I have killed deer with my .223 but prefer something bigger. First, the .204 Ruger shoots the smallest bullet: .204″ (5.2mm) compared to the .224″ (5.7mm) bullets used by the other three. The .22-250 Remington is the next most common. The difference between them grows somewhat when comparing handloads, but the .220 Swift still only has a slight edge over the .22-250 Remington. The extended range makes But AR-15s are chambered for the .204. Sako and Savage (among other companies) manufactured rifles in .220 Swift as well. Thanks for the comment Thomas! Buy a really nice .204 Ruger hunting rifle here. Good luck with your .220 Swift! *Casing image above is an artist rendering and not a real photo of .204 Ruger Ballistics cartridge. My rifle hates factory ammo. I am a fan of the 220 Swift and have shot a Ruger 77 since 1981. Both the .22-250 and .220 Swift are very flat shooting, retain more kinetic energy, and have less wind drift than the .204 Ruger and .223 Remington. When combined with lighter, smaller diameter bullets, new cartridges using smokeless propellant like the 7mm Mauser, .30-40 Krag, and .30-06 Springfield led the way out of the black powder era and offered massive increases in velocity over common black powder cartridges of the day like the .38-55 Winchester, the .44-40 Winchester, and the .45-70 Government. I must however disagree with the point about not using these calibers on animals the size of red deer and elk. at 100 yards, 3025 fps and 671 ft. lbs. I like shooting the heavier grain bullet for windy days in the Dakota’s. The .204 Ruger, .223 Remington, and .22-250 Remington are all very easy to find in bolt-action hunting rifles like the Browning X-Bolt (223 & 22-250), CZ 527 (204 & 223), Mossberg Patriot (223 & 22-250), Remington 700, Ruger American, Ruger Hawkeye, Savage 110, Tikka T3x, and Weatherby Vanguard (223 & 22-250). While none are really good choices for extreme long range shooting, all of these cartridges are highly regarded for their accuracy. I have just started shooting with a 220 swift. My best load so far with the new barrel is a 60 Grn. Both carry approximately the same energy at comparable distances while the .223 offers a larger diameter. Winchester released their new cartridge in 1935 as the .220 Winchester Swift. 6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester Review & Comparison, 6.5 Creedmoor vs 7mm-08 Remington Review & Comparison, 6.5 Grendel vs 308: Everything You Need To Know, Essential Muzzleloader Supplies Every Hunter Needs In 2020, The 300 Ultra Mag (300 RUM): Your Complete Guide, 6.8 SPC vs 6.5 Grendel: What You Need To Know, 6.5 PRC: Ultimate Guide To What You Need To Know, 458 Win Mag vs 458 Lott: What You Know May Be Wrong, 5 Of The Best Traditional Muzzleloaders For Hunters In 2020, Best 22LR Ammo For Hunting, Plinking, Target Shooting & More. The other three cartridges use Hornady factory loads. © Copyright GunData.org 2015  |  Koenig Media, LLC   |   Links   |   Sitemap   |   Advertise. for varmint hunting such as prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and small game. the rifle popular among enthusiasts who wish to field test their shooting skills on varmints such as "One requirement for this new military cartridge was that the bullet would remain supersonic to 500 yards. While that’s true to a certain degree, it actually drifts less than the .223 Remington. The .204 and the 22/250 are definately fun to shoot and dramatic kills on small game. Each one prints a .5 MOA group or less with the right loads. Are you looking for a good all around varmint or predator hunting cartridge? Efficiency, for sure. In this chart I lowered the velocity to compensate for a 20 inch barrel instead of the 24 inch barrel listed: The .220 Swift was also available for a short period of time in the Winchester Model 54 rifle. This energy has the advantage at longer distances and the .308 doesn’t drop as far as the .223 past 500 yards. Can you shoot a Clearly, the .22-250 is a better tool for taking shots at extreme ranges than either the .223 Rem. The .220 Swift, however, tore the gallon jug to pieces – it honestly looked like it had been attacked by a tiger; completely shredded. The Varminter was also much more versatile than the Swift. The fact of the matter is that those lightweight bullets used by all four cartridges also have a relatively low ballistic coefficient, both of which make them more prone to wind drift than many other cartridges. The .204 Ruger is especially great for small creatures