Was it worth the investment?

S

SwwPlayboy

New member
For the longest time ive had an itch for a 220 swift, but every time I read anything about them I see "steer clear". Had a chance to buy one few months back but after examining the barrel, it was clear it was burned out. This comes to one of the main reasons I have stayed away, "its a barrel burner". Invested in a 22-250 instead. It has treated me well but still had that itch.

Well I finally did it. Found a Remington 700 in a 220 swift for a good price and I couldnt say no.

So did I do right or is my barrel gonna be burnt out before I know it?
 
Good grief, relax. I've had a 220 since about 1980 or so. Finally did wear out the first barrel, or at least the throat. Had it rebarreled and have shot it for 20 odd years. The magic load is a 55 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip over 38.5 gr of IMR4064. Don't start there, but work up to it. Norma brass was always my favorite, though I'm shooting prepped WW brass right now.

All the 22-250 guys keep telling themselves that the 22-250 is as good, but it isn't. Not quite.

If you don't have any 4064, try R15.

It's a laser beam of a rifle. Enjoy. And enjoy the envy that the 22-250 guys have.
 
i wish i had 220 swift!!!

last year i bought a MGM 27" heavy factory barrel in 22-250ai(1 in8" twist) for my encore. it shoots great, .1 and .2" at 100 yards, but it sure ain't a swift!!!
 
I've seen more than one burned out 220 Swift magically restored with a good, thorough, cleaning. I'm not talking a couple of patches and a brush, but a complete, soak it all night for 7 consecutive days, cleaning that removes all of the copper fowling all the way down to the surface of the bore.

I think a lot of us would be surprised how fouled up these barrels can get, and how tough it can be to get it all out.

I like using patience rather than muscle or ultra strong chemistry that can burn off blueing or ruin a stock finish.

I'm not saying that the throat can't get burned out, as it certainly can, but I doubt that every 220 Swift owner has fired the thousands and thousands of rounds it takes to do enough damage to ruin a barrel.
 
if your shooting 55gr at 3600-3700FPS, I hear they burn out around 3000 rounds. there's many tales on the webs of shooting 50's at 4000fps and getting less than 2000 rounds before shotgun accuracy. I definitely wouldn't be running out and ordering a used one online, but if I saw it in a shop or at a show and could thoroughly inspect the barrel AND got a decent deal on it, why not?
 
i inherited a pre-WWII Winchester model 70 in .220 Swift in 1953. Round count was unknown to me. After firing over 3,100 rounds, mostly my rather hot reloads, accuracy started going south and the gun was re-barreled by Winchester barrel. i also purchased an extra Winchester barrel. Round count on the second barrel was 4,200 when it was changed out.

I think a lot of us would be surprised how fouled up these barrels can get, and how tough it can be to get it all out.
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farmboy is correct.

i once bought a Remington 700 in .22 Swift for a good price. The owner said the barrel was toast: But i could not find any serious throat erosion. The gun got a good cleaning and it's accuracy was restored.
 
Don't worry about burning up a Swift barrel....if you treat it right you'll get thousands of rounds through it.

last year i bought a MGM 27" heavy factory barrel in 22-250ai(1 in8" twist) for my encore. it shoots great, .1 and .2" at 100 yards, but it sure ain't a swift!!!
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You might very well have a barrel capable of world record accuracy for an Encore.....I'd love a barrel that will out shoot $3000+ rifles....but the only place they seem to exist is on the internet.
 
a complete, soak it all night for 7 consecutive days, cleaning that removes all of the copper fowling all the way down to the surface of the bore.
Click to expand...

Used to be an Outers Foul Out electrochemical cleaner that I heard worked great and saved on the elbow grease but I guess it's discontinued. I always thought it was way too expensive for an individual to buy but could be a great deal for a club or a gunsmith.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/243419/outers-foul-out-3-bore-cleaning-system
 
As mentioned by other posters....

Many "burned out" .220 Swifts are really just severely copper fouled. A thorough cleaning can do WONDERS.

On the subject of barrel life... Here's a quote of mine, from another thread, where we were talking about the different manufacturers of Ruger barrels in the past:
FrankenMauser said:
I have a 78 prefix tang-safety M77 that was originally chambered for .220 Swift. I have no idea whose barrel it was (but it was of ~1983 production), but it shot like a dream. And that barrel, 4,500+ rounds later, is still going strong on another 78-prefix M77 tang-safety, in the hands of a predator control contractor in Montana.
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If you take care of the barrel, it can keep going strong for quite some time.


Fun cartridge. In my opinion, the "barrel burner" label is mostly unwarranted (it's the way they're shot that kills some rifles so quickly - not the cartridge itself). But... It can be a bit of a pain to reload.
I don't plan to ever own another one.
 
