In 1935 made the fastest Factory Varmint round That's exactly what happened back in 1935 when Winchester introduced the .220 Swift. Loaded to a muzzle velocity of 4,110 fps with a 48-grain bullet, it was more than 1,400 fps faster than the .22 Hornet, which had been the fastest pure varmint cartridge available in factory-loaded form. When both cartridges were zeroed the same, a bullet fired from the .220 Swift shot as flat out to 400 yards as one fired from the .22 Hornet at 200 yards. This meant a good marksman, shooting a rifle chambered for the exciting new cartridge, could plaster the crosshairs in his scope on the nose of a standing groundhog and place a bullet in its boiler room at any distance out to 400 long paces. It wasn't short on killing power, either–delivering as much energy at 500 yards as the Hornet was capable of at 100.
The Swift's ability to shoot bullets into small groups has not gone unnoticed by others, either. Years ago, Ruger factory technicians who tested rifles were required to keep accuracy records on all calibers; doing so revealed that rifles in .220 Swift had a slight accuracy edge over those in .22-250.
My own experience with various rifles in the two cartridges has been similar. Some of the rifles in .22-250 I have worked with through the years were incredibly accurate, but as a rule, those in .220 Swift had the edge. The difference was seldom great, but it was consistent enough to make the .220 Swift become my favorite long-range groundhog cartridge.
With Proper sight placement with this speed and accuracy, why put in in on the back shelf
Keeping an old cartage alive
