220 Swift or 22-250?

[1948CJ2A]

I can remember "back in the day" I had a reloading manual that clearly showed the 7x57 Mauser could out preform the 7mm-08 Rem. There was an asterisk/addendum somewhere on the page that indicated the loads were only for modern rifles and should not be used in older platforms.

Fast forward to the last few years, heck maybe even decade. This is no longer the case. Most if not all of the updated reloading manuals I read and own show the 7mm-08 to slightly outperform the 7x57. If you dig in you'll realize they dropped the pressure in the 7x57 handloads down to near that of factory loads. Even with that, some of the books still maintained the nomenclature for the safety warning. Furthermore if you weren't around or messing with this stuff 20+ years ago you wouldn't have any idea this was the case.

My point to all this being, as we as a firearms enthusiast community move forward, the various vendors of the components we use (firearms, ammo, reloading gear, etc.) tend to marginalize the once more clearly defined differences in our relatively vast pool of choices. I try and take everything with a grain of salt. What these reloading manuals today tell us aren't necessarily the gospel. Of course, safety first as always.

 

[1948CJ2A]

FWIW, my 22-250 twist rate on my Sako is 1-14", which was pretty much the standard for many years and may very well still be. If I wanted to shoot heavier/longer bullets, I'd just rebarrel to a quicker twist. Heck if I did that I would be tempted to rechamber to a 22-250 Ackley or 224 TTH.

The 22-250 Ackley Improved is closer to a Swift.

 

[Geno]

I've held off on this post, as I would on any .25-06 versus, .270, versus .280, versus .30-06. My take, buy what you want, disregard the others' opinions. It's your rifle. Seems to me, such posts are intended to stir-the-pot. I ain't no pot-stirrer.

Does the Swift off higher velocity? Perhaps, but is the .22-250 not sufficient? I get 4,400 FPS with the factory-loaded 35 grain Hornady SuperFormance ammunition. Let me tell you, out of my Winchester M70 Stealth, those are durned accurate! I'm looking through a Nightforce 12-42X56 scope. They might even be more accurate than me, but I refuse to give-up-the-ghost! So, that wipes out velocity and accuracy.

Efficiency?! Define it. If I have to drive 3 hours to buy Swift, well, there you go. Cost to run? Check prices and availability. Now, if I had to choose between the .220 and .22-250 in the identical rifle, say an M70, you might have a plank to stand on. Such was not the case. Stealth does not come in .220 Swift. Until then, I'm content with my .22-250.

How content? I have over 1,000 rounds of said aforementioned factory ammunition here. That suggests that I intend to re-barrel, and continue to reload the .22-250. You want a Swift...God bless you. Buy it, and shoot it well.

Geno

 

[andym79]

Well as much as I wanted a Ruger 1 in 220 swift. I have decided to get neither cartridge for now, but stick with my 223 and 6.5x55 as hunting guns!

The 22-250 or Swift are overkill for most of what I want.

 

[Plastikosmd]

That is too bad. They are great rounds. My 22-250 is far from overkill as I not only load it up but down, running subsonic with some loads. It is quite versatile. If u reload, the swift and 22-250 are some of the most fun to work with due to their velocity range

 

[Manny]

My varmint round is the venerable .223, with really no need for anything more. Still, the hot stepping .22's have always held a fascination for me and I've read & studied extensively on them over the years. Should I ever pull the trigger on such a weapon my dream gun will be chambered in .22-250 AI to deliver the best of all worlds IMHO. The ability to shoot factory .22-250 ammo & end up with a fire-formed AI case, and that resulting case having the capacity of the swift with a case design that is less prone to stretching and a base case that is far more available.

Maybe one of these days....

 

[Scot43]

As I've said, I own rifles in both 22-250 and 220 Swift. I'm primarily a predator hunter and calling coyotes in SE Kansas is a passion of mine from October thru Feb. Early season I use anything from a 221 Fireball up and thru the 223. Late season, call shy coyotes require the use of a rifle with more punch and that is where my 22-250s and 220 Swifts come into play because of longer shot situations. I hand load for every varmint/predator rifle I own. My 220 Swift with a 50 grain Nosler @ 3900 fps is the King. Yes, I can load the 22-250 with the same bullet to the same fps BUT we would be talking a max+ load with a high chamber pressure and I see no need to abuse a rifle in that fashion. Each to their own, that's just how I look at the situation. If it came down to only having one coyote hunting rifle, it would be a difficult decision between the 22-250 and the Swift. I've shot and enjoyed both of them for over 4 decades.