Pros and Cons?? 220 SWIFT!

ivanthehunter

Any one ever hear of Thompson rifles, apparently the knocked out a rifle which took 220 swift.. i see that Remington still have 1 in there 2008 cataloger.. I tried having a quick look for rugar but with no joy....
does anyone know if rugar still make a rifle chambered to the 220? I also was wondering what the prices of a remmy 220 would be like, I heard 1000-1400, that just seems like a massive difference between gun shops

Jonty

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Any one ever hear of Thompson rifles, apparently the knocked out a rifle which took 220 swift.. i see that Remington still have 1 in there 2008 cataloger.. I tried having a quick look for rugar but with no joy....
does anyone know if rugar still make a rifle chambered to the 220? I also was wondering what the prices of a remmy 220 would be like, I heard 1000-1400, that just seems like a massive difference between gun shops

1400 seems right for the VSSF, yeah thompson are a single shot rifle. Ruger no longer chamber in swift, but if you shop around you might pick up some old stock.

revan23

you would pretty much need to spend the same again on the scope and mounts... no point having a ferrari with hubcaps...

It wasn't me!

Always loved that rifle revan. What's the glass?

revan23

an atlas explorer, nothin too fancy but i got it for the illuminated reticle, its great for low light shooting

Hezz700

foxshooter243 wrote: »

thats where reloading comes in..

All fine and well providing it's legal and components can be sourced. anyway 52gr is more than enough to take care of the red lads humanely.:)

Hezz

Hezz700

Ivan,

You'll find plenty of secondhand swift chambered rifles lurking around the back room of most dealers shops. lots of people turned there backs on the round once .223 became available. with a be of ground work you should be able to source one for very reasonable money with a good unworn bore. lets face it, most folk including myself generally don't fire more than 3 or 4 rounds on any outing so barrell errosion is not an issue unless the previous owner was lax in cleaning duties.

you should not have any real need for 60 or 70gr pills in Ireland, we have neither (legal) quarry larger enough nor the need for such long range projectiles. IMHO

p.s i seen a Remy 700 VS 220 swift in Stakelum's in Urlingford. it might be worth your while checking it out:)

damo03

Well folks dont mean to hi-jack the thread.
Bought a Remmy 700 VSSF2 in .220 swift. Got the gun secndhand(about 50 rounds gone through it as far as I know). It is immaculate. It comes with a T8 fitted,harris bipod, picatinny rail, mounts ,sling and cheekpiece.Just have to buy the scope. And wait for license. Cost €1800. Was this good value?

ivanthehunter

Hezz700 wrote: »

Ivan,

You'll find plenty of secondhand swift chambered rifles lurking around the back room of most dealers shops. lots of people turned there backs on the round once .223 became available. with a be of ground work you should be able to source one for very reasonable money with a good unworn bore. lets face it, most folk including myself generally don't fire more than 3 or 4 rounds on any outing so barrell errosion is not an issue unless the previous owner was lax in cleaning duties.

you should not have any real need for 60 or 70gr pills in Ireland, we have neither (legal) quarry larger enough nor the need for such long range projectiles. IMHO

p.s i seen a Remy 700 VS 220 swift in Stakelum's in Urlingford. it might be worth your while checking it out:)

how would a novice know a barrel was not worn out with out shooting at a paper target???? I think new is a better option for a better gun but money is a real concern!!

foxshooter243

ivanthehunter wrote: »

how would a novice know a barrel was not worn out with out shooting at a paper target???? I think new is a better option for a better gun but money is a real concern!!

short of having a gunsmith examine the bore with a borescope its hard to tell the true condition of the bore but look for signs such as condition of the rifle ,wear on the butt pad etc, as was said the price of ammo has
largley stopped swifts getting much use down south-most swifts are in good nick-a trustworthy dealer is a help-cos he probably sold the ammo the rifle fired and has a good idea of the use it got-youll struggle to find a shot out swift anyway as factory ammo only runs in the 3600 to 3800
bracket same as 22-250.

ivanthehunter

Whats the going rate for a second hand swift, roughly??

foxshooter243

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Whats the going rate for a second hand swift, roughly??

seen a good ruger m77 swifter sold at 650 euro second hand.

revan23

damo03 wrote: »

Well folks dont mean to hi-jack the thread.
Bought a Remmy 700 VSSF2 in .220 swift. Got the gun secndhand(about 50 rounds gone through it as far as I know). It is immaculate. It comes with a T8 fitted,harris bipod, picatinny rail, mounts ,sling and cheekpiece.Just have to buy the scope. And wait for license. Cost €1800. Was this good value?

