I cast my own bullets for most of my rifles, but nothing that small.
For the most part I just used factory stuff for small bore.
.220 Swift? Old school! Old school is the best school.
Are you varmint hunting with this? If so, where?
Are you varmint hunting with this? If so, where?
I'm an old hand with the Swift.
I won't offer specific load data because in my youth I wanted the highest possible velocity; I invariably used pressure test equipment to cull unsuitable lots of primers and powder. At the time I reckoned that about 1 in 5 lots of (DuPont and later IMR) 4064 was suitable for my purposes- later I found VihtaVouri N135 and N140 to be considerably more consistent batch to batch. I cannot speak to the properties of the 4064 produced by "IMR" under the ægis of Hogdon.
I like "ball" powders, but not when I'm pushing the upper pressure limit in a small bore cartridge like the Swift. Given the shape (which controls the burning characteristics) and small grain size of these powders the deterrent must either be more effective (chemically) or there must be more of it. This makes the loads more sensitive to variations in ignition, be it from the primer and/or other causes.
I'll note that the maximum average velocity I was able to achieve in a commodity grade rifle with a 26" barrel using a 55 grain bullet was over 3800 fps staying strictly within SAAMI specs. I doubt that you'll be able to achieve this with each and every lot of any particular powder. I'll also note that at 3800 fps when using Hornady's V-Max I experienced some bullet failures in flight- jacket disintegration followed by the core vaporizing. The 50 grain V-Max bullet (at speeds well in excess of 4000 fps) was even more problematic for me. I've proven to my satisfaction that the competitive Nosler product will hold together to speeds in excess of 4500 fps (224/244 H&H wildcat, quadriplex load) and still kill adequately- though at any given speed perhaps not as explosively as the A-Max. The base of the jacket on the Nosler is a considerably thicker than that of the V-Max, the jacket walls in the area where the rifling is impressed are a bit thicker.
For what it's worth I eventually came to the conclusion that wringing the highest possible velocity out of the Swift is more trouble than its worth. Any number of powders will drive a 55 grain bullet to 3650 fps out of a 26" barrel using readily available data, V-Max bullets will only rarely fail at this velocity (given a good barrel). Not only the powders noted above will do well for you here, you might also consider "ball" powders like H380 as you no longer need to worry about relatively small pressure variations- not every difference in peak pressure correlates to muzzle velocity- the area under the time-pressure curve shows a closer relationship to initial bullet speed. Unless you're hunting in situations where you really need the flattest trajectory there are few "negatives" to backing off a bit from maximum velocity and many "positives" (like longer barrel life).
Most 1 in 14" twist barrels will stabilize a 55 grain bullet traveling at 3650 adequately, at this speed many of the commercially available bullets kill vermin well.
Bob
I won't offer specific load data because in my youth I wanted the highest possible velocity; I invariably used pressure test equipment to cull unsuitable lots of primers and powder. At the time I reckoned that about 1 in 5 lots of (DuPont and later IMR) 4064 was suitable for my purposes- later I found VihtaVouri N135 and N140 to be considerably more consistent batch to batch. I cannot speak to the properties of the 4064 produced by "IMR" under the ægis of Hogdon.
I like "ball" powders, but not when I'm pushing the upper pressure limit in a small bore cartridge like the Swift. Given the shape (which controls the burning characteristics) and small grain size of these powders the deterrent must either be more effective (chemically) or there must be more of it. This makes the loads more sensitive to variations in ignition, be it from the primer and/or other causes.
I'll note that the maximum average velocity I was able to achieve in a commodity grade rifle with a 26" barrel using a 55 grain bullet was over 3800 fps staying strictly within SAAMI specs. I doubt that you'll be able to achieve this with each and every lot of any particular powder. I'll also note that at 3800 fps when using Hornady's V-Max I experienced some bullet failures in flight- jacket disintegration followed by the core vaporizing. The 50 grain V-Max bullet (at speeds well in excess of 4000 fps) was even more problematic for me. I've proven to my satisfaction that the competitive Nosler product will hold together to speeds in excess of 4500 fps (224/244 H&H wildcat, quadriplex load) and still kill adequately- though at any given speed perhaps not as explosively as the A-Max. The base of the jacket on the Nosler is a considerably thicker than that of the V-Max, the jacket walls in the area where the rifling is impressed are a bit thicker.
For what it's worth I eventually came to the conclusion that wringing the highest possible velocity out of the Swift is more trouble than its worth. Any number of powders will drive a 55 grain bullet to 3650 fps out of a 26" barrel using readily available data, V-Max bullets will only rarely fail at this velocity (given a good barrel). Not only the powders noted above will do well for you here, you might also consider "ball" powders like H380 as you no longer need to worry about relatively small pressure variations- not every difference in peak pressure correlates to muzzle velocity- the area under the time-pressure curve shows a closer relationship to initial bullet speed. Unless you're hunting in situations where you really need the flattest trajectory there are few "negatives" to backing off a bit from maximum velocity and many "positives" (like longer barrel life).
Most 1 in 14" twist barrels will stabilize a 55 grain bullet traveling at 3650 adequately, at this speed many of the commercially available bullets kill vermin well.
Bob
1. How many shots were you getting out of a barrel?
2. You should do a "all about rifle reloading" thread since you seem to know what you're doing.
1. It depends on the use to which the rifle is being put.
I'll assume that this is a varmint rifle, initially capable of about 0.5 MOA, and that you'd want to replace the barrel when accuracy degraded to ~1 MOA. If so, and if you're running really hot loads in a 416R stainless barrel, life will be on the order of 800 to 1000 rounds. Backing off 5-7%, say to 3650 FPM with a 55 grain bullet has nearly doubled the service life for me.
