Swifted!

[Gary in MD]

I finally got a chance to get out with my dad this year. Between work and the weather, it's been tough.
I was able to get the 220 Swift out to stretch its legs a little. We got 3 a piece in a few hours. I went 3 out of 4 shots.
I made a normal mistake on one of them..... don't hold over unless it's really out there a ways!
The Swift was, as always, a little rough on the little dirt grizzlies. I was shooting the 55 grain Sierra spbt a little over 3800fps, nothing fancy just accurate and cheap.
Gary

 

[varmintshooter]

View attachment 1010685
I finally got a chance to get out with my dad this year. Between work and the weather, it's been tough.
I was able to get the 220 Swift out to stretch its legs a little. We got 3 a piece in a few hours. I went 3 out of 4 shots.
I made a normal mistake on one of them..... don't hold over unless it's really out there a ways!
The Swift was, as always, a little rough on the little dirt grizzlies. I was shooting the 55 grain Sierra spbt a little over 3800fps, nothing fancy just accurate and cheap.
Gary

Enjoy those days with your dad while you can, I know I did. Good shooting

 

[snert]

Perfect day, perfect company, perfect rifle and hey, that is my sling!!! Perfect.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Gary in MD]

I started tagging along behind my dad on that farm hunting groundhogs about 45 years ago. That farm is one of the few in that area that hasn't been built up with houses. My dad is 78 now, hopefully we will get quite a few more years.

 

[Barlow]

Good job! Tell us about your Swift. Barlow

 

[sscoyote]

I used to shoot chucks in Western MD back in the early 80's Gary. Miss those "olden" days for sure.

 

[Gary in MD]

I special ordered my Cooper Jackson Game with a chrome moly 26" tube and bumped the wood up a grade or so. I still like a heavy varmint rifle but this is a lot easier to lug around then those 12 pounders. Right now I'm shooting the Sierras but the rifle likes the Vmax and the ballistic tips also. The 52 grain Bergers shot good but I haven't tried them on Varmints yet. I've had a couple scopes on the rifle but I have a Weaver Grand Slam on it now, it's a good clear scope and the clicks are positive.
Gary

 

[misfire]

Beautiful rifle grain in that wood is something else

 

[Gary in MD]

Some of the carnage of that day from the Swift.
Sorry to the squeamish.
These were juveniles.... still soft.
Gary

 

[long40shot]

Is the 220 swift a short action caliber?

 

[CaptainMal]

Always believed..."no brain - no pain". Good shooting.

That is a real pretty piece of wood.

 

[Gary in MD]

Always believed..."no brain - no pain". Good shooting.

That is a real pretty piece of wood.

"No brain - No pain" LOL

I'm going to borrow that!

 

[Gary in MD]

Is the 220 swift a short action caliber?

Pretty sure that it's a shorty

 

[Clavius-Walker]

The Swift is a neat one, got an undeserved bad rep as a barrel eater early on, I read in some of Donaldsons articles that he had one of the preproduction Win70s chambered in one that was still grouping and killing hogs into the 60s

 

[Bangs OH]

Gary: What's the barrel twist rate of that Swift? I have a line on a nice used Cooper MTV but it has the slow 1:14; my understanding is the lighter-contour barrels Cooper uses on their Swifts are 1:12. (I'm wanting to shoot the high-BC 53 and 60 gr. V-Max and need the 12, but suppose could always re-barrel later; have a couple Coopers now in other chamberings and love 'em.)
On my way to visit the kids in Silver Spring/DC, I usually see more road-killed and roadside 'hogs in MD than in PA or our once-great groundhog state, Ohio. And, I almost always make a stop at Hendershot's, to drool over the high-end rifles there.

 

[Gary in MD]

My Cooper Swift has the 12 twist, I'm not sure if it's just the lighter contour barrels or all of them. I wish that there were as many ground hogs on the farms where I hunt as there are on the sides of the roads! Hendershots is a must. You know that they moved to Hagerstown right?
Gary

 

[Bangs OH]

Took refuge in Hendershot's new store last year as that same storm that flooded Endicott City hit. Told my wife we'd better not leave until absolutely sure it was safe......

 

[17VLD]

Very nice thread,Coopers are very nice rifles as yours attests.
Nothing wrong with those Sierras,but since you have the 12 twist I would definitely try those 53 V-Max's they have a great b.c. and I'm sure they will tear em up nicely
Matt

 

[Gary in MD]

I did buy some of those 53 gr vmaxs but haven't tried them. I usually don't stick with one bullet very long... always trying something different. It's fun to compare the carnage between the Vmax, ballistic tips, blitz kings, etc.
Good times!
Gary

 

[Gary in MD]

Me and dad got out for a couple hours again yesterday. The fields were high and needed cutting but we managed a few shots.