22. swift

ronn

anyone ever use one of these? What would they be like on foxes and would they be too strong for rabbits,
is it expensive to feed.:D
any info would be great, thanks

poulo6.5

ronn wrote: »

anyone ever use one of these? What would they be like on foxes and would they be too strong for rabbits,
is it expensive to feed.:D
any info would be great, thanks

It's a great round by all accounts, exelent on fox and if you shoot bunny's in the head it will take it clean off in the body and it will turn it inside out.
Can be expensive to feed tho.
I have a .223 and it is as capable as the .220 but cheaper to run. €10 a box for fmj's €12 a box for hollow points that's the cheep stuff
I prefer to use hornady v-max 55 gr at €27 a box. I have shot a fox out to 365m stone dead and countless bunny's

FOXHUNTER1

ronn wrote: »

anyone ever use one of these? What would they be like on foxes and would they be too strong for rabbits,
is it expensive to feed.:D
any info would be great, thanks

The swift is the dogs b#####k's I'm using an old ruger m77 mk2 with hornady 50gr vmax moly .
Basicly if you can see charlie he's in trouble

Sika98k

Well it will hammer foxes for sure. But it wont leave much for the table if you are shooting wabbits.

Another calibre[if you want to shoot deer also] would be the 22/250.
Possibly better availability of ammo and maybe a bit cheaper to run @25 euro a box.

Yes,yes now you have to use 60grain heads for deer:rolleyes:
The 60 grainers do seem to shoot ok in the 1 in 14 twist in most 22/250,s.
Anything over that weight wobbles a bit on its way to the final destination.

Both the 220 Swift and 22/250 are noisy rounds without a moderator

ronn

poulo6.5 wrote: »

It's a great round by all accounts, exelent on fox and if you shoot bunny's in the head it will take it clean off in the body and it will turn it inside out.
Can be expensive to feed tho.
I have a .223 and it is as capable as the .220 but cheaper to run. €10 a box for fmj's €12 a box for hollow points that's the cheep stuff
I prefer to use hornady v-max 55 gr at €27 a box. I have shot a fox out to 365m stone dead and countless bunny's

is the 223 not as powerfull as 220, ie would dat caliber do for both bunnies and foxes,
thanks for all the help/replies

poulo6.5

ronn wrote: »

is the 223 not as powerfull as 220, ie would dat caliber do for both bunnies and foxes,
thanks for all the help/replies

no the .220 is more powerful than the .223.
to make it simple the 220 has a bigger case than the .223 thus holds more powder = more bang.
same result tho.
if the ammo was cheaper and more available then the 220 would have no rival.
having said that there are a few lads out there that are followers of the 204.

but again i say they cant do anything that a .223 cant do at realistic ranges:D

paddy2008

Using a swift ruger m77 mk2 my self,8-32x50 swift scope,T8 mod with bipod.Firing 40 grain bt hornady @£;27 stg a box, lazer flat shooting round if ya can see him, he is dead!They split foxes like a stanly knife!:eek: VERY VERY happy with it!:D

Spannerman7

Great for foxes.
Bunnies, well you'd have to get CSI or someone in to put it all back together cos your left with a steaming mass of bone, fur and meat.

Tackleberrywho

Spannerman7 wrote: »

Great for foxes.
Bunnies, well you'd have to get CSI or someone in to put it all back together cos your left with a steaming mass of bone, fur and meat.

Headshots my man, headshots!

shoot a bunny in the had no matter what the calibre!

tac foley

I have a pretty old Winchester Model 70 in .220 Swift over in the USA, where of course, we don't have the expense of buying ammunition.

Until the arrival of the .204 Ruger, the factory stuff had the highest veocity of any commercial cartridge - around 4100fps - and was sure-fire medicine on ground-hogs et al as far as you could shoot with accuracy.

However, you guys have to buy factory stuff, and that sure as h*ll doesn't come cheap.

Newer factory loads in the ever-popular .223 are getting as near as it doesn't matter to the performance of the Swift these days, and if my only small cartridge had to be a new decision, then I'd go for the .223, or, if deer are on the menu, the 25-06.

And for those with sensitive ears, the Swift sounds like a .338LM fired in a tin shed.

tac

Sandyman

The lads are bang on, The 220 is arguably the King of the 22's and has been around since the 1930's. Fantastic fox round & V humane. The 55 grain Vmax hornady just thumps foxes and ususlly doesn't exit leaving no mess except where it should be. Not for shooting rabbitts really. I have read an arcticle where two top shots in UK and US believe that the 220 Swift will outperform the 30-06 springfield in one off Kills on "Red stags". That is mad incredible in know ?, they explain that the very unique mix of Velicity and small caliber knocks them as thought they were electrocuted. NB lads there guys are specialists and I certainly wouldnt advocate shooting any type of deer with my 220. The lads are right the .223rem is an excellent all round fox round when taking € into account still too strong for rabbits me thinks.

