Ruger 77MK2 Swift facelift?

[17cal Fan]

I have a beautiful 220 Swift in the VT gray model that I bought new in 1998. It still shoots good but the throat is burned and I no longer enjoy the recoil when compared to Fireballs and 222's.

Looking at options, I contacted Ruger yesterday about buying a .378 bolt and was declined. Would like to switch bolts and chamber a new barrel for it. But if I'm stuck with .473 22PPC or 22BR look like decent options if I don't want to burn gallons of powder. But it seems that brass might take the fun out of that too. Bush the bolt maybe?

 

[matthias]

Check gunbroker frequently for "parts repair kits" or something along those lines. There are several places that part out firearms.

You may be able to find what you are looking for. In the past I was looking for a standard boltface ruger bolt for a project and bought one off gunbroker.

 

[Walt Krafft]

22 BR is a fun cartridge. With the right chamber, it is simple to neck down 6BR brass. Make sure you get a no neck turn chamber.

 

[jxb]

Recoil, if you're going to rebarrel it, thread the end and use a can. Problem solved and you still have a long reach flat shooting varminter that's also pretty quiet. Going to a short case you might or might not have feed issues but there's a plethora of options in .473 to choose from.

 

[AlNyhus]

A pal has that same rifle and had it barrelled to a no-neck-turn 6BR. Turned out nice and he fell in love with the gun all over again.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[shortgrass]

I may be completely wrong here as I'm not completely up on Ruger 77s, but I'd question whether your magazine , originally designed for .220 Swift, will hold .223 rounds without spitting them out, willynilly

 

[17cal Fan]

I may be completely wrong here as I'm not completely up on Ruger 77s, but I'd question whether your magazine , originally designed for .220 Swift, will hold .223 rounds without spitting them out, willynilly

It is/will be a dedicated PD gun so single fed any way.

 

[Pyscodog]

Just thinking out loud, but you might try to swap your bolt box and mag assembly for a small bolt face and accessories. Another thought, a 20BR. Use your bolt and a new barrel. Would be deadly on P-dogs.

 

[V509]

Sell it to me!

 

[17cal Fan]

Just thinking out loud, but you might try to swap your bolt box and mag assembly for a small bolt face and accessories. Another thought, a 20BR. Use your bolt and a new barrel. Would be deadly on P-dogs.

Thought about 22BR but the prices of dies and brass are pretty outrageous along with a reamer. Leaning toward 20VarTarg if I can find a bolt. I could always borrow the bolt out of my Hawkeye 222 but I hate to put the miles on it.

 

[AlNyhus]

Thought about 22BR but the prices of dies and brass are pretty outrageous along with a reamer. Leaning toward 20VarTarg if I can find a bolt. I could always borrow the bolt out of my Hawkeye 222 but I hate to put the miles on it.

The 6BR would be a good one. You can have the barrel chambered with a 'no turn' reamer, brass quality is as good as it gets (Lapua, Peterson) and lasts forever. On a cost-per-shot basis, this brass is a winner. With the 55 and 58 gr bullets, recoil will be very pleasant compared to the Swift and barrel life will be multitudes better. The Nosler 55 BTips in particular, are a 'dog shooters dream. Dies are simple and inexpensive...you only need two.

In a .473 bolt face, there's nothing else that will give you so much, for so little, so easily. The 22BR is close behind it.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[Hal]

Some guys like the 20BR.
Try some 40 gr bullets in your swift and finish using up your factory barrel.

Hal

 

[ISS]

Heck, sell it to me and I will get Ruger to rebarrel it or a custom barrel in Swift.

 

[RCE1]

.22PPC is a great cartridge.

 

[17cal Fan]

UPDATE:
Thanks for all the input!
Going to turn the Swift into a 22BR. Ordered a no turn neck and zero free bore reamer from Manson and now have it in hand. I have 2 new barrels on the shelf to choose from. A 1:12 and a 1:14 and a 3rd option would be to cut the original VT (1:14) barrel back and rechamber, thus keeping it nearly original in appearance.

Any reason not to try setting the original barrel back and rechambering?