Just wondering if anyone has any experience at all with the Swift Breakaway Solids as well as their factory loaded ammo? The Breakaway has been on the market for a few years now but I have hardly seen any mention of it anywhere. Thanks

Here is a quick link with photos of the bullet sectioned and fired, for those (like myself) unaware of the"break away solid".

https://www.americanrifleman.o...-hunting-ammunition/


http://echolsrifles.blogspot.c...ts-swift-bullet.html
(the two expanded bullets at this link are supposedly A-Frames)

Thanks, both good articles. Just surprised that I have heard very little regarding it’s use on the big stuff. Time will tell I guess. Does sound like it should be a winner.

Found this on Africa Hunting .com while googling,

quote:

Interestingly, for those subscribers to Handloader Magazine, an article was written in Handloader (April 2016) by John Barsness who did some in depth testing of the new, Swift Solids in a 375 H&H Magnum. It was an interesting article that described the theory behind the design, as relayed by the Swift CEO, Bill Hober. It was interesting to read also why they chose the lead core solid design over the monolithic brass or bronze bullets that have become popular as of late. Apparently, it was because lead is more compressible, and in vintage rifles (esp double) that may have nominal bore diameters that are smaller than standard, this was desirable. Apparently, the Swift CEO is a big vintage double rifle nut, and wanted a bullet than would function well in those as well. Anyways, a very well written article.

Overall, the bullets received a glowing review from Mr. Barsness, and more interestingly, he was able to get the Swift Solids to impact very close to the same POI as the Swift A-frames with an equal charge of IMR 4350. The bullets penetrated very well (better as compared to a traditional RN FMJ solid and a flat-point monolithic solid they were compared against), and more importantly straight, which was theorized to occur as a result of cavitation from the cup-point design of the tip. Furthermore, Mr. Hober, several PH's, and hunters have used these solids in Africa in 2015/2016, and the field reports, at least as relayed by Mr. Hober (take it for what it's worth), is very positive.

IIRC, Barsness posts regulary on 24hourcampfire.com forums. Might try to contact him if no one here has experience with them.

I’ve had some good comments back from A PH in Namibia,who had a client use these
On bull ele.
I’ve tried to get some to reload , but have been told it’s only been made available
In some factory loads only.

Having said that they look very saimiliar to Woodleigh hydros, except that they aren’t full mono metal.

Cheers

Nick

It might be an advantage not being mono as their overall length should be less with the use of lead. Thus fit within Mauser actions

I have recently shot both the 300gr Swift factory loaded A-Frames and the same weight Break Away solids in two newly completed 375's. The unfortunately the point of impact was 4" to 5" apart respectively with both soft and solid loads fired in each rifle at 100 yards.

One rifle shot two, 3 shot groups with the A-Frames into 7/8". While the other rifle with the same loads from the same box shot just under 3"

The solids did not shoot quite as well as the larger A-Frame groups and once again the point of impacts were not the same.

Having shot thousands of A-Frames with hand-loads I have always been very impressed with the A-Frame design and feel the Break Away will show the same results with loads tuned for a particular rifle.

I get these same results all the time with other factory loaded ammo so these results were not at all surprising or disappointing. The next rifle I shoot them in may be wicket accurate. You just never know until you shoot them.

I can say the Break Away's meplat design fed flawlessly through both rifles which is real plus compared to some current flat nose.

Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated. I’m sure there will be more reports of its performance going forward. Sounds like a great all rounder design wise.

quote:

Originally posted by DArcy_Echols_Co:
I have recently shot both the 300gr Swift factory loaded A-Frames and the same weight Break Away solids in two newly completed 375's. The unfortunately the point of impact was 4" to 5" apart respectively with both soft and solid loads fired in each rifle at 100 yards.

One rifle shot two, 3 shot groups with the A-Frames into 7/8". While the other rifle with the same loads from the same box shot just under 3"

The solids did not shoot quite as well as the larger A-Frame groups and once again the point of impacts were not the same.

