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

FVA:

Look at the wind drift of a 75 grain Horn AMAX or an 80 grain SMK at 3200 - there is nothing in .22 that comes close. The difference in jumping in wieght is immediately noticeable, unless all your shooting is done at dawn in calm conditions.

But do the heavier bullets have as explosive impact? Hey, it means something to me.

I'm completely with Don on this one... the 22-250 AI is about the same as the factory Swift, the .220 Swift AI is that much better. I had a Remington VSSF in .220 Swift (not A.I) and it was sweeeet - my all-time favorite varmit gun/cartridge combo.

hey fva
I dont want to start a fighten match again but faster is not better my old 222 has been good and very accurate for many years I thought I needed a 220 swift and used it so much that I shot the throat out of it in about 2 years but the 222 still was mors accurate back in those days we turkey hunted at 300yds and the 222 put it on the mark every time. get what you want but take it from someone who has been there and shot that bigger and faster is not always better.
bearbeater

I had a Swift long before a Deuce. After the Deuce,I was disappointed,as it simply didn't generate the Oooomph to sizzle on Vermin.

I've never had trouble making a Swift shoot exceptionally well and it flings goo through the air in a manner the Deuce could only dream of.

That satisfaction can't be underestimated and is surely why I still think highly of fast stepping 22's,which the Deuce can't ever become...................

Just traded for my 2nd swift. I lost my 1st one (40xb) to a home break-in about 6 years ago.
I had a Ruger 3 screw .45 that my brother had been wanting for years, and he had a Ruger 77V lam-stainless that I kinda was interested in. (I had loaded 200 rounds of ammo for him in 1995) soooo... we made a trade!
I got the rifle and 150 of the 200 rounds that I loaded in 95.
I had a Leupie 3X9 matt with target dot, so I mounted it.
Got .75 for 5 at 100 with 8 year old ammo. So I'm off to a good start!
This is a fun gun and easy to shoot. Can't wait to shoot up the old ammo and load some 40 grain "barrel burners"
Virgil B.

My Ruger Swifts all shot very well and I crammed a goodly amount of Re-15 through them(and Remmy versions of same).

If I was getting mean and nasty,the 50gr V-Max would get the nod. Hit a Jackrabbit amidship with one of them,while setting on the snow and you would get colors that few knew existed.................(grin)

A prairie dog town covered with snow.... Now that would be some fun! Would give a whole new meaning to the term "paint the town red". Do prairie dogs ever come up when it snows?

That would most certainly add a new dimension to the game.

I loved slurking around the High Desert country with good bino's and a full throttle Swift,looking for a bunny on the snow. With an elevation advantage,a guy can put a pretty good lick on them and really get the fur flying.

While I've shot about a bazillion Jack's,that sneak and peek approach remains my favorite. You don't get as many,as with other methods but what you get is 100% graphic and that quality gets the nod in lieu of quantity(for me).

You boys locate a snow covered PD town with the Dogs dancing a jig,shoot me a PM ASAP. I've heard rumors to that affect,though am not privvy to confirmation.............

hey stick
I prefer a shootin piece that will put the sug where I want it. I am not in for a goo shoot and I shoot alot of vermin. my 222 does every thing I want. I dont to have a caliber that gets there before I pull the trigger or leaves a pink haloe.
bearbeater

Everybody likes what they like,for reasons they like it.

A fast stepping 22 that drives tacks is easy to realize and there are lesser routes than the Swift. I'd be curious to know which rifle you had in Swift that gave accuracy fits and also whatcha had in Deuce that so impressed you?

Hinting that a Swift can't shoot itty-bitty clusters is heap big inaccurate. Dat pun intended...................

The load I had loaded for my brothers swift (now Mine!) is Speer 50 gr. TNT with IMR 4350 at about 3500 fps. I shot a magpie with this load out of my 40XB, and I'll swear it rained black and white feathers for 15 minutes!
Virgil B.

Dogs DO come out on sunny winter days, at least in Colorado. I have seen them out in force in early December in Montana, but there was no snow and still something to eat.
22-250 AI gets my vote, I myself am going to get a 6250 AI made up because I already have a 22 BR.

The pard that was mentioning the snow vermin,hails from Colorado(though he lives here) and lurks this site.

I wasn't 100% certain which type of critter he saw,as it had been a spell since he'd talked about it,so I was hesitant to make a statement I wasn't certain of. The conditions you mentioned,were likewise on his end.

Be curious to hear your findings on the 6-250AI.
With a 22BR in the stable,then why not a 6BR?..................

hey stick

the swift that I had shot the throat out was a 98mauser with a douglas barrel, it was very inpressive and used it on chucks, when I lived in west virginia. I was about 14 then andit was late 60's early 70's ,then after about 1500 shots the barrel was shot out and I traded it in for a 788 remington and still have it someone did a trigger job and I put a redfield on it and it still is a tack driver. the only thing is I trimed the stock for me, and now I am 100 pounds heavier that those days. My goal in life is to excape michigan like I excaped wva and live out the rest of my days in Alaska. My 2nd wife gets very pissed when I talk about it but my kids say lets pack. I will make it there even if I an buried there.Yes ,I have spent alot of time in Alaska and cant waite to return. oh ya my first old big itch is stillin wva were she belong

Bearbeater

I have a Ruger 77V in Swift, which has sent untold pdogs and coyotes to the happy hunting grounds. I had a 77V in .22-250, which began to show a loss of accuracy after 3000 rounds or so. Not so with the Swift. I push 55 gr. bullets at 3750 fps, and have been very happy with the results.

Im wanting to get into reloading,what is a good book on the subject?another question,what are the limites on necking down a case?say could you take a 300mag shell and put a 243cal. bullet in it?what kind of book would have these kind of answers?

Stick, I've been trying to come up with something with a larger push face on the bottom of the bullet that will still recoil like a sissy gun and be real hard to pawn off after a theft.
Thought about the 6mmX (Tubb's match cat) but I don't like the shoulder angle much. And I'm not nutso about how the 22BR feeds, either. Looking for an "in-between."
The idea is to shoot 70 to 90 and perhaps 100 grainers at our local thousand yard matches while still having a varminter for windy days when the BR won't quite do the job. I think 70s will go plenty fast for that, um, terminal effect.
Incidentally, if scratching my six itch causes me to want "more" -- it'll probably be a 6.5x57 AI.

Performance will be indistinguishable between the two aforementioned cartridges. If you are planning on building a repeater, the Swift is the way to go. I have seen several 22-250 imps both 40 and 28 degree models that had feed issues. Even the ones that do feed aren't as smooth as a swift. The swift is fast enough. I rarely use anything other than 40 grain Vmax or sometimes 50's for coyotes. These new 40 poly tipped bullets are so good that they basically render the the 55's obsolete. I can get 4100 from my Swift with 40 grain Vmax and ballistic tips. My most accurate loads are not that hot- maybe 4000. Factory Norma ammo with 50 grainers is an honest 4000 out of my rifle ( a pre-64 mod 70 with 26" tube) the only downside I have found is this is the second Swift I have had with a damnable 1/14 twist. It is great for 40 and even 50's but 55's aren't quite as accurate and I can't even shoot 60s ( I tried to load some 60 grain partitions for an antelope hunt that I got from MD- they grouped about 6" @100yds)

If you are going to go to an AI varmint rifle, I would suggest the 243 AI and use 55 grain Ballistic tips.

how about something on the 284 case in a standard action? i have seen 2.4" 284 brass. put a nice easy shoulder on it. that would spit out a vmax till next week <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
woofer