Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 22-250 AI vs. 220 swift

The .220 Swift that I am shooting now is my favorite varmint rifle. The Winchester brass that I bought bulk fits the rifles chamber just right. The loads that I shot last season were with this new unprimed brass and they were as accurate as any rifle that I have had to date. You can't fire full power loads from an fire formed chamber until the brass is fired once.

Since it's agreed that both cartridges have about the same performance the Swift is just a lot less bother. Of course for anyone who has not owned a "AI" chamber then of course I can understand the curiosity.

Over on AR "Pecos 45" called the Swift "The closest thing to a death ray that one can legally own"

Pecos is wrong.

As that would be a 257Wby. Though I do think highly of the Swift.................

Woofer, I believe Ross Seyfried did a custom 22-284 on a Remmie action. It was a fast twist and he used heavy 22 caliber bullets in it. IIRC it was really accurate and threw 80+/- grain bullets as fast as the 22-250 or swift pushes 55's.
It was in an older issue of Rifles or maybe Handloader.
It was a good article and an impressive rifle.

I recall that piece and wanna say it mighta even had a 30" pipe on it.................

Yup, I believe it was at least 27" or more.

Guy just up the road from me has a 22-284 that he uses for LONG range coyotes with 65gr Bergers. He's a fur hunter so uses a .14 or .17 for calling them and keeps the .22 around for those that don't want to come any closer.

BTW, he has a 6mmWSM die set and reamer so I may stop by and see if he's done that yet. A pard of his but a bull elk down post haste with one 87gr Vmax to the melon. At least that's the story I was given.

Reeder, you should get Ken Howell's book on custom cartridge design. It's expensive, but then you'd know everything you need.

Dave is Ken Howell a son or relative of John A Howell who back in
the 30's took a 348 case chopped it back to about 53mm overall
neck it down to 30 cal. and got 3100 out of it ? It was
called a 30 Howell, ackley's book page 428 Cheers nothcountry

Wouldn't happen to be Blaine would it?

you can match the velocity of max. swift loads with a 22-250 ack imp but you do not have the safety factor that you have with swift cases.

The swift case is much thicker in the base-pressure ring area than the 22-250 case, section them and you will see. I have had 5 swifts, 2 22-250's, and 1 22-250 ai, and if I was buiding another one I would use the 22-243 middlestead. With this you can easily meet exceed 4000 fps with 55 gr bullets in a 24 " barrel, and you don't have to load the snot out of it to do it.

I went to Colorado School of Trades Gunsmithing School back in 1978. We used to play hookey and shoot prairie dogs just about every Wednesday afternoon. One of my fellow students took me under his wing and I can assure you that on a warm sunny day the dogs are out sunning themselves even with snow on the ground. Talk about easy to see! A brown dog on a white background is about as good as it gets. I used to use a 25-06 with 75 gr hollow points. We used to have contests to see who could boot them up in the air the highest. When the ground is muddy you just aim low on the belly. I used the 25-06 because a poor student needs to be able to hunt deer and varmints with the same rifle. Now I own a 220 Swift for the long shots, and a few 223's so I can alternate them and let them cool down a little. Please ask your friend what kind of glue he uses to hold his primers in when he gets 4400 fps with a 55 gr?
Tracy won the blue ribbon for highest "launch" the day he brought his 340 Weatherby along. He will be remembered
long after his bruised shoulder has healed!
Once you have a Swift, why would you want anything less?
GWN

What part of MN are you from GWN?

I'd go with the swift . It is to dang hard to beat a swift . You can do it , but by very little and it will cost you . There is no magic in the shape of a cartridge case shoulder . The brass at the junction of the neck and sholder of an A.I case will thicken and you will need to reem it out . There are no free rides with any high performace cartridge .

I KNOW I'm setting on over 5000pcs of Improved brass and haven't ever felt compelled to ream a neck. I don't turn necks either,except for the few tubes I foolishly requested to be tight necked.

