22-250 ai vs. 220 swift ai or what

[mitchell]

well im about to build an other rifle . ive got a mauser action that ive already trued up and i just bought a .224 barrel blank straight taper with a 1-14 twist . now the idea of the gun is to have a wild little prairie dog gun shooting 40-50 grain bullets as fast as i can. but i haven't got the reamer yet so help me pick one .

barrel life isnt a big deal to me , as i got the barrel for next to nothing

im not wanting to go to far into wildcats caz makeing brass for a p-dog rifle is a pain . an ai case is fine tho

accurisy is the biggest thing  but accurisy with +4000 FPS 40 grain bullets would be nice

so what do yall think?

[trotterlg]

A plain old 22-250 will break 4,000fps easily with a 40gr bullet, a Swift will do even better and an AI Swift even better than that.  All will get hot too fast for a PD rifle.  I think for all practical purposes it just doesn't matter which you go with, a 22-250 fits a short action and the Swift is a long action.  Good Luck.  Larry

[mitchell]

thats kinda what i was thinking , gettin it hot isnt a big deal i have a few differant p-dog rifles so i can always switch back and forth .


hey i ment to ask you what reamer hold do you use i have a drill chuck and a Bald Eagle Floating Reamer Holder but i havent used it yet

[roper]

I've got the 22-250AI the extra velocity with 40gr bullets may get you real close to 4000fps with 50gr bullets.  Well good luck

[Catfish]

If you want to push them fast why not go to the .22-6mm. Brass can be formed by just running new 6mm brass through the seating die and then the sizeing die, no forming die required. I have now trouble pushing 80 gr. bullets over 3,500 fps. Heck you could push the 40 and 50 gr. bullets till you get the gray puff and trail.

[billy_56081]

My swift goes a chonographed 4250 fps witt a max load of 2015 and the now extinct, 40 grain Combined technology silvertips.

[trotterlg]

I may do my chamber cutting a little differently from some.  First I put a center in the breach end of the barrel and turn part of the barrel round concintric with the bore.  I then put a steady rest on the true part of the barrel so the bore is perfectly centered on the reamer in the tail stock.  Then cut the chamber, the reamer does not have to "float" anywhere because the bore is centered on the reamer.  It may take a little more setup work but then you don't need the floating reamer holder to make up for alignment errors.  Larry

[saltydog]

As you are handicapped by the long mauser action and the 1:14 barrel twist rate, I would recommend going with the Swift - not sure about the Ackley modification. The swift stretches alot and even with the AI taper your brass life will be less than a 22:250 if you run it full throttle. If you do not run it full throttle then why bother with the AI so the issue is mute. With a standard Swift you can shoot the 40 and 50 grain pills in the 4 K plus range and after 500 rounds of 4K plus you will be ready to rebarrel anyway. IMO if you had a WSSM action you could 223 WSSM with a 1:9 barrel and minimize your custom work, have commercial brass available and get a bit better barrel life. 

[nomosendero]

I see you allready have the barrel, you got it cheap & you want to use it, so you aren't asking about twist
or barrel questions, you are there.

Concerning the cartridge, either one that you asked about will work, in fact the std. 22-250 hits 4,100-4,150 without much trouble at all with a 24" tube, I didn't see the length of yours. Nosler shows 2 powders in the 4,300fps range with the 22-250AI & 4,200 & change with the 220Swift, I suspect the 220AI would give 4,350.

I like and have used both cases, but my preference would be the 22-250AI. It will give the desired velocity
with less strain than the std. round. If you don't already have the brass, consider the fact that you have more sources of good brass with the 22-250 case. Again, the std. will work, but the AI is a little more fun
& you will have a unique rifle, might as well have a unique round, shoot everyone that has shot a little has owned a 250.

[wmurrell]

I have built 3 22-250 AI's on Mauser actions and they all had to have the feed rails "opened" for the straight AI case. The ones I have turned into Swifts did not have that issue. Both work.
Just my .02

[nomosendero]

I have built 3 22-250 AI's on Mauser actions and they all had to have the feed rails "opened" for the straight AI case. The ones I have turned into Swifts did not have that issue. Both work.
Just my .02

That's a good point. Pluses & minuses both ways.

