The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers How much does the 220 Swift offer over the 22-250?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
I for some reason have suddenly gotten the bug to own a Swift. I already have a 22-250, and I am away from all my reference books while working out of state, so I was wondering if the Swift offered enough over the necked down Savage to even bother with a Swift. What do those of you in the know think? | ||
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Loaded to equal pressure probably 100-150fps. Loaded to SAAMI max 50-100 since the 22-250 operating pressure is higher. 22-250 ammo and brass is far easier to find. Nothing you shoot will ever know the difference. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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There is no logical reason to choose a Swift over the 22-250, but then rifle ownership isn't always about being logical. Buy a Swift, keep the necks trimmed and enjoy it. It's a unique fun cartidge. | |||
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| One of Us |
a swift is a swift is a swift nuttin else like it | |||
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| one of us |
Have burned out bbls of both. 75-100 fps advantage Swift, apples to apples. Ie., same bbl length, etc. Not enough to get excited about, but if you want a pre-64 M-70 it will be a Swift. Just about every Swift canard has been debunked, but people still think it's a bbl burner. Layne Simpson wrote that it was about 4000 rds to end of bbl life. Our experience was the same, and the .22-250 did no better. So what. That's a heckuva lot more than you'll get with many other popular larger diam CF rounds. The old Dewey load - 37 gr IMR 4064 with a 53 gr HP - worked well for us. 4350 and 63 gr Sierras worked even better at distance. | |||
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Had a factory 22-250. Long about 4000 or so recut the throat and got another 4000+ out of it. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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don't know about the 22-250, but the Swift offers plenty of reach and splat factor for small varmint's , I love shooting mine but the smaller guns often get the nod because the recoil of the swift takes your eye off the target | |||
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The itch is all you need. As stated there isn't alotta difference. The Swift IS cool though. Besides, you have to let have one to shoot while the other cools down! You may want to throw in a .225 Winchester as well. That would make you the coolest cat in town for sure. | |||
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the Swift is still king of the factory rounds. If you want to get silly, I had a 22-284, and still have the reamers... Rich | |||
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I have owned several of each and my experience has been that in reloading, the swift preferred to be loaded hot while my 250's remained accurate with reduced loads. Has anyone else had the same results? | |||
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Really? My first 22-250 was a Rem 700 VSSF and the barrel lasted 2500 rounds pulling double duty shooting Highpower XTC and ground squirrels, so it got HOT. It was a smoothbore for the first six inches when the barrel was pulled. Still shot just under MOA till it got dirty (twenty rounds) but not the 1/2 MOA it started at. Second one is a Savage M10 and it saw pretty hard duty in the squirrel field and just started losing accuracy badly after fifty rounds from being cleaned, around the 1800 round mark. It still shot bug holes when clean but took forever to mine the copper. I'm better served by the 222/223 class for my ground squirrel shooting but I will keep a fast twist 22-250 around for the less often long shots now. Having said that, both are great cartridges and like mentioned I would go swift on a Mauser or M70 and 22-250 on a more recent design. Same performance. Hate to have to find swift brass though. 222 Rem mag is essentially unobtainium as it is. | |||
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The Swift has the coolest name.  | |||
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My cousin used one in Australia on roos and other things and really liked it. Cases advertised on our auction site so must be a few in use still. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Brows...h_suggestedCategory= | |||
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22/243.....Not the Middlestead....just the straight neck down. Just neck down and load as normal. | |||
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Consider this, no one has ever compared the 220 Swift to the 22-250 but everyone measures the 22-250 against the Swift. That should clear things up.  "...I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks." Thomas Jefferson | |||
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The Swift is a notorious bad feeder in a repeater. I wouldn't have one ever. A far better alternative is the 22-243 with a fast twist; 1:8. Mine have always shot AND fed brilliantly. | |||
