.220 swift?

[Kareir]

I'm turning 16 next month, and getting my first rifle.
I live in ireland and will be doing light target shooting, "varmint" (which in ireland is generally fox and rabbit) and possibly some small deer (sika)
I was wondering whether to get a Swift, or possibly a 22-250. The smallest grain you can legally shoot deer with in ireland is 55gr.
Any suggestions of different calibres would be welcome, too.
Thanks,
-Kar.

PS: Leaning towards the Remington Mod. 700 VS SF 2 in .220 swift at the moment.

[nc.hunter]

Karei, I would go with the .22-250 100% Because 1. The bullets arent too expensive for this serious round. 2. The max accurate range of this rifle is about 300 yards! so you can toast fox at 200 yards no problem. 3. There are many differnt types of bullets for a .22-250 from 50-grains to 125 grains. 4. It can also be used on rabbits, People use them for jackrabbits and cottontails all the time. Hope this helps,nc.hunter.

[Taurus Fan]

If it were me I'd go with the deuce-two-fifty, but here's a review of the Swift that you may like.
220 Swift

[texnmidwest]

I have owned both calibers. I can tell you that if you are shooting factory loads then there is not a difference between the two. If you hand load you can get more speed out of a 220 swift. However I found the 220 to be a finicky eater. If it were handloaded ammo then it needed to be fresh, not last seasons. Also, the ammo for 220 is hard to find, limited in loading options and expensive. There are a lot of cheap ammo options for the 22 250.

If I were you, I would do yourself a favor and go with the 22-250. For deer select a 62gr bullet weight or even heavier. The 22-250 will do the trick for you. I shot a lot of deer with them and only once did I need a second shot and that was not the bullets fault but mine.

[sbowers5]

the 22-250 does have a lot of different weight bullets, but the problem is you can't accurately shoot a heavy bullet and a light weight bullet in the same barrel the rifling for one will not stabilize the other and visversa. not opinion fact.
steve

[texnmidwest]

Longer barrels decrease that effect though. I was shooting a Ruger no1 and did not notice any decrease in accuracy between bullets.

You ARE correct though with shorter barrels especially.

[Poset]

I have and enjoy both. If I had to pick one for the purpose you describe, I would find a 22-250 with a 1-12 or 1-10 twist - that will let you shoot 45g to 70g bullets. I really like my swift (1-12 twist)for small varmints, but 55g is the largest ball it will shoot with any degree of accuracy, and its finicky about the load at that.

Another option, if you are shooting less than about 200 meters, is a 223 with a fast twist (1-8 to 1-10).

[soonerborn]

I havent ever shot a 220 but I have used a 22-250 extensively. I think both are gonna be about the same, so I would just look at the availability of commercial ammo and go with the one that is cheapest and is loaded in more variety. I do believe that would be the 22-250.

For me the 22-250 has taken game from small varmint size to deer weighing over 200 lbs. It is of course a close range choice only on deer that large. On sika deer though you can probably extend the range to 150 or 200 yards because of their smaller size. I am thinking they are around 100 lbs or so on avg.

[Kareir]

Thanks for the input, guys,

The ranges i'll be using this for will vary by quite a bit,
from maybe 150-200m on fox, and possibly 100 (or even less, you can drive within 15 meters of them on an ATV) on deer.
i'd been told that the 22-250 might be slightly large for small varmint though?

thanks,
Kar.

[soonerborn]

It is way too much for rabbit or squirrel but anything bigger it will work just fine as long as you arent after pelts.

[lefty o]

small varmints is what the 22-250 was made for!!! red mist

[Kareir]

yeah, and just one more question (for now)

Does the size of the round affect how hot the barrel becomes?

In other words, would, say, a Swift get hot at the same rate as, say, a .270?

thanks a lot,

Kar

[sell33]

it would get hot faster because it is traveling a lot faster than the 270.....220 swift shoots about 4000 fps, 270 only about 3000. Rate of twist has an effect on this too. I believe the faster the twist the faster the barrel heats up. get a heavy barrel if you plan on sitting and shooting for awhile.

[Brad Y]

Nothing wrong with the 22-250 on rabbits, turns em inside out. I reckon you should look at a savage 22-250, as some of them come in a 1:12 twist. As well as being accurate and very nice on the trigger, the 1:12 twist should help you stabilise the 60gr nosler partition bullet. For deer, this would be a great bullet to use. However for varmints like rabbits and foxes you will want a ballistic tip. Ive shot foxes over 350m away with my 22-250, its more than possible to make shots 400m away with this calibre in my opinion.

In a regular barrelled rifle, like mine, I usually shoot three shots and give it a rest for a bit as i dont want the barrel too hot. But im sure if you went a heavy barrel rifle, you could get five or so shots away. Not like you will get more than two shots off on a wily fox or deer if you miss the first. Go a savage if you can get ahold of one and get the 1:12 twist for the 60gr nosler partitions. Federal even makes them in a factory load if you dont want to reload them.

[lefty o]

very fast rounds like the swift, and 22-250 can heat up a barrel fast.

[tamalpias]

In my opinion it all depends on how often you plan on shooting(this idea is void if you are filthy rich). A 22-250 round is alot cheaper to buy and find bullets for either loaded or in component form than a 220 swift round. In the lower bullet weight class the 22-250 and 220 swift performs about the same so if lots of range time and varmint hunting is your plan for the gun then I would suggest the 22-250.

[Kareir]

two more things:

Firstly, how much difference does the Fluting on a barrel make towards cooling? it says "increases heat dissipation" but is that just an advertising thing or does it really work?

Secondly, i've heard you may need to "break in the bore" of a new rifle - can this be done while sighting it in?

Thanks,
Kar.

[rdale501]

Kareir---

This is just my opinion, I am not a gunsmith. I believe the fluting on the barrel does help cool. It gives the barrel more surface area which in turn equals more steel exposed to the air which we all know is what cools the barrel. Sound reasonable?
As for breaking in a new barrel, I have read several different methods, all of which include shooting, cleaning, shooting, cleaning so on in different numbers of shots between cleanings. I personally like to break them in and what I do I think is from either Nosler or Barnes reloading manual. I think the Idea is to smooth out any tooling marks from inside the bore without heating the barrel. Sam or Billy will probably have something for you on this, they seem to have a great deal of smarts on this kind of stuff.

[Brad Y]

Yes you can break the bore of a barrel in by giving it a good clean when you get it home, then shoot a shot, clean, shoot a shot clean etc for five shots. Then make sure its nice and clean and then shoot 3 shots and clean. Do this 3 times. When you have cleaned for the last time, shoot five shots and clean really well. Make sure your barrel doesnt get too warm when doing this. Allow a few minute between shots if need be.

You can also polish your bore with a mild abrasive cleaner, and you might not have to do as much of a break in procedure. Rifles seem to settle down properly after 100 or so shots.

[Kareir]

decided to go with a Swift, but bear with me.

The reasons why are:

#1: It's a calibre the shooters in my family have heard a lot about, but never owned, and we've heard it can be pretty good (aside from the ammo cost, but i'll sell the furniture or something)

#2: a friend of my dads shoots foxes at 250+ yards with a .204 (i think). for fun. as foxes are what i really want to shoot, i feel a swift would have a better effect at longer ranges, when i start shooting further.

if you can find any major problems with this, please point 'em out, but i think it should work out ok. got plenty of acreage to shoot on, with lots of dense wood/hills to have a safe shooting area.

oh, and could anyone think of a good scope? thinking of a Schmit&Bender
3-12x42.

thanks for all the advice and help, etc.

-Kar