Hey guys,

My Rem 700 chambered in .220 Swift is on it's last leg.

I'm going to rebarrel it in the near future. Two options have been suggested, .220 Ackley Improved and .22-243 Middlestead. What are the pros and cons of either choice?

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'd build a 243Ackley.

Chances are,that projectiles lighter than 55grs aren't of keen interest to you(a dangerous assumption on my part). The .224" 55gr BT has a slightly lesser BC than the .243" version of the same. So the 243AI rates right near the top of the performance heap,as compared to the various Big22's,with even the lightish weight projectiles.

It is when you step up to the 70's and such,that the 243AI really comes into it's own. It has the capacity and oodles of splendid projectiles available to it and in my opinion is better than any of the Big22's.

I've got 22-250Ackleys and 22CHeetah Mach Ones,but prefer the 243AI,because it is of more muscle and more well rounded in my opinion........

I kind of like the sounds of the 243 Ackley. Would my bolt face and magazine have to be changed if I went this route?

Al Smith,

Of the two, I would have to go with a 22-243 simply because cases are easier and cheaper to get if you shoot volume.

You will get a bit more velocity with the 22-243 over the 220 but not enough to really be a consideration.

I quess that if your not married to the .224" caliber, I would have to agree with Big Stick and go with a .243"/6mm caliber round.

I quess it all has to do with what you intend to do with this new barreled rifle.

If you want a high volume varmint round for use out to 400 yards. The standard 22-250 or Swift are hard to beat, with the 243 and 6mm Rem even a bit more impressive but with more recoil and higher cost.

If you want to build a true long range varminter, I would go with one of the larger 6mm rounds at least and design it to shoot bullets no lighter then at least 75 gr.

Good shooting!!!

50

The Swift is really the best of the .22 centerfires. It's a strong case and gets the most out of the .22 bore. I built an equivalent to the 224 Middlestead with a quick twist on a 2" long 6.5 Remington Mag case. After 1500 rounds of load development, fun and case forming the barrel is toast. Better to get a standard cartridge.

If you must have a wildcat or improved then the .220 K-Swift will scream.

If I use one of the cartridges based on the 243 case, will I need to do any modifications to my bolt face, magazine, etc? Or can I have the barrel installed and be done with it?

We rechambered a 220 Swift with a 1:14 twist barrel to 22-06 as an experiment. I hunted with it the past season in SA and enjoyed it so much that we ae now rebarreling a second Swift to 22-06 with a 1:8 barrel twist. This will enable us to use monometal bullets up to 60gr and an inch in length. With the 1:14 barrel the best results as a 220 Swift were with monometal bullets around 40 gains, 0.67" in length and at 4400 fps. After rechambering, we ran the same bullets at 4750 fps. Hunting with the 22-06 consisted of springbuck and blesbuck (100 to 200 lbs) at distances of 80 to 380 meteres. Time will tell, but we are hoping to run 60 gr bullets at around 4000 fps and with a BC of .450, it will be 2" high at 150 and 1" low at 300.

[ 01-18-2003, 16:51: Message edited by: Gerard Schultz ]

A friend has suggested I rebarrel to 6mm Rem Ackley. Will this case work in my short action? Or does it require a longer action?

I would go to the 220 Swift Ackley Improved as you probably have lots of brass that can be readily fireformed.

The 220 Swift AI that I used had a 40 degree shoulder, and after fireforming had a case capacity of about 55.5 grains, which is probably very similar to the .22/243 Middlestead.

The case capacity lends itself to using heavier bullets in the 60 - 75 grain range. However, to give maximum flexibility, I would choose a barrel with a 1 in 8 twist so that bullets up to 80 grains could be used.

The chronograph results in my rifle were:
Sierrra 55 grain SPBT
46.0 grains IMR 4350 - 3967 fps
47.0 grains IMR 4350 - 4052 fps (Max)

48.0 grains IMR 4831 - 4052 fps
49.0 grains IMR 4831 - 4143 fps (Max)

Nosler 60 grain SPBT
46.0 grains IMR 4831 - 3814 fps
47.0 grains IMR 4831 - 3906 fps (Max)

Sierra 69 grains HPBT
48.0 grains IMR 7828 - 3596 fps
49.0 grains IMR 7828 - 3681 fps (Max)

46.0 grains Norma 205 - 3696 fps
47.0 grains Norma 205 - 3765 fps (Max)

Remember every rifle is different, so just use those loads as a guide, and start working up with a charge about 10% less than those stated above.
Good Luck, Brian

You shouldnt have to do anything to your bolt face, depending on action type. Go with the 243AI, great round.