This is topic hey Q got a 220 swift question for you. in forum Predator forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by randy moose merta (Member # 145) on March 01, 2003, 07:03 PM:
i bought a ruger mkll varmit in 220 swift topped with a leupold 12x scope. my question to you is what load do you shoot in your swift to avoid major fur damage. i know you have shot alot of coyotes with your 220 swift and from what i can tell you are about getting furs and doing it right. i would appreciate any loads that you shoot and why you shoot that particular load. thanks. randy
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 01, 2003, 08:15 PM:
Welcome to the New Huntmasters, randy. Glad to have you on board.
I use a 220 Swift for certain applications, but I don't know if my loads are particularly fur friendly. Currently, I'm using the 63 Sierra Semi pointed and the 62 gr. Berger MEF. They are both accurate in my guns, and for this application, that's all I care about. Generally speaking, any 52/55 grain bullet seems to do an acceptable job. I do not like the trend toward lighter bullets for coyote.
I used to have a 12X Leupold on the first Swift I owned. I wound up trading it because I was dissatisfied with the low light capability.
Good question, I'm also curious as to what Q considers to be a good compromise between an assured kill and less damage.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Q-Wagoner (Member # 33) on March 01, 2003, 08:58 PM:
Well Randy, it is real difficult to get a fur friendly load out of a swift but if it were the only thing that you have you could work something up that wouldn’t be TOO bad. A Nosler 40 or 50gr bt at medium velocities would work well providing that your hits are square with the world. Glancing or grazing blows with any high-powered rifle will make a mess out of a coyote and especially so with the varmint type bullets. These bullets are designed to expand rapidly in small game; namely Prairie Dogs. A “harder” bullet made more specifically for general hunting will usually cause less damage to a hide because it will penetrate deeper into the animal with less deformation or “explosion” than you would get with a varmint bullet. Hitting the animal squarely in the goodies will usually cause little damage with any bullet at swift velocities. They will exit a lot of the time but will leave holes “usually” no bigger than a quarter or 50 cent piece. The glancing wounds are what make the serious damage to fur. Animals like humans are mostly water and it is the wet tissue “splattering” that usually makes the mess. Spine hits will cause a great amount of damage as well.
I don’t use the harder bullets because I want a rapid violent expansion. If I do my part right I have no fur damage to speak of but if I don’t I get to do a lot of sewing. And trust me I have done a lot of sewing. LOL I favor the varmint bullets because they are very accurate, usually have the highest bc for their weight and they will put coyotes down with a much less than perfect shot.
In my country I want a flat shooting rifle. I don’t want to think about where to hold on a coyote out to 300 yards and with the swift I don’t. I shoot a 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet at 3900 fps with a full charge of RL 15 powder. This load combination will get you the best ballistics you can get out of a swift out to as far as I would want to shoot at a coyote any way. I like the BTs because it has the highest bc of the 55gr varmint bullets available plus it has a solid copper boat tail that will penetrate much deeper than an ordinary flat base. Like I said before in another post. I have shot coyotes in the flank quartering away and have found the boat tales under the skin just behind the off side shoulder. That is an advantage if you ask me. If I were shooting a lesser bullet the round would have stopped in the guts and the coyote may not have been killed instantly.
I have a custom reticle in my scope tailored to this load and I don’t need to range a broad side coyote out to 400 yards. This is a real plus. At 300 I just hold high on the shoulder.
It is all about controlling the variables in coyote hunting. The more that you have under your control the better you will do. For my immediate circumstances the swift is the top dog for factory rounds. I am a bit over gunned for most situations but that is what it takes to control the distance variables. If I only shot to 200 yards I would look at a .223 with a 55gr bt or blitz king at top velocities. That combination should be a winner.
I didn’t choose the swift and the load I shoot with fur damage in mind. I chose it for the killing capability and ballistic advantage. Fur damage is the least of my worries. Only after they are dead do I worry about that. If I shot anything under the 55gr bullet I would shoot Nosler BTs for added penetration because of the solid base.
Adrenalin is like nitrous oxide or a high-octane fuel additive for a wounded coyote. They can run on an empty tank for a long ways if they have to so putting them down hard and fast is important.
