Some 220Swift Test Results.

M

murphy

Guest
First of all I would like to thank Varmint Guy for recomending the Speer 52g flat base #1035. Tried some today and 3 shots went .286" with the expenditure of only 9 rounds searching for a good load. Love the look of them with that big hollow point, I bet the crows will get a surprise! Here are some chronograph test results:- 63g Sierra SMP 39g H4350 CCI 200 3244fps 55g hornady soft pt. 42g H4350 CCI200 3560fps 63g Sierra SMP 44.5g Reloder22 CCI 250 3424fps 40g Sierra spitzer 34g H4198 REM 91/2 4278fps 36g Barnes Varmint grenade 34g H4198 REM91/2 4501fps. Would very much like some help from the experienced varmint people with reguard to my light bullet loads. Accuracy is not unreasonable at about .5" for 5 shots. Pressure is at the stage where I get a small amount of primer cratering but an easy bolt lift and Velocity to me seems amazing. Will this load eat out my rifles throat quicker than a big charge of slower burning powder? Will a 36g or 40g bullet driven at very high speed destroy a varmint better than a 55g or 63g bullet at 3500fps? Have never owned a dedicated varmint rifle before this one,:confused: as most of the things I shoot I eat and soup was not on the menu. Reguards Murphy.
 
The most accurate varmint bullet and powder combo I found for the 22-250 and the 220 Swift is the 55vmax infront of H380
 
Murphy: Way to go with the good groups with the Speer Flat Base bullets!
Yes the Hollow-Point cavity is simply huge on that projectile!
I use this bullet a lot anymore on all manner of Varmints.
I have only shot a few Crow type Varmints with this bullet to date (as some states have closed seasons on them here in the USA) but it IS very impressive when you strike one "amidships"!
And WOW also, on the velocities with the Varmint Grenades!
You ask an excellent and very pertinent question regarding throat/barrel erosion and bullet weight/speed (maybe we should include powder charge size here also?)?
I don't feel qualified or knowledgeable enough to answer that question specifically - I will venture forth with this though - the Swift has a finite barrel life before accuracy starts to suffer, that is unmatched with many other factory cartridges.
I am of the mind that accuracy starts to be affected by barrel wear/throat erosion around 2,000 rounds with the average Swift barrel. YMMV!
And this Murphy - and I use caution here on this forum regarding the gory effects of projectiles on creatures - the Swift has so much velocity, even with the larger bullets you have mentioned, that lethality and spectacular terminal effects are VERY evident with bullets of the higher weights you have mentioned.
In other words if you want a "show", you are going to get a show even with 63 and 55 grain bullets!
.5" groups (5 shots at 100 yards) is very good performance from such a high intensity cartridge as the Swift is!
You are going to be happy with the Swift once you get it afield!
Could you refresh me - what powder are you using with the 52 gr. Speer bullets?
Keep up the good work.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
To Varmint guy and other interested parties.

My load for the Speer 52g flat base consists of 41.5g of Win760 WLR primer and Winchester cases, o.a.l of loaded round is 66.95mm. Have not chronographed this one yet as I only went into town and got the bullets a few days ago. Fast as they are, my observation is that the light bullets are still adversely affected by wind. It does not take a very strong breeze to pull them out from .4" to .7" or even 2moa if conditions are bad, I suspect that the heavier bullets with their better sectional density are more predictable in the wind. One of the nice things about this rifle is that most loads shoot to virtually the same point of impact. All of the heavy bullet loads shoot into the same group and the Barnes 1/2" lower. My reloading method has a lot to do with this consistency as I don't reload by the powder step method. I find a load that gives me the pressure and speed I require ,then find the accuracy by coarse seating depth changes. Four or five moves of 1/16" get me onto the accuracy node, sometimes it's close to the lands, sometimes 3/10" away, I don't really care as long as it gives me tiny groups. Thumbs up Varmint Guy and be sure to hold into the wind. Murphy:D
 
Murphy: I went to my nifty, older, Sierra Reloading Manual (3rd Edition - copyright 1989) and looked up the crosswind deflection for the 52 grain bullets as compared to the 63 grain bullets.
I used the top suggested loadings for the 220 Swift in both bullets to obtain the velocities I used in the Crosswind Deflection Tables.

The deflection in a 10 M.P.H. crosswind with the 63 grain bullets at 3,600 F.P.S. were as follows.
200 yards = 3.82"!
300 yards = 9.09"!
400 yards = 17.20"!

The deflection in a 10 M.P.H. crosswind with the 52 grain bullets at 4,000 F.P.S. were as follows.
200 yards = 3.52"!
300 yards = 8.35"!
400 yards = 15.89"

So.... the lighter, faster bullet has somewhat less wind deflection over common ranges - do, obviously to the higher velocity (getting there a tad quicker!).

I live (and Hunt!) in a part of the United States where the wind is nearly a constant factor. I have as yet been unable to master the wind doping under Hunting conditions. So a bullet that flies even a "touch" straighter in the wind is appreciated.

I can't wait for a field report from you regarding the Swift's performance on game.

Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
Just food for thought. Years ago I had a swift that I could not get to shoot to my satisfaction and asked the local gun shop guy what powder to shoot in that thing to make it work. He replied rather quickly that "3031 is the only powder to shoot in a swift Phil". I grabbed a pound of it and went home to try. Never again did I put anything else in that thing.

It does sound like yours is working pretty well. Another thing to try though might be 36 or 37 gr of IMR-3031 and a 55 or 52 Ballistic Tip or V-Max. Mine yielded about 3700 very accurate fps. If you go Sierra, go only with the 52gr tipped bullet as the 55 will not fly in a 14 twist.
 
To Worker 4mesh Varmint Guy and others.

For me this is the most significant rifle I have had in many years and will be taking it a field as soon as the olympics are over and will be happy to report back. Worker, don't buy the new 65g Sierras if your rifle is 1 in 14 as I have tried them and they won't stabalise despite their stubby appearance. They give hunting accuracy in my 1in 12 223Rem. but really need a 1in 9 twist, pity you don't live closer or you could have mine. To those kind people who have suggested various powder types H380 and IMR3031 supply here in Australia can be very patchy so I generally stick to Winchester, Allaint or Australian Defence Industries powders that are sold in the US.under the Hogdon banner such as Varget[2208 here] H4198[2207here] . Will get my trajectory tables out and have a look at those wind drift figures, but I rarely shoot more than 200yds so it shouldn't be a problem. Recently I was on my private range and a magpie came down and was walking around in front of my target. Through the Leupold set on 20x he looked as big as a turkey and I could see every feather, the rifle was shot in and loaded with a 4500fps varmint grenade. I was tempted but didn't succomb. Reguards Murphy.:cool:
 
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