up to this point only because I have such an accurate load worked up using IMR4064 that I hate to go away from it. It is not what I would consider a hot load either, I am running it at 3865 fps.
Long live the mighty Swift!
Savage 112 J's single shot, had several
Ruger 77 Tang safety, had several
A gunsmith friend in San Diego turned me onto a new load and I got away from IMR 4064.
44.5g of AA2700
50g Nosler ballistic tip
9 1/2 primer
Rem cases
4000 fps
Groups the size of a pencil eraser, watching my friend shoot this load in his tang safety ruger reminded me of watching someone shoot a 6 PPC benchrest rifle.
The AA2700 load seems to be a generic load for many Swifts, and you should always work up to a load like this in your rifle.
Note: In the heat index of how hot a powder burns, AA2700 is one of the very coolest powders you can shoot, hence the throat life will last longer than IMR 4064 and R#15.
IMR 4064 seems to also be a generic powder for the swift, but it is a barrel eating son of a gun. We shot a lot of ground squirrels, chucks, crows, jack rabbits. Jack rabbits at that time were in the peak of the cycle, and shooting a hundred or more per day each was the norm.
I had a pard that shot the barrel out of his swift in one afternoon on a red hot chuck field outside of Gooding, Idhao in 1987, smoked that barrel real good, IMR 4064 with 50g Sierra spt at 4000....we picked up over 300 that afternoon. I put some serious wear on a new Shilen barrel 22/250 and polished off a sporter Rem 700 in 22/250 that was on it's last legs.
We shot 222's the rest of the trip. I have a picture of the chucks we pilled up, somewhere, taken with one of us standing on the top of the truck looking at them lined up. Sheriff of the county owned the property and he was one very happy son of a gun!
This trip taught me the value of shooting a powder with a cool heat index.
My swift brass had many firings on it, annealing saved it for many, many firings. I then went to the 22/250 AI. I have always wanted a 220 Swift improved to shoot a 60g V max, 60g Berger, and now the 60g Sierra TMK which I think you could get close to 4000 fps out of. That would be one heck of a coyote rifle!!! About .020 Freebore would be all you would need on a reamer for long barrel life. With Speer making the 62g Bonded Gold dots, you could have one heck of a deer, antelope, and hog rifle, also. The Swift AI could be the kissing cousins with the 22-243 AI...I don't know.
Two years later, I was on a virgin dog town outside of Eagle Butte, SD I had been trying to get on for four or five years. Two Dutch brothers owned this large farm that looked like a p. dog breeding farm. We finally caught one of the brothers home when he had to go to a funeral. The other brother was up in Mt. where they had moved their cows. I shot 800 rounds on a 22 br with zero freebore with 12 twist using 30.5g of R#15, 50g Nosler BT in one day. That barrel had 6" of the barrel washed out when I examined it, shocking since I had less than 100 rounds at the start. Good thing I had two barrels installed at the same time, which I shot Win 748 in.
Swift shooters that try the AA2700 with 50g and 55g bullets are very happy, and I am sure that the 60g bullets would excel with this powder also. AA2700 is not listed as a temp in sensitive powder, so cold & warm weather loads will be the norm if you want to use it for all occasions. I would be tempted to try H4350 and Enduron 4451 with the 60g Sierra in 14 Twist barrels, for cold weather.
Ackleyman, I too discovered AA2700 several years ago but still shoot IMR4064 because I have a big jug of it.
The load I worked up with the AA2700 is for the Barnes 36 gr Varmint grenade. I ran it up to max and started seeing pressure signs so backed it off a full 2 grains and am still chronographing 4500 fps with sub-MOA accuracy. It is a wonderful powder for sure.
I will have to try it using my 55 gr Sierra HPBT bullets. I have hesitated doing that up to this point only because I have such an accurate load worked up using IMR4064 that I hate to go away from it. It is not what I would consider a hot load either, I am running it at 3865 fps.
Long live the mighty Swift!
In the 22/250 and Swift in particular, 243 Winchester second with 80g, the throats errode quickly.
If you can do the research on the Heat Index of powders in how hot they burn, it will teach you volumes.
For guys that shoot a single shot at a varmint here and there, this is a moot issue.
55g Sierra BTHP with a Rem 9 1/2 with the 2700 shoots very, very tiny groups. Start at 43g and go up in .5g increments, you will at least equal the 4064 velocity.
Anneal your brass frequently, keep the brass trimmed to length, rock on.
I am using up my 4064 in the 308 which is easier on barrels.
If you can do the research on the Heat Index of powders in how hot they burn, it will teach you volumes.
For guys that shoot a single shot at a varmint here and there, this is a moot issue.
55g Sierra BTHP with a Rem 9 1/2 with the 2700 shoots very, very tiny groups. Start at 43g and go up in .5g increments, you will at least equal the 4064 velocity.
Anneal your brass frequently, keep the brass trimmed to length, rock on.
I am using up my 4064 in the 308 which is easier on barrels.
WyoBull
New member
Originally Posted By: ackleymanIn the 22/250 and Swift in particular, 243 Winchester second with 80g, the throats errode quickly.
If you can do the research on the Heat Index of powders in how hot they burn, it will teach you volumes.
For guys that shoot a single shot at a varmint here and there, this is a moot issue.
55g Sierra BTHP with a Rem 9 1/2 with the 2700 shoots very, very tiny groups. Start at 43g and go up in .5g increments, you will at least equal the 4064 velocity.
Anneal your brass frequently, keep the brass trimmed to length, rock on.
I am using up my 4064 in the 308 which is easier on barrels.
I will definitely give that a try Ackleyman, thanks for the information. I have never used 9 1/2 primers, I have always had great performance with Federal GM210M primers except for my 17 Rem and I use 7 1/2's for it.
I wish I had a real reason to get concerned about barrel burn today but unfortunately, I am not sitting at dog towns like we used to years ago burning up 100's of rounds a day. We just don't have the sod poodles like we used to have and a lot of the towns that are worth setting up on are on private land now where you have to pay to play.
If you can do the research on the Heat Index of powders in how hot they burn, it will teach you volumes.
For guys that shoot a single shot at a varmint here and there, this is a moot issue.
55g Sierra BTHP with a Rem 9 1/2 with the 2700 shoots very, very tiny groups. Start at 43g and go up in .5g increments, you will at least equal the 4064 velocity.
Anneal your brass frequently, keep the brass trimmed to length, rock on.
I am using up my 4064 in the 308 which is easier on barrels.
I will definitely give that a try Ackleyman, thanks for the information. I have never used 9 1/2 primers, I have always had great performance with Federal GM210M primers except for my 17 Rem and I use 7 1/2's for it.
I wish I had a real reason to get concerned about barrel burn today but unfortunately, I am not sitting at dog towns like we used to years ago burning up 100's of rounds a day. We just don't have the sod poodles like we used to have and a lot of the towns that are worth setting up on are on private land now where you have to pay to play.