Pelt Friendly 220 Swift Load???

J

jkirwin

New member
First and for most, I want to say I am glad to see there is a website with a bunch of 220 nuts out there like me. I started to think I was the only one.

I have been shooting a swift for about 10 years. Had a .223 before that, took me about 3 years to shed the 223itus disease which leads people to shoot high when they don't need to. I have many guns, but the 220 is just down right deadly.


I am from western Minnesota and shoot mainly fox and coyote here. I load 55gr FMJ's with 44grains of H414 power. I think they go around 3875 feet though I have never checked. I selected this load to avoid the truck sized exit wounds that the 220 tends to create.
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Does anyone else load FMJ's?? I cannot seem to find much about it. Mine about 60/40 on little/lot of damage. Depends if you hit a rib.

Also, I tried to moly coated mine and my groups seemed to get bigger. Anyone experience this also?

I have considered other loads with lighter bullets, but I suspect they will be harder yet on a nice fox pelt. Any thoughts?


Thanks
Jason
 
Welcome to Predator Masters ! Theres alot of .220 swift fans here. I shoot .22-250s but 2 of my friends shoot swifts and ive shot thiers. I like them but im still learning how to reload and theres not alot of factory ammo for the swift otherwise id have one. Anyway not alot of people use FMJs. Ive tried soft points,V-maxes,and hollow points in my .22-250s and for pelts i like the hollow points the best so far. I experimented with bullet weights from 40-55 grains and my rifle really likes 45 and 50 grainers. With a swift i dont think youll find a load to save fox pelts though. My coyote load tears foxes up pretty bad most of the time. Hopefully some swift fans will post some pet loads for you to try. Good Luck.
 
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Welcome here and might i say awesome you like the swift. we just had a pretty big battle over the swift. i sure like to reload berger52grn hollow points and nosler 55grn bt with imr 4064 at 37grns..
 
Welcome to the board jkirwin!
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Not many use FMJs because they are illegal in many states, they don't kill well, and they ricochet forever.

Jack
 
FMJ's are illegal? Boy, I hope that is out east. Otherwise we probably don't have much time left for liberty in the mid-west. I have shot FMJ's for 20 yrs at fox and coyote. I have never noticed a ricochet issue and I don't think I ever had one get away that I didn't want to. Is it possible that those potential FMJ issues originate from a government building via people who don't hunt very much?? Hard to say, maybe I am nuts.

In regards to FMJ performance, I think they rank well on accuracy. Use to shot them in the military and I don't think the Army would use them if they were not accurate. One other nice feature, they are cheap, around 10 cents per pill. I wish they made them in 50 grain as I wouldn't mind getting a few more fps, eventhough I realize it's not needed.

Would appreciated comments on FMJ's if people have actually used them above 3800 fps (that means not 223's). I have thought about other loads, but I just cannot find a reason to switch beyond the possibility that there is greener grass on the other side of the fence.:)

Has played around with the moly coating. I wish I would not have. Not sure if I got all that residual moly out of my barrel.

Jason
 
jkirwin

Welcome. I just recently found this site myself and there are worlds of great information and folks willing to share.

As for pelt friendly .220 swift. I spent years looking (years ago prior to many of the very excellent bullets avail now). The only fully successful route was when I loaded down 52 gr. speer hollow points to .223 velocity, which of course completely negates owning a swift. My first outing with one of the reduced loads I got a shot at a silver (black) fox and missed, I hadn't tested the trajectory enough at various ranges and I shot right over him.

Hopefully some of the folks will share their success in finding a good pelt bullet for the swift when it is doing what it does best...

Silvertp
 
Ackleyman:

I have thought about going with 40 grain HP's, but I have been nervous about hurting my barrel, though I understand apprehensiveness may be unwarranted.

What speed are your bullets going?

How long have you been shooting that load?


At what range does round stop passing through a fox? And a coyote?

Does anything think FMJ's are not one of the most accurate bullets out there?

Fast makes running shoots that much easier.

Thanks
Jason
 
#######Does anything think FMJ's are not one of the most accurate bullets out there?######




They have never shot good in any gun i have ever had , great to play with and cheap , but as far as hunting goes there are alot more out there alot more accurate and will do ALOT better on animals then the FMJ.
 
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Anyone who's ever shot FMJ's out on the prairie can tell you about the ricochet. It's erie to watch that bullet keep skipping way the heck out there.

I don't have any fur friendly, swift advice for you, but if I were looking for an accurate load in any cartridge, the FMJ would be the last bullet I'd try.

For me FMJ's=cheap plinking bullets.
 
IMHO, the FMJ would be the very last bullet I would use while hunting. In KS, you can NOT use them to hunt game animals. I would be surprised if it is legal in Minn., but with out looking I don't know.

I have not shot fox, but with coyotes, I use the 50 gr V-Max at around 3800 out of my Swift. There is usually no exit on coyotes at anywhere from 20 yards out to 200 yards.
 
