Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 220 swift

Hi ya'll
It been a while, but I made the mistake of walking into the local gun shop and walked out with a ruger target/varmint in 220 swift.
I have shot a swift in the past but this is frist time to own one. I would like to get some input from ya'll on loads ie. bullet and powders that work well in the swift. I would also like to hear what factory ammo is out there.

Any help or input good bad or in different will be great. Oh before someone asks the rifle will be used yotes mainly as my deer rifle is my 223 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />just kidding.

Thanks
Sako

congrats. there is something about a swift, I have one and love it. haven't loaded for it lately but I will check my notes to see if there is anything that may be useful to you. mine is a model 70 with a stainless shilen barrel at 24"

I have one of the Ruger Heavy Barrels from before they went laminated and synthetic. It has a Leupold 6.5-30x. It will put any load I try into .6-.9" at 100 yards-good enough for me. I've loaded it from .223 level though the 22-250 range getting the same good accuracy at all levels. I've also used SR4759 to duplicate .22 wmr velocities with 40 grain .224 bullets- using them to walk up on jackrabbits and shoot possums out from under deer feeders.

I Killed one nice 8 point buck at something over 300yards. It was a center neck shot with the old nosler solid base they made before the ballistic tip came out. I also killed another fairly nice buck with a chest shot with a 50 grain Ballistic tip.

The turkey I shot was at 100 yards and i avoided any meat damage by clipping the spine right where the wings join.

I never did try to get any of the 4000 fps loads you hear about but kept my top velocities around 3600. (one factory 50 grain load clocked 3850). I was more interested in the nice, Heavy barreled rifle than the caliber but had no complains about the performance of the round.

My kind of cartridge !!!
Have a Hagn S/S w hart bbl. that loves 41 of H-414 w Serria 50gr. Blitz. Shoots 5 between, .31 & .59 consistantly.
Have gone up to 43.5 of same, still holding below .75.
Also 42.2 of H-380 shoots about the same.
Another, model 70 Varmiter likes same bullet with 39 of H4895.
Both rifles prefer OAL just touching lands to +.003.
Too bad the cal. has not generated more interest.

Sako2506,
I've had a 220 Swift for more years than I can remember. My current one is an old model 77 Ruger Varmint with 12X Redfield on it. It has shot buckets full of ammo, everything from 40 grain Btips at 4100 to 55 grain Sierras at 3700. The Seirra 55 grain over 39 grains of 4064 is my current favorite load. It is easy on the rifle, shoots less than 3/4" and lays coyotes out at any range I can reasonably shoot at. It unfortunately doesn't get much use up here in Alaska. When I lived in the PNW I used it weekly for calling coyotes and sniping rockchucks and ground squirrels.

My favorite coyote fur load for calling is the Speer 52 grain HP, the one with the huge hollow point, loaded over 42 grains of H380. I don't have the velocity at hand but it almost never exits. It is not the ballistic equal of many of the boattails and BTips but it is a fur bullet without peer.

Even though I don't get to use my Swift much anymore, it will remain a part of my battery simply because it has served me so well in past years and I know it can be depended on to do the job again should I need it. Mart

My swift loves H380 with 50 and 55 grain boolits of all makes.

I had a M77 in .220 Swift. It was one of the best shooters I've ever owned. It loved 37.5 gr. of 4320 with a 52 grain Berger bullet. That was my most accurate load out of that gun, but it would digest 39.5 grains of the same power really well too, so I used the hotter load for hunting. I shot many ragged, one holers with the 37.5 grain load. The 39.5 gr. load would shoot .3 all day long too. Very accurate gun. Loved it. May work for you too. Give it a try.
Hunter01

Where I live (north FL) and hunt (middle GA) there are not many varmints to shoot, plus, I spend my summer time fishing, not in the woods in 95 degree heat. That said, I built my swift as a deer rifle (save the lecture). I load 60 gr partitions for deer but honestly, I have never carried it to a stand, simply too many other "better" rifles for the job. Maybe this fall I will give it a whirl. there is something about that long, skinny cartridge that just looks sporty. As I mentioned earlier, mine is a model 70 featherwieght, blue with a 24" shilen stainless barre. scoped with a leupold 4.5x14 in talley rings. shoots little clusters.

Swift good!

Thanks for all of the input guys. I am really looking forward to this rifle. I went over the weekend and picked up some H380 and 4895 to try along with the varget and reloader 15 that I already had.

I put a loopy 3.5x10 on the rifle just becase I had it at the house. THis should be just fine for yote and jacks out in west and south texas.