no idea on the T8 price, but the vssf2 is about 1450 new

damo03

I think the T8 costs about €350 fitted.The harris Approx €100.The rail and mounts around €200. And whatever for the sling and cheekpiece. So i suppose it works out ok. the gun looks like new and it was returned with rounds not used which were given by the dealer when it was new. It is immaculate so im happy enough.

foxshooter243

damo03 wrote: »

I think the T8 costs about €350 fitted.The harris Approx €100.The rail and mounts around €200. And whatever for the sling and cheekpiece. So i suppose it works out ok. the gun looks like new and it was returned with rounds not used which were given by the dealer when it was new. It is immaculate so im happy enough.

yeah price was ok and if your happy with it thats what counts-happy shootin:D

ivanthehunter

foxshooter243
Am i ever going to suffer a shortage of ammo in the shops for the swift.. or will it continue to remain a production model with short runs of manufactured ammo like i believe the hornet has become( could be mistaken here)
Its just that it seems that you wont be able to buy a swift in a few years be cause of expensive ammo costs have stunted rifle sales in this caliber!

What is the deal with getting into the re-loading of your own rounds,,
and one more question here can a rifle barrel ever be re-placed or re-conditioned to a new state: i would think its only possible to bore it out to a larger size but then the cartridge might not be compatible..

Anyway the re-loading has me intrigued, how? its the experimental process in determining the bet configuration.. deadly craic

foxshooter243

ivanthehunter wrote: »

foxshooter243
Am i ever going to suffer a shortage of ammo in the shops for the swift.. or will it continue to remain a production model with short runs of manufactured ammo like i believe the hornet has become( could be mistaken here)
Its just that it seems that you wont be able to buy a swift in a few years be cause of expensive ammo costs have stunted rifle sales in this caliber!

What is the deal with getting into the re-loading of your own rounds,,
and one more question here can a rifle barrel ever be re-placed or re-conditioned to a new state: i would think its only possible to bore it out to a larger size but then the cartridge might not be compatible..

Anyway the re-loading has me intrigued, how? its the experimental process in determining the bet configuration.. deadly craic

the swift still has a strong following in the US, the reason the swift hasnt
a great following at the minute is down to ammo cost ,but that will be wiped out in the future if the DOJ introduces reloading, cos then the swift will be quite reasonable to reload compared to factory ammo prices, youll
then i think see a lot of 223 guys moving to swift ,cos lets face it the 223 is no swift, ive used both and the swift is king of the 22 centrefires,.
The talk that the swift is a barrel burner is a misconception, this was because when the swift was introduced it was pushing a 46 grain bullet at over 4000 ft/sec this alongside really hot burning powders ,high operating pressure and less than desirable quality barrel steel led to problems with throat erosion.
The second world war seen huge advancements in steel and with todays cooler burning powders,better cleaning methods etc the swift lasts as long as any other comparable 22 centrefire, i used a swift for 8 yrs and it had seen countless rounds down the barrel and when i traded it the gundealer looked it over and checked the barrel and pronounced it healthy.
so ivan go get a swift and save your brass...

ivanthehunter

i think that you have sold me! where do i sign:D
I thought there was people here in eire who were already re-loading their own gear! was i mistaken ?

bunny shooter

foxshooter243 wrote: »

the swift still has a strong following in the US, the reason the swift hasnt
a great following at the minute is down to ammo cost ,but that will be wiped out in the future if the DOJ introduces reloading, cos then the swift will be quite reasonable to reload compared to factory ammo prices, youll
then i think see a lot of 223 guys moving to swift ,cos lets face it the 223 is no swift, ive used both and the swift is king of the 22 centrefires,.
The talk that the swift is a barrel burner is a misconception, this was because when the swift was introduced it was pushing a 46 grain bullet at over 4000 ft/sec this alongside really hot burning powders ,high operating pressure and less than desirable quality barrel steel led to problems with throat erosion.
The second world war seen huge advancements in steel and with todays cooler burning powders,better cleaning methods etc the swift lasts as long as any other comparable 22 centrefire, i used a swift for 8 yrs and it had seen countless rounds down the barrel and when i traded it the gundealer looked it over and checked the barrel and pronounced it healthy.
so ivan go get a swift and save your brass...