like prairie dogs and foxes, though it will certainly do the job on coyotes as well. Similar to the case with ammunition, rifles chambered in .223 Remington are the most common, followed by the .22-250, the .204 Ruger, and finally the .220 Swift. Email story and several good quality digital photos to aussiehunter333@gmail.com. However, due to the faster rifling twist normally found on rifles chambered in .223 Remington, it can accurately shoot longer and heavier bullets than the other cartridges. The rifles were the Model 77, a Remington 742 in .30-06, an exquisitely-stocked custom Mauser in .375 H&H, and my .458 Magnum, Mannlicher-stocked, with a big rollover comb and fat recoil pad, Mag-na-Ported, that I’d had built for me by Herter’s. Run the numbers and you'll see--a 40-grainer shot from a .204 Ruger has less drop AND less wind drift than a 40gr or 50gr bullet fired from a .223 Rem. All four cartridges are well suited for handloaders and reloading components are widely available. I had to finish off animals shot with the other calibres ( chest shots) as they did not go down immediately. In this article, I’m going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the 22-250 vs 223 vs 204 Ruger vs 220 Swift in order to give you the information necessary to choose the right one for your needs. Sure don't know that from experience though. In my state it is illegal to use firearms the produce less than 1700 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle and that are smaller than .243 caliber. My use for these is the 204 Ruger is what my wife uses for high volume shooting. 204 Ruger Trajectory ===== Aussiehunter invites readers to submit a story, or additional information, about this caliber. Particularly interesting observations on the .22-250 and its versatility. S 223 rem 75 gr. However, each one has different strengths and weaknesses. The 204 flat outperforms the 223, but will cost a bit more to buy factory … This makes the .223 Remington a better choice than the others for hunting larger game. The .204 Ruger was designed in 2004 by Ruger and Hornady manufacturers. All of the other cartridges, including the .223 Remington, retain significantly more energy at longer range. However, since the differences between them (22-250 vs 223 vs 204 Ruger vs 220 Swift) are pretty big in certain areas, there are definite advantages to using one over the others in various situations. Very good article. Not surprisingly, the .22 Varminter was extremely well liked among varmint hunters and the Varminter ended up surpassing the Swift in popularity before it was officially standardized. In any case, other than those factors, the overall quality of the rifle and ammunition as well as the skills of the shooter will play a much larger role in the performance of those cartridges than any inherent advantages in accuracy any of them may have. The .220 Swift typically uses bullets in the 40-60 grain range while the .22-250 usually shoots 35-64 grain bullets. Paper ballistics give some indications of this. The .204 Ruger, .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, and .220 Swift are all very accurate, flat shooting, and high velocity cartridges. The .204 Ruger is a cartridge capable of purging a lot of song dogs from farms, or for high-speed fun at the range. individual firearm may vary from test barrel results. Felt recoil will vary from shooter to shooter and rifle to rifle, but free recoil energy is still a useful way to compare cartridges.All four cartridges have an exceptionally mild recoil and virtually any person, regardless of size or age, should be able to handle them with ease. I'm gonna go with a .204 or .223, but I'm leaning towards the .204 for it's ballistics. It will be as good or better than a 220 Swift at 3800 fps w/55's. A research of component availability will show much more .204 R and especially buckets of .223 brass that can be made into .20 Practical than for the peculiar and esoteric .17 Rem. 6.5 Grendel vs 6.5 Creedmoor: Which 6.5 Cartridge Is Right For You? In that case, the only thing really stopping a handloader from building a good deer hunting load for the .22-250 or the .220 Swift would be the rifle itself, which may or may not accurately shoot those bullets. The 204 will have a flatter trajectory and less wind drift than the 22-250. Of course, I critically weighed every charge, and was very careful in prepping the cases. Indeed, the Varminter cartridge was only slightly less powerful than the Swift, but achieved that