Barrel Twist(.220 Swift) ?

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Ole

New member
I want to get my 40X in .220 Swift rebarreled, but I'm stuck on the twist. It has a 1x14 now and is louzy with the 55gr plastic-tipped bullets. So, I'm thinking about a 1x12 twist. What do ya think?

Ole
 
Mines got a 1x14 Twist and it loves the 55's. If I were to do it again I'd like to see something in the 9 or 8 so I could stabilize some heavy stuff! The 12 might do it but have you considered anything heavier than 55? Just addin some food for thought
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I honestly don't want a 1x8, if I wanted to shoot the heavy bullets I would go with a larger caliber.

Mine shoots the 55 Nos pretty good, but the 55 Blitzkings go all over the place and I mean bad! Match bullets shoot itty-biddy groups.

Ole
 
Thats what happens when you ask for opinions. grin. so are you just wanting to know what twist to shoot 55blitzs? 1-12" will do it.
 
I don't have a Swift but am running two 22-250AI's one is a 12 twist the other is a 8 in the 12 I can shoot up to the 64gr Berger and down to the 50's never tried anything lighter and it will shoot the 60 Vmax awesome.
In the 8 twist I can shoot up to the 80gr Amax and down to the 50's also but It was built with the 75gr Amax in mind, and it shoots those very well. I know you said your not interested in the heavier bullets but a Swift with a 8 twist shooting the 75gr Amax would be very cool
 
the 1-8" is nice 'cause you have so many options. I liked my 1-8" 22-250 and ran from the 40vmax to the 75amax in mine.
 
Originally Posted By: OleI honestly don't want a 1x8, if I wanted to shoot the heavy bullets I would go with a larger caliber.

Mine shoots the 55 Nos pretty good, but the 55 Blitzkings go all over the place and I mean bad! Match bullets shoot itty-biddy groups.

Ole

Bravo for you! I'm not a fan of the fast twists myself when I can just use a larger caliber.

I have a .22-250 with 1:14 and it doesn't do to well with the 55 gr plastic tip bullets either. The only 55 gr mine handles well is the Sierra 55 gr spitzer. The best so far though has been the 52 gr Sierra match. I accept that as the limitation of the cartridge. And darn I wanted a Swift, just couldn't find one.

If I were looking at a new barrel I'd probably go with a 1:12 as I doubt you'd give up much. Might not do well with 40 gr bullets but I see no reason to shoot something that light in the 22-250 or Swift.
 
Originally Posted By: OleI honestly don't want a 1x8, if I wanted to shoot the heavy bullets I would go with a larger caliber.

Mine shoots the 55 Nos pretty good, but the 55 Blitzkings go all over the place and I mean bad! Match bullets shoot itty-biddy groups.

Ole


My 1-14" Krieger barreled Swift shoots the 55 grain Vmax and Nosler Ballistic Tips with wonderful accuracy. I order the 55 grain Nosler 2nds by the 1000 for this gun. When shooting ground squirrels I like 40 and 50 grain bullets for it but may opt for the 55 grainers for prairie dogs.

Like you, I have no interest in shooting heavy bullets in my Swift. What critters that I am gunning for dont need no long heavy bullets. I have killed prairie dogs out past 700 yards with 50 grain Ballistic Tips. Worked just fine for me.
 
My Swift likes 55 grain flat base bullets like Hornady SX's on top of IMR-4831. You just have to keep them around 3600 or they can blow up in flight. They don't look as sexy but when you can cover a ten shot group with a quarter who cares. Some barrels just don't like boatails.
 
Rusty, I too have run 50's out to 700yds quite often and if you are content with their performance you would be ecstatic with heavier .224" bullets at the longer ranges. I also like my .224"s for deer hunting and the bullets I like to use won't run in 10"-14"tw barrels. I also like to shoot alot and while going to a larger caliber for the larger bullets, as some in this thread suggested, is a good alternative it is not a cost effective one. The last rifle I've kept a real good count of was my last 223AI. I put 4000 rounds through it in the first 18months I had it. Most of that was long range shooting. Going to a bigger caliber to do that would cost much more to do. But If you don't shoot far all the time, or you don't shoot as often, going to the bigger calibers will most certainly work.

We all just have different needs from our rifles.
 
You guys can call me crazy but I kind of get off on the faster things in life. I just had a 28" lilja put on my 223 wssm, with a 40gr NBT and 45grains of IMR 4064 she smoked through my crony at 4673fps. It has a 1-12". I shot them at 200 and 300 yards never had any key holes or explosions. I loaded the 40grainers and the 55grainers down to 3850 which is still very fast, I have already burned up one barrel on the gun I want to make this one last a little.
 
