I recently purchased several rifles and one of them is a Model 70 .220 Swift with a serial number 17xxxx. I did not know much about this type of rifle other then it is a very hot round used for varmint hunting. Serial number indicates a 1949 build date. It appear in great shape. Just curious if anyone has any info on this gun and suggestions on what to do with it.
The 220 Swift cartridge was the first commercial round to exceed 4000 fps. The rub is the cartridge is far overbore capacity thus barrel life was quite short according to written reports of the past. If you bore and throat is still good I would highly suggest handloading to a much tamer velocity to slow the throat errosion.
A pre'64 M70 in .220 is very desireable. I've run into several Swifts in the used racks. All that I've come across I've had bore scoped with none getting a clean bill of health. Hope you got a good one.
Agreed! Most pre '64 .220s I've seen carry a premium price tag. If yours has not been "shot out", I'd be careful to ensure it stays that way while in your tenure. Congrats on getting a very fine rifle!
I have a 220 Swift amongst my M70's. It's from 1953 and came to me with a Lyman Super Targetspot 15x scope. It's in excellent condition with a perfect bore. The gentleman I purchased it from had bought in new and handloaded entirely using 22-250 loading data. He claimed it was ample for coyotes and easy on the barrel. The barrel is 26" stainless. Winchester "Iron Blasted" these barrels so they'd take bluing.
My photo skills leave a lot to be desired but here's a couple anyway.
Rod
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