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.220 Swift

tomcat_blackknights
Any one out there that could give me some advice on sighting it in. (Rem 700) right now it shoots bout 2" groups at 100yds bout 2" low but cant hit a soda bottle at 300yds. havnt shot at a target that far yet. right now im just using factory hornady 60grn hollow points, but plan on hand loading some in with 55grn vmax in the near future. any advice on how far out i should plan on sighing it in at and any advice on power selection and weight primer selction ect would be a great help thank
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11 comments

Date Votes
  • tomcat_blackknights
    i have been on here before with this swift i bought from my dad. ive been having some accuracy problems. rem 700 vari x 3 scope. he only shot about 2 boxes of shells and said it was a great shooter. now when i got it it shoots fine at 100 yards out at 225 yards its all over the place from 5" to the left and high to 3" to the right and low. Ive tried 60, 55, 45 grn hornady factory rounds no joy. ive loaded my own with 55grn slugs with 37 grns of imr 4064 still no joy. i free floated the barrel nothing. i took the gun to a gunsmith he looked in the barrel said it was copperfouled. probably one of the worst he's ever seen. he told me to use some montana extreme on the barrel to clean it out. he said it would be alot of work to clean this gun out. he also told me the factory sporter barrels are junk (sales pitch for a custom barrel? not sure) and i should have him bed the action and lighten up my trigger.
    my question is i used up about 3/4 of the bottle of montana extreme and spent about 4 hours one night cleaning the gun and still no joy. can it be possible it still needs more cleaning? do i need to load up some hot 45 grn rounds to get the bullet to stabilize in flight. should i have him bed the action. any suggestions would be very helpful thanks guys
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  • dfletcher
    I sighted in my 22.250 to 2" high at 100 yds, I usually use a 52 grain BTHP or 55 grain VMax. You should be doing much better than 2" groups at 100 yds, hopefully handloads tighten that up.
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  • tomcat_blackknights
    i take that back i went and looked at my target its more like 1" groups. 2 out of the 4 shots key holed. but i guy should sight it in to shoot alittle high at 100yds? its shooting low about 1" at 100yds
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  • robert smith
    if 2 of 4 shots are keyholing you have something seriously wrong with your rifle. i always sight my rifles in a little high at 100 yards, about an inch.
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  • tomcat_blackknights
    why would that mean somthing is wrong with it? what could be wrong? what should it be doing at a 100yds other than sighted in to shoot 1" high. i cant see somthing being wrong with it other than operator error perhaps i jerked or flinched when i shot
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  • OleDuk
    blacklight, I believe you're using the wrong bullet. The Swift was first loaded with a 48 grain bullet which is much shorter than the 60 grain bullet you're shooting. The rifling twist in your piece is probably too slow to stabilize the longer bullet.

    Cheers,

    OleDuk
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  • dfletcher
    quote:Originally posted by tomcat_blackknights
    why would that mean somthing is wrong with it? what could be wrong? what should it be doing at a 100yds other than sighted in to shoot 1" high. i cant see somthing being wrong with it other than operator error perhaps i jerked or flinched when i shot


    Heavier than usual bullets require a faster rate of twist than lighter bullets in order to stabalize them in flight. Rate of twist refers to the rifling in the barrel. If your rifle was designed for use with bullets of the 40 grain to 55 grain weight then using a 60 grain bullet may be too heavy and it is not being stabalized (spinning) in flight. Picture a football not spiraling when passed.

    I have a Ruger 77V in 223 with (I think) a 1 in 12 rate of twist. The gun is great up to 55 grains, shoots poorly with 62 grain bullets and keyholes with 69 grains.

    Give a 50 or 52 grain bullet a try, should do better.
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  • idahoducker
    tomcat,
    FYI "keyholing" to shooters means the bullet is tumbling end over end and therefore may go through the paper leaving a long hole. Is that what you meant or were you refering to two round holes that were touching so as to resemble a key hole?
    If you're getting 1" groups at 100 yards and it's not "keyholing" your doing ok. That's nothing to sneeze at. You probably will do better with a different factory load or through load development of your own.
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  • sandwarrior
    quote:Originally posted by OleDuk
    blacklight, I believe you're using the wrong bullet. The Swift was first loaded with a 48 grain bullet which is much shorter than the 60 grain bullet you're shooting. The rifling twist in your piece is probably too slow to stabilize the longer bullet.

    Cheers,

    OleDuk


    +1 Lighten up your bullets and you will see the 'keyholing' stop and the accuracy get a lot better.
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  • lpaalp
    As stated above, the 60g ball is a little long for a Swift. Most (haven't checked the Remington) have a 1-14" twist, indicating a 55g ball is about max. Mine didn't like the 55g balls, but shoots little tiny groups with a 50g Vmax, Fed primers and Reloader 15.

    Many people like to sight their rifles in a little high at 100 yards, so not to have to elevate/shoot high at longer distances. IMO, this is particularly good for a Swift, since its shoots at high velocity/flat trajectory. I sight mine 3/4" high at 100 yards, so make no adjustment at 200 yards, aim slightly high at 300 yards.
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  • mark christian
    60gr is too heavy. Try bullets in the 52-55gr range and then let us know how they work out.
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