Questions about the 220 Swift

[Critch]

I am going to convert my .308 Savage 10FP to a 220 Swift, but I have some questions. Should I use the 1/12 or 1/14 twist? Is a 24 inch barrel long enough for a Swift or should I go to 26 19nches? And one more, will I have to change the follower?

TIA.

[Mike Moss]

I have a Swift as one of my primary varmint rifles. My barrel is an orginal 26" Winchester SS tube twisted 1-14".

It shoots the 50 gr Blitz King quite well at 4000 fps and is a 400 yd rifle for sure, maybe more.

If you want a sure thing death ray for those ranges the Swift is the orginal and still not beat. For a new barrel and the usual bullets I would go 1-12".

If you want to shoot further then consider a 6mm of some capacity or a fast twist .224" if you want to try something different then look at a 1-9" and the 75 gr Hornady AMax. That bullet has a Ci of .435 which is better than what most varmint bullets can boast.

For me the path of least resistance is the 243 shooting 55's thru 100's twisted 1-10"

[Jack]

I'd want a 26 inch barrel, if I could get it. Heck,in a varmint rifle that isn't going to be toted much, I'd take 28.
1-14 should work for bullets up to and including 55 grain. 1-14 was the twist rate Swifts originally came in.

[Rapier]

Just sold my 220. I would go with a faster twist, just in case you want to shoot a little heavier bullet, like a 60 or 69. The 1-12 will stabalize the 40s. The 1-7 in my 22-250 AI will stabalize down to a 55 gr so you could go up to a 1-9 twist and still get into the 40s and to the heavy 75s.
Ed

[fabsroman]

I thought rate of twist was the opposite. You want a high rate of twist for the light bullets, but a slow rate of twist for the heavier bullets. Maybe I should start another thread about "rate of twist" and which is better. I am working on building an AR-15 and AR-10 and both will have custom uppers. So, rate of twist might be an issue for me.

[rem 700]

Forget the 220 get a 22-250; popularity over the 220 with the same power :) :)

[Cobra]

Have 2 Swifts and a 22-250, prefer the Swifts but they have about the same capability. Believe the 243 and 22-250 use the same bolt face as the 308 so you might save a bit there and they are outstanding calibers.

[Rapier]

Fab,
The rate of twist is faster with a lower number. 1-8 is faster than 1-18. The heavier the bullet the lower the number, the faster the twist, to stabalize the bullet.

Example, optimum twist rate; a 30 cal., 150 to 200 = 1-10 twist while a 220 to 250 should have a 1-8 twist.

Twist rates and velocity might just be the area in shooting for largest amount of erronious information and old wives tales.
Ed

[Catfish]

Fabs,
Actually it is the bullet lenth and not weight that you set twist to, but since we are usually talking of lead bullets the longer they are the heaver they are, in the same cal. But if your compairing a copper bullet to a lead bullet in the same weight the copper bullet will be much longer. And yes the longer, heaver the bullet the faster you have to spin it to get it to stableize.

[fabsroman]

Okay, lower numbers meaning faster twist rates makes complete sense. One turn in eight inches is faster than one turn in ten inches. It also makes sense that heavier/longer bullets need more twist to stabilize them.

Thanks for clearing this up guys.

By the way, I have a Ruger 77MKIIVT in .220 Swift and I love the gun. Problem is that I don't get out enough to shoot it.