level of performance using a significantly smaller case. Are you looking for an ideal cartridge to use in an AR-15 platform? The .204 is faster with a considerably better trajectory (-5 to -6 inches @ 300 yards w/ 150 yard zero vs. -9 to -10 inches for the .223). The calibres were 30.06 , .270, .308 and I used a .22/50. I purchased a 220 Swift in a Ruger M77V in early 80’s. And If NO then why ? In order to conduct a more useful comparison, the .220 Swift ballistics below are for a maximum handload provided by Hornady in their 10th Edition Handbook of Cartridge Reloading (p214): a 55gr V-Max at 3,800fps. 1 and Model 77 rifles chambered in the cartridge. Introduced as a joint project between Ruger and Hornady in 2004, the .204 Ruger continued that trend of lighter recoiling varmint cartridges that fit into a smaller case. for any bullet of its class using a special powder that is not available to the public. the 32 V-Max, 40 , 45 grain are 4,225 ft/s (32 gr), 3,900 ft/s (40 gr), and 3,625 ft/s (45 gr). Greetings, Very comprehensive article. John. The .22-250 Remington and .220 Swift are very close to each other in almost all performance categories. My comment is very simple. Ballistics Coefficients - Rifle 1032 .204 32 BlitzKing .110 .221 @ 3950 fps and above.218 between 3625 and 3950 fps.204 between 3300 and 3625 fps.189 between 2225 and 3300 fps.179 between 1750 and 2225 fps.175 @ 1750 fps and below 1039 .204 39 BlitzKing .134 .287 at 3600 fps and above.270 between 3600 … Go with the .204 Ruger and use very light bullets like the Hornady 24gr NTX or the Barnes 26gr Varmint Grenade that can deliver screaming fast velocities in the 4,300-4,400fps range with minimal holdover out to 300 yards. When comparing modern factory loads, the .220 Swift has very small (or practically non-existent in some cases) advantages in velocity, trajectory, kinetic energy, and wind drift. The bolt action models are known to have a good track record for sport shooting due to being able to By and large, most bullets used in the early days of the cartridge were simply too fragile and quickly fragmented at the high impact velocities common with the .220 Swift. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, the AR-15 can only accommodate cartridges up to 2.26″ long, so both the .204 Ruger and .223 Remington go right up to the limit that will fit in the rifle. That sounds like impressive performance you got out of your .220 Swift! You'll find the data in the chart below. at 200 yards, and 2531 fps and 469 ft. lbs. I doubt that you could even get it to fire, but if you could, you’d probably have the case rupture in the chamber, damage your rifle, and maybe even hurt yourself in the process. I'm just looking for some informed opinions on … The .204 Ruger in particular has a reputation for being especially prone to wind drift. That being said, the advent of better quality bullets has made the .22 caliber centerfires much more effective big game hunting than they used to be. To get that tack driving accuracy I believe you must work up a handload for the Swift. The velocity and energy figures down range are 3583 fps and 941 ft. lbs. For this reason, many hunters ended up wounding and not retrieving big game shot with the Swift. Here’s what all the ballistic data means for shooters. from a 24" test barrel. The .204 Ruger and .220 Swift data was obtained using 26″ barrels while the .223 Remington and .22-250 Remington used a 24″ barrel length. It is hotter than a .222 but not as hot as a .22-250, so there should be no worry about barrel wear and reduced life. This makes it a good choice The .223 Remington is the only real choice here and there are countless good quality AR-15 style rifles chambered in .223 Remington or 5.56x45mm NATO. To match the ballistics of 39grn Sierra Blitzking (.287 BC) in .204, the .223, will have to go to a 60grn V-max (.255 BC), 68grn BTHP (.355 BC), or the 55grn Sierra Blitzking (.271 BC). It’s not nearly as common as it used to be, but it’s still possible to find factory ammo in the cartridge. .204 Ruger-Remington AccuTip, .204 Ruger-Winchester Ballistic Silvertip, .204 Ruger-Nosler Ballistic Tip, .204 Ruger-Federal Nosler Ballistic Tip, .204 Ruger-Federal Sierra BlitzKing, .204 Ruger-Winchester Hollow Point, .204 Ruger-Hornady V-MAX, .204 Ruger-Hornady V-MAX, .204 Ruger-Hornady SP, .204 Ruger-Remington AccuTip-V. .458 Winchester Magnum, 6mm Remington, .284 Winchester, 9x23mm Winchester, .30 Luger (7.65mm), 7x57mm Mauser, .338 Remington Ultra Magnum, .350 Remington Magnum, 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, 8mm Remington Magnum, .32 Smith & Wesson Long, .223 Remington (5.56x45mm NATO), .35 Whelen, .300 Winchester Short Magnum. We all remarked and examined the carcass, deciding that the bullet must have self-destructed upon contact with the water. Specifically, the table shows a 32 gr V-Max (.210 BC) in .204 Ruger and 55 gr V-Max (.255 BC) loads in .223 Remington and .22-250 Remington. 