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Thread: 220 Swift on prairie dogs ?

  1. #1
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    220 Swift on prairie dogs ?


    Can a Savage 112V Series J in 220 Swift be used on prairie dogs ?

    If so, can the Swift ammo be loaded on a Dillon 1050 ?

    If so, can the Dillon reload the Swift ammo faster than the prairie dogs can reproduce ?

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    Team Savage wbm's Avatar
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    Can a Savage 112V Series J in 220 Swift be used on prairie dogs ?
    Yes. Probably, No.

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    the 220 is is devistating on prarie dogs, I've used mine many times, I would imagine it can be reloaded on a dillon, although I've done it

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    Another cartridge that would have very similar results on P dogs is the 17 Rem with 25 gr bullets.
    The problem however is that the results wont show unless you actually hit the prairie dog, and thats why those type cartridges never became more popular.

  5. #5
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    used a 220 swift on dogs.another great one is a 223 ai, or a 243 ai.depends on distance and wind

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    For those of you that don't know, "Hammer" is a ringer. Been around here "for years", talking up the 220 Swift and the "J "Series Savage rifles.
    Got any questions about the 220 Swift or the "J" Savage single shot rifles, He's your man.
    From what I found out years ago, the 220 Swift had a reputation of being a barrel burner. Every time I read that, first thought was "Hammer".
    I think he may have bought up any "J" Savage Rifles that were floating around? Glad to see he's still around to keep us on our toes.
    Me thinks Savage Shooters.com wouldn't be right without him.
    Oz never gave nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.

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    Problem the Swift has is that it aint a fish, but then it aint a fowl either.
    With the right twist and heavier bullets it can be a pretty good choice.
    But not as good as the 6 mms.
    My experience with Swifts goes back to the early 50s when my father bought a model 70 chambered for it.
    Not long after my father died in 1961, my mother told me to take his guns home as they were causing her problems.
    One of my sisters said that Daddy had promised her the Swift.
    My other sister told me that he had promised her his Parker shot gun for her young son which was the first grandson.
    They both got their wish, and ive never regreted those decisions, i never really liked either of those guns anyway.

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    My father in law was a big fan of the Swift. He was a gunsmith and had a LOT of varmint rifles, but when I asked him what his "desert island" varmint rifle would be, it was his Model 70 .220 Swift. Just the one he liked best of all. I'll say he experimented with everything from .17Ackley to 6.5-284. He was a well known benchrest competitor and barrel man. His practice was to "demote" his older benchrest rifles to varmint duty and had everything from sleeved XP100s up through various BATs and everything in between. Everything custom by a guy who understood the difference between .001 and .0001"

    He also was a big fan of the .220 Wilson Arrow and experimented with several different reamers in his collection. We were primarily working on Columbia ground squirrels in North East California and Central Oregon. We found eventually that the opportunities for really long shots had diminished greatly over the years as the shooting areas became increasingly busy and built up.

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    Well of coarse in todays world things are a bit different than back in the 50s when their were lots of groundhogs to shoot at in places like Pa where we lived.
    No doubt there is far more knowledge among average shooters today than back then about gun related things.
    Also better bullets and powder choices, not to mention rifle scopes.
    Very few people knew about dialing scopes back then for example, and other than target scopes like Unertle there werent any you even could dial.
    My father had a 4 power Unertle Hawk standard type hunting scope on his Swift zeroed for 100 yds, and it was all hold and hope from there.
    Even those that did have target scopes on them werent properly set up for dialing with say 1/4 minit clicks, because most gunsmiths werent aware of how to do that with those scopes. Target shooters had a book that they had worked up for their gun when they changed from one distance to another.
    The first scope i ever looked thru was a Unertle mounted on a Rem 513T 22 target rifle my father bought in 1949 when he started shooting 50’ indoor smallbore.
    In the summer time they would have 50 and 100 yard outdoor matches, and he was shown how to keep record of his various scope settings.
    It was the early 70s till i got seriously involved in long range hunting, and thats when i found out we had known very little actually about Unertle scopes
    and how they should be set them up for proper dialing.
    I had bought a new #4 Hart custom action with an action extension sleeve that was drilled and tapped in 4 places for Unertle scope blocks.
    None of them worked for proper block spacing for 1/4 minit clicks, and another location had to be established by the smith who chambered the gun.
    So even Hart Rifles, builder of the action wasent aware of how to set up a target scope at that time.
    And benchrest was their area of the shooting world, but not long range benchrest.
    So i think to a large degree the Swift came along before the world was really ready for it.
    And by that time others had arrived that filled the various gaps even a bit better.
    Remember, we didnt even have a 222 untill the early 50s.

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    "primarily working on Columbia ground squirrels"??
    Those, and a Savage 110 V in .223 back in the mid 80s got me started with Savage rifles.

    Shooting ground squirrels out past 200 yards WILL show you how good YOU and YOUR rifle are.
    Not much of a target so you better be good.
    Oz never gave nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.

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    Not much of a target so you better be good.
    We have an invasion of Chipmunks this summer. They are really fond of vehicle wiring! Tried to use my have-a heart trap but they are too small to trip it. So...tried out the rifle cure. I have yet to hit one!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by wbm View Post
    We have an invasion of Chipmunks this summer. They are really fond of vehicle wiring! Tried to use my have-a heart trap but they are too small to trip it. So...tried out the rifle cure. I have yet to hit one!
    Oh they are so cute.
    I dont see how you could possibly want to injure one. lol
    Maybe try a 410 shotgun?

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    Worked in a shop out in the timber. Chipmunks all over the place. Cinder block building. Every once in a while you would catch something out of the corner of your eye going up the walls. Chipmunks.
    Leave your lunch box open sitting on the bench? All gone!! They LOVED Hershey Kisses.
    All the buildings had wire mesh covering the under floor timbers to keep the "munks" from eating the insulation and wiring.
    Oz never gave nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.

  14. #14
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    Oh they are so cute.
    They are that! However, the chewed in half wires to wife's Subaru headlights was not. Don't know why they are so into that but the race of chipees we have here are infamous for that trait.


    All the buildings had wire mesh covering the under floor timbers to keep the "munks" from eating the insulation and wiring.
    What a horror story that would be if the mesh failed!

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    Well how can you hate them for liking Hershey Kisses?

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    Am I the only one picturing WBM out in the driveway screaming "Alvin!!!!!!!" lol
    "Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
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urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain

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    It got worse. Cussin chipmunks is an art form here.

  18. #18
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    Seems like I remember something about Chipmunks carrying Plague!!
    Oz never gave nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.

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