Bought a Swift.

[murphy]

Have been looking at 22/250s but finished up buying a 220swift Ruger MK2,the grey stainless one with double pull trigger. Came with a 3 die RCBS reioading set,4to12 BUSHNELL AO scope and 300 cases that look once fired. Auslralian gun laws wont allow me to get my hands on it for a couple of weeks but it sure is going to be interesting to see how it shoots. Has any one tried 35grain Hornady VMAX in their Swift,would be interested to know if they work ok? Reguards Murphy.

 

[vicvanb]

Have been looking at 22/250s but finished up buying a 220swift Ruger MK2,the grey stainless one with double pull trigger. Came with a 3 die RCBS reioading set,4to12 BUSHNELL AO scope and 300 cases that look once fired. Auslralian gun laws wont allow me to get my hands on it for a couple of weeks but it sure is going to be interesting to see how it shoots. Has any one tried 35grain Hornady VMAX in their Swift,would be interested to know if they work ok? Reguards Murphy.

I would not go any lighter than 40 grain bullets in a Swift. In fact, I really would not go lighter than 50 grains for most purposes. I used 40 grain Nosler BTs in one of my Swifts for a couple of years but then went back to heavier bullets. I found the 40s to be very wind sensitive.

 

[murphy]

To vicvanb

Thanks for the advice,will be trying just about everything for a while. Have you ever tried 69g Sierra Match Kings, was wondering if they will stabilise. Would be a shame to go out and buy a hundred and find they dont work. Reguards Murphy.

 

[Tony C]

Have you ever tried 69g Sierra Match Kings, was wondering if they will stabilise.

Probably not if the barrel is 14 twist.

Tony Carpenter

 

[keithcandler]

Murphy.......

50 & 55g Bullets should be your target to try first.

I shot the 50's with 44-45.5g of AA2700 or 760 with amazing accuracy at 4000 fps.

Good luck!

 

[Waylan Kisor]

Murphy..

I have tried, I think every mfgr's bullets from 40 grains up and my Savage likes 52 grain Bergers best using !MR 4064, second Sierra 53, third Barnes 50.
The Berger 40 and 45 MEF's shot well but very wind sensitive. The difference in all the bullet groups at 100 yds. is no more than .5"

 

[murphy]

To all the helpful Swift owners.

Here is a list of what I have loaded up so far. 60g Hornady spire point,55g Sierra Game King,45g Sierra varminter#1310,45g Hornady hornet#2230,40g Nosler ballistic tip, Australian 40gTaipan hollow points,36g Barnes varmint grenades. Still waiting to be loaded up are some 52g Sierra Match Kings and some bullets that came with the deal ,50g boat tails with a large very large dark green plastic tip,maybe Sierras or Noslers. On my wish list are 63g Sierra Smp, 53g Match Kings and 69g Sierra Match King. Think the 69g Sierras might stabalise if I can drive them fast enough. Had some very similar looking Noslers once and they used to shoot ok out of a 222 Rem. Its tough sitting around waiting for the rifle to get through the paper work, you guys are lucky you have the second amendment. Reguards Murphy.

 

[vicvanb]

Well, you have covered all the bases!

I opt for keeping it simple. With all those different bullets you will be hard pressed to select the best considering that you'll want to try several powders with each bullet.

I have settled on 53 gr Sierra Match bullets and WW 760 powder for most of my Swift shooting. It works for me!

 

[Waylan Kisor]

Well, you have covered all the bases!

I opt for keeping it simple. With all those different bullets you will be hard pressed to select the best considering that you'll want to try several powders with each bullet.

I have settled on 53 gr Sierra Match bullets and WW 760 powder for most of my Swift shooting. It works for me!

What kind of velocities are you getting with this load? Is your gun factory?

 

[vicvanb]

Swifts

Waylan,

I have 2 custom Swifts and several Swift factory rifles. I get about 3800fps with 760 powder and 53 grain Sierra Match bullets. Other powders produce higher velocities but I like WW760 for several reasons--including that I have a large supply!

 

[fva]

The 35 gr. V-max is a parachute BC wise and designed with magazine fed Hornets in mind. The 40 gr. NBT is a good bullet with a BC close enough to most 50's that initial launch speed makes up for the little it lags behind and it is no more sensitive to the wind than most 50's. 40 gr. NBT's, 50 gr. V-max, and 55 gr. NBT would be my pick of bullets to give a go. I don't know what powders you have available but RL 15 and Ram Shot Big Game both work well.

 

[Hammer1]

Thirty years with the Swift

Have been shooting the Swift for over 30 years.

Think I have every factory available model including the Savage 112V Series J single-shot from the 1970s, more recent Savage single-shots, Ruger 77V and the Ruger target model you describe, Remington 700s, and several custom rifles.