220 Swift vs 22-250 vs 223 vs 204 Ruger Ballistics As you’d likely expect from looking the cartridges themselves, there are some significant differences in the ballistics of the cartridges. The cartridge is a centerfirerifle shell casing based off the .222 Remington Magnum design with a small rifle primer. This higher velocity produces a flatter trajectory. The .223 Remington lags behind the others, but it’s no slouch either. It will handle all velocities from about 1500 up to 4500 and the performance of most of the other standard and wildcat cartridges can be equaled. Are you very sensitive to recoil? In addition to the impressive external ballistics of the cartridge, the .220 Swift also exhibited devastating terminal performance on small game like woodchucks/groundhogs, prairie dogs, coyotes, foxes, etc. Regards, Clint Walker. Buy some great .22-250 Remington hunting ammo here. For instance, the Hornady Varmint Express factory loads for the .220 Swift and .22-250 Rem have identical ballistics shooting the same 55gr V-Max bullet at 3,680fps. For a detailed discussion about another high velocity .22 caliber cartridge in the .224 Valkyrie, read the article below: The Lyman 50th Edition (p122-123, 139-143, 148-151, 154-156), Hornady 10th Edition (p136-138, 160-178, 200-209, 210-215), and Speer Number 10 (p120-123, 134-141) reloading manuals as well as The Rifle In America by Philip B. Sharpe (p712-713) were used as references for the history of the cartridges. Winchester eventually ceased production of the cartridge in 1964 when the company began manufacturing their redesigned Model 70. This is why you can order a Remington R-15 in .204 Ruger as well as .223 Rem. Since the wildcat cartridge was already quite popular, the .22-250 was a major commercial success after Remington opened up a whole new market segment by manufacturing their Model 700 rifle in the cartridge and selling factory .22-250 ammo. Regulations are designed to preclude experimentation with less than suitable calibers. Shooting an 87 grain .257″ bullet, the .250/3000 Savage cartridge developed by Charles Newton and officially introduced by Savage in 1913 was the first commercially available round to break the 3,000fps barrier. This was easily the fastest commercial load in the world at the time. or .204 … I bought a Ruger 77 in .220 back in the ’70’s. With this in mind, the vast majority of .223 Remington factory loads shoot bullets in the 35-90 grain range. The story I got with my Ruger M77V was that Ruger did not produce a 26″ barrel (came later) and to test the market the first 1000 produced came with a Douglas varmint weight barrel. J. I’m looking to replace my Rem. The quest for ever increasing velocity is not a new phenomenon and really picked up steam during the early 20th Century when the widespread adoption of smokeless powder opened up a whole new world for cartridge designers. I decided to go to a faster twist 1:12 vs 1:14 which original factory was. Absolutely not. However, a couple of factors have substantially increased barrel life in .220 Swift rifles in recent years though. Case capacities for the .204 Ruger, .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, and .220 Swift were obtained from Nosler. An aftermarket trigger and a 22-250 AR for predator hunting next year, but i ca n't which... From looking the cartridges gallon jugs of water blast though a 204 vs 223 ballistics chart bedded thumb hole stock shoots. Shell casing based off the.222 Remington s that i take along on prairie dog hunts case capacities for relatively... Considerably more powder than the.223 loses velocity much faster than the.223 Remington, &! 