Thanks again.
Sako

Well, here's one more. Winchester brass, Federal 210M primers, RelodeR 15, I think 35 grains but don't hold me to it, and 50 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. I get just over 4,000 fps from a 26-inch barrel, and it makes believers out of the little furry critters.

Been shooting and handloading Swifts for over 30 years now.

Some random thoughts follow...

Rifles have ranged from Savage 112V to Remington 700 to Ruger 77V to the newer Ruger Target/Varmint model to custom jobs with Shilen select match barrels. Haven't had a bad Swift yet.

My best Swift was loaned to a medical doctor in Tennessee who has now had it for over 25 years. Never seems to have it handy when I visit to get it returned.

Twenty-six inch factory barreled Swifts should be considered carbines. Try one with a 30-inch barrel someday for real speed.

All the factory Swifts have the bolts on the wrong side. Have used Remington and Savage actions to get the bolt where it belongs.

Have used scopes ranging from 6.5 x 20 Leupolds to Leupold straight 24X benchrest models on the Swifts. For prairie dogs in Swift range, think the variables in the 6.5 x 20 range cover the best ground. In the field, probably can't routinely use better than 15X due to mirage and field of view. The benchrest 24X crosshairs were too fine for use on prairie dogs.

Have tried many bullets and powders. Have used a lot of IMR 4064 in the past. Currently use WW 760 and 55 grainers from either Sierra or Hornady. Load them on a Dillon.

Have trimmed to length and deburred between every loading. Even new brass is sometimes not the right length from the factory.

Have tried neckturning the Swift without great results. Must have either turned the necks too thin or maybe the factory rifle chambers were not tight enough. Lots of split necks on first firing with turned necks. Never a problem on necks left alone. (Do routinely turn necks successfully on other cartridges like the 20 Tactical, 22/6mm, 6/250, and 6mm/06 Mashburn.)

Swifts should be loaded by the thousands at a sitting since a whole town of bull prairie dogs could charge at any time.

Another alternative would be to set a Dillon 650 with casefeed hopper near the shooting bench in the prairie dog battlefield. Adjust positions so that ejected spent case is thrown into casefeed hopper. Then have teenage son crank Dillon 650 handle to make new loaded round. Haven't figured out getting the loaded Swift case from Dillon press to rifle magazine yet. Might be easier with single-shot rifle.

Last summer got hold of a thousand new WW brass with poorly formed extractor grooves that would not fit any shellholder. (Have every brand of Swift shellholder made in the last 30 years.) Ended up having a machinist modify an existing shellholder to fit the bad brass. (Did not have time to return the brass before heading to the prairie dog battlefields.)

Used to load the Swift hot enough that a rubber mallet was a necessary accessory. Have backed off (slightly) in my old age.

No longer attempt 4,000 fps with 55 grainers from 26 inch barrels. Settle for 3,850 fps now days or go to longer barrels.

Additional speed can be gotten from the 22/6mm with a 30-inch barrel.

Have not had any problems with accuracy.

Not had any problems with prairie dogs complaining either.

Hammer

Today, if you want 4000 fps with a 55 gr bullet - you go to a 243 Win. or a 6mm Rem. Without worrying about excessive pressures.


TM

Or a 240 Wby or, better yet, a 6mm/06 Mashburn.

Just think, a 30/378 Wby with a 55-grain .224" bullet in a sabot...

Hammer

Did you ever dream we would consider the Swift an efficient cartridge ?

Hammer

Efficient to me is a K Hornet and 13-14 gr of powder and a 40 gr bullet at 3000 + fps. The only thing I could compare it to is a 308 and a 200 gr bullet. The swift is still over-bore no matter how you cut it.

The 17 Rem, which I love, is terribly inefficient compared to a 17 K Hornet which can do something between 3400 and 3700 fps (guessing with 25 gr bullets).

The Swift is great. Very accurate. I'd guess the best bullet for it is in the 50 gr class.

My guess is it would take some detailed analysis to determine which cartridges are truly "efficient". Also, determining what they are effient at doing, would help.

For example - killing a certain game species - or shooting so flat - or how much energy it carries to certain yardages would be important, I think.

Efficient might mean - what's the smallest hammer you can use in a giiven application? The 22 long rifle would probably get my vote! Ha, ha! I've seen 1500 pound steers go down with a 22 short!

TM

I recently bought standard .220 Swifts off the shelf - Remington with 50 grain PTO softpoints...