Right now I'm using custom benchrest bullets made by Don Gentner. Mostly the gun is for coyotes or other targets of opportunity. It has a #5 Hart barrel and shoots pretty well.
That sounds like a nice rifle. The new WW .220 Swift brass that I got seemed to have thick necks. I was concerned that there would be a conflict so I turned some but found that it was not needed clearance wise. It did not help or hurt the accuracy either. My barrel is a old Winchester.
RL 15 gets the 50 gr bullet up and over 4000 fps with no problem. I use CCI Br2 primers and a Lee Collet die. My load is heavier than the 38.5 gr max Alliant shows. Each rifle is different.
52 gr Speer, w-w case, fed match primer,39.5 gr IMR 4064. In a 26" Hart bbl on a Rem reciever gives me 3990 to 4000 Fps. Note: that's faster than my other swifts.
Posts: 89 | Location: south central kansas | Registered: 08 August 2002
Rancher: I have 3 Varminters in caliber 220 Swift. Last year I purchased one of them and decided to go with the 52 gr. Speer Hollowpoint/Flat Base bullet in it for Coyotes. This bullet (the Speer 52 gr. Hollowpoint/Flat Base) had been recommended to me by two well seasoned Coyote Hunters who use it in their Swifts. Now Speer makes two completely different 52 gr. Hollowpoint bullets. One is a Flat Base with a VERY large Hollowpoint and the other is a Boattail with a very SMALL Hollowpoint! Use the Flat Base as it is very lethal and is more fur friendly. The Boattail is a more typical match bullet not especially suited to lethality on Coyotes and fur saving. My Swift that shoots the 52 gr. Hollowpoint Flat Base bullets does so with great accuracy and lethality on Varmints. In addition I have just last month brought on line a new Remington 700 VLSS in caliber 22-250. I have not killed any Varmints with this Rifle as yet but it shoots the same Speer 52 gr. Hollowpoint Flat Base bullet into very small 5 shot groups at 100 yards! I use IMR 4064 powder in both of these Rifles!
Snake River Rufus alluded to using the Speer 52 gr. bullet in his Swift but he did not identify which one he uses. It would be interesting to know which one of the Speers he prefers.
I recommend the Speer 52 gr. Hollowpoint Flat Base bullet, Federal 210M primers and IMR 4064 powder for your Swift.
Good luck!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posts: 3067 | Location: South West Montana | Registered: 20 August 2002
I've probably shot out as many Swift barrels as any and as a rule, 4064 and H414 seem to be the powders for a .220 Swift. I really think the RL15 will probably work as well, just haven't tried it yet, it works great in .375's. 9.3x62. My old standby loads are 39.0 grains of 4064 and 43.5 H414, usually with Sierra bullets, these almost always work. I rechambered my old coyote gun to the AI version and it may be the best shooter I've owned, usually goes .3-.4 has done as well as .160. I load 47 gr of H414 for 400 fps with 55 Sierras in it. Don't believe stories about how finicky, hard to load the Swift is , that's utter bullshit, load it just like anything else, just don't hook the rims when you load the mag.
Posts: 2788 | Location: gallatin, mo usa | Registered: 10 March 2001
