Ruger M77 .220 Swift needs a new barrel

[Lennyjoe]

My nephew has his grandfather’s.220 Swift rifle that was willed to him and it needs a new barrel. Suggestions on course of action he should take? He’s not a gunsmith but wants to keep the rifle for sentimental value and is still considering getting a new barrel installed.

First place he found online is McGowen Barrels out of Montana quoted him $370. Is that a decent price for a .220 Swift?

 

[troy fairweather]

Call ruger they may rebarrle it.

 

[earlthegoat2]

How does it shoot?

Sorry to ask this lame question but does anyone actually know if it even needs a new barrel or is that just a rumor surrounding the rifle?

 

[Ks5shooter]

220 swift are very fast at barrel burning out.22-250 a close second.

 

[Nuclear]

That was the thought a long time ago, then someone starting cleaning the barrels very thoroughly and found out most were just very fouled with bullet gilding metal. Shoot it first to see how it shoots, then try cleaning the gilding metal out of the barrel, then replace the barrel is the order I’d try.

 

[Picher]

220 swift are very fast at barrel burning out.22-250 a close second.

I had a .22-250 and, being aware of the chances of burning out the barrel, handloaded rounds a little lower than factory velocity, yet still very formidable.

The mistake I made was to not clean the bore during varmint season, then forgot about it in the off-season. I didn't have a rack at the apartment, so leaned the rifle against the metal sewer vent roof pipe in the walk-in closet. By the time I "woke-up" as to the situation, the bore was heavily-pitted, but still functional. I cleaned it well, then sold it cheap to a teen, looking for a cheap rifle to start varmint hunting. It served him well!

Meanwhile, I bought a new rifle in the same chambering. Later, I sold that one because I stopped "serious" varmint hunting. The first few (teen) years of 'chuck' hunting in the 1950s, I used my .30-06 with a 2.5X scope...because we did the varmint hunting as practice for deer hunting and didn't have the money for a large variable scope, which were very expensive back then. Still, I averaged over 200 yards for kills one year that I kept records.

 

[Picher]

220 swift are very fast at barrel burning out.22-250 a close second.

I had a couple of .22-250s and didn't have burn-out problems, but we didn't have varmint shooting "orgies" here. We were lucky to shoot two or three woodchucks each at an outing.

 

[LoonWulf]

I had a couple of .22-250s and didn't have burn-out problems, but we didn't have varmint shooting "orgies" here. We were lucky to shoot two or three woodchucks each at an outing.

I need to get the .22-250AI I built for my ffl buddy back and see how its doing. Im expecting it to show some serious ware just because if how we shoot, and how much powder it shoves down that little hole.
Theres ways to reduce the amount of ware on the barrel, but often they defeat the purpose of having a high intensity repeater......so i just go with changing out the barrel lol.

 

[Gordon]

Yes it needs to be heavily cleaned for a few HOURS with a tight fitting stainless brush , heavy duty nasty bore cleaner like Butch's or worse , then alot of tight patches with some bore paste and lastly some Hoppes for final cleaning . The barreled action with out the bolt should be removed from the stock of course first . Then if it doesn't shoot within 2" at 100 yarsds with barrel not touching the forend wood, you spend your money. Yes McGowen is a decent barrel for a low end installed price and they will do it right. You must keep it clean of course so you will need that cleaning gear I suggested. That's reality !

 

[earlthegoat2]

220 swift are very fast at barrel burning out.22-250 a close second.

Yes that is why I asked. Sometimes myth and legend cause conclusions to be drawn too quickly. I’m not saying that 220 Swift being a barrel burner is a myth or a legend but sometimes the line, “220 Swift is a legendary barrel burner” can cause sweeping judgements to be made too quickly.

 

[Varminterror]

McGowen Barrels out of Montana quoted him $370.

I ran through McGowen's barrel builder just now to be certain, but that price includes thread, chamber, and installation to your receiver. You'll have a bit of cost in shipping, which isn't a $0 number, but it's not prohibitive (usually under $100 both ways). McGowen barrels are fine, not fancy, better than what was originally on it, and McGowen's barrel work is good, also better than the work originally done to the factory barrel.

