Any Experience W/ Improved Swifts (Wby Rocket, Ackley, Wilson Arrow, etc.)?

[nightowl]

Anybody have experience with any of the improved Swift case designs?
Looking to re-barrel with a fast twist and heavier bullets for one of these.
So far the Wby Rocket design with the 33'-ish shoulder caught my eye. Pretty sure there's some guys out there with the 40' Ackley versions as well. Maybe even a few with the Wilson Arrow type approach where the shoulder gets pushed back a bit. Absolutely LOVE the Std Swift, but not the frequent case trimming - hence the improved case approach. A hair more case capacity probably wouldn't hurt either.

I have hunted g-hogs with the .22-.250 both straight and AI versions, fast twist Swift, .22 CHeetah and .22-'06. All were impressive, but the CHeetah and fast tw Swift really stood out. The .22-'06 is way too much of a good thing unless using the really s-l-o-w surplus ball powders and my buddy who built it used a total mad-man 1:7 tw - Godzilla on both the bbl and bullets alike. Not too many bullets that can withstand the launch from that thing and make it past about 50 yds before turning into a grey poof. With that tw you have to throttle back to Swift performance or less to get anything to stay together. 1:8 or 1:9 would've been better choice for harnessing that power of that beast.

Anyway, would like to hear your recommendations and thoughts on any pros vs. cons of the various Swift-based case designs w/ respect to case forming, case life or any issues that might arise due to the various versions in body taper and shoulder angle/location.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

The ai versions of the older varmint rounds will net a bit of extra capacity and a bit of reduced case stretch, but I haven't found them necessary personally and usually knock off varmints with a regular 22-250 out of a savage striker pistol. Using mild loads I only get a few thou. per firing case stretch and the prarie rats seem to explode pretty well, so I don't need to find a better mousetrap.
Have at it if you want to; I'm sure the ai swift will a bit more of a good thing, but is it enough more to justify the die cost and the time needed to fire form brass, etc.. That's a call you will have to make.
I would think of the 223 wssm myself if I needed more than my 22-250 as it'll walk all but the 22-06 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[J E Custom]

I to wanted a barn burner and looked at all of the possibilities and decided on a different approach.

Fast bullets and fast twist don,t go together well, The problems with jacket sheding are common
because of the twist and starting the bullet at high speed.

One solution is a gain twist and the other is to slow down the twist to some reasonable limit.

After talking to some barrel makers and getting some very good advice I made my decision and
this is what I built.

Started with a 3 groove Lilja with a 1 in 15 twist Stainless barrel with a hunter bench rest taper,
and fluted it.(to help keep it cool).

Chambered it in 223 WSSM and cut the barrel to 24".

So far it has exceeded my expectations in both accuracy and velocity.

Accuracy is under 2/10 ths MOA and velocity has exceeded 4400 ft/sec with no pressure signs
and with no bullet problems. I am still experimenting to find out how much velocity I can get
before pressure or bullet problems occur

The shoulder on the WSSM appears to minimize case stretch and brass life is very good.

This may not be the way you want to go but it has worked for me.

This should give you something to think about anyway.

Have fun

J E CUSTOM

 

[nightowl]

Lefty & JE,

Thanks for the replies.
I guess a light bullet at 4,400 fps has an ability to buck the wind pretty well too.
Must be impressive to see that thing in action - probably see the dust kick up before you feel the gun go off.

The WSSM is very interesting to me, but unfortunately isn't an option for the action I have - pretty much stuck with the .473" class of cases.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

For whatever it's worth, I had very good luck with my 22-243AI, 8" twist. I was pushing a 75gr A-Max moly bullet at 3,670 ft/sec and never smoked a bullet. The A-Max has a very thin jacket but loading the moly bullet into the lands probably took a lot of stress off the jacket. Naturally, a BR quality barrel helps too. If dusting bullets becomes a problem you could always switch to the 80gr SMK which has a thicker jacket. 90gr bullets are available now but they weren't when I was shooting the 22-243AI. They might even stabilize in an 8" twist if pushed fast enough. I'm not big on any twist tighter than an 8".

Lapua brass is readily available which is a big plus for a .243 based cartridge.

Just my thoughts on a hot .224" cartridge.

 

[J E Custom]

Lefty & JE,

Thanks for the replies.
I guess a light bullet at 4,400 fps has an ability to buck the wind pretty well too.
Must be impressive to see that thing in action - probably see the dust kick up before you feel the gun go off.

The WSSM is very interesting to me, but unfortunately isn't an option for the action I have - pretty much stuck with the .473" class of cases.

There is another possibility, The 224 Texas trophy Hunter.

It is based on the 6mm remington case necked down to .224 and can push a 75 grain bullet
almost 3800 ft/sec.

Everything should be available to load your own ammo.

Just another thought if you want to shoot heavy .224 bullets.

J E CUSTOM