220 Swift loads--opinions

Reemty J

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A buddy of mine has a .220 Swift and we are looking into doing some reloading for it, leaning towards a 50 SBK and either AA2700 or H-380.......looking at a load that will stay in a coyote. Open to suggestions as some of you forgot more than I know.....................thanks!!
 
The classic powder for the .220 Swift is IMR4064. I used that with 50 Vmax's; that combo gave me 3800 plus out of a 14 twist. The 52 Sierra bthp also shot well but it apparently has a heavier jacket & did not expand as well - heaver varmints?

I have opinions on everything but usually exercise some restraint ;)
 
4064 in mine also. I wanna also say that AA2700 is the only powdet I found that shoots lights out in my Rem 700 22-250. Dont think I ever tried it in my Swift.
 
What I have read on .220 swift 4064 is harder on barrels than some newer powders, I realize it was the old stand by, just a few have said that it is rougher on the barrels than H-380 or AA2700........thank you guys
 
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" A FEW HAVE SAID" ----- laffin.

I'm sure they have run double blind tests on identical barrels in identical conditions,
I await reading them --------

The 220 Swift is a high intensity cartridge. They are ALL rough on barrels. Solution is simple --- Nitriding.
 
Why I asked is because of comments like the 3 below, just curious if others had same experience................................

1....A2700 is a good one. I shot 4064 and 414 more years than I care to remember.
The Swift powder discussion came up on BR Central and several members
raved about 2700. I gave it a try and my old Shilen barrel turned in about a
.180. One guy also said the barrel wear between 4064 and 2700 was like the difference between night and day though you can't prove it by me as I have no borescope.

2....then went to AA2700. I had two Savages 112 J's and two Ruger 77V's.

43.5-44.5g of AA2700 with a 50g Nosler; Fed 210 primer; Win case; will dump the bullet into a very tiny hole at 4000 fps. Many, many times I have head shot squirrels at 200 yards with this load as they laid in a hole with their head barely showing.

AA2700 is much easier on the throat than IMR 4064...we are talking night and day.

I used the Swifts to shoot ground squirrels and Rock chucks.

If you are shooting IMR 4064 in your Swift, you owe it to yourself and your rifle to try a lb of AA2700, this seems to be one of those loads that shoots in a lot of rifles.

3.....H-380 is no longer in the mix, great powder, 52SMK @ 4050 fps, max load, and CCI BR primer took out the barrel. I guess speed does kill.
My primary powder now is AA2700, it meters extremely well, and gives me very low E.S, and S.Ds. Velocity is likewise very good, although I do tend to download it more than I used too. This is another good reason for the 2700.
By adding 2" to the barrell (26) I am now getting aprox. 150 to 200 fps higher per charge than I was with the 24. AA2700 accomadates this very well, burns cleaner than varget or 380, and gives excellent accuracy from charges of 1 gr under starting, to max.
It works well with 50BK, 52MK, and 55 BK, Nosler BTs and their Custom Comps. Noticed no change in pressure or velocity swings in temps from 15 F to 90 F. Just a good all around powder. Also my throat seems to be holding up alot better too.
RL 15 is showing promise, but I have seen wild velocity spikes with this powder, also the S.Ds are on the high side so far. Still using Norma and RP brass and CCI BR primers.
Both these powders work real well in my 22.250 too.
 
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"One guy also said "

I'd certainly change my choice of 4064 based on that ! laffin !

Ball powders are hard to ignite and very dirty.

Here's the list:

