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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

220 Swift?


cougar69

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And can't 270WIN be made from 30-06? I seem to recall that 270WIN is 30-06 necked down to 27 caliber.

270 can be made from 30/06 but the 270 cartridges' both cartridge and over all length is slightly longer I presume to prevent it from being chambered in an 06 rifle. Years ago I ran 06 brass through a 270 die and it worked fine but the neck was slightly shorter than factory 270 brass.

Seems to need an awful lot of work, since the 220 Swift is semi rimmed. That means you have to, or should be, squeezing the base down smaller than the diameter of the rim.

I've "heard" but don't recall where, 250 and 300 Savage will form to 220 Swift with a single pass-through a sizing die. If its on the net it has to be true!! I'd suggest some research before shelling out the bucks for the obsolete Savage brass. The Swift is a semi-rimmed but I believe the rim is the common 470-473 sized rim used on numerous non magnum rifle cartridges.

 

The 220 Swift a cartridge ahead of its time never hit the big time as a factory chambering because it prematurely wears barrels. Possibly barrel metallurgy technology has improved and barrel life might be extended. If you happen to be considering a re-barrel or a mil-surp conversion 22-250 might be a better alternative. Been almost 30 or more years since I read about it. I believe 220 Swift was covered in great detail in one of Ackley's books. If I remember correctly. the 220 Swift accuracy begins declining after a few hundred rounds.

 

An old retired gunsmith I had an interesting conversation with several years ago in a hospital waiting room. Claimed his Swift projects shot so flat. Sighted in and aimed an inch high at a hundred yards is dead on at 400 with a 45gr slug, only an inch to an inch and a half below with 50 and 55gr projectiles. Keep in mind, my thoughts from the memory cells buried deep down in my brain and net chatter in general. May not be necessarily 100% reliable. Again if I recall correctly he claimed he re-barreled Jap rifles to 220 Swift and also did 257 Roberts and 300 Savage. Saying something about the projects not needing a bolt face alteration but possibly he was speaking of 257 and 300. If I'm not mistaken the parent Jap cartridge as well as most post WW2 military cartridges also has the 470-473 rim.

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Ackley loved the 220 Swift, and championed it as a hunting round for animals up to, and including, deer. However he used custom bullets that were essentially solid copper, bored out with a small lead core. Probably the equivalent of a Nosler partition bullet. Though, solid copper ones made now days might work also. He mentions using a 220 Swift to hunt desert mules/burros. Including one test where they put an Army helmet on a burros head and shot it. Bullet penetrated, helmet and head, and exited through the helmet on the far side. But, that was done at fairly close range. He felt it was more effective than the -06s and 8mms that were also being used.

The rim diameter is .473, however, the base of the case, where the web is, is around .443. So the case is longer and narrower than the 22/250, which is made from 250 Savage brass. Whether running 22/250 or 250 Savage brass will grow enough when run through a 220 die is unknown.

I wish you had posted this last year, I basically gave away about 200 rds of once fired and new 220 Swift brass.

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My best guess, probably start with trimmed 06 or 270 brass although the best bet would be factory 220 brass. With the shortages slowing down significantly possibly the manufactures are making some of the slower sellers again. Possibly Midway or Graff's are taking back orders again. My back ordered 257 Roberts brass took nearly two years to arrive at nearly 3 times the original cost.

 

Several years ago, shooting buds and I scored thousands of Canadian 30/06 blanks dirt cheap. We reformed it in to numerous calibers but the swift wasn't one of them. I reformed some into 243 and 22/250 just to prove I could. As long as the rim is close enough for the extractor to grab ahold, properly fire-formed. I can't see why it wouldn't work for the Swift. Don't be foolish however and fire form any brass without high quality shooting glasses. I found STP and lanolin a close second were the best lubes for reforming brass. Use as little as possible to avoid any dents.

 

You might try posting a WTB ad on the Cast Boolit or Handloaders. com boards. I'm certain there are some handloaders willing to share some once fired Swift brass.

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And I made 7x57 brass out of those 30-06 blanks (Thanks Again, Az.) Pure lanolin is the best case lube I have ever used. I'll never use any other. Of course, the pound jar I bought for ten bucks on amazon will probably last me the rest of my life anyway.

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And I made 7x57 brass out of those 30-06 blanks (Thanks Again, Az.) Pure lanolin is the best case lube I have ever used. I'll never use any other. Of course, the pound jar I bought for ten bucks on amazon will probably last me the rest of my life anyway.

Something I read on another board. Combining pure lanolin with rubbing alcohol, putting the solution in a pump sprayer is supposedly the same as some commercial sizing lubes. Others posted using paint thinner or other chemicals mixed with lanolin or even mutton tallow to make to make a spray-on case lube.

 

I've never cared much for lanolin. In the 50's Mother rubbed it on our hair to keep it in place on picture days. Despite being typical boys. She had no problems getting us into the bathtub to wash it out, getting rid of the smell.

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I bought some Dillons spray on case lube years ago and it was lanolin and rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. The plastic bottle disintegrated before I used it up, but it did work well. Put the shells in a cookie sheet, spray, roll around. I experimented with making my own, but I never could get it right. Not that Dillon wanted too much for it, it is just inconvenient to have to mail order it. I couldn't get it to dissolve in the alcohol. It is just easier for me to dab the fingers in the lanolin jar.

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