[mitchell]

my barrel will finish out at 26 inches and has a 1-14 twist . freed rails shouldnt be that hard of a job, i,ve never done it but all things are possible . ive also been think about just putting a follower on it and just shoot it one at a time , that would help slow me down anyway might save my barrel a little.

im leaning to the 22-250 ai good brass seams cheaper around here

[jro45]

I own the Rem 22-250 and it good for ranges up to 400yds with a little hold over. Of course the bullet will go farther. I'm talking about the 55gr boat tail.

[Varmint Hunter]

You can easily have the best of both - 220 Swift AI. My buddy built one and it is quite accurate. I never asked him about the velocity but you probably could shoot the higher BC 50gr bullets at the same speed a 22-250 shoots the 40's.

Just a thought

[DalesCarpentry]

I like the 22-243 Middlested. It can be rechambered from any 22-250.
http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/w22243m.html

Here is ACKLEY IMPROVED CARTRIDGE COMPARISONS

Dale


Factory Cartridge Bullet(grs)Factory Velocity(fps)Ackley Velocity(fps)%Increase 
1 25-35 WCF             117                        2230                   2800         25.6
2 30-40 Krag             180                        2430                    2900        19.3
3 250 Savage            100                        2820                    3300        17.0
4 6.5x55 Swedish       140                        2550                    2900        13.7
5 30-30 WCF             150                        2390                    2700        12.9
6 7x57mm Mauser       145                        2660                    3000        12.8
7 300 H&H                 180                        2880                    3200        11.1
8 257 Roberts            117                        2650                    2900         9.4
9 270 Win.                150                        2850                    3100         8.8
10 25-06 Rem.           100                        3230                    3500         8.4
11 375 H&H               300                        2530                    2740         8.3
12 243 Win.              100                        2960                     3200         8.1
13 270 Win.              130                        3060                     3300         7.8
14 280 Rem.              140                       3000                     3230         7.7
15 30-06 Springfield    180                       2700                     2900         7.4
16 30-06 Springfield    150                       2910                     3100         6.5
17 219 Zipper             55                        3300                     3500         6.0
18 6mm Rem.             75                        3400                      3600         5.9
19 220 Swift              50                        3870                      4100         5.9
20 7mm-08 Rem.        140                       2860                      3030         5.9
21 375 H&H               270                       2690                      2830         5.2
22 22-250 Rem.         55                        3680                       3850         4.6

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

 :)Mitchell, So far I have about 2000 rounds though my .22-250 AI. It shoots super, my swift has had less rounds but it is just as accurate, maybe better. My .22-250's are also very accurate, but not quite as fast. Truthfully, if I would have know 30 years ago I could make a Swift on a 700 action, that is the way I would have gone. I like all three, but if I make any more big 22's it will be either the std..22-250 or the swift. It is neat to have the AI, the case is really neat looking, but I travel quite a bit and if I need a couple boxes of ammo I can by the std. calibers. Of course I could shoot std. 22-250 ammo in the AI, but one would loose speed. If you want something a bit different, the AI is a nice way to go, and as several have said, brass is easy to get.

[Coyote Hunter]

...

accurisy is the biggest thing  but accurisy with +4000 FPS 40 grain bullets would be nice

so what do yall think?

My Ruger 26" VT in .22-250 pushes 40g bullets to 4050fps.  Half-inch group at 200 last time I checked.

If I need more oomph I grab my .257 Roberts.

[saltydog]

The discussion is turning towards maximizing velocity in the 224 cal - a factory rifle that does it all is the 223 WSSM. Velocity, accuracy and efficient at the same time - the twist rate is even designed for velocity with heavier bullets which is a problem for my 22-250's. That doesn't address the mauser components in hand - a 224 Weatherby Mag could be chambered using the on hand action - barrel.

[nomosendero]

The discussion is turning towards maximizing velocity in the 224 cal - a factory rifle that does it all is the 223 WSSM. Velocity, accuracy and efficient at the same time - the twist rate is even designed for velocity with heavier bullets which is a problem for my 22-250's. That doesn't address the mauser components in hand - a 224 Weatherby Mag could be chambered using the on hand action - barrel.

WSSM 
Then you would have something hard to feed without serious action mods, odd & soon to be obsolete brass & all of that with performance no better than the 22-250AI or 220AI. And oh yea, a gun that would VERY hard to sell.
No value added there!!!