Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles What has happened with the .220 Swift?

for my purpose......sitting in a p/dog patch with 100+ targets......

wouldn't have it......over bore.........out dated

Give me a 20 cal....based on the 221..222 or 223 parent cartridge

19-26 grs of the correct powder & 40 gr boolit......much better

Swift ? 40 grs of powder & 3800 fps.....55 gr bullet.....ole school at best

Barrel would be toast in a summer in dog town

sure as a G/hog gun....8-10 shots a morning....barrel will outlast us all

20 Vartarg 19 grs & 40 gr @ 3600...dogs die

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

My late brother had two Liberty Rugers, a 1B .270 and a 77V Swift. Both were very accurate. He used an original Lee Target loader. Case stretching was an issue, and he prefered Norma cases, which were pricey and elusive.

One very cold and snowy Winter, we spent a few days huddled in a three-sided corncrib that also stored haybales. Had comfy, warm seats and a nice bench built using the hay. He 'sploded a pigeon at about 300 yards at the edge of some woods and left it lying there. Later, some crows came in and started to eat it, and he 'sploded one of them. Really pissed the others off. What that rifle would do to a woodchuck was pretty impressive; pretty much removed the off-side.

Later, he re-barreled to .22/243, then a tight .22/250. That was before the Liberty rifles were collectables.

Pappy348: Two things: My Ruger 77-V Liberty Model 220 Swift also stretches brass noticeably more than all my other Swifts - I wonder if they had a loose or out of spec reamer back then?
And this - I use Norma brass in my Remington 40XB-KS in 220 Swift. I really like this brass and the accuracy is very impressive and like you say it is both pricey and elusive.
I use that wonderful Remington 40XB-KS and the Norma brass only for special occasions (low volume shooting type Hunts).
Just curious did you acquire the 22-250 Liberty after your brothers passing?
AND... what were you two doing in that corn crib for three days - specifically thinning out the flying Varmints or Hunting something else?
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: Around my parts the large Ravens will peck the eyes out of newborn calves when they get the chance and a couple of my rancher friends "insist" on their guest Hunters thinning out the Ravens - you should see the big cloud of black feathers when a Raven is "hit" with a 220 Swift!
It emphatically answers the question about why the need for a 220 Swift over 223's, 204's etc!

When I was a kid my neighbor had a 700 in 220 swift that he let me take a couple groundhogs with. Being young, it made an impression on me that lasted into my adult life. Being a lefty though, the only way I was going to get one was to build my own. This is her in front of another completely unnecessary, but highly satisfying build, my 17 FB in LH. Neither have more than 300 rounds down them yet. I really need to make a trip out west to shoot some high volume some day.

Yeah, rifles have improved a bit since the 80s (or the 40s) plus that extra 3 inches, I'm sure, made a difference. All the Rugers preferred H4895 & later RL15 with 50s. It was a bit over book max but, well... you know. I had a lot of Hornady SXs that didn't come apart in midair at 3875fps or so & shot well under 1/2". They regularly gutted groundhogs to over 400 yds. It looked a lot like Night of the Living Dead H-380 was too unpredictable (temp. or lot variations) & left some kind of nasty plastic-like powder fouling behind.while 4064 just didn't quite get it in any of the Rugers. I never pushed the Model 54 very hard. The 26" barrel was in pretty good shape, but the old girl was a somewhat collectible piece that liked a mild to middlin' charge of 3031 with Sierra 52s best of all.

Bbassi: Indeed the terminal effects of the projectiles from a 220 Swift will make lasting memories!
I wanted to commend you on the beautiful set of Varmint Rifles in those two wonderful calibers.
How about those scopes on the Rifles - looks to me like a Leupold 4x12 with A/O on the 220 Swift and a Weaver V-16 (4 to 16 power variable) on the 17 Remington Fireball?
Great photo also.
Keep up the good work.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I bought my 77V in 220 Swift in about 1980. I was hunting for one at gunshows and finally found one. The barrel had been shortened to 20”, which was fine with me. I was planning to use it while guiding guests on the company lease in south Texas, so short was good. A gun book I had suggested that the 55 gr Nosler SBBT over 38.5 gr of IMR 4064 was the way to go. I worked up to that, found it to be super accurate, and use that load to this day. Now on the second barrel.

We were there to kill stuff. Our friend who owned the farm had a section of cornfield he was unable to pick because of the weather, which drew in various targets of opportunity. We had the Swift, a .22, and a shotgun, and whacked stuff with whatever worked. That was a terrible Winter with heavy snow and packed ice on the roads. Eventually, the farmer hand-picked most of the corn.

Not sure if he ever sold the 77. He did sell the No. 1, sadly.

The Swift suffers from the same disease as a lot of old stuff, old design specs. With a large number of legacy rifles out there, with 1-14" barrels, it's not likely that anyone is going to the trouble and risk of trying to bring it up to date commercially, so fans have to do it themselves, or enjoy it for what it is. Be glad brass is still to be had. JB thinks that it is more accurate generally than the .22/250. Wouldn't mind finding a nice one, but if I were building, I'd do something more modern.

