Barrel life 220 swift

I would pour a chamber cast to see what shape the throat is in. Hot rod a cartridge and more wear occurs, shoot a gun more and more wear occurs, shoot a gun less and less wear occurs.
 
The Swift had a reputation. With modern powders, probably less a burner than previously. But any hot round will reduce bore life.
 
I have had several Ruger M77 rifles in .220 Swift, on my favourite one I had 1800 rounds in it and it shot as good as new. It all depends on how many targets you have, ie. Coyotes or gophers, how quickly you fire the rounds, and how hot you are loaded. The 1800 rounds I fired were max loads with 55 grain bullets.
 
I had a Hot Rod rifle in Win 223 SSM. The original barrel was pouched after 385 rounds. It was never fired more than three at any one firing. Heres the thing! You dont buy a Ferarri to drive 30 KM an hour. Stuff is made to be used as designed. Yeah you can tame the loads down but then just buy a gun designed for that speed and DONE. Im old and have owned many rifles in many calibres and if Hoyt got 1800 rounds with a 220 Swift then he has a secret that I wasnt aware of. Especially if running full tilt loads. My big reason for switching first too the 22-250 and then the AI version.
 
hoytcanon said:
I have had several Ruger M77 rifles in .220 Swift, on my favourite one I had 1800 rounds in it and it shot as good as new.
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That doesn't say much for the accuracy when new... lol

I wouldn't buy a used .220 Swift unless the price was allowing for a re barrel. It's an action and a stock... and maybe a scope.
 
guntech said:
That doesn't say much for the accuracy when new... lol

I wouldn't buy a used .220 Swift unless the price was allowing for a re barrel. It's an action and a stock... and maybe a scope.
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That is what it was sold for... but the 24" heavy barrel was still shooting "hunting great" when it was sold.
 
Hmatt said:
Friend of mine looking at a ruger m77 heavy barrel .220 swift. Curious if they are a barrel Burner or not after looking at ballistics. Lol
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The 22-250 is a bit hard on barrels. The Swift is even worse. It was designed to push 55gr bullets to extreme velocities by burning large amounts of powder in a small bore. There is no combination of that, which does not involve burning out the throat at an accelerated pace. Shoot the thing to overheating and that wear rate increases.

I think the comments above about budgeting for a barrel replacement are good advice.
 
I have quite a bit of experience with the 220 Swift, having owned at least 6 of them, starting in the 1970's.
They do burn barrels, but not nearly as badly as many seem to think.
I got over 2000 rounds out of a Ruger M77V tang safety, and it was accurate enough to win turkeys at
the local shoots. I rebarrelled it when it would not longer shoot under 1 moa consistently.
One needs to take care of their Swift, not shoot it until the barrel is so hot you can't touch it, and keep it
clean. As one poster mentioned, why would you buy a Swift and then load it down to extend barrel life. It
should be loaded to it's potential. It is fast and flat shooting, why not enjoy it? Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
I have quite a bit of experience with the 220 Swift, having owned at least 6 of them, starting in the 1970's.
They do burn barrels, but not nearly as badly as many seem to think.
I got over 2000 rounds out of a Ruger M77V tang safety, and it was accurate enough to win turkeys at
the local shoots. I rebarrelled it when it would not longer shoot under 1 moa consistently.
One needs to take care of their Swift, not shoot it until the barrel is so hot you can't touch it, and keep it
clean. As one poster mentioned, why would you buy a Swift and then load it down to extend barrel life. It
should be loaded to it's potential. It is fast and flat shooting, why not enjoy it? Dave.
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Well put comment Dave! I have had a lot of feedback on my Ruger m77 swift and these are the types of comments I like to hear and makes me wanna keep it and see the potential it has first hand! I’d imagine it’s like a car when the tires wear out you replace em!
 
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