Frankenmauser, it's no tougher for me to reload for my 220 than it is for my 260. Why would you say it's tougher?

And to the OP, as to the value of the cartridge, there are some honest reasons for some folks to not own one. One reason is the bullet selection and twist rate. The round is best with 55 grain bullets in that 1 in 14 twist. If you are a coyote Hunter, the 220 is all you will ever need. If, however, the pigs move in on your place, like they did on mine, that varmint bullet isn't ideal. For pigs, a fellow needs something like the 60 gr Partition, the 65 gr Sierra GK, or the new 64 gr Nosler Bonded Solid Base, and none of those will stabilize in my 1 in 14 twist. Almost, but not quite.

The perfect 220 for me, these days, would be a faster twist barrel to stabilize the above listed bullets. Still, I'm very happy with the rifle I have. It's a great shooter, though unlike many of the Internet folk, it and I won't shoot 1/4 inch groups every time out. Happily though, like many of the guys on the Internet, I am 6 foot 5, 220 pounds, rippling with muscles, full head of hair, and devastatingly good looking.:) And rich, if I forgot to mention that...:D

Ok...well, I do like my 220.
 
Frankenmauser, it's no tougher for me to reload for my 220 than it is for my 260. Why would you say it's tougher?
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1. Brass flow.
2. Case life.
3. Case head dimensions.

Brass flow -
It's a pain. Even with moderate loads, I only got two, maybe three, loads out of most cases before neck turning was necessary. Not optional - mandatory.

Case life -
Some brands lasted a little longer than others, but 4-6 loads was about all the average case could take before it required annealing. ....Which is also a pain on the Swift, so I stopped trying.

-- Both of the above could have been dependent upon variables that were unique to my barrel. Regardless, that was my .220 Swift experience.


Case head dimensions......
This was actually the biggest irritations for me.
I had (still have) at least FIVE shell holders for .220 Swift. In theory, you should be able to use just about any .30-06 shell holder. But, no.
Every case manufacturer cut their extractor grooves differently, used different rim thicknesses, and had quite a bit of variance in rim diameter. Since all of the manufacturers cut their shell holders a little differently, as well, this creates a situation where you never know which shell holder will work with what brass.

You might have to use an RCBS #11 (.220 Swift) for one lot of Norma brass, but a Hornady #1 (.30-06) for another lot of Norma brass. If you pull out some new Winchester brass, you might not be able to use the Hornady #1 or RCBS #11; so the RCBS #3 (.30-06) has to come out. But, wait... they won't ALL work in the RCBS #3. For some of the new Winchester cases, you have to use a Lee #2 (.30-06).
Oh, and you have some old stock Winchester-Western or Remington cases? Well, it's time to take a chill pill, get out an adult beverage to sip, and put on some relaxing music. ....Because you'll probably be needing the Lee #2, RCBS #11, Hornady #1, and Hornady #45 (.45 Auto / .45 Win Mag). But still keep that RCBS #3 handy. You may need it....


In one box of Norma brass that I loaded, I found three cases that wouldn't fit ANY of my .30-06-sized (including .45 Auto-specific) or .220 Swift-specific shell holders. I had to chuck the cases in a drill and file down the rims! :rolleyes:
 
I personally do not feel the Swift is a "barrel burner." If it is a barrel burner, than then .22-250 is a barrel burner as well. The Swift is only slightly (emphasis added) more overbore than the .22-250.
 
Frankenmauser, you are so right about the case rim. It is strangely difficult with some brass to get it to fit easily in the shell holder sometimes.

As for case life, that's never been a problem for me when I was partial resizing. There was brass flow however, but it didn't thicken the necks if I trimmed every time I reloaded the brass. What eventually happened to the Norma brass that I must have reloaded over 15 times (and trimmed) was that the case necks thinned. I never noticed till I went to neck sizing with new dies and when I went to seat a bullet, it fell through the mouth and sat on the powder. Odd.
 
There are some new powders that resist fouling and make cleaning easier. Some are IMRs and Reloder 23, but the Reloder powder may not be the one for your .220 Swift. They're also more stable in temperature extremes.

I just bought some IMR 4451, but haven't loaded it yet. There are three other IMR powders that may be better suited to the .220.
 
220 Swift

I find buying used Swifts is like buying used Corvetts, they have been run to
death or babied there seems to be no middle ground. I have owned several
The last new one I had was Ruger77. I had straight 16x glass on it and shot
Hornady 55 gr bullets/ IMR 4064. Good shooter, not as good as posters Encore
22/250. My longest shot on G-hog was 410 yds, don't sound impressive but made me happy. I know where there is a unfired Win 70. 220Swift that a old
guy in town won from VFD raffle in 1958. He is always jacking me with it $1
a look, he says he is going to sell it to me one day. The only reason he keeps
it is because it's the only thing he ever won.
 
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