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Old February 11, 2013, 08:11 PM   #1
603Country
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Reloader 17 in a 220 Swift? Yes, yes, and yes again! Wow

I'm working up loads for my 220, using the 60 gr Partition and IMR 4064 and it's not going that great. I can shoot the eyes out of a gnat with 55 gr Ballistic Tips, but the Partition is giving me fits. I've got some Reloader 17, which I believe has a burn rate not too far from 4350 (which I have none of), so I'm wondering if R17 will give better results than 4064. For years the 4064 has worked great with every bullet, so I never stocked up on other powders for that caliber. Can anybody help with min and max loads for R 17 in my Swift?

EDIT: I have now tried Reloader 17 in my 220 Swift behind the 60 gr Nosler Partition. Like I said, I could NOT get that bullet to shoot over IMR4064. Brian gave me a probable max load for R17 behind that Partition, so I dropped down below that and had a go. Let me tell ya...39 grains of Reloader 17 behind that Partition bullet put them into such a nice little group that I almost teared up. Wow! Never have I ever seen such a performance change from a powder change. And better yet, the POI was exactly and precisely where my POI is for the Nosler 55 gr BT and the Sierra 55 gr GK. I don't have to adjust diddly. It's a little early for the Wild Turkey, but I'm tempted.

Cases were partial resized. WW cases used, and CCI BR2 primers.

Last edited by 603Country; February 14, 2013 at 03:10 PM.
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Old February 11, 2013, 09:09 PM   #2
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CAUTION: The following post includes loading data estimates generated by a computer program. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, the programmer of QuickLoad, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.


With default settings, QuickLoad thinks you'll end up at 41.4 gr RL17 under the 60gr Partition.
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Old February 11, 2013, 09:22 PM   #3
reynolds357
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I never did get accuracy out of the partition in my Swift or my .22-250. Had best luck with match grade hollow points. I dont hunt anything with .223 that explosive bullets are inappropriate for.
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Old February 11, 2013, 10:18 PM   #4
603Country
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Thanks Brian. If I can't find a good 4064 load, I'll give the R17 a try.

As I've mentioned on the forum once or twice, the 220 is great on Coyotes but not so great on pigs. This Partition load will get tried out on pigs. The 55 gr Ballistic Tip killed the pigs I shot, but tracking was necessary. I tore a patch out of my pants and a patch out of my bu__ climbing through a very tight barbedwire fence - that I had tightened recently - while tracking. That's a 'good news/bad new' event if ever there was one.
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Old February 11, 2013, 10:36 PM   #5
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Try the 64 gr WW PP bullet under 4350. I used 38 grains in my Remington 22/250 BDL, and that load shot better than almost anything else I tried, dime sized groups at 100 and killed coyotes, javelina and deer like the hammer of Thor. I recovered a few bullets and they were always nicely mushroomed and did not shed any jacket.
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Old February 12, 2013, 06:33 PM   #6
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I've never been able to get my Winchester M70 .220 Swift to shoot 60 gr bullets of any kind worth a hoot! The twist just isn't fast enough!
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Old February 12, 2013, 08:18 PM   #7
603Country
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I dug back into my old reload records for that rifle and I found that I had not shot anything bigger than 55 grains in this barrel. But, in the previous barrel (same twist) I shot the 63 gr Sierra flat base extremely well and also the old 60 grain Nosler Solid Base Boattail. This afternoon I shot my most recent reloads with the 60 gr Partition and they were in a vertical pattern. Just to be absolutely sure that the problem wasn't me, I shot 3 55 grain Ballistic tips into about 1/2 an inch and precisely 1 inch above aim point. So it isn't me, and the gun isn't busted. It's that bullet and load. Tomorrow I try the Reloader 17. I want to shoot that darn bullet at the pigs. I have a lot of that bullet and a lot of pigs and time is wasting.

