ruger .220 swift not shooting good.

[manstalliong_gregmo]

I have a ruger vt .220 swift in SS. And for some reason I have just never gotten to shoot that good. Ive tried a ton of different loads and really good cleaning practices, but nothing has seemed to do the trick. So im thinking about trading it in for the new remington 700 vtr in .22-250. Anyone know anything about them? Good idea or Bad? thanks for any input.

[shlomo]

The following is not from firsthand experience, but...

The poop on the Swift has always been that it is horribly erosive on throats, and barrel life for best accuracy is something around 500 rounds before accuracy begins to fall off.

If your barrel is a heavy varmint taper, perhaps you might have it set back a half-inch to an inch, and rechambered to get a fresh throat.

[hagar]

Agree with Shlomo, could be eroded or heavily copper fouled. Precision rifles like to be clean, I would try and clean it with Sweets a couple of times a day for a week, until patches come out clean, and then finish it off with Butch bore shine and Kroil/CLP.

If I had to buy a new varmint rifle for coyotes/bobcats, I would buy a Remington VS in Ruger 204. It has less energy at short range, but more at long range.

[thunderchicken]

throat erosion with the swift may have been a concern when initially introduced, but with modern powders and steels it just isn't. Some rifles just don't want to shoot well no matter what you do. I'd pass it along like a boring girlfirend. Maybe the next guy to own her will get better action from your swift.

.22-250 is an ok, but pedestrian cartridge. I'd get another swift.

[manstalliong_gregmo]

yeah, i keep the thing rediculously clean... and it has about 200rds threw it. So im not worried about the throut being worn out. I dont know though, has anyone seen this VTR or own one?

[Odd Gibbs Shooter]

There are alot of factors:

Is it properyl beded?
Is it free floated?
Mine likes to have the bullets just touching the lands, to get it to shoot good .25 moa. I seat the bullet .020 deeper and the group opens up to nearly 1.5" at 100 yards. crazy!

But it might just be because it's a Ruger! I have sold everyone I own, and moved on to Remingtons. Always had real good luck with them.

My .220 has 3500+ rounds down the tube and it still looks new!

Remington 700 VS .220

[splattermatic]

please do not take offense....

because it's a p.o.s., ruger.......

i've owned 6 ruger rifles over the years, from the tang safety mkI with outsourced barrels to the mkII's, with inhouse made barrels and i presently own but 1, a .338 win. mag., because they don't shoot.

imho, a ruger is a cheap "working mans" rifle, that get's most folks bye.....
the average joe, takes it out once a year for deer season, can hit a pie plate with it, shoot a deer, it works, cleans it, maybe, and puts it up til next year.

like was said, in the old days erosion may have been a problem, but new modern steel lasts for a while. look at the 300 rum for example....

try floating the barrel, bedding the action first, if it heps a little, try running a test with 3 shot groups, fire 3 at 1 target, then 3 at another, and so on and see if the groups tighten up as the barrel fouls. you most likely hve a long throat, so trying to touch lands wont work. if not then ???

rebarrel it....or trade it.....

send it to benchmark barrels and get what you want....

get ahold of jr in the nw here on the files, he works there.

i'll be doing a review in a day or 2 on a 280ai, they built for me here and on several other forums.

[manstalliong_gregmo]

hey splattermatic. thanks for the help, no offense taken at all. That was basically what I ws wondering if maybe rugers just dont shoot as well. I supose it may be the case. I think ill try bedding the action and if it doesnt help im getting a remington. thanks again

[whirlibird]

Horse hockey!
The last three Ruger Varmint .22-250's and .220 Swifts I used would shoot into an inch and down to half an inch at 100Y with some selective loading.

First, check your action screws. This is where most people screw the pooch.
The angled screw must be tightened first, the rear screw next but only hand tight on it.

Re-seat the scope rings. If not careful the Ruger rings can be set in place and lock at a slight angle leaving them slightly loose under recoil.

My FN Swift dates to 1950 and still shoots like a new gun. Choose your powders carefully and you won't burn the throat out as quickly.

[dfletcher]

The "Rugers won't shoot" is often cited and having owned quite a few, I have to say it's scared me off buying one or two. And I have had one or two bad experiences but that's been with No 1s. Right or wrong, my approach is I'll buy a No 1 for shorter range shooting (I currently own a 375 H & H and a 458 Win Mag) but for long range accuracy work I just don't want to fiddle with a No 1. The new ones have a loust trigger, who knows what's up with the darn forearm.

Regarding the 77, I have two and each is their heavy barreled Varmint/Target model - one in 223 the other in 25.06.

The 223 has always shot great right from the start. The 100 yd 5 shot groups are all one holers so long as I keep bullet weight under 62 grains (slow twist). The 25.06 drove me nuts for a while, but has turned out very well with action bedding & handload experimentation.

With the 22-250 its near equal, there's really not much call for the 220 Swift but heck, people like what they like. If the gun isn't working for you, I'd say dump it & go with a 22-250.