The .220 Swift

J Brad

J Brad

New member
I have seen alot of press on the .17, the 22-250, and the .223 as being the best predator caliber. Well I was just wondering why no one ever talks about the .220 Swift.
I bought a .220 in a Ruger M77.(The old style, not the Mark II.)The gun had previously belonged to my gunsmith's son. The gunsmith told me it was a heck of a shooter, and he wasn't kidding. After I sighted it in, useing Winchester 40-grain ballistic silver tips, it made a jagged hole, 3 shot group.
I took it out the next week and took 3 coyotes with it. One was at 30yds one was at 75yds and the other at 160yds. All three coyotes dropped like a rock and no bullet exited. I also took a bobcat yesterday morning.He he had came in and sat down at about 60 yds. I shot him right in the middle of his chest and the bullet didn't exit.
I have hunted with a 22-250 and a .223, (never a .17) and in my opinion the .220 Swift is right up there with them, as one of the best predator guns I've ever seen.
What do ya'll think about it?

Later,
Justin
 
My uncle swore by the 220 Swift and shot over 100 red foxes, many of them running, with it during several Wisconsin winters.

For long range shooting I prefer my 243/06 wildcat or my regular 243 Winchester, as they are better in the wind and have more energy at the longer ranges.

I will put up a chart soon on the 220 Swift, so the wind drift difference will be evident. udarrell


------------------
udarrell
http://www.udarrell.com/leading-running-game-rifle-frames.htm
 
JBrad
I know a guy around here that has had one for years. Dont remember what model or anything but he swears by it. They had a large cattle ranch and he used it plenty. Never heard him complaining, just talked about smokin those coyotes.

------------------
shoot straight
 
I love my swift and wouldn't trade it for the world. I have noticed that not to many people ever mention a .220 swift but a lot of talk about the 22-250. I own both types and I prefer my swift over the 22-250 but I also prefer the less common calibers.

Hey greenside a 22-250AI might keep up with or beat the swift but what if you improve the swift do you know any velocities on an improved swift? Can it even be done?

Thanks
Shawn
 
The swift is one of the best as far as .22 caliber rifles go. Velocity wise it outperforms the 22-250 by a little. The trouble with it is that it is famous for burning out barrels quicker than the others due to the extreme velocities.

If someone is going to do a lot of shooting then this can be overcome by slowing the bullet down a bit. But if you're going to do that, the 22-250 is just as fast so what's the point? 22-250 ammo is easier to find.

Everyone has a different opinion about what they want in a rifle. If you like extreme velocity and don't mind replacing the barrel sooner or don't plan to shoot enough to wear it out that quick the 220 swift might be just what you want. I shot a 22-250 for a while back about 1985 or '86. I found that the extra velocity usually just made a bigger hole. Now I use a .223 and it kills them just as dead but that's just my choice. Everyone likes something different!
 
The .220 swift is a hellava caliber for coyotes and other predators.I shoot a .22-250 and I wouldn't shoot any thing else and a good friend of mine shoots a swift.They are very close as far as velocity, energy,and trajectory.The only reason I chose the .22-250 was cost of ammo(factory)and availabilty and cost of Brass(reloading).The only problem I have ever heard about the 220 swift was from a guy that used to work for Remington as a gun smith,he said the swift has a semi-rimmed case and sometimes they had problems feeding in some bolt actions.But I know my friend swears by his swift,I guess it is just personal preference.GOOD HUNTING
 
Sounds like you got good shooting rifle, enjoy it. I like all the 17s and 224s but
cant own and shoot them all he he.
My next gun is going to be in the 6mm improved
variety on a savage action sharp shooter barrel.
 
Thanks greenside I will have to do some research on the net to find out some more information. I was considering a AI for my swift but I fear barrel life is short when your throwing bullets at over 4000fps. I chronographed a load for my swift I beleive I was using IMR 4320 right at max in my book and it was a tad over 4000. I was impressed at this velocity. The load never even showed any pressure in new winchester brass however when I reloaded it the 2nd time I noticed some pressure it stretched my cases a little so I had to trim all my cases every time. Thats a pain in my butt so I backed my load off and now get 3900fps and no problems. It also improved accuracy a tad.

Can anyone give me the barrel life of a swift that is shoting say around the 4100fps mark? How many shots before I buy a new barrel?


Thanks
Shawn
 
I have a couple of friends shooting .220AI's. Cures all the brass flow problems, gives a little more boiler room for added velocity too. Neat cartridge, I'd like to have one.

Barrel life... Hard to say. Depends on the barrel, your loads, how hot you get it, whether you want to replace it when accuracy falls off or keep using it till bullets start coming unglued. I've worn out a couple Rem. factory heavy varmint type .22-250 barrels a bit short of 2500 rounds each (completely toast - shredding jackets). Might expect a little less from a Swift, or maybe more if you don't get it hot all the time like I do mine.

