Coyote Hunting (220 swift)

Question

My last question was about either the 22-250 or the 223, some people told me there favorite was the 220 swift. I have never shot it or seen one. Is it good and what is the difference between the last 2 rounds i asked about

Answer 1

All the calibers you spoke of do the job. But lets remember that when the .223 came out, and became a NATO round, it became widely available, because its a great round.

Its a matter of common cent$. If 10 calibers do the same job, that is to say accurately propel a .22 caliber 55 grain projectile to a speed sufficient that will kill the game at hand, why would anyone want to use the most expensive, and often hard to find round.

Think about this when you consider any gun for any purpose. The 220 swift is super fast, like the 22-250. But why??? I have killed coyote at 300 plus yards with an Armalite AR15 style rifle. No worrys about bullet drop, or energy. Its a 60 pound dog.

Get a good rifle in 5.56x45, and shoot .223 or 5.56. It will serve you well. I would consider the Ruger mini 14 sub MOA. It can be tuned to your ammo so that even military ammo will shoot well.

Good luck, and keep it simple sir!!!

Answer 2

At the risk of getting some thumbs down here -- avoid the .220 swift.... Its a decent cartridge but in my opinion it is obsolete.... Its ballistics characteristics are similar to the .223 but at an ammunition costs of double and triple the price. It doesnt make sense to use the .220 swift when there is no clear advantage...... On top of that not all rifle manufacturers make a rifle that will shoot that cartridge.... The 22-250 has a longer reach and more knockdown power than the .220.... Stick with the .223 if you will be target shooting and hunting..... or 22-250 if its strictly hunting....

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

http://www.pacinfo.com/~dropinsator/char...

Answer 3

I guess I'm the odd man out, I happen to love the 220 swift, reloading for it isn't that bad, I get far superior performance from the 220 swift than out of any 223 I've ever shot.  

Answer 4

There is really no major advantages, and very little if any by choosing the 220 swift over the 22-250 or the 223.* The 220 Swift has a higher muzzle velocity, but not enough to make it worthwhile to use it.*

Answer 5

While the 223 is certainly a VERY common caliber with all kinds of ammo available. The 222 Rem is neither RARE nor HARD TO COME BY. I just bought 2 boxes today at the local WalMart. All will "do the job". If pelt hunting check out CoyoteGods.com and see their reports on the 17 Remington but believe me, since 1950 the 222 has done it all in varmints! The wide variety of bullet sizes in the 224 diameter gives it even more versatility. The 223 is easier to find a RIFLE in but there is NOTHING I feel I'm LOSING  shooting a 222. If in terested in shots over 350 yards on a REGULAR basis the 22-250 and 220Swift are super duper......if you dont mind having a large exit hole in the pelt.

The 222, 223, 22-250 and 220 swift all shoot the same Diameter bullets. The 222 is the "slowest" at approx 3100 fps and the Swift is over 4110 fps (norma factory loads, others vary slightly but still FAST). The 223 is about100 fps second faster than the 222. Out to 300 yards FEW can tell the difference shooting in the field.

Not all will agree here. This is just my experiences and advice after 40 yrs of shooting the 22 centerfires. Ive had every factory caliber in the 224 diameter and unless you really get into LONG range hunting, the 222 or 223 will do it all for you without major muzzleblast and barrel wear. For both ammo is available very reasonable and are easy to reload.

My own coyote / varmint rifle is a Fajen stocked Remington 722 in 222 Remington, originally factory made in 1950. I have no need for any other BUT the 17 Remington or newer 17 Fireball will give you one very DEAD coyote WITHOUT an exit hole tearing up the pelt.( the 22 cals are .224 diameter and 50-55grain, for the most part and the 17 is smaller, 25-30 grain and .172 diameter)  At just under 4000 fps the 17 will shoot FLATTER than the 222 and not leave a messy exit but the RIGHT load/bullet combo in the 222 will do similar but not as far out. I feel the 22 cals just have a better versatility with a larger range of bullets from 35 up to 60 and MORE if wanted and the rifle twist in your rifle of choice will shoot them accurately, but I will admit the 17 Remington is VERY impressive. Read the forums in the coyotegods.com for LOTS of opinions and advice from those that REALLY hunt coyotes and you will be too.

Calling coyotes does NOT normally require LONG shots Proper set up will almost always give you shots under 100 yards.

Buy the one YOU like and in your budget. All the calibers mentioned will cleanly take a coyote or other predator/varmits with a PROPERLY placed bullet.......which is more important than ANY statistics anyone can quote.

I personally love the 222 rem. If I were to buy another varmint rifle it would be in a 17 Rem but Ive had NO complaints in the 223s, 22-250s or 220swift with the exception of the last two being very LOUD by comparison and I feel are overpowered for no reason unless you specialize in WAY THE HECK OUT THERE shots where FEW can consistantly place a bullet for a human kills on their target.

Good luck! Have FUN.....ballistics CAN get TOO involving if you let them. ALL WORK! Enjoy and BE SAFE out there!

SKR

Answer 6

I agree with using the .223 for target shooting/varmint hunting or the 22-250 for strictly hunt with.  The 220 swift, while a wonderful nostalgia piece, is quickly becoming a show piece only.  The major drawback on the swift is cost of ammo.  At slightly higher than $1 per shot, the 22-250 is half that and 223 is a third of the cost.  The second drawback, if you can afford to shoot alot with it is that the hellacious speed of the swift causes the barrel to wear out twice as fast as it's competing rounds.

Answer 7

Don't let anyone tell you the .220 Swift isn't a good cartridge. It has far more power than the .223, and is just as accurate. Anyone that says otherwise has zero experience with the .220. Not saying it's the best for every instance, but it has it's merits. It's one of, if not the, most versatile hyper-velocity .22 centerfire available. You can use anything from custom made 20 grain varmint bullets to 90 grain target bullets in it, depending on the rate of twist of the rifling. My factory Remington M700 Classic will put 5 rounds into 0.250" at 100 yards with a 3-9x Leupold, and I have the targets and witnesses to prove it.

True, there isn't a whole lot of difference in terms of power or velocity between the .22-250 and the Swift, but either is an excellent choice. I for one am a big fan of the Swift. I have taken several whitetail deer with it (all one shot kills that never ran more than a few yards, shot through the lungs, it is also a legal caliber where I live).

The Swift got bad press when it first came out, barrel steel was softer, and everyone using one then thought you had to push it to the limit. 4000fps was the magic number back then. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't wear out barrels or brass any faster than any other cartridge. I've reloaded my Swift brass 3-4 times without any signs of case head separation or over expanded primer pockets.

In closing I'd like to say this: If anyone tries to push you away from the Swift, or tell you it's obsolete, or tell you it's not accurate, etc, needs to spend more time actually shooting the Swift and less time playing armchair-ballistician.

Any of the 3 you mentioned are excellent choices, you wouldn't be disappointed with any of them, I just prefer the Swift, because I love to prove the naysayers wrong.

Whatever you decide on, have fun!