.220 swift or .223 var. rifle
In the market for a varmit rifle in either .220 swift or .223. I have a Rem 700 22-250 already but would like a new toy[8D] I will be putting a 6.5-20 Leupold on it and would like to stay under $700. Any comments on these 2 cal.
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If you will be shooting over 400yds you need to go with the Swift. 400 or less the .223 will be fine,also less recoil and cheaper to shoot. Don't let anyone fill your head with "the Swift is a barrel burner"junk. That may have been true 70-80yrs ago,but with modern bbls that is not a problem. 
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If you've got a 22/250 already I'd go with the .223 as a next gun. Chances are you are not going to see an appreciable performance difference by moving from the 22/250 to the Swift so instead get a .223 and shoot the cheaper ammo and components. Some of the Swift lovers will hate me for what I just said and am about to say but the truth stings a little. The Swift brass is far more expensive and hard to find, and then just try to find factory loads anywhere[;)] 0 -
the swift is the king of the hill, but unless you move the 22-250 first, it's probably not worth it. The swift loads can be found by remington, winchester, federal, norma (great brass), and hornady. All the wholesalers carry it too, but a store shelf is another issue. The "old school" is still under the impression that the gunrag writes back in the 60's were correct when they labled the Swift a barrel burner, but they couldn't be more wrong.
I will agree, with the 22-250 already being in the stable, go to the 223 and burn less powder.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
SWIFT 0 -
Definately the Swift if you are wishing to improve the performance of your .22-250 but if you want to shoot a lot, and do it for less money, then shoot the popular .223. 0 -
Just to be a little different, you could rechamber your 22-250 to the 22-250AI and equil the Swift's proformance and probably still have enough left over to get the 223 (or versa-visa, get the 223 than rechamber your 22-250).
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
.220 Swift all the way. Quite an impressive round period.
Paul
Mountain Magic Gunsmithing0 -
I doubt in the field you will get any performance difference b/w the .22-250 and the swift. Get a .223 shoot much more before barrel gets hot. 0 -
Frankly, I would pick a different caliber for other applications because the 22. - 250 is great. But, given the choice of the two you listed, I would pick the .223. Why? Because of the readily available supply of ammo and relatively cheaper price!
Sako Fan0 -
Much as I love my Swift, I have to admit adding one to your battery is not going change your capabilities dramatically. The Swift is the better cartridge, but the improvement is incremental. If you want to have shooter good inside of its range, the .223 is a good choice and capable of fine accuracy. If you want something different over the range of the .22-250, consider the .25-06 or something of that nature. Accurate, flat trajectory and better wind-bucking capability.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)0 -
All I can do is summarize here. Your 22-250 sits in the middle of the .223 and .220(closer to the .220) If you step up, you're not stepping up that much. If you step down, you're only buying some less expensive ammo. The maximum effective range for varmints in the .223 with the right bullet and the right twist in the right rifle is 600m. That's a lot of rights...somewhere there has to be a left. So, unless you go all out on a .223 you already have what you need for close up to 600m. I would suggest a Ruger .204 or a .17 possibly. That will give you a close range varmint rifle. If all you want is a close range varmint rifle maybe look at the .22 Hornet. Very inexpensive to load, good out to 250m.
Now, if you want to start tinkering all the way out to 1000 yds. I would look in the higher power .25's the 6.5's(!) or something in 7mm or any of the .308 dia. calibers, and forget having a little short range varminter. Your 22-250 can do all that right now.
There is a post on the paintball(reloading) forum regarding the 6.5 Grendel. Nononsense posted a spreadsheet there giving different ballistics for differrent calibers...very worth looking at for long range shooting. (remember the Grendel is only one launcher for a 6.5 bullet..many other 6.5's out there too.) -good luck with your decision.
We have the second amendment so that all the rest are secure....UNK>0
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