Personally, I generally pay $350 for my blanks, and another $350 for installation (thread, chamber, & muzzle thread) when I use Bartlein barrels, $700 total, and pay a steeply discounted $450 for Proof Research prefit barrels (like screwing in a lightbulb) which are typically $650 - or $320 for their blanks which are typically $450, plus $350 for thread, chamber, and muzzle thread by my local rifle builder. I wanna say GA Precision was $950 the last time I asked them, including the barrel cost, for barrel and installation - which would have been a couple of years ago. So $370 plus shipping both ways for an installed barrel is cheap. Really cheap. You may or may not be interested in exploring higher quality barrels, but as I mentioned, McGowen will be a marked improvement over the factory barrel at a VERY cheap price.

 

[Lennyjoe]

How does it shoot?

Sorry to ask this lame question but does anyone actually know if it even needs a new barrel or is that just a rumor surrounding the rifle?

Groups are starting to open up even with handloads. Once was a tack driver is now about 2-3” @50 yds and worse farther out. I’ll have him spend some time with copper fouling agents and a good bore brush and go from there.

 

[lightman]

I would start with a good cleaning and then shoot it with some decent ammo to see how it shoots. I have no experience with Mcgowan barrels but just about any custom barrel will be better than a factory Ruger barrel. And that price will be hard to beat.

As far as barrel wear goes, some calibers will wear a barrel out faster than others. Its not a myth! I have some personal experience with 6.5-284, 243 Winchester, 220 Swift and 22-250. A busy afternoon shooting on a large Prairie Dog town can use up a substantial portion of barrel life on any of the above, and several more that I didn't name.

Buying your first custom barrel is kinda like buying your first expensive scope. The first one is the hardest!

 

[homers]

I think thatquote from McGowen is for the barrel only, not installation. Base installation starts at $205, barrel pre-fits start at $315 and there is a note at the end, if you go custom barrel, that installation is not included.

 

[WVRJ]

Many things will cause a rifle to lose accuracy.Unless the round count is known to be high,maybe it would be a good idea to explore some other things that will degrade accuracy.Bedding,optic,barrel fouling,scope mounts all come to mind.

 

[Picher]

Sell it and get a brand-new rifle in the caliber you really want. Hard to beat a .30-06, .270 Win, or whatever works best in your hunting or shooting conditions, competitive disciplines, etc..

 

[35 Whelen]

I've owned three 220 Swift's; a Ruger No.1, a Ruger 77V (incredibly accurate) and a Remington 700 Classic. I throttled the crap out of the loads in the Ruger's running 55 gr. Sierra SBT's right at 3900 fps. The barrels never got shot out. Just don't let them get too hot and most of all CLEAN THEM.
I read an article by Bob Milek years ago in which he told of his Ruger 220 Swift suddenly not grouping anymore. He had been on an extended prairie dog hunt and had failed to clean the copper from the barrel. A thorough cleaning fixed it right up. Try it.

35W

 

[Varminterror]

Barrels do wear out. Eventually, the early rifling is fried and thorough cleaning just rubs out chunks of that firecracked section of the bore, as seen below.

 

[Anchorite]

For ease of the entire operation, I suggest PacNor. They will take off the old pipe and screw one a new one. Very easy to deal with, and inexpensive to boot.

 

[IndianaBoy]

Yes it needs to be heavily cleaned for a few HOURS with a tight fitting stainless brush , heavy duty nasty bore cleaner like Butch's or worse , then alot of tight patches with some bore paste and lastly some Hoppes for final cleaning . The barreled action with out the bolt should be removed from the stock of course first . Then if it doesn't shoot within 2" at 100 yarsds with barrel not touching the forend wood, you spend your money. Yes McGowen is a decent barrel for a low end installed price and they will do it right. You must keep it clean of course so you will need that cleaning gear I suggested. That's reality !

Spending hours running a stainless brush back and forth in the bore is a surefire way to need a new barrel. Get a good non-ammonia bore cleaner like Bore Tech Eliminator and let the solvent work for hours. That way you aren't scouring out rifling with a stainless steel brush. If you want to try an abrasive cleaner use something proper like JB Bore Paste on a patch.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/how-and-when-to-utilize-abrasive-bore-cleaners.7094636/

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/how-and-when-to-utilize-abrasive-bore-cleaners.7094636/