Originally Posted By: brdeanoRusty, I too have run 50's out to 700yds quite often and if you are content with their performance you would be ecstatic with heavier .224" bullets at the longer ranges. I also like my .224"s for deer hunting and the bullets I like to use won't run in 10"-14"tw barrels. I also like to shoot alot and while going to a larger caliber for the larger bullets, as some in this thread suggested, is a good alternative it is not a cost effective one. The last rifle I've kept a real good count of was my last 223AI. I put 4000 rounds through it in the first 18months I had it. Most of that was long range shooting. Going to a bigger caliber to do that would cost much more to do. But If you don't shoot far all the time, or you don't shoot as often, going to the bigger calibers will most certainly work.

We all just have different needs from our rifles.

Good post Brad. I concur.

Fast is nice, and light bullets surely go fast, but for long range shooting, they are not the ticket. The higher BCs of the longer heavies catch up and win the race.

All about what you want out of your rifle, like Brad said.

I think a Swifter with a 1-8 twist shootin' 75gr A-maxes would be a badazz, rig. But that is just me.........
 
I apologize if I got this twist rate thing all screwed up. I was kinda hoping I would get somebody who went with a 1x12 twist instead of the 1x14 twist and would tell me how great it worked. I was wrong I guess.

I have a Rem built with a 27" 1x7.7 twist Krieger barrel chambered in .220 Wilson Arrow now and it likes the 80gr bullets, have not tried the 75gr Vmax with it yet.

I just think a Swift means speed.

Sorry, Ole
 
Ole, I had 22/250 AI's in 12 and 14 twist rates. I shot 65g JLK low drags with the 12 tiwst at 3700 fps(27" barrel) with Win 760 with blistering accuracy. I would expect you would get close to the same with the Swift.

Good luck
 
Originally Posted By: OleI apologize if I got this twist rate thing all screwed up. I was kinda hoping I would get somebody who went with a 1x12 twist instead of the 1x14 twist and would tell me how great it worked. I was wrong I guess.

I have a Rem built with a 27" 1x7.7 twist Krieger barrel chambered in .220 Wilson Arrow now and it likes the 80gr bullets, have not tried the 75gr Vmax with it yet.

I just think a Swift means speed.

Sorry, Ole

Go with a 1:12, I don't think you'll notice a difference except that the 55 gr bullets will shoot better.

My .22-250 is 1:14 presently. When it's shot out I guarantee the rifle will see a 1:12 twist barrel. And if I can swing it the new barrel will be a Swift.

Like you, I believe the over bore .224 cartridges were made for speed. Heavy bullets? No thanks, I have a .25-06 which likes the 85 to 90 gr bullets at about 3600 fps. Rather then try to make 1 rifle do everything I get a chance to switch off to one of my other rifles.
 
Originally Posted By: OleI apologize if I got this twist rate thing all screwed up. I was kinda hoping I would get somebody who went with a 1x12 twist instead of the 1x14 twist and would tell me how great it worked. I was wrong I guess.

I have a Rem built with a 27" 1x7.7 twist Krieger barrel chambered in .220 Wilson Arrow now and it likes the 80gr bullets, have not tried the 75gr Vmax with it yet.

I just think a Swift means speed.

Sorry, Ole

Ole, I understand completely. When you started the post asking for opinions on twist rate I guess I didn't read your intent clearly enough. We/I was just posting opinions and going with first hand experiences that we've had.

Have you ever tried any light bullets in your 220wa? While I know its not a swift....my 1-8"tw 22-250 shot the 40Vmax's into little bitty groups and was north of 4000fps. I personally haven't seen any issues with running light bullets in fast twist barrels; and that's another reason I like them...because of the options it opens, bulletwise. If anything, I've seen a tendancy for the the lighter bullets to do more damage on varmints with the increased RPM's.

Hope I didn't offend you with my posts, Brad.
 
Originally Posted By: joed
Rather then try to make 1 rifle do everything I get a chance to switch off to one of my other rifles.

Nor do I try to make 1 rifle do everything, but I do like them to be versatile....rifle's ain't golf clubs for me. I guess I could have a safe full of factory rifles but personally I find more enjoyment in having a few custom rifles that will do more than 1 thing each. I run bullets from 50-75gr in the 223AI's, 75-105's in the 243AI's, and will be running from 75-115's in the 25-06AI. I just can't wrap my head around limiting myself to a narrow bullet weight range in a given chambering. But in the end we only have to make ourselves happy.
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Think you guys may have answered my question too. I've got a Cooper M21 currently chambered in 221FB and I want to make some changes to it. Its a sporter weight and I'm thinking of making it into a 223AI.

Current twist is 1-12 and from what I'm reading here, so long as I stay 55gr. and lighter (which is my plan) I should be OK.
 


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