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I have both and use the same load in them so it's a non issue to me. I do like the swift better though. the Remington I have feeds the swift round with no hitches or glitches, and the savage is a single shot bolt gun so it has no problems either. I shoot the 250 and the 220 from 223 speeds up through 3800 fps and have enough velocity to make some pretty good distance hits without stressing the barrels. I do get some odd looks at the range when I show up with the savage loaded with cast bullets and fling them out at 2800 fps though. hey groups are groups and i need the trigger time with that stupid thingy blocking access to the trigger. | |||
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Yes, really. You just gave a perfect anecdote concerning effect of rate of fire on bbl life. | |||
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I've had a few Swifts and they all fed fine. They do require making sure one loads each round in the magazine so the rim is forward of the rim of the case below it it the magazine. "...I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks." Thomas Jefferson | |||
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I'm in the same boat. Decided to just build one and find out for myself. Gonna do a fast twist.  Aut vincere aut mori | |||
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I have been know to pore water down the barrel. I prefer to be able to hold my hand around a barrel. So I probably didn't go near as hot as you. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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 I think it applies to your maturation level???  roger  Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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 As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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It has always had me beat why the 22/243 and 6mm/06 are not popular, at least for wildcats. I am at a complete loss on the 22/250 Improved when a 22/243 is bigger and no fire forming to be able to fit the powder in. Ready to go. | |||
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I have been shooting the 220 Swift since 1973. A Ruger 77 tang safety. Shot it till 1995, when I could no longer reach the lands. 22 years pretty good. Then I sent the rifle back to Ruger, had it re-rebarreled. Simply it is the best. Feeds like butter, and @ 3850fps with a 55 Ballistic Tip, all in one hole never needed anything else. The original hot rod, and original is nice. Go for The Swift, and don't look back. Michael I also shoot the 6mm-06 with a Pac-Nor barrel 87 grain bullet @3750. FYI Jerry NRA Benefactor Life Member | |||
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I had a Sako in Swift in the 1970s, they were just introduced. Would jam up and because of the semi rim. It must have been common with them at the time as the importer just took the rifle back and a full refund and no questions. Had a couple of HV barrel tapers in Swift on a bench type switch barrel rifle. Also had 270 Win barrels and for a 10 day trip shot heaps of kangaroos, pigs, birds, rabbits and all long range. Overall the 270 won the day. Blair 338RUM (posted above) has tried them all, in accuracy rifles, Nightforce scopes, Jewell triggers etc and the best has been the 22/240 Wby and 80 grain bullets. 22/06 was also tops but he was having trouble with necked down 25/06 brass frequently splitting necks. He also found out what I told him was true and that is Norma branded Wby brass is softer than Wby branded Norma brass, although the Norma branded is cheaper. Several years ago a mate of mine had a bench style rifle and in 22/6mm Rem Improved. One barrel with fast twist and 80 grain JLKs and Sierras and the other barrel a 1 in 14. Both on animals and paper it was not to over 500 yards before the heavy bullet barrel got in front. But the 22/6mm Rem Improved was a pain I the arse because full loads would not fit new 6mm Rem brass. | |||
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My 22-284 would break 5500fps with most of the available 55gr bullets. Not enough of them made it to the target, though. The 60gr NOsler solid base would get to 5300fps and stay together. I found the best answer was the 80gr JLK (copied by Sierra) at about 4200fps in an 8" twist. With a really good scope and a range finder it could reach Rockchucks at 800yds often enough to make me happy. Take about three rifles along, and rotate after every ten shots. Kept them all cool, and barrel life was excellent. Rich | |||
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What length barrel????? As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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I reckon your chronograph was fucked. A 55 grain at 5500 f/s is over 3700 ft pounds of energy. | |||
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NRA Patron member | |||
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Noted above that the swift is a bad feeder. I have owned three of them, all Rem 700s. There were no feeding problems. My current one is a sporter 26" blue printed Rem 700 with McMillan Sako hunter stock. It's very accurate and works great as a coyote gun. I have 22-250s as well, but prefer the swift. From a practical standpoint, theres not much difference. NRA Patron member | |||