Regarding legalities: Shooting fox and coyote with FMJ's is legal in Minnesota as there is no bullet criteria to speak of for small game. Good thing to, because the less bureaucratic rules there are regulating hunters, within the context of ethics and proper population management, the better off we are. FYI: MN recently allowed us to pull the cases off and it's great.

Regarding the tendency to ricochet: I hunt the prairie my whole adult life with FMJ's and I have never noticed it. I must admit, most of my shooting occurs with snow cover, which likely hinders the likelihood of deflected bullets.

Regarding accuracy: Now here is something that is important to me. My VSSF patterns pretty well (except with spray one moly coating as mentioned earlier)though I am not saying it is the best it could be. I don't do a lot of target shooting, but while sighting in my rifle, I dare to say my patterns are and inch or less at 100 yards. Based on some of these comments, I could probably tighten that up with either HP's or V-MAX's. Anyone have a comment on which is the most accurate?

Regarding Pelt Damage: I like Ackley's comment about 40grain HP's not going through many times. I also like his comment about accuracy. Any comments regarding barrel life with this load?

The comment from Grampa that 50 grain V-Max's usually not penetrating a coyote at ranges as close to 20 yards seems a little tough to believe. I have shot V-Max's and although the ballistic coefficient is great, that is one mean bullet on fox or coyote hides.


Thanks for the response guys
Jason
 
Full metal jacket bullets are not intended for hunting and due to ricochet are too dangerous to use anyway. I think you will find a V-max to be more accurate anyway.

I have had good luck with the Sierra 52 grain boat tail hollow point Matchking bullets in 220 swift. It is Sierra bullet #1410.

I have been shooting Hornady 50 grain V-max in my 22-250 this winter (max load) and have had no pelt damage. They rarely exit.
 
I shot a Swift for 15 years and never did find a load that didn't do significant damage on one out of three coyotes! I can't imagine shooting fox with a Swift. I do believe you're asking for something that's just not going to happen.

I switched calibers 3 years ago and now have very little pelt damage, but it isn't a Swift.
 
I am shooting 55 grain sierra blitz kings out of my swift and as long as i get solid body hits no damage at all. but if you get fringe hits or to far back in the flanks it will make a [beeep] of a hole.And im with Mike i think it would be a bad deal to shoot fox with.
Steve
 
I shoot the V-max out of my Swift, the B-tip out of my 22-250. Both of these in the 50 gr. I very seldom have an exit with either one. In the 223 bolt gun, I am using the 55 gr B-tip and in the AR the 55 gr V-max. Really the only exits I have had is poor hits with the AR, when there is a chance of a double and I rush the first shot.

Like I said though, these are all on coyotes, which the ones I have weighed are around the 30-35# mark.
 
i am new here, and live out west here in oregon, but have hunted coyotes for 35 yrs and have used 223s ,22-250s,220 swifts,12 gauges ,20 gauges, to get the job done . hundreds of coyotes have fell. and am always looking for the magic bullet.

with that said each has their own benefits, what i personally like out of all of these, and not saying one is better than the other, but with that said what works great for me is i love the swift hands down.just had it rebarelled with a mcgowen 28 inch 1in12 twist barrel. amaziing upgrade very pleased . kind of unwieldy but awesome!

after hundreds of coyotes i have learned a couple of thing with it due to speed and conditions and shot placement there is no magic bullet. too many factors involved. here are a couple of bullets for the swift that work great for me.


barns 40gr verminator bullets. no exit at close range { calling - inside 150yrds} dramatic kills! {head on or side shots only} going away- no penatration!

distance bullets i opt for pass through with small holes and the bullet that works for me is the 50gr nosler ballistic tip. at 3700fps { the hunting version not the { varmint version too much pelt damage)great small hole exits and swift clean kills. they are built a little heavier and if you dont hit heavy bone great kills and accurate way out there!


shot guns i have used 12 and 20 and hands down no contest #4 buck. 00 i have had to chase coyotes down due to size of shot never got much penetration #4 buck just drops them cold.
bottom line find something you are comfortable with and always shot placement is hands down key, not matter what you use!
after deer,bear, using 60gr partions coyotes have fell to my old model 77 vt i probably would not shoot fox or bobcat with the swift just too much horse power for small guys like that there are better guns for those, shotguns and less horse power guns.
 
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I have only shot at 2 coyotes with my swift. I connected with one of them at 125 yards and I hit him right behind the shoulder in the middle of the body. .22 hole in and thumbsized hole out. It was with 37 grains of IMR 4064 and a 55 Nosler SHOTS which are a short bullet for 55's and are a soft point. [Shooting Hunting Or Target Shooting] They are cheap and the only thing that my 14 twist 700 cares for. 5 seconds of spin cycle and done so I know it transferred some energy into the lungs and the fact it exited leads me to believe it would penetrate bone or heavy muscle etc. Next time to the range I am gonna test em on a water filled milk jug.
 
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