I usually go by those Swift barrel threads having long since lost any patience for gun writers and neophytes' notions per the 220 Swift. I couldn't believe you guys-- nobody played the old, sad, idiot song about the Swift being a burner. Couldn't fr---'in believe it. Congrats- big time. Well done.

Only FWIW, and to BS about the Swift some more-- I almost never read any gun rags anymore- going on a decade. When I notice the checkout line at the groc long and wheel or the the magazine rack and scan a few rags. Sure enough sometime back, an article repeated the same reguritated lines of the 30's. Hard on barrels etc-- I think the guy mighta shot a gun for the first time to read the stuff. Reason for revisiting this trivia is it surprises me a rag would repeat this-- as it in effect slows gun sales and that's really all their about.

One feature of the Swift which could stand some focus for those unfamiliar is favorite loads. Note how much variance you see among those recipes. It sez in effect the Swift shoots very well with alot of combinations-- at full throttle or reined back say 100-250 fps. I've never observed anyone posting my old favorite load-- one I believe Page's book put me on to. 4320 under any 50-52 gr'r that the individual barrel liked. Meters very well-- almost all the speed of 4064 but meters much better. One for consideration.

Potential Swift owners-- you only need to learn a couple things to master a Swift. How to clean a barrel efficently which is a preresique for any performance varmint round. Attention to case length as any rd pushed to high pressures will stretch brass. Almost all of my Swift loading was done with a Lee Target Model loader-- now unavailable, but it's main feature was uniforming neck dia per the use of a boring bar. Today that means neck turning-- which will benefit accuracy. From there-- load and enjoy.

The Swift is what- almost 80 yrs old? Still it's one of the best performers. I do believe that sez something.

I would like to add that a Swift built on a short Rem 700 may be fine as a wood chuck gun but for a predator rifle it stinks. It's a 2 shot rifle, 1 in the magazine and one in the chamber. More then 1 in the mag. and you are asking for a jamb. The old Wins. and the Rugers got around it by sloping the back of the magazine box. the Rem. dosn't have the length. Pete

Pete the operative phase is 'built on'. All the factory rifles made in Swift functioned fine.

On gun writers and the .220 Swift. Back in the mid 1950's I was reading all the stuff on varmint cartridges. The .243 Win had just come out and most of the moochers on the Winchester bandwagon were putting down the Swift and saying how great the .243 was. In particular Bob Wallack was particularly strong on this.

I wanted a M-70 varmint rifle and those were the two choices. So I went with the new .243 Win. I used it for both position target shooting and woodchucks. To be honest it was a good choice. I don't know what my opinion would have been of the Swift if I had one all these years. I owned a couple of used Swifts since then but never got lucky with a hot shooter in that caliber.

I still have a grudge in a way against Bob Wallack. I really wanted the Swift.

I agree with all of you, the people who sing the blues about the Swift don't shoot one. I have a copy of an article by Jim Carmicheal where he wrote about a DGA rifle in 220 Swift, this rifle was purchased for the specific purpose to abuse and see how many rounds it would take to exceed l". He talks about firing strings on hot Kansas prarie dog towns etc. To make a long story short the 5999 round exceeded one inch by 3/10,000 of an inch. Most of us can't even measure to that degree. Never the less I believe the "average" shooter doesn't shoot that many rounds through a varmint gun nowadays anyhow. Besides, if you shoot out a barrel it means two very important things to me, 1.Barrel makers need to make a living also as well as putting their kids through school. 2.Think of all the fun you have had burning out the barrel and the good times you have had in the process. Good Hunting,"Z"

aladin,

Try 39 grains of Reloader 15 and a 52 grain match bullet in the Swift.

Most rifles handle this load, and it shoots extremely well in several rifles. Velcoity is around 3900 + fps.

The 220 Swift is one of my all time favorite 22 calibers.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Aladin,
I can tell when someome says all factory swifts function fine they have never operated a factory SA Rem 700 in the swift.
I have experience with 3 off them and ALL Jamb (upper rim behind bottom rim in the magazine). The magazine is to short to allow the rims to be staggered correctly.

Pete the Rugers I had and the Winchester I shot functioned fine. Rem I dunno.