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Have had two Sako Swifts for about 25 years in total. No feeding problems with either rifle. Had a Remington .22/250 for a couple of years in between Swifts. Does that tell you anything? The hunting imperative was part of every man's soul; some denied or suppressed it, others diverted it into less blatantly violent avenues of expression, wielding clubs on the golf course or racquets on the court, substituting a little white ball for the prey of flesh and blood. Wilbur Smith | |||
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FWIW, still have 2 pre-64 '70s in Swift. Neither has feeding issues. Nor did the 40XBKS we wore out in the '80s. | |||
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| One of Us |
I seem to remember the end of the magazine box had to be an angle. I have a feeling the Sakos that came out to Australia in the early 1970s did not have the magazine box angled. When you loaded then a 303 with each loaded having the rim in front of the rim of the lower cartridge. The problem with the Swift was the rims could slide over each other which could mean the cartridge being fed had its rim behind the cartridge below. Perhaps at a later stage the Swift brass was changed with some sort of bevel on the rim. But I would like Idaho Sharpshooter's 22/284 that does 5500 F/S with 55 grainers and 5300 with 60 grainers. The 80 grainers at 4200 f/s is not real either | |||
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Ummm . . . he might have remembered that one about 1,000 fps too fast. The highest velocity I ever chronographed was with a friend's .25-284 shooting a 60 grain bullet at 4264 fps. I can't see the same case with a smaller bore beating that by 1000 fps. | |||
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 My 6mm X .270 IMP* w/ 30" barrel 60 gr. bullet did only a calculated 4100 to 4200 fps. Can't say what the pressure was but there were no high pressure signs other than slightly flattened primers. Wasn't able to afford a chronograph in 1967.* The reamer went in .050" deeper than was intended so 06 cases were too short but were used at times but the necks were about .050" short. rogerOld age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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To Michaels comment about neck splits, I used 25-06 brass neck down to 6mm, for my 6-06 and had the same problem. Even annealed the cases no help. The brass was so thin, 25-06, that I couldn't get it to hold the bullet properly. Went back to the thicker 30-06 brass, and all that went away. Also, my 6-06 with a 28" Pac-Nor barrel is shooting an 87 gr Hornady HPBT @ 3750fps. Back to the 22-250, we have one with a 24" Douglas barrel, that shoots a 50 grain bullet over the screens @ 4,000 fps. Still like the Swift. Jerry NRA Benefactor Life Member | |||
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The swift is king, and I used to shoot it a lot,m but its loud, and its a heavy weight in most rifles so over the years I regressed or progressed, whichever you prefer to the wonderful 22-250 and .223 as barrels last a lot longer, but only when all are abused at a P dog town or Snake River Rock chuck hunt where barrels get red hot an emotions run high on kill numbers! I never could see the difference or need for more than the 22-250, or 223, under my circumstances.. cannot imagine needing any more velocity or trajectory under my circumstances, and if I did I would jump up to a 6mm or 25 cal. Bottom line: I decided the 220 swift was akin to penis envy!   Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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Feeding issues on a Swift? I've owned three, a departed Ruger 77-V (1974) and my current Winchester Model 54 (1935) and a Remington 700 Classic (1992?). Never any hint of feeding problems. You might check your COL. Years ago, a friend built a 22-250 on a Remington 700 action. He is a good 'smith and took great care on the rifle; new high-dollar barrel, trued action, and all the accuracy tricks. It never shot as well as my Ruger 77-V. My Ruger and Remington were not picky in any way. They thrived on any powder from IMR-4198 to Norma MRP. They also shot well with bullets from 35 grain Hornadys to 69 grain Sierras. His 22-250 shot well only with IMR-4064 and the long gone Speer 52 (or 53?) grain match bullets. My Winchester 54, however, only likes 50 grain Hornady SX bullets. I've only tried N201 and IMR 4064 in it for two reasons. First, due to its age and rarity, I don't shoot it much now that I have the Remington 700. Second, it is so accurate with either 36.5 gr of N201 and 38.5 gr of IMR-4064, I haven't bothered searching further. I don't know its history or whether it has been accurized since over the years, the action has become "stuck" in the stock and I find no need to mess with that. It's not glassed in but, over 80 years, it's just taken a set. With the loads I mentioned it shoots, more often than not, .33" to .4" 5 shot groups. As you may have noticed, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the .220 Swift. NRA Life Member DRSS-Claflin Chapter Mannlicher Collectors Assn KCCA IAA | |||
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My pre war model 70 swift feed perfectly and shoots an inch or so. No scope, just an aperture rear and Lyman 17 front. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers How much does the 220 Swift offer over the 22-250?
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