Pappy348: Thanks for the comeback and the info.
I wish I had been along on that Hunt with you all - just to watch and see something different.
Your mentioning the 22/250 vs 220 Swift accuracy is something I have contemplated about for nearly 50 years now!
I own numerous heavy barrel factory Rifles by Remington (both Model 700's and 40-X's) and Ruger in both 22-250 Remington and 220 Swift and over those decades I have done some accuracy comparisons of my own using top quality Varmint bullets.
To tell the truth I have been very impressed with the accuracy produced by my many Swift Rifles.
Used to be folks derided the Swifts accuracy (potential accuracy!) because of its case design - I didn't know for sure myself but again when I began doing side by side comparisons of my Remington 40X's in both calibers, my heavy barrel Remington 700's in both calibers and my Ruger 77's in both calibers, I concluded accuracy in both was comparable and very impressive.
Let it be said though that when I get load development done (finding a pleasingly accurate load!) with a particular Rifle, I do not do much "paper punching" at all after that - especially with these higher intensity (prone to barrel wear) cartridges.
Indeed I take care to have in store much 220 Swift brass.
Long live the 220 Swift.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Many years ago a gunwriter wrote that Ruger had records of their test fireing results of all rifles made. This was before they began making their own barrels; rifled barrels were taken from the stock pile then chambered for whatever .22 was being made. Their records showed that .220s were more accurate than .22-250s, average for the thousands tested had group size for the swifts less than 2/3 the .22-250s.

I have an early M77 mkII, before the two-stage trigger. I haven't grouped it for some time, but at 2000 rounds it still put 10 plastic tipped 55 gr. bullets into 1/2" at 100 yds, at a bit over 3800fps, with either RL15 or VVN N150 and CCI match primers. It didn't matter if they were Nosler, Sierra, or Hornady. A friend got one after the trigger was changed, it was just as accurate, though his rifle needed a bit more powder to reach the same speed.

I save mine for 400+ yard P-dogs, the barrel does heat up pretty fast, and recoil is enough that with a 24x scope a spotter really helps.

-Friend has a former 223 1 in 9 twist barrel that he chambered for the swift shooting 69 grain sierra bullets. Very accurate to 400 yards. Also accurate out to 800 yards if wind not too strong.
Once wind came up he had trouble hitting the gong at 800 due to wind drift. My 6mm AI with 105 grain bullets handled the wind much better. I would expect an 8 twist barrel and 80 grain bullets would solve the drift problem in the swift.

The reason for not seeing many 220 Swifts IMO is a shift away from a the type of shooting it was designed for. When the Swift was brought on the scene the primary varmint hunting was groundhogs, crows, and other vermin of that type. Typically it was low volume shooting, maybe a dozen shots on a good day now the emphasis is on PD's and ground squirrels, high volume shooting.
While the 220 Swift is a good cartridge it is out of its element when it comes to high volume shooting, it burns too much powder, has too much recoil, and burns out barrels quickly when firing 300 - 500 rounds per day. It has been replaced mostly by smaller cartridges that burn less powder, with the with higher BC plastic tip bullets that are available the smaller cartridges give up very little in the way of performance to the Swift.

drover

the 243 is the culprit, although the swift was never very popular. grew up in sw va where groundhogs were the primary use. first cf 22 was a 219 wasp. you'd see more wasps than anything else. knew one guy whose father had a m-70 in hornet, cut down so it would fit in his truck. just messing with the collectors. but i got a pre war swift in a model 70 for a good price in the 60s. the 22-250 put the last nails in the coffin. all of mine were accurate, used 4064 mostly. got two 77s when they came out, one hb and one sporter. both shoot good.

when brass was not available, i found 6 boxes of win in the yellow boxes. shot more accurately than any of my handloads, best in the m-70.

as for twist, i'm waiting for a 1 in 4 twist shooting 125 gr 22s! maybe in a couple of years.

Over bore .224"

short barrel life for p/dog patches

never interested me...223 AI is more than enough with plentiful brass supply & longer throat life


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.220_Swift

for the ackley fans, he thought the swift was a great big game rifle too.

as for the criticism about prairie dog shoots burning out a barrel in a day, don't any guys let things cool down? it's not like you're in a firefight in Hue.

besides, the swift was a goner when tie 22-250 came out, and i don't hear any criticism about 22-250s being no good because...prairie dogs.

Wet Sham Wow on all my p/dog set ups

Even the little 20 Vartarg warms up at 50-60 rds an hour

Yes....keep a spare cool rifle too

The 243 was not the culprit in killing the Swift. The Swift was effectively doomed when they changed the original Wotkyns Swift (22.250) to using 6mm Lee Navy brass. Sharpe mentioned that Winchester didn’t think the 250 Savage brass had a thick enough web to handle 4140 fps measured at 53 ft. with a 48 grain bullet on top of 39 grains IMR 3031. Others say Winchester didn’t want another makers brass being used.
In 1937 Wotkyns, Gebby and Smith introduced the 22 Varminter which immediately was hailed as a more versatile round than the Swift by both Sharpe and later Ackley. As a wildcat it took off eclipsing the Swift in popularity.
Browning put the last nail in the Swifts coffin in 63 when they started chambering the 22 Varminter wildcat in their factory rifles. Winchester killed the Swift in 64, replacing it with the 225 Winchester which was DOA. Remington made the bastard 22 Varminter a legitimate round in 65 as the 22.250.
The Swift is still a good accurate round. Mine is a pleasure to shoot. 4000 fps is easily reached although I don’t push it that hard anymore.
5 shots.

point taken. great set up. what's the handgun for?

This has been an interesting read.
A question, I came into a Ruger #1 in .220 swift, 26” barrel I believe. What over the counter round would you fellows start with?
I am not going to start loading for it, didn’t want to be the first to shoot it but seeing the values for the caliber what they are these days I might as well play with it.
Thank you guys.

Osky

As of now the only available factory ammo is WW PSP 50 grain at almost 2 bucks per. I personally haven’t seen factory Swift ammo on the shelf in my neck of the woods for 15+ years. Lots of 22.250. The Swift is one of those obsolete rounds that is a hand loaders baby. Mine has never seen a factory round since I bought it. That said, any 40-55 grain bullet will work just fine.