Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints .220 Swift

Well, the .22-250 is louder than the .223, and the .220 louder yet. Think .243ish level, easily.

Load the .223 with some good bullets, and it'll get to where you're trying to go.

I ask all of this.. I have a Marlin XL 7 I picked up at Bi Mart.. I went with a 270 barrel.. ( it was $269.00).. I picked it up with the intentions of putting a varmint barrel on it...

Now that Boyd's makes laminate stocks for them...

I picked up the long action over the short action, because I was thinking either 220 Swift or 22/243...

I single feed all my varmint rifles afield anyway...

i have owned, loaded for, and hunted with both the 22-250 and the swift...
and i have some experience hunting with the 22-250 AI in friends rifles...

i can not tell the difference in velocity without the chrony... both are right fast, and capable...

as to accuracy differences, my 77 Ruger swift was the more accurate, but i spent more money on smithing to make it so...
the 700 adl 22-250 was almost as accurate when i bought it as a used rifle...

if i were in the market for a rifle of the type, i wouldn't dither over either one, but watch for the best deal on the rifle itself...

the 22-250 seems a bit pedestrian, to some... it does have that air of "ranch hand chic", though...

Both are excellent cartridges, and I have rifles chambered in both rounds, but if pressed I prefer the Swift.

243 with 55 grainers is an awesome groundhog load. I'm thinking you can find your favorite choice of factory rifle thus chambered quite easily.

If you want quiet flatness, you need to run a 204 instead.

Used to call that "The dying tuna"....

The best deal is just get one or 2 of each then you dont have to worry youll have the right one!!!!!!

Well, it's over, I finally gave up on the Savage .223. The cartridge is not flat shooting enough for my liking. I tried advice I got at the Savage forum and tried a 40 gr bullet. I thought results were not going to be good as the rifle has a 1:9 twist. The best I could do was 1" groups at 100 yards. I realized all I was doing was spending time trying every bullet weight there was in .224 cal.

I also realized that I've wasted enough time trying to make the .223 do something it wasn't meant to do. I'd started looking at other rifles this week. The choices I had were a Savage 12FV from the Custom Shop or a Remington 700 VS SF II. I sprung for the second choice, as I've always said "If you're going to be a bear, be a Grizzly".

So, I went with my gut feeling and chose the Swift. There is just something about a cartridge that has been around since 1935 and refuses to die. It will have some good company in the gun safe with my .25-06 and a 300 H&H Mag.

Excellent choice... here's my 700 VSSF-P in .220 Swift... been running both the 50 NBT and the 52 AMax ahead of 42-42.5 grains of RE-17... velocity on both loads starts with a "4"... good enough for me... bad news for coyotes and such.

This one bit the dust last week at 383 yards... ran 3 minutes into the Leupold and let'er rip.

Dogshooter, thanks for the reenforcement of my choice of rifles. I looked at the Savage 12FV and the price was kind of steep for a custom rifle in blue at $800. The Remington on the other hand was stainless and comes with a custom stock.

I like your rifle but am not familiar with the it. What does the "P" mean?

I've had a pile of Swifts and still have some. Holstering nostalgia and fluff,it is a rather poor design,none of which is subject to debate.

All Factory Swifts are 14" twist,which is a HUGE boot in their nuts,outta the gate. 7,8 and 9 twist 223's abound,in a vast assortment of flavors. Today,I'd much prefer a fast twist 223,to a 14" Swift and would much prefer a fast twist 22-250AI to a fast twist Swift.

The 2.200" Swift hull,is a poor route to equal 1.900" 22-250AI case capacity. Speeds are the same,because capacity is the same,but case length is NOT the same and that's where things shine,due to increased BC's. The 75A-Max will make 3500fps in a 24" 22-250AI,which will blow the doors off all things Swift.

Hell a 22" 1-9" Montana 223 slingin' 75A-Max will roast a 26" 14" Swift..................