Unlike the 308 where many rifles will do about as well with a powder like 4895 as they will with 4064, I've never known anyone who was able to secure top accuracy with 4895 in the Swift. The trouble with 4064 is that as you approach the maximum pressure a very little more powder, say 0.2 grains, can make a BIG difference in pressure (and therefore temperature).
In this cartridge as you add powder in the 55000 CUP region a graph of 4895 showing peak pressure vs. charge weight is close to linear, that of 4064 is curved, as the maximum load is approached each 0.2 grains of powder added to the charge produces a BIGGER increase in pressure than did the previous addition of 0.2 grains to the base charge. This is why backing off ~2 to 2.5 grains from the maximum charge can produce a greatly reduced combustion temperature and longer barrel life.
A Swift built on a bench rest action with a top barrel may well prove capable of 0.15 -0.2 MOA; at this level of accuracy barrel life will be unfortunately short say 400 rounds.
A cautionary tale: a friend went east to rural Ohio to hunt groundhogs. He found a large pasture that contained more than he could count. 30 shots in about 12 minutes destroyed the barrel of his 22 Cheetah. The same thing will happen to any rifle shooting a fast varmint cartridge if the barrel is allowed to get hot.
2. I've thought about a book, but I doubt that the audience/market is there today. With the exception of the section on primers which is now obsolete, and also covering advances in bullet design, I could add little to Earl Naramore's Principles and Practice of Loading Ammunition, 952 p, Stackpole, 1954. Starting from scratch, and adding the graphics that the contemporary audience would expect, I estimate that such a book would run to perhaps 1400 pages. Adding a section on shotgun ammunition would add another 600 pages. The situation there is far worse; there's been no really good shotshell reference since the work done by Charles Askins Sr. in the 20's and Burrard's Modern Shotgun, Volume II, which mostly dates from the 30's.
I posted a lot on the long gone talk.shooters.com board along with a couple other gents who had been there and done that, "OKShooter" and "Sarge" (one may prefer anonymity, the other has passed away). I haven't seen an archive of those threads in years. I'm reluctant to put the effort into something as fleeting as a web site- even were it my own. Sic transit...
Bob
I'll assume that this is a varmint rifle, initially capable of about 0.5 MOA, and that you'd want to replace the barrel when accuracy degraded to ~1 MOA. If so, and if you're running really hot loads in a 416R stainless barrel, life will be on the order of 800 to 1000 rounds. Backing off 5-7%, say to 3650 FPM with a 55 grain bullet has nearly doubled the service life for me.
Unlike the 308 where many rifles will do about as well with a powder like 4895 as they will with 4064, I've never known anyone who was able to secure top accuracy with 4895 in the Swift. The trouble with 4064 is that as you approach the maximum pressure a very little more powder, say 0.2 grains, can make a BIG difference in pressure (and therefore temperature).
In this cartridge as you add powder in the 55000 CUP region a graph of 4895 showing peak pressure vs. charge weight is close to linear, that of 4064 is curved, as the maximum load is approached each 0.2 grains of powder added to the charge produces a BIGGER increase in pressure than did the previous addition of 0.2 grains to the base charge. This is why backing off ~2 to 2.5 grains from the maximum charge can produce a greatly reduced combustion temperature and longer barrel life.
A Swift built on a bench rest action with a top barrel may well prove capable of 0.15 -0.2 MOA; at this level of accuracy barrel life will be unfortunately short say 400 rounds.
A cautionary tale: a friend went east to rural Ohio to hunt groundhogs. He found a large pasture that contained more than he could count. 30 shots in about 12 minutes destroyed the barrel of his 22 Cheetah. The same thing will happen to any rifle shooting a fast varmint cartridge if the barrel is allowed to get hot.
2. I've thought about a book, but I doubt that the audience/market is there today. With the exception of the section on primers which is now obsolete, and also covering advances in bullet design, I could add little to Earl Naramore's Principles and Practice of Loading Ammunition, 952 p, Stackpole, 1954. Starting from scratch, and adding the graphics that the contemporary audience would expect, I estimate that such a book would run to perhaps 1400 pages. Adding a section on shotgun ammunition would add another 600 pages. The situation there is far worse; there's been no really good shotshell reference since the work done by Charles Askins Sr. in the 20's and Burrard's Modern Shotgun, Volume II, which mostly dates from the 30's.
I posted a lot on the long gone talk.shooters.com board along with a couple other gents who had been there and done that, "OKShooter" and "Sarge" (one may prefer anonymity, the other has passed away). I haven't seen an archive of those threads in years. I'm reluctant to put the effort into something as fleeting as a web site- even were it my own. Sic transit...
Bob
Bob i want to thank you for all the info. I had not idea it could get so deep into reloading. I will take every bit of your advice in try to find the best load for my gun. I know the opeator has alot to do with accuracy (and i not the best a shooting) but i would like to find a bullet i can call my own for the gun. Been shooting a 55 grain v-max hornady bullet out of it. I will admit I have only missed a couple of times but have not had a real long shot (anything past 200yrd) with it. And i have not had to chase anything i have shot with it either. So it all goes back to the "old" question, Why fix something that is not broke. I just want to try something new I guess. Well again thank your for the info and look forward to more of your threads for other rounds.