Sman

Sandyman

Hi Lads,
I read an arcticle where two highly respected riflemen from UK and US detailed the fantastic one shot clean kills that could be had on "red stags" with the 220 swift. One of them went as far to say that the 220swift could outperform the 30-06 springfield in one shot kills on red stags. It was down to the unique blend of velocity and the small caliber that killed them as if they were electrocuted. Doesnt sound like head shots either. NB Lads these are small caliber specialists/experts and I personally dont condone shooting any decent sized deer with a 220 swift or any other 22 for that matter.

Regards
Sman.

dan17

swift is a great gun . only ammo costs quiet a bit..and the noise....not caller the light switch for nothing...204 nearly just as good and cheaper ammo or else a 22/250 where i am lots of lads are getting them for varmiting only. depends on super too....

kieran1141

220 swift the best gun i had, sold it last year for 223 remmie vls (cheap ammo), no problem to fire flat out to 3 or 400 yards, shot nearly 200 foxes in a year with it, have a remmie 243 bdl and thats not even a patch on the 220, 55g v-max, that will do the job every time, shot a fox 1 night and we walked 410 steps to pick it up, i was paying 33 euro a box for ammo compared to 13 euro for 223, best of luck.

ronn

thanks for all the replys
anyone suggest a happy medium caliber for shooting rabbits and foxes,

poulo6.5

ronn wrote: »

thanks for all the replys
anyone suggest a happy medium caliber for shooting rabbits and foxes,

do you mean something less powerful. you could try a .22 magnum or .17 hmr either of these would be good on rabbits and fox out to about 120y.

kay 9

Get a .204 and ya wont look back;) Seems to be the way of the future.

poulo6.5

kay 9 wrote: »

Get a .204 and ya wont look back;) Seems to be the way of the future.

hardly a happy medium now is it.
however it is an excellent cal and if the op could afford 2 rifles then i would go with a .22lr and any one of the .204 .223 .220 or even a .22-250 and you would be into the next bracket of deer stalking

my choice was a .22lr for bunny's and a very odd close up fox. a .223 for fox and long range bunny's and a .308 for deer and the odd fox if it happens across me while stalking.

dan17

ronn wrote: »

thanks for all the replys
anyone suggest a happy medium caliber for shooting rabbits and foxes,

204 ruger....or for a wind challenge and a challenge on ur pocket a .17 rem centerfire...very flat shooting as well

Sandyman

I shot a fox one night with .17 HMR into the neck at 50-60 yards. It was not very nice, I didnt try it again. I would leave the HMR for rabbits unless you are a crack shot with top quality equipment.

Sman.

poulo6.5

Sandyman wrote: »

I shot a fox one night with .17 HMR into the neck at 50-60 yards. It was not very nice, I didnt try it again. I would leave the HMR for rabbits unless you are a crack shot with top quality equipment.

Sman.

There you go the voic of experience. I had a .22 mag wmr. And I shot fox regular at 80-120 yards.
I don't have a hmr but you hear allot of lads praising them for their lethal ability on fox out to 150. I have my doubts as it's only a 17-20 gr bullet.
But as I said I never had one so I can't vouch for it.

Sandyman

The 22 magnum is a class act on fox to 100 120 yds allright.You can easilly see from this thread that there is no universal round for shooting foxes and rabbits cleanyl. The rounds described are either too strong for rabbits of too light for charlie or vice versa. Also one of my friends shot 49 foxes out of 50 from a box of Remmy 45g Hornet bullets with a Bruno Hornet. He reckons the one fox he missed was asleep on a ditch but he hit the gate. Hornady do a fantastic Hornet round I believe.
Looks like you need to buy two rifles or just stew the rabbits(bits).
Sman

declan1980

buy a .223, and put a high magnification scope like a 6-24, or a 8-32 on it. use the low magnification for foxes, and use the high magnification for headshots on rabbits. if you only take headshots on rabbits, then there's loads of meat left for the pot

kay 9

I have a wmr and .223. I don't really rate the wmr on fox. I am a relatively good shot and too many will run off into a ditch and it's a pain in the h8le to find them. Different story with my friend .223. More humane.

Sandyman

I had a 22magnum and found that using Winchester bullets I couldnt shoot a decent group at 50 yards nor could it kill charlie cleanly. However I tried remmy 40 grain soft points and this was a total different story. It could knock charlie at ease to 120. Different shells suit different rifles i suppose.
Sorry for getting of the point. The 22 magnum might be a less expensive option to a 223 as 80% of charlies are shot inside 100 yds.


Sman

kay 9

I agree that different ammo will work better or worse, I found that cci and remmy were the best too but there was always 1 out of 6 or 7 that would scamper of with a squeel or limp into a drain or hedge. I love the .223 in knowing that what you hit goes down. Tis a pain when your 99% sure that you hit charlie and can't find him or spend a half hour looking.

ronn

thanks again lads n ladies for all your help.
think the 22 magnum might be the nxt step up. see what santa says:D