A friend has just inheirited an old customized Mauser. Barrel (heavy) is marked 22 Arrow. There are no other markings. Anyone here know anything about the 22 Arrow?

.22 Arrow is a modified .220 Swift, developed by L.E. Wilson of Cashmere, Washington for target (benchrest) shooting in the late '40s/early, EARLY 50's. Some say early 40's, but I am not sure that was the same case.

Anyway, case is same oal as standard Swift, and shoulder is same diameter (.402"). Distance from base to shoulder is about the same too. What is really different is the shoulder angle...21.12 for the standard Swift, 30.19 degrees for the Arrow. This also causes the Arrow to have about a .060" longer case neck than the standard Swift.

A very good friend of mine has been shooting one for years. No real ballistic gain over the Swift but, extended case life and great accuracy seems to be better.

Does anyone know if the brass can be fireformed or does one simply run the swift cases into the arrow die to form the steep shoulder? We have a set of dies marked 22 Arrow? I'm assuming that standard swift loading data should work well. Thanks, Stoney

Stoney

Like many wildcats, there are different versions of the 220 Arrow, depending on who ground the reamer and who cut the chamber. But there is only one original 220 Wotkyns-Wilson Arrow. The gauging point on the shoulder is the same as the original Swift but by increasing the shoulder angle to 30 degrees the body and neck are both lengthened. Case taper and length remain the same. Because of these small changes a 220 Swift case cannot be chambered in a 220 W-W rifle. To make the brass you need to run the cases through a 220 W-W sizing die. Firing for the first time results in the final shape. Confused?? Don't be because it's easier said than done.

On the other hand if you have a rifle chambered for one of the "other" 220 Arrow cartridges (your barrel is marked simply "22 Arrow), you're on your own. Your best bet would be to treat it like any other wildcat - run the brass through the FL die, moderate load, jam bullet into lands and fire form.

And yes, case capacity is the same so loading data is interchagable. Ray

quote:

Originally posted by Cheechako:



there is only one original 220 Wotkyns-Wilson Arrow.

by increasing the shoulder angle to 30 degrees the body and neck are both lengthened.

Ray

Am not sure I can totally agree with either of these statements. Dealing with the second point first, the case neck IS lengthened by leaving the body length the same, and sharpening the shoulder angle to 30 degrees, But the body length is unchanged. A check of both Howell and Donnelly's books will verify that body length on both is 1.722"-1.723". Dimensions in those days varied a bit from reamer to reamer, even from the same maker, which likely accounts for the up to .001" difference. Actually, one of the two (Howell) lists the difference from original Swift body length as only .0003".

As for there having been only one W-W Arrow...that was true toward the end of its popular life, once the "best" dimensions had been settled. But, like every other wildcatter's progeny...I suspect we would find that over time the .22 Arrow was "developed" rather than the first thing they tried being chisled in stone forever. I know that was certainly true with most of the stuff Wilson used/developed in his early BR days.

I was a shooter at the same time, though a very young one, and "wildcat" cases all tended to evolve, whether Wotkyns', Wilson's, Weatherby's, Harv Donaldson's, or anyone else's. One reason that happened was that pretty much all the experimenter's of the day believed there was a "magic" case shape for each bore size/powder/bullet combo. So they were constantly making small changes in various length dimensions, shoulder angles, etc. Some still do believe that.........hence such things as the current "new" Short/Fat re-invention.

Alberta Canuck

My post pointed out that there are many versions of the 220 Arrow or 22 Arrow, but the very first was designed by L.E. Wilson with assistance from Grove Wotkyns, thus the name. Any wildcats that followed were based on the original but they vary in one particular or another.

Changing the shoulder angle to 30 degrees while using the same gauging point does indeed lengthen BOTH the body and the neck. At first thought it doesn't seem logical but think about it for a while and you will see how it can be. That is why you cannot fire-form 220 Swift to the W-W. The brass must be full length sized first.

I have brass from three different 220 Arrow rifles and they are all different. Howell and Donnelly show a version of the Arrow where the length to shoulder does not change from the Swift but theirs ARE NOT the 220 W-W Arrow. I believe Steve's Pages also show the same version. L.E. Wilson hisself said that all other versions are "counterfeit" His word, not mine.

To the best of my knowledge, the Wilson/Wotkyns version stayed the same throughout their lifetime and never "evolved".

Cheechako

Well, I guess this is one of those things we'll have to agree to disagree on.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
Well, I guess this is one of those things we'll have to agree to disagree on.

Agreed. With monikers like Alberta Canuck and Cheechako we can't help but get along.

Ray

Actually, from what I have seen of your posts, we agree on most things...

I think we might even agree on this one. You are no doubt referring to the "Arrow" after dimensions were established for commercial purposes. I, of course, am harking back to the kinds of things Sam did while he was a competitive benchrest shooter, where he was an avid experimenter.

I seem to recall either the "Arrow" or one of his other .220 Swift modifications winning one of the first national benchrest matches in the era just after the war...just can't remember the exact year. It's probably listed in one or another editions of "The Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy, if anyone really cares anymore...."


(Sorry, guess I should refer to that as just after WW II...but then that was THE war for my [our?] generation.)

Best wishes, anyway.....


BTW, just came to mind...the reason you have to resize the case before fireforming is that the "shoulder" is longer in the original Swift, but not the body of the case. With the shallower angle of the factory round's shoulder, the shoulder hits before the round is completely into the Arrow chamber. When the front and middle of the shoulder are pushed back to form the steeper angle (simultaneously lengthening the neck), the case can be chambered. But, the beginning of the shoulder (end of the body) does not have to be moved back.