Hodgdon[edit]
  • BL-C (Lot 2) for full-charge loads in the .308 Winchester and .223 Remington[14] was newly manufactured by Olin in 1961 with 10 percent nitroglycerin, 10 percent diphenylamine stabilizer, and 5.75 percent dibutyl phthalate deterrent, but without the flash suppressant used in the surplus military propellant.[11]
  • H110 was surplus .30 carbine powder[1] introduced in 1962[15] for loading the .30 carbine and magnum revolver cartridges.[14]
  • H335 was surplus Olin WC844[11] for full-charge loads in the .223 Remington and .308 Winchester.[14]
  • H380 was Olin WC852[11] for full-charge loads in the .30-06 Springfield.[14]
  • H414 was introduced in 1967[1] for full-charge loads in the .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield[14]
  • H450 was for large capacity and magnum rifle cartridges.[14]
  • H870 was surplus M61 Vulcan propellant introduced in 1959[16] for loading very large capacity magnum cartridges with bore diameter of 0.3 inches (7.6 mm) or less.[14]
  • HS5 was introduced in 1963 with 13.5 percent nitroglycerin[15] for shotgun field loads.[14]
  • HS6 was introduced in 1963 with 18 percent nitroglycerin[15] for heavy shotgun loads.[14]
  • HS7 was introduced in 1973 with 18 percent nitroglycerine[15] for magnum shotgun loads.[14]
  • Trap 100 was introduced in 1973 with 13.5 percent nitroglycerin[15] for shotgun target loads.[14]
  • HP38 was introduced in 1975 (similar to Olin 230)[10] for target loads in handguns.[14]
Olin[edit]
  • 230P Pistol propellant with 40 percent nitroglycerin introduced in 1960 and replaced by 230 in 1973 for handgun target loads.[1]
  • 231 reformulated 230 with 22.5 percent nitroglycerine and no deterrent coating so grain size and shape could be changed to minimize bridging in loading machines.[17]
  • 295P Pistol propellant introduced and discontinued in early 1960s.[10]
  • 296 reformulated 295P introduced in 1973 with 10 percent nitroglycerin for magnum revolver loads.[10]
  • 450SL Shotgun Loading propellant introduced in 1960 and discontinued in 1972.[6]
  • 452AA replaced 450SL and AA12S in 1973.[1]
  • 473AA replaced 500HS and AA20S in 1973.[1]
  • 500HS High-velocity Shotgun propellant introduced in 1960 and discontinued in 1972.[6]
  • 540MS Magnum Shotgun propellant introduced in 1960 and replaced by 540 in 1973.[6]
  • 571 magnum shotgun propellant introduced in 1973.[1]
  • 630P Pistol propellant introduced in 1968[1] and replaced in 1973 by 630 with 35 percent nitroglycerin and no deterrent coating for magnum revolver loads.[10]
  • 680BR Ball Rifle propellant introduced in 1968 and replaced by 680 in 1973 for .22 Hornet, .218 Bee and .256 Winchester Magnum.[1]
  • 748BR Ball Rifle propellant introduced in 1968 and replaced by 748 in 1973.[6]
  • 760BR Ball Rifle propellant (similar to H414) introduced in 1968 and replaced by 760 in 1973.[11]
  • 780BR Ball Rifle propellant introduced in 1968 and discontinued in 1972.[1]
  • 785 (similar to H450)[11] introduced in 1973 for the .243 Winchester.[10]
  • AA12S introduced in 1968 for standard 12 gauge shotgun loads and discontinued in 1972.[1]
  • AA20S introduced in 1968 for standard 20 gauge shotgun loads and discontinued in 1972.[1]
 
A buddy of mine has a .220 Swift and we are looking into doing some reloading for it, leaning towards a 50 SBK and either AA2700 or H-380.......looking at a load that will stay in a coyote. Open to suggestions as some of you forgot more than I know.....................thanks!!
My uncle swears by IMR 4350 in his swift shooting 53 grain SMK
 
" A FEW HAVE SAID" ----- laffin.

I'm sure they have run double blind tests on identical barrels in identical conditions,
I await reading them --------

The 220 Swift is a high intensity cartridge. They are ALL rough on barrels. Solution is simple --- Nitriding.
Yeah never been one to miss sleep worrying about throat erosion in a 220 swift :) they have always been hard on barrels and throats in particular. Use whatever powder works for you.....for me it is IMR4064 for accuracy and velocity.
 
Yeah never been one to miss sleep worrying about throat erosion in a 220 swift :) they have always been hard on barrels and throats in particular. Use whatever powder works for you.....for me it is IMR4064 for accuracy and velocity.
The old timers around my area say the swift chamber grows every time you close the bolt!!!
 

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