.220 swift boolits

[alrighty]

I am trying to find some information about what boolit(s) work in a .220 swift.I have three , all Rugers.One No.1V , One old tang safety 77v , and a newer 77 stainless target model.I would like a good target / varmint round as well as something suitable for deer if the conditions were right.

[x101airborne]

I would start with the old tang safety. Clean the barrel, clean the barrel, and clean it again. Total jacketed removal. As far as what will work, it is anyones guess. I have the RCBS 55 grain flatpoint that I will send you some samples of to try. This is what my boy shoots in his Tikka 223 and it works well. Try to get some different samples of different boolits and just try em. What is the twist rate in your rifles? Lots of factors to consider.

[runfiverun]

the 8s ogive of the rcbs works well.
i use it in my old win 22-250,ruger v/t 223, and remington 220 swift.
pushing them along with 21-22.5 grs of imr 4895 gets them moving right along.
16.5 grs of 2400 does well in the 250 and swift too.
i use 4/6/90 alloy and then cull them ruthlessly by eye then weight sort them.
i also swage them into a 6s ogive and hollow/flat point them for small game but at 2400 fps in both the 250 and swift.
i ain't touching the deer thing.

[white eagle]

I tried the cast thing in my swift but didn't like the velocity loss
I had to endure with cast so I ****canned the idea
however I have taken two deer with my swift .....
they acted just like any other deer shot with a high velocity round
clean kills both of them...... mof.. one was a bang flop

[alrighty]

I would start with the old tang safety. Clean the barrel, clean the barrel, and clean it again. Total jacketed removal. As far as what will work, it is anyones guess. I have the RCBS 55 grain flatpoint that I will send you some samples of to try. This is what my boy shoots in his Tikka 223 and it works well. Try to get some different samples of different boolits and just try em. What is the twist rate in your rifles? Lots of factors to consider.

Best I can tell using a cleaning brush , all three models are 1:14 twist.The cleaning of the 77 with tang is easy , I just purchased it from a friend and it has only been shot six times.As bad as I hate to admit it , I purchased the number 1 when I got my first real job as a machinist apprentice in 1989.It has been fired less than 40 rounds but I did try and break it in right , by cleaning after ever shot for the first 20.My stainless 77V/T has had a little over 500 rounds through it , I bought it used and had trigger work and a good bedding job done to it.I have worked up a load with it , the best I found was 38.0 grains of 4064 pushing a Sierra S1400 53 grain h.p. match.I am not going to try a cast boolit just yet for it , but if I do I will make sure it has a clean bore, thanks for reminding me.I have just now entered a place in my life where I can try casting and shooting lead.I have loaded cast pistol boolits before but never made my own.So please any tip is very helpful and probably is something I overlooked.
Thank you so much for your offer and if needed I will send you a p.m.. I am going to try and find some samples to try as I know my other two rifles have a basically new bore and I would love to try cast in a .220 swift just for fun and an occasional coyote.

[alrighty]

the 8s ogive of the rcbs works well.
i use it in my old win 22-250,ruger v/t 223, and remington 220 swift.
pushing them along with 21-22.5 grs of imr 4895 gets them moving right along.
16.5 grs of 2400 does well in the 250 and swift too.
i use 4/6/90 alloy and then cull them ruthlessly by eye then weight sort them.
i also swage them into a 6s ogive and hollow/flat point them for small game but at 2400 fps in both the 250 and swift.
i ain't touching the deer thing.

Thank you for the information , that is what I was wanting to find out.I was hoping that one could get 2300-2400 fps as long as a good alloy was used with no problems.
As far as a load to be used for deer hunting , it would only be used as stated if conditions were right.I know people that swear by them and swear at them , with a 3900-4000 fps J word I have seen some decisive kills on yotes out to 300 yards.I have also witnessed first hand a .243 and a .25-06 with the wrong bullet fail miserably on deer.That is one reason I now reload and why I have taken my 1954 Winchester model 70 .270 deer hunting the past ten years.That and the fact I found a good pre 64 shooter at a good price.;-)

[MBTcustom]

I have just now entered a place in my life where I can try casting and shooting lead.
Sorry to hear you've fallen on hard times! Being broke sucks but at least you can keep shooting. :kidding:

[alrighty]

I tried the cast thing in my swift but didn't like the velocity loss
I had to endure with cast so I ****canned the idea
however I have taken two deer with my swift .....
they acted just like any other deer shot with a high velocity round
clean kills both of them...... mof.. one was a bang flop

I am afraid that is what I also am going to find out , I never pushed my swifts over 3900 fps. because my accuracy proved best around the 3800 range.I just want to put this on a bucket list if you will.I would like to find out what it can do , I might even be surprised.A friend I used to deer hunt with only carried one of two rifles , a Ruger model 77V tang safety in .220 swift or his Weatherby mark V in .300 Wby. magnum.He had a Leupold 6.5X20 mounted on each.His trophy room is full with nice clean kills by each.I never had the discipline in those days to carry a varmint gun deer hunting , but he did.A .220 will kill cleanly if you if you understand that you have to wait for your shot.The older I get the more I understand how important this is with any caliber.
Also my .220 experiment will have another use , it will give my some data and understanding.I can put this to use on a couple of AR's , a .223 contender and a TCR Jaguar in .223.Thanks to all that replied.

[alrighty]

Sorry to hear you've fallen on hard times! Being broke sucks but at least you can keep shooting. :kidding:

I guess I am one of the few that has been lucky during this regime.Of course being a tool and die maker in the auto industry after such a generous handout helps.:groner:
We are working too many hours but the added cash and being single gives me the funds to chase after these crazy hobbies.I have reloaded for rifle for many years but decided I needed a good C.C. gun , I had a sig 226 for a couple of years but never got the warm fuzzy feeling of being safe and secure.Then I purchased a Smith M&P 40 and after a few thousand rounds and an apex tactical duty/carry trigger I felt somewhat better.Then a friend got me into taking some classes and I got smart and purchased my first 1911.It was a simple Springfield mil-spec. Of course I now have way to much invested in it but I did find my happy place.Then I wanted to shoot more and at the price of $389.00 up/1000 rounds that is when I started looking at casting my own.After doing that now I want to cast for everything I own and get out , when I can and shoot.That is why I finally joined this site and quit lurking.:smile:
Also I think it would be a good idea for anyone who loves freedom to have molds,lead,powder, primers, and knowledge handy just in case.

[runfiverun]

trust me once you start with the cast in the 22's it's hard to pull yourself away from it.
2700 with a lead boolit is a very good load.
i only push my jaxketed 223 loads to about 28-2900 anyway.
that's why i have the swift and 22-250.
i shoot lead in the 250 most of the time and use it for testing swage softened alloys and for the hollow point boolits on the small game.
in the 223 [bolt gun] it's lead all of the time and have mainly switched to swaged in the 220 and am using it for rock chucks and ground squirells at 3200 fps right now.
it's all a test platform for the 22 bullets and i have learned plenty about how to construct a bullet core and jaxket recently. [pretty good with an annealing torch now too]
but i do have a pretty good idea now how to make a swaged bullet perform just like a partition if i need it to.
a lot of this information was brought over from cast boolits in the 22 cals..