I used the 180gr scirroco to shoot a six point bull last year out of the 30-378. At 480 yds the bullet broke the thickest part of the far shoulder on its way out. Is this going to be to heavy of construction for my limited entry mule deer hunt in utah this year or elk for that matter. what's your experiences? Is there a bullet for both?

Talbot,
The Swifts are designed to expand rapidly and stay together, hence the outstanding performance at long range.

The bullet will kill any mule deer alive just as quickly, and is one of the few that will hold together at close range at .30-.378 velocities.

George

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Shoot straight, shoot often, but by all means, use enough gun!

Talbot,

Lee Reed the owner of Swift made it clear to me that the Scirocco IS NOT intented for heavy game up close. The A-Frame is the bullet for that kind of hunting.

The Scirocco was designed to take up to deer size game at close range. It basic design will cause it to turn itself inside-out if you use in at close range on heavily built game.

Good Hunting !

Talbot,

I watched my buddy shoot a small doe (~90 lbs) at about 250 yards last year using his 300 RUM w/ 180gr Swift Scirocco handloads. The deer managed to cover over 200 yards after the hit, but I have no idea how. There was a perfectly round, baseball sized hole through the chest cavity of the deer...plenty of expansion for a small deer if you ask me.

Regards,

Lou

If nothing else, this should bring out the asbestos long johns!

If anyone is interested, here's a field test of the Scirocco with some recovered bullets. I deer hunted with it a bit this past year, using the 180 in my M70 300 Wby at 3145 muzzle velocity. I shot a +/- 250# whitetail (live weight) as it ran across in front of me at about 40 yards. I hit it a bit too far back (nice way of saying gut shot) and it ran about 30 yards before it slowed to a stop. I shot it again at a quartering away angle. The first bullet entered just behind the ribcage and stopped against the hide on the far side. Impact velocity about 3060 fps. At first glance it looks like a textbook failure from a thin-jacketed frangible bullet (not wanting to drop a name here) with the core missing, jacket split back to the base. However, the bonding retained most of the core, although it split along with the jacket. It weighed 142 grains. The second bullet at about 75 yards entered behing the rib cage and stopped under the hide next to the brisket. It also opened dramatically and weighed 145 grains, with an impact velocity of about 2990. The next day a friend shot another buck with my rifle at about 275 yards, impact velocity about 2600. That bullet was textbook, looking like it came out of the Swift company brochure. It is, however, very rounded, unlike the sharp corners of an "X" bullet. Retained weight was in the order of 165 grains.

The one on the left is the 40 yard shot impact, the one on the right 275 yards.

In my opinion, this bullet holds together and expands viciously. Too viciously. Think about it, whitetail buck at 40 yards, 300 wby with a 180 grain bullet, broadside shot with no bone in the way, and it doesn't exit? At magnum velocities it expands too much for adequate penetration, at least I suspect it will on anything larger than deer. On deer I believe this is a good bullet (that is after all what Swift markets it as) providing muzzle velocities are kept to 2900 or less. I also firmly believe that the Hornady flat base SP performs just as well, at 1/4 the price. Just as accurate, more so in my experience.

In a larger-cased 30 caliber, I see the 180 grain bullet as a do-anything type of load. With the results I obtained with the Scirocco, I would NOT be comfortable, with a mature elk or bear quartering toward me at 50 yards, of shooting that animal in the shoulder. I am concerned that the penetration would not be sufficient. That same animal broadside at 150 yards, no problem. But I don�t see it as an all-around bullet in a magnum case, useful for taking any shot as it presents itself. Come to think of it, the only company I see hyping it for larger game anyway is Remington who are trying to convince hunters (like most of us who get to spend too little time actively hunting and too much in front of computers) that we need the 300 Ultra for 600 yard shots at elk.

To sum up, the Scirocco seems to shoot well for most shooters on paper, and looks slick as hell in a loaded round. I just ask that before you launch it, any bullet for that matter, at a large animal with large bones that you consider whether that particular bullet is designed for that type of target.

Sorry, double post.

[This message has been edited by RickF (edited 08-13-2001).]

I used them from my 300 RUM on antelope last year. They worked great...Heck George S was with me that day!

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"If guns are outlawed...only outlaws will have guns!

"We should not say the Greeks fight like heroes. We should say that heroes fight like Greeks"... Winston Churchill

Gentlemen,

I thank Rick F for his field report.

As I have tried to make clear in this forum and others, the Swift Scirocco is not intended for game larger than deer. That's where Lee Reed, the President of Swift, says you should use the A-Frame.

Well stated Rick !!!!!!!!

Good Hunting !