Aladin:
You are right the Wins. and Rugers in swifts have magazine boxes that slope(longer as they get deeper) this allows the bottom case to have it's rim behind the next upper and so on, not so with the Rem. This has twice cost me easy doubles on coyotes. Other then the magazine issue my swift is great. The thing I really like is it shoots best with handloads that are right on top, I wanted the swift for it's speed in the first place.

Pete I read once that if you stacked the Swift shells so each rim going up to the top was in front of the one below they would feed. Wonder if that works?

Magazine not long enough!

I'am sorry, that's not a nice answer.

You are invited to come to Idaho for a coyote calling hunt, late fall or winter. I can put you up,and feed you. Oh yes, you have to shoot my Rem. SA swift. This way you can find out first hand how there is not enough room to do what you want with the rims. In the mean time I will be shooting a rimmless 22/250 or 6mm Rem and killing most of the coyotes. "Call em in close" Pete

Do you really need that many rounds in the Remington? With one in the chamber and two in the magazine the one on top should be able to sit forward on the feed ramp?

That's three shots. I hunt varmints with a single shot rifles out of choice is it's lost on me why someone needs 4 shots. In fact when I load my bolt rifle I only put two shots in them so that the nose of the lead bullet does not get damaged. Feed ramps are more gentle on the soft nose.

Aladin, I read all that crap about the Swifts being barrel eaters, case stretchers and every other bad thing the gun writers could say about them. Then my brother had one built and let me play with it for almost a year. I shot that thing so many rounds it's a wonder the barrel didn't melt down. Accuracy was unbelievable! Even when I gave the gun back to him. Lengthening cases? BS! Not mine! Barrel eater? Not mine!

Is the Swift hard to load for and make perform? Hahahaha. Stupid question. The one I played with would shoot anything and shoot it under MOA without even trying.

Only time it ever made me mad was the day I shot a pretty red fox with it. When I went to look at the animal I found the exit wound was about the diameter of a cantalope!

It's a vicious rifle. I always called it "The Death Ray." I love Swifts! I would take one over a .243 in a heartbeat.

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A well placed bullet is worth 1,000 ft/lbs of energy.

Oops Pecos, now you've started me to BS. You know I don't...

My second Ruger Varmint owned in the mid seventies was a grasshopper gun. Say what? Back then I had a private range on family land- a bench with all my loading tools at hand. Those were the days...

Anyways I'm shooting one late spring day- not a breath of wind or mirage, the scope an old Redfield 6-18 variable. I used the Lee Target Model loading system and often loaded and shot out of one case- indexing too. Fired a couple five shotters and decided on the Sierra 52 HPBT for my days shooting. My first five out of the same case went around .220- using the 2 oz stage on my Canjar two stage. I could never shoot that well, so my next five I used the main trigger which was around 1 1/2 pounds- and concentrated on holding the gun litely with almost no cheek pressure. Those five-- including the clean bore fouler made .159". The load was 4320, BR 2's outta Norma brass seated to 2.72 or within 10 thou of touching. Figured I could better that, as around half of that 159 was the fouler. As I looked down the scope with the first round on a new bull, I noted a grasshopper two squares left. Why not- one caress and he was history. I loaded the shell and noted two more sitting sunning themselves in the now late afternoon sun. Each hopper vaporized at the let off. I mean- it almost got to the point where I was just head shoot'n them.

Fellow shooters-- I do understand this sounds like one overflowing load of fresh bovine fodder. But so help me-- it went down just as written. I think I finally missed a hopper-- but it jumped the shot.

JFWIW-- my range was 100 yds measured.

[This message has been edited by aladin (edited 05-20-2002).]

According to old Harvey Donaldson, the writers who started the rumor about Swift barrel life were people who had either never even used one at all, or who didn't know how to clean a barrel, and thought it was "shot out" when all it needed was a good cleaning.... The .220 Swift is a round which has finally been given the recognition it has deserved for 70 years.

Aladin,
I have had my custom Swift for a year now and have 3200 rounds through it and consistantly (75%) kill dogs at greater than 500yds. And yes its loaded hot as hell (55gr.@4060fps)and no there is still no erosion (throat or barrell). Yes I agree that there are two very important factors and they are Neck Turning and Barrel Cleaning.

The Swift will be a favorite for a long time to come for varminters.

Chuck