Have Swift barrels as long as 30-inches and with a variety of twist rates. Have settled on a 12-inch twist and long barrels.

Like WW 760 powder because it meters easily. Have also had good success with IMR 4064 but it needs weighing.

Have used a lot of Hornady spire and hollow point bullets in 50, 55, and 60 grain versions and a lot of Sierra 52 HPBT Match. There have been some Speer 50 and 55 grainers thrown in too.

While I use a lot of Winchester brass, its dimensions from lot to lot leave much to be desired. Bought a 1,000 new Swift cases once that would not fit any commonly available shellholder (RCBS, Hornady, Lee, Redding, Lyman, or Dillon 550 or 650). Had to have a local gunsmith modify shellholders to use that lot of Winchester brass.

Have played with turning necks and all the other benchrest techniques.

Those techniques are helpful, but mostly I just load Swifts on a Dillon press and shoot innocent prairie dogs with them.


Have found the Swift to be an enjoyable past time.


.

 

[gt40]

Hi Murphy,

I have the Ruger Mod. 77 MKII VT S/S Target Gray with the 2 stage target trigger in .220 Swift. For bench target shooting I like to squirt plenty of oil into the trigger mechanism. It seems to break much more consistently.

Mine seems to like 55 grain bullets with 4064 better than lighter ones.

I put a Bushnell 4200 Elite 8-32x40mm with Mil-Dot scope on top with a fold down bubble level on the scope.

For night hunting I put a 6 volt "Nightblaster" light with red filter that clips onto the scope.

"Aim small miss small",

gt40

Here are a couple of pictures:

 

[Waylan Kisor]

Waylan,

I have 2 custom Swifts and several Swift factory rifles. I get about 3800fps with 760 powder and 53 grain Sierra Match bullets. Other powders produce higher velocities but I like WW760 for several reasons--including that I have a large supply!

Sounds like a winner to me. How is your accuracy at this velocity? My factory Savage shoots .3"-.5" five shot groups...most of the time. I can't touch the lands anymore and plan to rebarrel soon. I have always liked the Swift and still do. If you have re-barreled any of yours what make did you use?

 

[vicvanb]

Swifts

Sounds like a winner to me. How is your accuracy at this velocity? My factory Savage shoots .3"-.5" five shot groups...most of the time. I can't touch the lands anymore and plan to rebarrel soon. I have always liked the Swift and still do. If you have re-barreled any of yours what make did you use?

My accuracy has been excellent with those bullets and that powder.

One of my custom Swifts has a Hart barrel, the other has a Krieger. Both are first-class barrels. No complaints at all.

 

[murphy]

To all the Swift people.

To be the newest member of a group of people who contribute so freely is a unique experirnce. Here is a further expansion of what I am up too with my reloading for the Swift. Powders I have avaliable are Win760 Reloder15 and Australian equalivents of Varget, H4831, H2206 ,H4198. Dupont powders such as [4064]are not readily avaliable here. I have my own private rifle range so testing is not a problem, but I usually only do about 25 rounds in one session, that way I find I can give them my very best. I have my own method of load development that may seem a bit strange to some people. First I get the pressure and speed right then I mess about with seating depth untill they start to shoot. Its a bit like using a Browning boss without the attatchmet on the end of the barrel. Have tried all the "Normal methods" but nothing holds a candle to this one. Have a question for the bloke who shoots the prairy dogs. How do you tell the innocent ones from the guilty ones? Wish the b--- rifle would hurry up and arrive. Murphy.

 

[Worker]

You wish the B------- rifle ?

Are trying to tell us your rifle is bleeding? C'mon its an inanimate object.

 

[Hammer1]

Have a question for the bloke who shoots the prairy dogs. How do you tell the innocent ones from the guilty ones?

It's just like having an experienced PH sex a trophy animal like a gemsbok.

There are tell-tale signs.

The innocent ones don't go around sniffing each other.

And the guilty ones pay no attention to the shooting because they have other things on their one-digit IQ minds.

Besides, my bullets will only hit innocent ones. Somehow the guilty ones always dodge the incoming.


.

 

[murphy]

To Worker and Hammer1.

I really need to exhibit more self control,sometimes sheer frustration causes me to break into the vernacular. On the subject of Prarie dogs,I am glad you shoot the innocent ones as there far too many Doo Gooders with iqs of 1 in the world already. Murphy.

 

[.357Mag]

.220 Swift

Murphy -

If a 1-14 and you're shooting 55s, go w/ WW760 over FED LR Magnum Match. H414 is a good second choice w/ same primer.

If shooting 60s, go w/ I4350 and same primers. Just be sure to keep custom 60s under .75" long.

Regards,
.357Mag