I do also have a bunch of the 63 gr Sierras and the 65 gr Sierra GK. If I have to give up on the Partition, I'll see if I can stabilize the 65 gr Gameking. That bullet shoots great in my 223. If all that fails, I'll try to get some of those Winchester 64 grainers - which probably won't be easy.
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Old February 12, 2013, 09:24 PM   #8
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How accurate do you need to be to shoot pigs?
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Old February 12, 2013, 10:22 PM   #9
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"How accurate....", that's a fair question. I'd probably be satisfied with 1 inch groups, though I'd be really happy with 3/4 inch groups. So far, with that bullet, I'm nowhere near that level of accuracy. With other bullets, and not even match grade bullets, the rifle will shoot to about 1/2 inch and has done it for years. With the Partition, I don't see any sign of keyholing, but the grouping isn't pretty. Surely I can find a load that'll be acceptable. If the R17 works out for me, I'll tell ya'll.
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Old February 12, 2013, 11:39 PM   #10
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I was just wondering. Around here I guess the average shot on a hog is 100 yards. Most people use lever actions and mini 30's. I figure the Swift on its worst day is still more accurate than the above mentioned.
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Old February 13, 2013, 10:39 AM   #11
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603, I am going in the opposite direction from you. I'm starting to load smaller bullets! Maybe I will seach for a cure to the > 55gr curse my Swift has. Could be fun...could be really frustrating (knowing the past history of my barrel)!

If I find something, I will let you know.
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Old February 13, 2013, 01:30 PM   #12
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In my mind, I think a very light and very fast Barnes X wold be the bullet that would drop a hog in its tracks. 6mm is about as low as I usually hunt a non varmint with, but I have cooked up some 6mm loads for my wildcat rifle I developed that at well north of 4000 fps wreak havoc on anything they hit. The only problem is they cook off velocity very fast, but hitting a hog inside 100, I would bet he would look like a bomb went off inside him. When you shoot a white tail, you get no exit, but a wound channel the size of your fist and a shock wave jelloed mess the size of a bowling ball. The entrance wound looks like a massive exit wound. I am guessing a very light X in the Swift would perform in similar manner. Likewise the varmint loads in .257 WBY look like a bomb went off in a deer.
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Old February 13, 2013, 03:41 PM   #13
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I've spent this morning loading and shooting that 220. As the same rifle with the previous barrel did, 55 grain BT's and 63 gr Sierra SMP's shoot great. The Nosler Partitions just won't group worth a darn, though I haven't yet tried R17 behind that bullet. And I've always wondered how the 65 gr Sierra GK would shoot in that rifle. My logic was that if the 63 grainer shot great, why wouldn't the 65 grainer. Well, my logic was flawed. I've shot some loads with the 65 gr Sierra and I don't even know where the darn bullet WENT. Must not be stabilizing. The 65 grainer is a small bit longer (maybe 1/8 inch) than the 63 grainer, and I guess that's the significant difference between stabilization and not.

So, I'll shoot a few pigs with the 63 gr Sierra SMP and see how that goes. And when the sellers are restocked with bullets, I'll try the WW 64 gr PSP and maybe the Barnes bullets.

I'd consider doing what Wyoredman is doing, but the smaller bullets (i.e. the Nosler 40 gr BT, which I have plenty of) isn't good pig medicine. And try that 63 gr Sierra SMP. Shoots really great in my 220. Kind of a stumpy little bullet and I'm sure the BC is rather poor. So be it.
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Old February 13, 2013, 03:56 PM   #14
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Quote:
I've shot some loads with the 65 gr Sierra and I don't even know where the darn bullet WENT. Must not be stabilizing.
Exactly what happens when I shoot 'em! You are doing better than me to get the 63 gr's to hit paper, though! Congrats!
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Old February 14, 2013, 03:07 PM   #15
603Country
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For latest results go back to the top of this thread. R17 worked great.
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Old February 14, 2013, 03:31 PM   #16
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Well, now look what you have done! Because of you, I must now purchase a pound of R17 and a box of .224 60 gr Nosler Partition bullets.
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