Who ownes a .220Swift & Which factory rifle should I choose?

[Spino]

I have been looking around the web trying to find a good factory rifle in the .220Swift. Who owns a .220Swift & can give me some feedback? I would like to draw from your experience out there on which rifle has had success & why? I have heard and read alot about the .22-250, but have made my mind to go with the swift for a little more speed and just to be different. I don't shoot alot, but would like to have this gun for varmints & maybe to start off my kids with in the near future... Any comments or thoughts welcomed. Thanks for the help!

 

[tulku]

I have had good results with the Rem. 700 , and the aftermarket accessories for the Rem . are almost infinite . Saying that , Rem. quality seems to be steadily decreasing . All my 700s are old ones . Savage should be considered and is probably the most accurate Factory Rifle out of the Box. I did buy a new Winchester Heavy Varmint in 220 swift last year ( they were discontinued many years ago ) and was really impressed with the Trigger when adjusted . I have not shot it yet , so can't comment on the accuracy . There are a lot of used Varmint rifles out there , but you have to be very careful with the Swift as the barrel can be fried if used rapid fire on a Pdog Town .

 

[Freebore]

Spino,
I have one of Freds rifle in a Swift 1-12 and it shoots great! A custom that does not break the wallet. Call(if you can get thru or email) to see what he has or can have available for you. 55 Baltips at 3900 no problem. You'll love a Swift which ever one you get.

http://www.savageshooters.net/sharpshooters/

 

[wildcat]

Spino,
go with a Remington in 220 Swift. You will love the Swift's performance. I shoot a 40grn V-Max at 4200fps and the 50grn V-Max at 4000fps. You will out shoot the guys with the 223 and the 22-250's at the longer ranges. Don't let anybody talk you out of a Swift, there is plenty of brass, it's very accurate, and very fast. Brass is easy to find, I use Norma Brass, and I get it through Sinclair International. My Swift is custom, however, it started out as a Remington M700 VSSF II. The VSSF II, in 220 Swift uses a 1-14 twist barrel. As an out of the box rifle, the VSSF II shot in the .5's with quality ammo. I've been hearing Savage rifles are more accurate than Remington rifles out of the box. However, I would go with the Remington because the quality of the action. Remington actions, when worked on by a quality gunsmith, are almost as good as the custom actions. Since then, my rifle has been rebuilt, here are the specs;
1. 220 Swift
2. Speedy Sleeved Rem. M700 Action trued
3. Lilja 28", 1-14 twist, 1.250 tapered to .930
4. McMillan A-4
5. Jewel 2oz trigger
6. Holland Muzzle Brake
7. Speedy Base
8. Kelby Rings
9. Nightforce 5.5x22x56 NXS

Spino, here some load data for you. If you go with the Rem. M700 VSSF II, I bet this load will shoot awesome. Here is the load I used, and components;

1. Powder 43grns H414
2. Bullet 40grn V-Max
3. Primer-Fed 205M
4. Brass-Norma
5. Velocity is 4200fps

This load is very accurate and consistant. I used this load when my rifle was originally the VSSF II and have continued to use the same load in my custom Swift. As mentiond above the VSSF II, with the above mentioned load, shot in the .5's and a couple of the groups measured in the .3's and .4's. However, it would shoot .5 groups all day long. In my custom Swift, this load shoots in the High .1's and Low .2's. Try this load when you get your rifle, I know it will work. One more thing, go with the Remington!!

Wildcat

 

[Supermag]

I'll have to agree. I have a VSSF II in 204 and it is extremely accurate (1/4"). I was debating between the Swift and 204 and settled on the 204. With the Swift you can also use heavier bullets (depending on twist) to help with the wind.

 

[Spino]

Thanks for the feedback so far & I'm hearing that the Rem, Savage & Winchester are being recomended so far. I looked into the savage - http://www.savagearms.com/12bvss.htm , but couldn't find a 220Swift being offered? Did I miss the model? The Remington M700 VS SF II seems to be @ the top of my list so far....

I also checked Winchester's site: http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/category.asp?cat=001C they don't have a 220Swift either. Dang!

I may have to look into a used gun??

 

[Supermag]

I only know of two major producers of the Swift and that is Remington with the VSSF II and Ruger. There are probably others in the custom/semi-custom rifles around. I guess Winchester didn't want to have the Swift competing against the 223 WSSM.

As someone said earlier, watch the throats and barrels in the used Swifts as they weren't chrome lined and might have worn faster with hot loads.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

SPino- I had the ruger target version with 26" heavy barrel and laminate stock. It was a tackdriver. It seldom went over .5" at 100 yards. IT liked anything from 40g-55g bullets. It loved IMR-4064. Shot 40g's at 4400-4500fps, and shot 55g's at 3925fps. I wacked quite a few yotes with it and it flat put them down with the 55g's. The 40g's just dont have the umph for longer ranges. The remington is nice, but for $200 more, theres no guarantee its going to shoot any better. Those ruger targer rifles are all shooters. I haven't seen one shoot over .5" groups.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

SPino- Let me add that the rifle with pet loads with several different bullets would shoot 1/4". My dad has a 22-250 and cousin has .223 in the same ruger target rifles. They all shoot 1/4". The swift was not picky when working up loads, contrary to some peoples beliefs. Mine liked to be loaded near the top, which is good because why else would anybody want a swift. They are great varmint cartridges. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[longgunshooter]

bought a rem700 VS .220 Swift awhile back and have never been dissatisfied with it. it seems to shoot just about anything i feed it reasonably well, the best groups resulting from the 55gr bt's (>3/8, five shots). i've taken 5 muledeer and 6 pronghorn with this rifle (60 gr partitions)and god only knows how many yotes/pd's have fallen to that 55gr bt load. just pick your shots carefully and keep em fairly close. imo,>400yds on the bigger critters.

 

[mrclean5687]

I have been looking around the web trying to find a good factory rifle in the .220Swift. Who owns a .220Swift & can give me some feedback? I would like to draw from your experience out there on which rifle has had success & why? I have heard and read alot about the .22-250, but have made my mind to go with the swift for a little more speed and just to be different. I don't shoot alot, but would like to have this gun for varmints & maybe to start off my kids with in the near future... Any comments or thoughts welcomed. Thanks for the help!

Got a 700 VS SF PORTED nib 220 swift that I am selling if you want pics let me know I will be listing here shortly
cliff

 

[paste]

MRCLEAN you do realize this thread is 6 years old....dont you?

 

[Korhil78]

Dig deep buddy...dig deep

 

[WildRose]

I have been looking around the web trying to find a good factory rifle in the .220Swift. Who owns a .220Swift & can give me some feedback? I would like to draw from your experience out there on which rifle has had success & why? I have heard and read alot about the .22-250, but have made my mind to go with the swift for a little more speed and just to be different. I don't shoot alot, but would like to have this gun for varmints & maybe to start off my kids with in the near future... Any comments or thoughts welcomed. Thanks for the help!

I've owned 5 of them over the years. The current model is a VSSF II Remington. Shoots about .3 with factory ammo and all I've done is a basic bedding, floating, trigger job (factory trigger) and lapped the bolt lugs.

You might want to check and see if Winchester is making it in the coyote model.

With either one you can't go wrong.