Having shot thousands of A-Frames with hand-loads I have always been very impressed with the A-Frame design and feel the Break Away will show the same results with loads tuned for a particular rifle.

I get these same results all the time with other factory loaded ammo so these results were not at all surprising or disappointing. The next rifle I shoot them in may be wicket accurate. You just never know until you shoot them.

I can say the Break Away's meplat design fed flawlessly through both rifles which is real plus compared to some current flat nose.

Thanks DArcy, very interesting to hear your findings. 4-5” is quite significant. Could mean the difference between a great shot and lost/wounded animal. I suppose careful handloading or having your ammo custom loaded is the way to go to rectify this.

I would be willing to bet a large stack of dimes that the Swift ammo both soft and solids shot great in the rifles used for the accuracy testing at Swift as Bill Hober and team Swift are sticklers for the most minute details.

What I ran into is pretty common for me unfortunately. When Remington 1st began loading the 300gr A-Frame in their Safari Grade Ammo it shot extremely well in 8 out of 10 375's we assembled with many replicated groups hovering in the 5/8" realm. It was our go-to factory load for the 375. Until they changed the powder, then everything went to shit and pressure went through the roof.

Same thing with the Winchester 180gr Failsafe load for the 300 H&H, the Federal 200gr Trophy Bonded and 180gr Sierra Game King factory ammo. The 200gr TB loads typically shot between 1/2" and 5/8" in a majority of Wtby's we turned out.

These 300 H&H and Wtby loads were all finally discontinued due to lack of sales.

If you chamber the rifle for say the 270 Win, 7mm Rem Mag or the 300 Win there is an excellent chance of find a stellar load if you shoot enough different factory ammo through the rifle. It may take $300-$400 bucks worth of ammo but !!!!!! I once built a 300 Win and shot 11 eleven or so different factory hunting loads through that rifle and the agg for all that ammo was 1.100 when averaged out for all the 3 shot groups fired in stages of 3 groups per each load. With Hand-loads the rifle would shoot .600 rain or shine, dawn to dusk.

When you find a factory load that shoots well in your rifle, buy a case or two as soon as you can as some bean counter will surely pull it from production before you know it.

Maybe my experience with the Swift ammo was an anomaly, I will shoot more of it in the future you can bet on that.

I am now rambling, sorry.

One of those 375's that was recently finished has been shot with 10 different factory loads. The most accurate load was the Norma 300gr Onyx and it shoots repeatably right at the 1" level.

Some of this ammo tested shot 4" to 5", all popular stuff I can assure you. Sometimes there is just no free lunch. Feed them what they like and be happy when your barrel likes a brand of a factory ammo that you like. As I said when you find a load, buy a case or two of it.

I hope others try the Swift soft & solid ammo so we can compare notes. It's got to shoot in a lot of "something" or they wouldn't have gone to all the trouble !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by DArcy_Echols_Co:

...When you find a factory load that shoots well in your rifle, buy a case or two as soon as you can as some bean counter will surely pull it from production before you know it. ...

Good advice. As soon as I find any product that really works for me, it is doomed. If I'm lucky, at least I get to clean up on the close-out stock.

Hind sight proves that quote. Seems like the 'hard to find' good stuff comes and goes. I'm starting to wonder if factory ammo is worth the testing. It seems like as soon as I find a damn good factory load, it disappears from the market unless it's a mainstream caliber. Back to reloading for the 7X57R. Best factory loads were the Hornady SST 162's. Now the best I can find are 156 grain Oryx.
Other details appreciated as well. This one in particular hit home.

quote:

Originally posted by DArcy_Echols_Co:

When you find a factory load that shoots well in your rifle, buy a case or two as soon as you can as some bean counter will surely pull it from production before you know it.

Very annoying of them to do that. Potentially life threatening when the wrong powder/load is used to slay the dragon. Of course made worse under the scorching African sun. Should leave the load development to the experts.