Hi Folks

What are the pro's and con's for each cartridge? Is one more 'inherently' accurate than the other?
Is one more powerful than the other?
How well does each one handle being loaded to lower velocity?

Both are very comparable, with a slight velocity edge to the Swift. With the 22-250 AI you get a small bump over the Swift. Lowered velocity is not a concern with either one. Both are equally inherently accurate cartridges.

I have several of both. Both are accurate, as the above poster said. The 220 has a little velocity edge. I never have tried to load them slower, so can't comment on that.
If I had to have only one, I'd probably go with the 22-250, cause of better brass availability and more guns are chambered in it.

For me it's 22-250 all the way!

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For me it's 22-250 all the way!

Thanks for the replies! You can see from vapodog's comment why I am asking. It's just that for me, the 220 Swift is more feasable. (Remember my questions on the 'Rimmed 220 Swift' for a No.4 action? See also my post on the 'Silent 223' - and you can see where I am going with this one).

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I went out shooting yesterday, with this buddy and his silenced 223. He fired three shots behind me, aiming over a ridge and directly away from me and I had no idea he was shooting! He fired it again inside the forest in a gully and this time I stood next to him without ear plugs and I can vouch that this thing is silent! It is quieter than a suppressed 22LR hi-velocity round!

P.S. vapodog, I have been witnessing a 22-250 in action.

Ummm.... how can I put it....

"I am impressed!!!"

Does that kinda say it?

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Originally posted by vapodog:
For me it's 22-250 all the way!

vapodog, may I ask how you would compare the 22-250 to the 257 Roberts? (Knowing that you own and shoot both). Is building a Rimmed 220 Swift justified when one already has a 'near' 257 Roberts?

303,
Is there any way you can get unwedded from #4s?
They are positively crappy for high pressure cartridges. .220 Swift brass is too hard to come by to poof it off with one or two reloads in a springy #4 action.

Well .... maybe ....

The thing is, what I am trying to do is stay with the 303 Brit case and the 220 Swift case is so very close to the 303 Brit, so necking down a 303 Brit would produce a Rimmed 220 Swift. But, not having any spare cash lying around, used 22 barrels and cheap No.4's become rather attractive (I have both). Besides, it's fun! I also want to do the work myself so again, the 303 Brit is the easiest for me. However, having just one nice, accurate varmint rifle could very easily 'unwed' me, yes. But like I say, the idea is to form brass from readily available 303 Brit cases. Another consideration (valid or not) is that a lower powered 220 Swift would increase barrel life considerably. I know I can load a No.4 to 45,000 CUP safely (even to 47,000 CUP - with excessing case stretch) and that should produce velocities in the region of 3550fps with 55gr bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
303,
Is there any way you can get unwedded from #4s?
They are positively crappy for high pressure cartridges. .220 Swift brass is too hard to come by to poof it off with one or two reloads in a springy #4 action.

OK then, now that you mention it, there is no reason not to build my 'wildcat' on a Mauser type action! Just as long as I can use the 303 Brit case! There are a few P14's out there. Perfect for the job but a bit heavy.

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Another consideration (valid or not) is that a lower powered 220 Swift would increase barrel life considerably. I know I can load a No.4 to 45,000 CUP safely (even to 47,000 CUP - with excessing case stretch) and that should produce velocities in the region of 3550fps with 55gr bullets.

A few months ago my Swift started to loose accuracy with my prefered load. When that happened I started thinking back to how many rounds I had put through the rifle and even though I stopped counting how many shots after I had the rifle for about 6 months I was on my sixth bag of brass and I can say for sure that I was getting 6 loads on average before most brass started to show signs of wear and was discarded. Best I can figure is at least 2500 full power rounds and now pretty close to 1000 or so bluedot reduced loads. I did heed many warnings and never overheated the barrel and was anal about keeping it clean.

If you have a barrel with good quality steel don't get it hot and keep it clean you should get lots of service life at 45-47 CUP. I am more than happy with what I got out of my swift with loads that were safe in my rifle but were also quite a bit faster than publishd data from a varity of sources. I won't post what speeds I was getting but I will tell you they were moving and accurate. Sounds pretty neet what you are trying to do wish I had the time to be able to tinker and come up something fun and unique GOOD ON YA keep us posted.

303Guy,

Frank Glaser was famous Alaskan market hunter who had a book written about him titled "Alaska's Wolf Man"; good book that you can probably get from Amazon

Anyway, he talks about the many guns he owned; the Savage .250-3000 was his favorite all-around gun for market hunting; but in the late 30s and into the 40s he had a MOD 70 in .220 Swift and killed everything with if - moose, caribou, sheep, & grizzly bear; he went on to say "... the little 48 grain bullet didn't perform well on grizzlies. But with a lung shot on hoofed game the Swift killed quicker than any other gun I ever owned."

Jim

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Sounds pretty neet what you are trying to

Thanks, I will keep you posted. It is going to take a while 'though.

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"... the little 48 grain bullet didn't perform well on grizzlies.

Holy Cow!

I was actually thinking more 55gr to 70gr.
My Uncle told me of an incident in which he shot a Springbok with a 220 Swift at close range. He took it on the shoulder and it just ran off to be taken by another hunter in the party. He said the wound was the size of a fist and had a gritty feel inside. A Springbok is not a large antelope. I have no idea what bullet was being used but it would have been a factory round.

I have posted this pic before - it is alledged that the deer did not die at the shot but staggered toward the shooter or something and was finished off with a pistol. The wound is purportd to be the entry wound although there was some aurgument on another forum about that.

A closer look reveals that the wound is in the muscular part of the shoulder between the bones. It seems to be quite a shallow wound, consistant with a pebble splashing into a mud pool.