+1

ivanthehunter

i have spent a bit of time on the net looking for manufactures of the 220 swift.. Remington make the vss? II and this is produced in a 1:14 twist,

Thompson/center still offer a custom made 220 swift but without phoning them i cant determine their twist rates,, i know i said custom made, but they might have the barrels already made,,

it seems that rugar77 mkII is no longer made in 220swift?? i could be wrong
and savage 112 is no longer in production in the 220 swift,,
Is any body in the know as to who is still making these rifles in these calibers?

foxshooter243

ivanthehunter wrote: »

i have spent a bit of time on the net looking for manufactures of the 220 swift.. Remington make the vss? II and this is produced in a 1:14 twist,

Thompson/center still offer a custom made 220 swift but without phoning them i cant determine their twist rates,, i know i said custom made, but they might have the barrels already made,,

it seems that rugar77 mkII is no longer made in 220swift?? i could be wrong
and savage 112 is no longer in production in the 220 swift,,
Is any body in the know as to who is still making these rifles in these calibers?

ruger are no longer listing the swift as one of their chamberings but there should be plenty of good second hand examples in ireland,for a new rifle your down to a remington as your only option.

ivanthehunter

Remington are making 220 Swifts as one of their range for sale!

Does any one know if they sell replacement barrels? and could the be bought un-rifled? ie I would prefer a 1:12 twist..

Dose any body know if any of the old manufactures are providing replacement barrels??Savage? Rugar? Anybody?

If i knew that a firm was still supplying replacement barrels it would make it easier to pick a second hand 220 swift.....

Hezz700

www.border-barrels.com

www.riflecraft.co.uk

Neither are cheap but the options are endless:)

Hezz

ivanthehunter

Border barrels will make and fit a .224cal barrel in a twist rate of your choice with six rifle groves and will fit it to any vssl2 Remington rifle for £557 which converts to €712..
what do you think? is this good value for whats involved..
I better not tell the woman. Ha;)

Jonty

Shilen make a custom barrel for a Ruger 77 MKII. Check out their site Ivan

Hezz700

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Border barrels will make and fit a .224cal barrel in a twist rate of your choice with six rifle groves and will fit it to any vssl2 Remington rifle for £557 which converts to €712..
what do you think? is this good value for whats involved..
I better not tell the woman. Ha;)

Dunno really, but it sounds good to me considering that its fitted and would also be reproofed. The only danger you might run in to would be the temptation to have more work done while you were at it. Timmney trigger, bedding etc etc......;)

ivanthehunter

psittacosis wrote: »

Pro's easy to license

Con's ammo costs a fortune 38+ euro for 20 rounds so going to be sore on the pocket for any sort of target shooting.

Smallest bullet weight available i reckon would be around 40-45ish grains up to 65 not sure if factory heavier rounds are available.

Swift ammo make a 75 for the .224 cal (220 swift):D

Kareir

It doesn't really matter if they make a 75gr round - with a 1-14" twist, you'll only get good preformance out of 40-60grs. So, unless you get a different barrel, there's no point in using 75gr rounds. the twist isn't fast enough.

For the .224 Cal:

- 7" for bullets heavier than 80gr.
- 8" for bullets up to 80gr.
- 9" for bullets up to 70gr.
- 12: for bullets up to 63gr.
- 14" for bullets up to 55gr.
- 15"* for bullets up to 55gr. driven 4,100 pfs or more
- 16:* for bullets up to 55gr. driven 4,300 fps or more.

Some slight inaccuracy there. The 60gr Hornadys are fine in 1-14" barrel.

see review of Rem. Mod 700 VS-SF II in .220 Swift here:
www.gunsandhunting.com/model700.html

_Kar.

PS: VS-SF II on order

ivanthehunter

I have been offered a Rugar77 MkII swift with a swift scope and a moderator all for 1200 euro.......What you think??

The dealer claims that only 20 rounds went down the barrel and he know the owner well.....

I was wondering if i'd be better off buying a new Remington with no scope or moderator for €1200-or even €1400 or should i make good on this cheaper deal of the rugar77 MkII with scope and mod all for €1200?

What is the quality of these lighter barreled firearms like and what sort of twists are they commonly found in..
Would i be better off to go with a new Remington instead of a second hand rugar???? What do you think.

Sika_Stalker

just bought a ruger m77mk2 swift off a buddy of mine with a pes mod got him down to 1050 euro:D
i've used it in action and killed foxes out two 430yrd with it, shoots pretty well but im gona fit a new trigger, float the barrel and put a s&b 8x56 on it. they are good working rifles and the perfect bullet weight for them is 55grs. ill hopefully get the fac back in about 2 weeks