Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: adictd2hunting on January 29, 2012, 12:36:26 AM
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I just picked up a Ruger M77 220 swift with a bushnell legend 5x15 scope.
I have not shot it yet and was wondering about some info on them. Like ammo cost, ballistic, what is the best factory load, and how far away can you shot a coyote with it.
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The 220 swift is a great cartridge, a lot like the 22-250. Ammo can be a bit more of a pain to find but other then that its a great yote smacker.
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The 220 swift is a great cartridge, a lot like the 22-250. Ammo can be a bit more of a pain to find but other then that its a great yote smacker.
and kind of spendy
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I also had an older M77 in 220, was NIB condition, got a great deal on it. It loved 55gr Ballistic Tips. Mine was a sporter weight/length barrel so I never got the velocity it was capable of, so I sold it and kept my 22-250. It shot good, but I sometimes had problems loading the magazine with the semi ribbed cartridges (staggered them in the wrong order). I never did use factory fodder, but a 50 or 55 grain tipped bullet should do the trick.
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My step dad gave it to me to use. It has a heavy 26" barrel. But i am just not familiar with them. How far can you shoot with the 220 with factory loads.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
You shot a coyote at 850 yds. with a swift?
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I have a Remington 40XBKS in .220. LOVE IT. I've found that it does really well with 55 grn Sierra blitzkings. I want to say I run them around 3800 fps. IMR 4064 seems to be the best powder with my rifle. As for range, any .22 center fire is going to be somewhat limited. My rate of twist is 1/13. This makes my rifle do well up to about 60 grns max. Given this, I shoot the 55 blitzkings, mostly, or same bullet in the 40 grn. if I'm trying (trying) to save pelts. I personally think 400 would be the max range for the 40, and probably not much beyond 450 yds. for the 55. Beyond that, there just isn't enough retained energy in a 55 grn. Now, prairie dogs? That's a different situation.....
Wile E.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
You shot a coyote at 850 yds. with a swift?
22-250......same bullet/velocity
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I load my swift with a Sierra 52gr hollow point boattail, awesome yote load and shoots very accurate, I can do under 1/2 at 100 yds and I am not the greatest bench shooter.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
You shot a coyote at 850 yds. with a swift?
22-250......same bullet/velocity
Well, according to my exterior ballistics program, a 55 grn blitzking for instance, at 3800 fps at the muzzle has 185 ft. lbs. at 850 yds.
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Haven't tried the blitzkings but bet they are good. I recently got some varmint grenades and some v-max to try out. :tup:
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
You shot a coyote at 850 yds. with a swift?
22-250......same bullet/velocity
Well, according to my exterior ballistics program, a 55 grn blitzking for instance, at 3800 fps at the muzzle has 185 ft. lbs. at 850 yds.
Are you one of those who "know" it takes 1000 ft/lbs to kill an elk? You can 100% kill a coyote at that range range with a 52gr smk. I did it. Mine leave at a fuzz over 4k.....not that 200fps makes any difference. A 22lr is good for about 125# and it has stacked up game....trust me, making a good shot trumps energy arguments every time.
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How do i know what twist the barrel has. Im not set up to reload. So has anybody shot any hornady factory loads.
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Good point. The longest shot ive made was 300 yards but that was with my .243. How far can you kill a coyote with the 220 I havent shot this caliber of rifle so i dont want wound anything. I know they are very fast round but just want to be sure im going to kill the animal when i shot it.
My furthest is about 850yds.
You shot a coyote at 850 yds. with a swift?
22-250......same bullet/velocity
Well, according to my exterior ballistics program, a 55 grn blitzking for instance, at 3800 fps at the muzzle has 185 ft. lbs. at 850 yds.
Are you one of those who "know" it takes 1000 ft/lbs to kill an elk? You can 100% kill a coyote at that range range with a 52gr smk. I did it. Mine leave at a fuzz over 4k.....not that 200fps makes any difference. A 22lr is good for about 125# and it has stacked up game....trust me, making a good shot trumps energy arguments every time.
No, I'm not "one of those", and I agree with you. I just think that that's beyond what I'd call reasonable range for a .22 centerfire. I shoot coyotes with anything and everything (haven't gotten one with a pistol yet, though, but everything else). I just personally wouldn't take that shot.
A partner of mine and I had a couple of coyotes across a canyon from us a couple years ago and ranged them at 600. He asked me if I could hit them from there. I said yes, but I also know that my rifle doesn't have enough energy that far out. I was carrying my AR chambered in .223 with a 24" barrel with 40 grn blitzkings that are 3500 fps at the muzzle. We made a successful stalk on them and I shot one of the two when we kicked it out of a draw.
Long story short. I just don't care for "hitting an animal" at extreme range. If I don't know that I can kill it, I'll typically pass on the shot, and work to improve the situation. I shot and won a lot of NRA highpower matches with my match AR in service rifle competition. This involves shooting 200, 300, and 600 yds. with a .223 with iron sights. So, can I make the shot? Yes! Is it the right thing for me to do? I think no. A wounded coyote can cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. They're very tenacious animals, and can hide in nearly nothing. I have lost a few wounded ones over the years, and it bothers me when it happens. I'd just rather not take a shot where that likelihood is not very low. :twocents:
Wile E.