.220 swift pro's & con's

T

ThomasJ

New member
I am looking at a new barrel for my encore for coyote/fox hunting. I have had many .223,.22-250's,.25-06 and love my .243 but I have never shot the .220 swift and want to hear from you people and what you think of it! My uncle who taught me all I know in my 37 years of existance loves his old .220 and .17 rem. . let me know what you think
 
Very nostalgic, stood as king of the hill in the .224 arena for many decades, has killed many, many critters, and is loved by many, myself included. It can be a finicky cartridge to load for, but bullets in the 50-55gr range seem to do best (for me) with charges of IMR-4064, seem to be old time loads. My rifle likes H380. Many powders will work, but If I had to start on a new rifle, I'd start with IMR-4064, with a sierra 53gr macth king hollow point. Only downside I've ever found, is the cases seem to need trimmed more with the swift than say a 22-250. If you wanted, you could buy a 22-250, and have it reamed to 22-250 Ackley Improved, and duplicate the Swift. But when someone ask "what are you using there?" and you say my Swift, they know. Not many better .224's in my opinion. Some will argue for sure. Butcher
 
My first "REAL" woodchuck gun was a custom built Swift and it has been Great. After using deer hunting calibers for chuck hunting most of my life I bought a swift about 15 years ago and have been nothing short of amazed with it since then. I know there are other 22's out there that will come close and brassmany be easier and cheaper to get for them but theres just something about having and shooting a Swift.I guess it's like Butcher say "very nostalgic"
 
You may still be able to find it on the shelves, but the December Predator Xtreme has an article on it.

good luck

Dave
 
Cons: Short case life. The tapered brass on the swift case tends to stretch with firing especially if you run it hot. If you load it with 50 and 55 grainers you don't gain much over the 22-250.

Pros: Shoots very flat, and if loaded with 55 grain bullets carries good energy for those 350 yard plus shots.

Bottom line: New cartridges such as the 204 ruger give the same performance and are much easier to shoot with the same ballistics.
 
Grandfather has one and has taken many pronghorn antelope with it as well as PD's and other assorted smaller critters. Gramps is 96 and I am waiting to get that rifle handed down to me on his passing. His reports on taking antelope and coyotes with it went something like this: "that rifle with the right bullet will put an antelope or coyote stiff legged with four towards the sky so fast it'll make your head spin". Not to push time forward, but I can't wait to get that gun.
 
Oh come on... by now some one should have warned how the Swift will ruin a barrel faster than the other calibers... LOL
The Swift is a great round, it took me 22 years of centerfire varmint calibers before I bought my first in a Ruger No.1 and now I own 4 220 Swift rifles. I am going to convert one to Weatherby Rocket someday.
I use a RCBS X-die and find I trim much less often.
 
Boy Diesel the Weatherby Rocket, I haven't heard that name for a bunch of years. That pretty well cures the case flow and stretch problems. I'd like to hear how that works out when you get it up and running. I always wondered why someone didn't do the Ackly improved thing to the Swift.
 
The last custom rifle that I had made up was in Swift. The gunsmith that made it up suggested a 22/250 or 22/250 Imp but I wanted a Swift. I bought my first one when Ruger made a limited run of them in 1975 and boy howdy what a shooter it was too. Foolishly traded it off but got me the bug a few years later and bought me a Rem 700 in that caliber when it became available in that chambering.

My latest wears a 28" Krieger barrel with a Vais break. It shoots bugholes at 100 yards. I keep my loads under max and dont have a problem with stretching, but once a year of so will trim them if they need it. Most often they dont.

If I am ever forced to sell all of my varmint guns but one, this will be the one that I keep. There is just something about the Swift. It is hard to explain, but there is, for sure, just something about the Swift. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
try it you'll like it
some claim their close but the comparison is slanted
when you say swift......well you know the rest /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I have had many .223,.22-250's,.25-06 and love my .243 but I have never shot the .220 swift and want to hear from you people and what you think of it!



What do you mean by " you people " LOL
 
Quote:
Boy Diesel the Weatherby Rocket, I haven't heard that name for a bunch of years. That pretty well cures the case flow and stretch problems. I'd like to hear how that works out when you get it up and running. I always wondered why someone didn't do the Ackly improved thing to the Swift.




The Ackley thing was done many years ago - and Wilson did a slightly shorter Ackley version called the Wilson Arrow.

Both were ahead of the powders available at the time.


.
 
Love the Swift. I've had 4 different ones. Ruger M77, Ruger M-77 MKII, Savage 110, and a Rem 700. All were extremely accurate. I've had best luck using AA-2700,760, and 4064 with 50-55 gr bullets. If you spit out a streamlined 50gr pill at 4000+ FPS, 400 yds isn't that far. What sold me on the Swift was reading Hagel and Carmichael in my younger days. In the book of the rifle, Carmichael made a comment about Ruger shooting all their rifles at the factory and keeping records of the group sizes fired. The Swift chambered rifles were more accurate than the 22-250 as an aggregate. Great round.
 
Quote:
Love the Swift. I've had 4 different ones. Ruger M77, Ruger M-77 MKII, Savage 110, and a Rem 700. All were extremely accurate. I've had best luck using AA-2700,760, and 4064 with 50-55 gr bullets. If you spit out a streamlined 50gr pill at 4000+ FPS, 400 yds isn't that far. What sold me on the Swift was reading Hagel and Carmichael in my younger days. In the book of the rifle, Carmichael made a comment about Ruger shooting all their rifles at the factory and keeping records of the group sizes fired. The Swift chambered rifles were more accurate than the 22-250 as an aggregate. Great round.



What was most interesting to me was that Bill Ruger told him that they could take a 22/250 barrel that was shooting three quarter inch groups, rechamber it to 220 Swift, and shink the groups to half inch with no other change. And Jim Carmichael tells it like it is. I pretty sure that made him a died in the wool 220 Swift fan, if he wasnt already one that is!
 
As I posted earlier, I have to trim my swift more than the 22-250. My case life has been great. I started with Norma brass, Trimmed .010 less than actual chamber length. I get my best accuracy with Norma Cases, H380 powder, Fed 210 match primers, and nosler 55 grain BT's. , with a velocity between 3850-3900 fps. I have found if I try and push it, I loose a little accuracy.I'm fortunate too have a short throat on my Remington VSSF I seat .005 off the lands. I did have a Winchester Heavy Varmint, that loved Hornady V-Max Moly coated at 4200 fps. Did what I could, but as it died, it was born again. Now this is what it looks like, and it is a 37 lb. groundhog machine. 22-250 AI.

DSCF0564.jpg
 
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I have had many .223,.22-250's,.25-06 and love my .243 but I have never shot the .220 swift and want to hear from you people and what you think of it!



What do you mean by " you people " LOL



Just what I meant "you People" the people who shoot this catridge and the people who have the experience that I am looking for to comment on this round. LOL
Great info it was and is greatly appreciated. I appreciate all the info on the handloads. I do not load myself but a friend does load for me and believe me it was copied and put into our notes! Thanks again!!! Great people and Great info on this board!
 


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