That's where mine's headed... soon as I cook the pipe, I s'pose a 75 AMax at 3300+ is big medicine for coyotes and such... and makes better trax in the wind too.

"P" means it has the factory porting... not too keen on it, but it's there none the less. You can see the porting in the picture if you look closely. Don't know why you'd ever need it on a .22 centerfire... but they made a few like that from the factory... and this gun was waaaaay too good a deal to pass up... so I live with it.

I'd give serious thought,to building a modest weight 1-8" 223AI boltgun,or simply punching a 223 Montana out and running it.

You'll see 3150fps with the 75A-Max,miniscule Agg's,miserly powder consumption and it pounds things to the ground.

Amazing combo,start to finish and I gun every chambering mentioned here thus far.................

I assume there is a reason for the porting. The problem with my .25-06 VS is the recoil, I can't see the hit, but I can hear it. The 87 gr bullet at 3500 fps makes a distinctive sound when it hits, almost sounds like a slap.

As much as I never believed in porting I have 1 gun with it and it does work. The only downside is the noise.

The downside,is there's no upside.

As an aside,I fling a few .257" boolits around..............

Joe Blow,

As to your questioning Steelhead's or Bigstick's bonafides to judge a fast twist .223's effectiveness- you are really barking up the wrong tree. You look like a fool even trying.

As to your contention that fast twist barrels ONLY shoot heavy bullets- you are dead wrong .

I have seen LOTS of 1-9" twist .223s that shot 40 grain slugs into BUG HOLES. Many of those rifles PROFFERED the lighter bullets. Likewise 1-9" and 1-10" twist 6mm barrels that sot 55 and 65g bullets VERY well.

What started your rant about fast .223s was your Savage m110 with a 1-9" twist that your supposedly could not get to shoot well with ANY bullet weight.

Ever thought of the fact you just did not get a very good barrel?

Savage makes 'em quick and dirty. Many of their tubes shoot very well, but some are dogs. Instead of looking at the one who built the rifle or the ammunition for that gun, you are blaming on the barrel twist.

Very "smart" ..

joed49,
Here are my thoughts on the .220 Swift.
1> The run into town myth.
How many guys who shoot 600 yds. at groundhogs are going to "run out of ammo" and then drive into town to buy a box of factory ammo to finish out the day's hunt? When I am out of ammo I am done for the day.
I'm guessing that damn few guns are going to shoot into POI at 600 yds. with a random box off the shelf.

2> Most of my prairie dog shooting is between 200-300 yds.
I like to knock the crap out of them with a 40 gr Vmax at 3700 out of a .223. I usually bring at least 1,000 rds. of ammo for each rifle. Can you imagine fireforming 1,000 rds. for each rifle. No thank you! Wildcats are not an option for me.
There is no way I'm going to shoot 1,000 rds. out of my Swift in one weekend either.

3> The Swift has more recoil and more muzzle blast! There is no free lunch. It would be great for coyotes or groundhogs where rounds per day is normally low compared to prairie dogs hunting which is around 300 rds. per day for me.
If you shoot in a populated area the neighbors will not enjoy a 25-06 or a .220 Swift or a .243, or a 22-250!

4> If you load a 25-06 balls to the walls you will be trimming brass after each shot just like the Swift. Big deal!

5> I bought a Ruger # 1 in a .220 Swift because it has a 26" barrel and no feeding problems.
It is a special purpose rifle and is a little faster than a 22-250. If speed kills then I'll take all I can get.
If you don't need that much, then buy a .223 IMO.
A 22-250 will be just as hard on barrels and just as noisy as a Swift if you load them both hot.
whelennut

220 Swift way overpenetrates prairie dogs!

The Solution Is GET ONE OF EACH & you can make up your own mind. I have 223, 223 AI, 22-250 & the AI 220 swift & AI, 243 & AI & I love them ALL. MY personal FAVORITE is the 223 AI LOVE IT.