My love for the Swift is profound,though I KNOW there are superior case designs,that are less problematic.

There are many case designs that benefit muchly,by a sharper shoulder. That either to control headspace or eliminate brass flow. To dismiss the concept,pisses in a lotta punch and many of them flavors rule various roosts(convincingly).

Everything is give and take,but stuff is only as difficult as one makes it. Minimal taper and jaunty shoulders are my marked preference,because they allow a larger fuel capacity,with a simple yank of the trigger.

Dat's a great trade,IMHO....................

Big Stick ; I don't think any case design will eliminate brass flow . That brass has to go somewhere . With the A.I. case the brass will thicken at the junction of the neck and shoulder . You may not notice case lengthening very much mainly because the A.I case becomes shorter than the parent case after fireforming .
It will take a few warm reloads before you will notice case neck thickening .

A chamber cut to minimum SAMMI spec . or less goes along way to increase brass life .

I'll take the old 220 swift and save myself the time and trouble of fireforming cases and extra expence of custom dies .

Brass "flow" is a broad generalization and multi factors can be attributed to case lengthening.

With bushing dies(less an expander ball),sharp shoulders and sane pressures,growth is nill at most.

A good chamber,good brass and proper sized dies are positive attributes,regardless of case design.

I've got W/W based 25-284 hulls that I've shot over 25 times and have never been turned,reamed nor annealed. I put the coals to them and that case boasts "Improved-ish" mechanical design features,on top of being necked down multi diameters. They are of modest taper and sharp shoulders. It is a WONDERFUL chambering IMHO.

Point was/is,one can beat up his brass and shorten it's useful life,via numerous means. Driving racy brass,doesn't mandate shortened case-life or a host of mundane chores to keep it in order.

Fact is,the contrary has been my observation,regarding all such creations I've dabbled with. However,now and again,one can run into brass of less than optimal tenacity. Norma immediately springs to my mind and especially in Swift.

I'd be the last to piss on the Swift,as the rifles I've had so chambered,have been nothing shy of spectacular. That doesn't mean I think it is the ultimate example of the Cartridge Designer's Craft. It's a funky design and a bastard by nature,though that doesn't mean she doesn't have the capacity to haul ass and ability to bughole.

That might could be why I'm sweet on it,because it works farrr better than it "should".

I don't see fireforming as a dirty word,as it is another excuse to practice and my highest hopes for all of my tubes,come only after their respective hulls are no longer virgins. "Extry" die expense is dick too,so I cain't buy that either.

Brass that looks fast,generally is and does so less extraneous quirks. The 22-250AI looks and plays the part capably............................

I am about 1/2 hr west of Minneapolis, which is to close if you ask me!
GWN

Could be, probably is, and yes! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> If the Blaine your referring kills A LOT of coyotes, then the latter!

Big Stick ; I hear you . I hope I did not come across as knocking the 22-250 A.I . The A.I. case design is as good as any .
Had a 6mm Rem. A.I in a 40X action ,7# hart barrel , beddeded in a MacMillan Br stock . Did not find anything special about the A.I over the standard 6mm Rem . Some of my best groups were fired while fireforming cases .
Haveing a 22-250 A.I or the 220 swift is a matter of personal taste . To each his own .

Big Stick,
Just curious about barrel life on your "improved" 22-250.
I got to thinking that your barrel could be worn out before you finish fireforming all your cases??
I had a buddy go into a frenzy in a dogtown once with a 222
Reminton. We shot for 12 hrs nonstop that rifle was never the same after that. I was alternating between my 25-06 with 51 grs IMR4064 and a 75 gr Hornady, and my 220 Swift Ruger #1. I'll never forget the ranchers reply when we stopped to say thank you as we were leaving. He said "If you boys didn't know how to shoot when you got here, you sure should by now!
I think we were the early discoverers of "paintball".
Have a good one!
GWN