Ruger 220 Swift Custom Barrel

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cbhester

New member
I own a Ruger M77 220 Swift that I have had a couple of years and found to be a very good shooting rifle. Recently, I am becoming more interested in shooting beyond 300 and even 500 yards, all the way out to 1,000 and have been looking in to ways to do this with the Swift. I have found some info on the 90 grain bench rest bullets made by Berger, but have been informed that the stock barrel which I think is a 24" with a 1:14 twist will not be suitable for stabilizing this size of bullet. Therefore, I am looking into purchasing a custom made barrel specifically for this purpose.

After looking around on several custom barrel websites I have found that selecting a "contour" is part of choosing my barrel. I know nothing about contours, how they work, what they mean, and definitely do not know what I need for this particular purpose.

Can anyone give me some good advice on what length, twist and contour would be optimal for the purpose of shooting the 90 grain Berger bullets up to 1,000 yard distances? I have had some recommendations on another thread I posted of a 26" barrel with a 1:8 twist, can anyone confirm this? Also, if the bullet will stabilize with the 1:8 twist in a 26" barrel, will a 30" at the same twist shoot even better?

Any advice and info will be greatly appreciated!
 
I have rebarrels three 22-250s with 1-8 twist barrels to shoot 75-80 grain bullets, and they were wonderful. However I have never done it with a Swift. I would assume it would be a good way to go, but you'll have to try it and see.
 
I have a Cooper in .220 Swift with a heavy barrel with a 1:10 twist. I shot an F Class (kind of) match with it using 52 gr. hollowpoints (300 meters or 328 yds). It did fine. I was lucky there was not a lot of wind. That rifle shoots 60 grainers well also but I have not shot them at 300 meters yet. The electronic targets require specific bullets (non expanding) and my 60 grain loads were for amax. 50 grain blitzkings also work well. They say a 1:8 for the 70 gr but I wonder at the faster velocities of the 220 or 22-250 if a 1:10 would be adequate? Contour refers to the outside diameter of the barrel. Varmint barrel or sporter barrel. Also how it tapers.
 
Which Ruger M77 do you own?
The older tang safety version?
The M77 Mk II?
M77 Hawkeye?

Does the rifle have a standard barrel, or the heavy barrel?

Knowing what action and barrel you have helps determine which barrel contours will fit in your existing stock.

But, before you dump a bunch of money into the rifle; give it a try as it currently sits. Load up some 55-62 gr bullets, and see what you can do at 500+ yards. The information you learn from those exercises will help guide you through any modifications you choose to make.
 
I am becoming more interested in shooting beyond 300 and even 500 yards, all the way out to 1,000 and have been looking in to ways to do this with the Swift
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Congratulations! I have a few questions for you:
* How well versed are you shooting long distance (in excess of 600 yds)? Everyone wants to run with the big dogs, but many do not want to do the work required to be there. Building the rifle is just the beginning, you cannot buy your way to technical expertise. You will have to spend hours and hours loading, actually firing at range, learning about atmospheric conditions, ballistics, optics, and some fairly basic math. Out to 600 yds is no big deal, the next step brings on more challenges. I am by no means an excellent shot, although many of my friends and acquaintances who don't shoot very often think I am, but I only got as good as I am by practicing.

* How well versed are you doing load development? In addition to rebarreling with a 1:6" or 1:7" twist barrel, you will also need to develop loads from scratch, there is very little small caliber/heavy bullet load information available, so you will have to start from scratch. It is very doable, but you will have to do the testing and load development yourself (a ballistics program like QuickLoad will definitely help, as will a chronograph that can be equipped with a strain gauge).

* Do you have the time and money required to be competitive, or is this just for a hobby/just to say you have done it? Driving to match locations can take a significant amount of both time and money, so serious competitors spend a lot of the time between matches getting ready for the next match. Maybe you could get in touch with Zak Smith on this forum or someone at one of the gun clubs that host F-Class matches and get more input from someone who actually participates in these kinds of events.

I shot an F Class (kind of) match with it using 52 gr. hollowpoints (300 meters or 328 yds).
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Sorry, that is not an F-Class match. That is like going to Malibu Grand Prix and saying it is the same as driving at Sebring just with smaller cars. Fun? No doubt. Same? Mmmmmm . . . no.
 
That's why I added the "kind of". My range only goes to 300 meters so we used reduced targets and shot 3 20 shot strings. And yes it was fun, even if I was in an economy car. I bow to your all around superiority.... not!
 
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