Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .220 Swift

What bullet for coyote hunting when you want to keep the pelt? It is partial to 55 gr Sierra's which open up a groundhog pretty good. Looking for something to keep pelt damage to a minimum.

thanks

WVBlue: I use the wonderful Speer 52 grain hollow-point flat base bullets in several of my 220 Swifts and 22-250's for saving pelts on Coyotes.
This bullet was recommended to me by two different Federal predator controllers for saving pelts when using the high performance (flat trajectory) 220 Swift.
Do not confuse the recommended Speer 52 grain hollow-point flat base with the Speer 52 grain hollow-point boat tail which is a much more explosive bullet.
Best of luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG,

ever tried the 55 grain TNT?

Like you I used the 52 grain HP ALOT in my 22.250s for a long time...but tried the 55 TNT, and I am switching over to it vs the 52 HP...

that is unless this 53 VMax starts working out real well...

Hornady 52 gr. HPBT Match bullets tend not to expand much. They prove to be UNREAL accurate in my tang safety 77V Swift.

Yoder,

just to clarify,

VG and I were speaking of Speer's 52 grain HP varmint bullet, not their 52 grain Match bullets...

two totally different animals..

Seafire........

Yep. I was aware you were discussing a different bullet. I was just adding that the match bullet was another good choice for pelt preservation.

Yoder,
What powder and charge are you using on the 52 bthp's? I just bought some and want to try them out. I shoot 36 varmint grenades now, awesome accurate and fast!!!

Gregg-O............

I am loading 38.0 gr. of IMR-3031.

PLEASE NOTE: The 38.0 gr. has been waaaay too hot in another Swift it was tried in. Reduce 10% and, as always, take due precaution in working up.

No schitt. Loading 2grs less of Benchmark, Under 60 degrees all is good, about 3650. Excellent accuracy (.21 for 5 shots @ 100). After that started getting erratic velocitys, and pressure spikes. At 75 degrees was getting 4026 average, stiff bolt, and flattening primers. Had ES of 162 fps.

So yep, I thinks yours is a bit HOT.

BYE BYE barrell. Been there done that.

Swifty

Dunno. This load is a book max charge from the Lyman manual. Barrel life may be compromised. I, obviously, can't say how much. I will tell you that velocity dwarfs your Benchmark number, primers are slightly flattened but not cratered and pockets stay nice and tight. Velocity spreads are well within acceptable parameters (ES in the 40's) and accuracy is superb to freakish for a box-stock factory gun.

I guess if I wanted to run .22-.250 numbers I'd have bought a .22-.250

Don't know what else to say.

Better buy a new book, 50 to 52 gr IMR 3031 35 to 36 grs By Sierras Newest book, Speer # 14 52 gr, 36 grs IMR 3031, IMR Manual 2010 50 to 52gr 36.5 grs. IMR 2007 Manual Max 36.5 IMR 3031 velocity with a 50 is between 3800 and 3900. Had to go back to a 20 year old hodgdon manual to find 37.5 grains IMR 3031, but the max velocity was only 3750, Wonder if they are making better powders these days?
43.5 grs H380 Which is max, and adding a magnum primer gave me 4075 average with a 52 gr, which did burn out a barrell. Took 800 rds at this velocity to toast 2 inches of barrell total number down the tube was 1450. Mines a box stock Cooper Model 22 MV.
If I want freakish velocity, I can load up 46.5 grs AA 2700 CCI BR primer and 40 gr SBK for 4450 fps and awesome accuracy, If I wanna go higher I can max out that load by adding 1gr and probably break 4500 fps. But all of these loads are within published book in the last 5 years.
An aside to this, Benchmark is #80 on the burn rate chart, IMR 3031 is 78 they are so close it really doesnt matter.
Going back 20 years and still not coming up with 38 grs, its an overload by todays standard, and as I said before BYE BYE barrell, I have been there and done that.

Swifty

60 gr Nosler Solid Base boat tail. Penetrates well stays together and doesn't blow big holes on the way out if it passes through. Works good on larger critters also. One year in Montana had to use it for Mule Deer and Antelope as my other rifle went down.

Thank you all for the information. I will (hopefully) show some pictures after our trip.

so, does anyone have an opinion on barrel wear with my load of 36gr VG's and 41.5gr of varget? Chrono at 4300 avg. Should I tone them down? They shoot so accurate I would hate to mess with them.

I shot 36.5 Grains of IMR4064/55 Ballistic tip for over 21 years, before I replaced the barrel. Now with a differnt barrel, I use 38RL15/55 Balistic tip. The bullet does not leave a coyote under 300 yds. Turns insides into jelly, should be just perfect for you. I don't worry about burning a barrel, I don't get them hot, and when their done, I replace them. Love the Swift!!

Jerry

Ya know............I've noticed that the newer the load manual, the smaller the charge for the same bullet.

So........ is the powder getting better ?? Or are the lawyers getting worse ??

Case in point: The 7-STW. Data compiled buy the guy who invented it is nowhere NEAR as anemic as the data found in modern load manuals. Look at a modern load manual and they'd have you believe that the STW out-performs the 7 Rem Mag by a mere 50 or 100 fps. Not so. Not at all. Has SAAMI backed off all its operating pressures and I missed it ??

Sorry for the semi-hijack. But this puzzles the poop outta me.

IIRC MD said the data for the STW was reduced a lot when it became a factory round and the factories got reliable pressure data.

Yoder makes a good point on loads. Since I have been loading for quite a while, I still have all the older data manuals and hand outs. Here's an example that comes right to mind. 35 Whelen 250 grain bullet/56 grains of IMR4064. My favortie load with either a 225 or a 250. Back in the day, this was the MID load, and now it may be 2 or 3 grains over the current max. In the Swift there is more room for speed in my rifle, but the load is so accurate, another 100-200fps is insignificant.

Jerry

Yoder, I do not believe that SAMMI has backed off or that the lawyers have made such a big inroad as to cause powder manufacturers to back off the charge.

What I do believe you are seeing is the advancement and increased accuracy of such batching equipment, also accuracy of the amount of deterents added to the powder.

Just as 25yrs ago this discussion would have not been possible in this form, snail mail or club discussion maybe. I mean 1995 a 14.4 or 28.8 modem was FAST. If you could afford the 2 to 3 grand a computer cost.

The powder industry I am sure has also taken the technology and used it to improve the powder making process to where a computer controls the whole thing. I would even venture to guess that thier pressure and speed measurements have also vastly improved.

I have seen the growth in use of, and physical size declination of PLCs, computers and the effect(vastly improved) they have had on manufacturing processes.

There has to be a reason why when a new manual comes out, they put a statement in there that says all previous data is obsolete. I have also noticed that in some cases the diffrence between old and new data isnt as great as some of the examples here, but diffrent they are.

Unfortunately things do change, and also rifle powder does too.

Swifty

try the 35 gr NTX by hornday I used 41 gr varget in my 22-250 and got 4448fps acrost the chronegraph but heard they now make a 45 gr dont know how true that is but shot many groundhogs got a pinhole going in and lots of internal damage never an exit the good thing I liked about bullet. The size of it it was [being leadfree] as long as a 50gr nosler so just think if it awas 45gr how long wood it be and how well it would cut the wind and lend to stability in a.220 Swift