Hope this helped.
Q,
Posted by onecoyote (Member # 129) on March 02, 2003, 08:52 AM:
Randy, I've been shooting a swift for years and Q is right, there is no fur friendly load for a swift. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Randy, keep it simple my friend, to many guys go overboard in the game of predator hunting...simple is better. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
You start messing with loads and you may see coyotes running away, ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Good Hunting.
Posted by brad h (Member # 57) on March 02, 2003, 09:55 AM:
Randy
I also have a MKII VT Swift and consequently I've asked Q the same question a while back. I thought I was tearing too many hides up. My case turned out to be shot placement. Nothing at all wrong with the load I was using, which by the way seems to be the prefference of most swift shooters, 55gr. Nos. Ballistic Tip, 35-37 gr. RL 15. (37 gr. is max)
I've had several cases where there wasnt even an exit wound on a broad side shot. It all depends on where you put the shot. The swift is a good combonation of making them dead now without tearing apart too badly, and few shots are out of range.
Another load I've been working with is the 40 gr. Ballistic Tip with 42 gr. H 380. Thats at just under 4000fps My gun will also group these inside an inch at 100. good luck and have fun with it.
Brad
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 02, 2003, 10:21 AM:
This is a subject where you have to speak in generalities, you can't have it all. You can get the perfect performance you want on one animal and ten minutes later, a slightly different perspective and you have a mess. But, if you have enough terminal foot pounds, at least he's dead and you don't have to chase him down.
I know a number of top hands that use the Nosler BT, here locally. I have never used it, but based on what I hear, it is a very good performer. I really like a Ballistic Tip in 25 caliber, but can't find what I want in .224"
The other side of the coin is where I have been hanging out for the past ten years or so. I find that the heavier bullets do everything I want, with fewer negatives. I use 62 to 65 grain bullets in all my coyote guns. Better BC, and they steam right on through the boiler room with hydrostatic shock and not a big exit.
Whatever works for you, I'm a firm believer in that. My purpose has changed over the years, I never thought I needed to look past a 55 grain bullet to dust coyotes, but after you see a few and compare the difference, the heavier bullet gets my vote.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Q-Wagoner (Member # 33) on March 02, 2003, 08:11 PM:
Here are a couple of pics I had posted on the old site. They are a perfect example of a good hit and a bad hit looks like. Both coyotes were shot with a 55gr Nosler BT. Believe me when I say shot placement is crucial.
Good hit.
Bad hit.
Hellova sew job I might add.
Good hunting.
Q
Posted by randy moose merta (Member # 145) on March 03, 2003, 05:33 AM:
big thanks for the information. i shot some winchester factory 50 gr psp ammo this weekend and it shot great. 1/2 to 3/4 group for a five shot group. but the down side is the ammo is 20.00 a box so i am ordering dies and brass this week and start reloading. i shoot too much to be buying factory stuff. thanks again for the 220 swift info.
in indiana we have a coyote season that went out feb 28 but state law allows a person to hunt after the state season with written permission of the landowner. just so happens i have about 60,000 of private property with written permission. the 220 swift will get a few test hunts.
i shoot a 17 rem most of the time but some of the places i hunt a guy can shoot out to 450-500 yards. thats why i bought the 220 swift. i had several coyotes hang up on me this year at 300-400 yards and the 17 rem is not enough for that.
moose
Posted by randy moose merta (Member # 145) on March 03, 2003, 05:37 AM:
forgot to say thanks for the photo's. my goal for next fall is to take a waterfowl/coyote hunt to north central nebraska sometime in november. i have always wanted to hunt the lewis and clark resv. area. take a week to hunt ducks and coyotes. what could be better? moose
Posted by onecoyote (Member # 129) on March 03, 2003, 12:07 PM:
Randy, I have found duck season is a good time to call coyotes. I have also found that if you're around a place guys hunt ducks alot thats even better. Some cripples and lost ducks for coyotes to find you know how coyotes are, they are not going to pass that up. I'm sure the coyotes count the days tell duck season, Good Hunting.
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