220 Swift

M

muleshoe

New member
My Pa has a 30 year old, NIB, Ruger 77V chambered in a 220 Swift that I'm currently trying to talk him out of. I've never shot a 220 Swift, nor do I know anybody who has one. What is this round comparable to? :confused: I've read up on the ballistics but they don't always tell the "rest of the story". I'll be topping it with a Leupold 6.5x20 that I was saving for a AR, but this gun is cheaper. What kind of accuracy should I expect at say, 300yds+. Any other comments are welcome. Thanks

[This message has been edited by muleshoe (edited January 12, 2000).]
 
Its comparable to the .22-250, only better. :D
With good handloads, I'd expect 2.25-2.5" groups at 300 yards. Enjoy, this is an all-time great cartridge!

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The Bill of Rights, and the Golden Rule are enough for civilized behavior. The rest is window dressing. Shoot carefully, swifter...
 
There is no rifle to compare the Swift to. It is without question the greatest varmint rifle ever made!!! It is the fastest factory round ever made. This makes it the flattest rifle out to 400 yards there is. I can go on raving and giving facts but it has to be shot to be appreciated.
 
muleshoe - I agree with all on the .220 Swift. But, be aware he may have a collector's item. According to the Blue Book, one of the early Ruger's which is 98% or better could bring a 100% premium value which may make it worth $800-$900. Of course the problem would be finding a buyer willing to pay that for it.
 
Thanks for your comments so far. One more question. I was just looking on bulkammo.com and found 500 rds. for $427.00. :eek: Is that about the best I'm gonna be able to do? Thanks again....
 
IMHO .220 Swift is way more fun if you do the reloading instead of plain old purchasing.
The only Springfield action I've ever made into anything other than what it was supposed to be was in .220 Swift! Have fun!
Hank
 
muleshoe - $427 doesn't sound like much a deal to me. For example, Natchez has the same Fed .220 Swift for $377, and has Hornady for $370. But, I agree with Hank, for the amount of money you're talking about, you can set yourself up for reloading and have a far greater supply and a far greater selection to choose from.
 
Yowzuh! I'm with Gale about the Swift.

If that 77V is the heavy barrel, it's a tack driver. I put a Canjar single-set trigger on mine, and regularly got five-shot 1/4" to 3/8" groups at 100 yards. Ruining feral housecats out in the pasture at 250 to 300 yards was just real easy. I used the 52-grain Sierra HPBT loaded maybe 1/2-grains under max with 4064(?), as I vaguely recall. Nowadays there are a lot more choices of bullet...

Fun Gun!

Art
 
Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm excited to get this rifle out. Just one more question. Why do you suppose the 220 Swift isn't as popular as the .22-250? I can understand why the .223 is more popular with the availability of ammo. So is it because gun makers didn't promote it as well? Or is it because of it's bad rap as a barrel burner? Or something else? :confused: Thanks again.... How the heck did I ever become a senior member?
 
The Swift was demonized by the gun writers of the time who needed something to write about so they started the short barrel life bit. In actuality if you consider that a shorter barrel life is the price you pay for a great rifle it is less painful. I never noticed it that much harder on barrels as any other high intensity cartridge.
 
I bought one of these 77V .220 Swift rifles in 1975. It wore a Weaver K-12 for a long time but now has a Leupold 8.5-25 40mm.
It has shot some wonderfully tight 5 shot groups. I have even won a little side cash at the benches with it when I could see better. In 1998 I had her out for some 200 and 300 yard target practice. I did the best ever with a 5 shot 7/16" group at 300 yards. I don't usually shot that good, but I'll bet that barrel is just getting polished to perfection.

Norma Brass, neck sized only and trimmed each time.
CCI primer
Hornady 55 gr. V Max
42.5 grs. of IMR 4350

This chronographed at 3760 fps.

This load was generated with a Powley Computer. It fills the case too the base of the neck, to where the bullet is seated.
This rifle has several thousand rounds through it and I'm still using the original brass I bought in 1975.

Neil Casper
 
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