Casting 220 Swift bullets????

[mcc1961]

Can you cast 220 Swift bullets?If possible what is the best mould and can you get a Lee sizer?I don't know if it's possible with the speed of these bullets.I cast .257 for my Airforce Condor and am going to be casting the 220's for a friend.

[MarkP]

The 220 Swift is probably 1:14"; I have a 22-6 mm 1:14" ( 6 mm Rem necked to 22 cal slightly larger capacity than the Swift) and shoot the RCBS 55 gr FN in it. The recently introduced Lee 225-55 looks to be a clone of the RCBS 225-55 FN; yes Lee make a .225" die. You will probably not reach the full velocity potential of the Swift with accuracy, Hornet velocity levels yes.

[runfiverun]

I have been shooting mine for quite a while now.
you have to be uber OCD to make it work, but work it does.
unfortunately it turns your 220 into a 223 but it's definitely possible.
if you can live with 27-2800 fps loads then have at it.

[303Guy]

I have been shooting mine for quite a while now.
you have to be uber OCD to make it work, but work it does.
unfortunately it turns your 220 into a 223 but it's definitely possible.
if you can live with 27-2800 fps loads then have at it.
Wow! I could live with that! It's casting those leetle boolits that inhibits me.

I have a RCBS 55gr flat nose mold and have never been able to cast decent boolits with it. I have the gas checks and the sizer die (.244 I think, which is fine for my hornet).

Anyway, I have toyed with the idea of a 'rimmed Swift' on a Lee Enfield action for cast boolits. Necking a 303 case to 22 comes close to the Swift.

[Shiloh]

As with any cast boolits shooting, Your .220 Swift barrel will last forever. My guess is that you might get 2800 fps. Who knows, there have been cast boolits driven at impressive speeds.

Shiloh

[MarkP]

Wow! I could live with that! It's casting those leetle boolits that inhibits me.

I have a RCBS 55gr flat nose mold and have never been able to cast decent boolits with it. I have the gas checks and the sizer die (.244 I think, which is fine for my hornet).

Anyway, I have toyed with the idea of a 'rimmed Swift' on a Lee Enfield action for cast boolits. Necking a 303 case to 22 comes close to the Swift.

220 Swift is semi rimmed, from 6 mm Lee Navy.

[HangFireW8]

Wow! I could live with that! It's casting those leetle boolits that inhibits me.

I have a RCBS 55gr flat nose mold and have never been able to cast decent boolits with it. I have the gas checks and the sizer die (.244 I think, which is fine for my hornet).

Anyway, I have toyed with the idea of a 'rimmed Swift' on a Lee Enfield action for cast boolits. Necking a 303 case to 22 comes close to the Swift.

Harvey Donaldson did quite a bit of cast shooting with the 220 Swift. Some of his advise is compiled in the book "Yours Truly", which inspired my custom barreled slow twist Swift build. Sorry, no loads from me, that project is not quite finished.

Your RCBS mold needs to be entirely preheated to work, and keep a propane torch running to maintain heat. You can't pour enough lead into it to make it hot, or even keep it hot.

[35remington]

"I have a RCBS 55gr flat nose mold and have never been able to cast decent boolits with it."

Agree with hangfire's advice. Better on summer days than winter ones if you don't want to bother with supplemental heat to keep it hot. .22's are warm weather moulds.

And linotype is your friend with small bullets.

[runfiverun]

linotype sucks for me in the 22's.
cut it in half with pure lead. [or 1-3 with ww's and toss in another percent more tin]
I make 4/6/90 alloy for the rcbs and hm-2 molds I use.

I gave up on trying to run the rcbs mold hot and just run it quickly and smoothly.
the weights wander a little but I can generally keep a .3 gr spread which isn't too bad considering the 2 cavity's cast .1 gr apart anyway.

[MarkP]

I pour a large sprue on my 22 molds to maintain heat.

Linotype works well for me with my small 22's especially the (225107)

[MT Chambers]

There is nothing difficult about casting bullets for the c.f. .22s, there are lots of molds out there and I have most of them, and I would be surprised if folks get accuracy at 2800 fps......my best accuracy is usually around 1500 fps max.

[runfiverun]

surprised why?
you just have to do things right and it's not a problem.
all of my AR rifles shoot the rcbs and HM-2 molds on top of a jacketed load of 4895 well and do just about as good on top of W-748.
both loads with full function, and accuracy on par with cheaper jacketed bullets from the store, all it takes is time, attention. and effort.
that's generally where the efforts fall short, not in the shooting nor the velocity.
I just swapped the 223 loads into the 22-250 and 220 swift cases then tweaked them a bit for each rifle.
sizing and weight sorting and reading the targets helps a ton.
it isn't that hard.
ignore the reasons why you/they CAN'T do it, and just keep on working towards the goal.

[303Guy]

220 Swift is semi rimmed, from 6 mm Lee Navy.
Yes, I know. I was talking about building a 22-303 on a Lee Enfield action and using the Brit case necked down. I'm saying that the Swift and 303 Brit cases are quite similar. I would not want to chamber a Lee Enfield for the 220 Swift though. Someone might get hold of it and fire factory fodder through it! Anyway, since then I have acquired a 25-303 so the desire for the 22-303 went away. One day I might use the barrel I have for something else, like a 22/30-30 or rimmed 222. But I'm still interested in cast boolit results in the 220 Swift.