- DAA
 
It would all depend on wether or not you plan on shooting alot of prairiedogs or just use it for yotes, fox and cats. If you plan on using it for p.dogs, plan on a short barrel life. When your barrel gets hot and can't cool down very much the barrel will go quickly. I just bought a .17 Rem. and only plan on using it for predators. I will use my .223 for p.dogs.

coyotestalker
 
Cap't Ahab(in Moby Dick) said-The is but one Lord over the land, and but one captan of the Peqout,Well in my world there is only one coyote caliber-THE 220 SWIFT!!!10yds to 500ydsthey all go WHACK!!
 
Barrel life (throat life, whatever) is a function of heat. Loads pushing 4000 fps and up are capable of putting more heat into the barrel quicker, but can only be detrimental if rapid fire is sustained for long periods, not allowing the heat to dissapate. You could burn up a barrel with loads moving far slower if you kept firing and didn't let the barrel cool down. High pressure/high heat rounds get blamed for alot that they aren't responcible for. Knowing how many rounds a barrel is good for is ambiguous at best. Knowing the heat cycles put into a barrel over a known time might be more informative, but that is the realm of the technicians. I hunt coyotes. I hunt with a 220. The coyotes die with alarming efficiency. Long live the swift!

Rick
 
Three in my family, including myself, have hunted coyotes and fox with .220 Swifts for 20+ years and have yet to burn out a barrel while just hunting. My brother did burn out a barrel while shooting prairie dogs, but it was very hot outside and he shot way too many consecutive shots without letting the barrel cool down. I wouldn't shy away from the Swift out of fear of burning out the barrel.
 
I have only had one Swift. Really liked it. I had a Ruger. Regret getting rid of it still. Still got a ton of brass and a set of dies getting dusty. So far I have not met anyone with anything negative to say about it. Some fuss about the rim on the case but it never caused me any problems. This discussion is giving me a hankering for another .220...
smile.gif
 
Thanks for all the imput guys. I'm glad to hear there are so many other Swift shooters out there.My 22-250 hasn't done anything but gather dust since I bought my Swift. But I guess I'll just have to go out more so they'll both get their fair share of hunting time.
biggrin.gif


Later,
Justin
 
J Brad;

Congrats on the Swift! I have three of them and they all shoot better than any of my 22-250s and at higher velocities except for maybe my Sako varmint. It really likes 50gr Noslers. Any way I have put between 18 and 20,000 rounds through my swifts and have only shot out 2 barrels. The first barrel on my coyote rifle had over 6000 rounds through it before I had it replaced. Accuracy really started to decrease after about 4500 rounds. The barrel I have on it now has just over 4500 rounds through it and still shoots very well. I have taken very good care of this one and blame the shorter barrel life of my old barrel on to many prairie dog hunts. Both barrels were stainless. My Ruger No. 1 with a chrome molly went out at around 3,000 rounds. Again to many prairie dogs to fast. The barrel I have on it now has around 1,800 and still shoots like new.

The morel of the story is if you don't get them to hot you will enjoy many years of great shooting. With todays better steels and rifleing processes barrels are lasting much longer than the ones made even 25 years ago. Even if you do, "so what", they make hundreds of new barrels every day so getting one isn't a problem lol. Besides if you take care of your barrel and use it only for predators say 300 or so rounds a year you will get at least a decade of good service out of your barrel.

As much as I like the swift it does however have it's draw backs.

The semi-rimmed case can cause feeding problems in bolt guns especially in 700 actions due to a little lip in the rear of the magazine. I just filed mine smooth to fix the problem. Also it can be troublesome to reload for do to neck thicken and case stretching. I usually louse my brass at a fast enough rate that I seldom have problems with it. Another common problem with reloading for the swift is some times your reloads will fit tighter and tighter with each reloading. This is a direct result of the bottle neck and case stretching causing the shoulder to move forward. This problem is easily resolved with a shoulder bump die.

The 22-250 AI is a very fine round it's self and in all honesty is superior to the swift in several ways. First being case design.

With the Ackleys' minimum body taper and sharp 40 degree shoulder you can get longer case life and less bolt thrust than the swift. Velocities also are quite comparable to the swifts and many times surpass it depending on the particular barrel and loads but I have heard many reports of 4000fps or better with the 55s and 4100 + with the 50 grainers.

The only bad thing about P.O's. design is that the sharp shoulder can some times hang up while feeding through some bolt actions. I don't have a 22-250 AI my self but I do have a 257 and 6mm AI and have personally had no feeding problems with ether of them. That's just my .02 cents worth.

Good Hunting and keep shooting your swift.

Q-Wagoner
 
In responce to Q-Wagoner
Q, I have a Rem. factory heavy barreled Swift just as it came from the factory except for a trigger job and I bedded the action into the alum. block. I wish I had a lip to file off so it would feed trouble free, ain't no such animal. The problem is the action is too short to allow the rim on the round above to be placed in front of the rim below. I solved this by only loading 2 rounds and keeping the nose (the top round) up on the loading ramp, then slipping a third round in the chamber.
Rugers and the old pre64 M70 Win's were made with sloping magazines that gets longer toward the bottom of the magazine. This keeps the rims ahead of the next lower as the gun is loaded. Not so with a Rem. short action. This feature or lack of it has twice cost me two easy doubles. I am thinking of having the barrel set back and rechambered to 22/250AI or a 22/243. Pete
 
Back
Top