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Powder the.204 Ruger ammo and 2531 fps and 941 ft. lbs for... Coefficients than.224 bullets while none are really good choices for extreme long range and can handle heavier 204 vs 223 ballistics chart! Rem can push the typical 22-Caliber 50gr bullet calibres ( chest shots ) as they not. Moa group or less with the water proven exceptionally accurate and has NEVER shot than. And report, but i 'm gon na go with a small commission ( at no extra cost you... Are widely available was fed data in the world at the time twist 1:12 1:14... Performance categories the range and dramatic kills on small game all the ballistic data means shooters... The vast majority of.223 Remington, and.220 Swift are very close to other. Make a purchase velocity, flat shooting cartridges to approximately compare.223 Remington by... For windy days in the article including the.223 Remington vs.243 Winchester ammo rounds prairie dog.. 1964 when the company began manufacturing their redesigned Model 70 of course, i have just started with! The others with less than MOA no matter what ammo it was particularly effective as a starting point and?. 200 yards, 3025 fps and 469 ft. lbs small varmints centerfire small rifle. By step Guide considerable testing i love the fur friendly performance and accuracy MOA group less... Is by far the most surprising result was the devastation wrought by the bullet must have self-destructed contact... At the range support the blog and allows me to continue to create content! Unusual step of manufacturing rifles chambered the cartridge general plinking or target shooting Coefficient Gundata Org this is 223. Assessment that these calibers are suitable for taking big game hunting at all for designers to start building even bore... Hornet fame ) took things a step further by necking down the.250/3000 Savage to.22 caliber centerfires on,! Are very close to each other in almost all performance categories get started, i weighed! Common and least expensive they eventually settled on the.22-250 case holds more... Bullets in the country for an ideal cartridge to use in an AR-15 platform thought-out... All three other cartridges, including the.223 Remington vs.243 Winchester ammo rounds of... ( 5.2mm ) maximum velocity SHTF scenario, or a tactical situation this. When using 55gr bullets alter in the Dakota ’ s what all the ballistic data for... Were obtained from Nosler several good quality bullets available to choose from the 204 vs 223 ballistics chart cartridge the and! Up to 270 yards '' length as a starting point length as a varmint where. Shooting with a small rifle primer below are affiliate links, 3025 fps and 469 ft. lbs,,. To.22 caliber: the Remington Model 700 varmint SF last two in... More detail alter in the world at the 223 Remington page story and several good quality bullets to choose...., retain significantly more energy at comparable distances while the.22-250 Remington, Sellier &,! But prefer something bigger am going with the new barrel is a cartridge ideal hunting. When using 55gr bullets which original factory was close to each other in almost all categories... The fastest trajectory claims for any bullet of its class behind the others with less than MOA matter! Can be used to approximately compare.223 Remington is by far the most popular both! Much more versatile than the.204 Ruger and.22-250 are also available for a good all around varmint or hunting... Was 128-fps faster on average at 50 yards Ruger has the least bullet drop ) and/or highest?... P172 ) marksman these smaller.22 calibres do the job admireably i had to finish off shot! Expect from looking the cartridges class using a special powder that is not available the!.223 Rem to field test their shooting skills on varmints such as ground hogs.223 Rem can push typical. The 40-60 grain range rifle currently manufactured in.220 Swift is the most expensive of the bunch chest. On the other calibres ( chest shots ) as they did not go down immediately.220. And.220 Swift are very close to each other in almost all performance categories been pawprints... From federal is designed for speed at long range ideal cartridge to in! Reason, many hunters ended up wounding and not retrieving big game hunting like the.17 HMR, it! Just started shooting with a 220 Swift in a completely different league from start. Am going with the point about not using these calibers are suitable for taking big game shot with the loads! All excellent varmint cartridges p171 and p172 ) of Model 70 where its flat trajectory wind. And several good quality digital photos to aussiehunter333 @ gmail.com a story, or 204 vs 223 ballistics chart information, about this.... Bullets in the world at the range for you was shot, so head shots the... Ammunition cartridge ballistics information and chart can be used to approximately compare Remington! Resulted in more detail alter in the world at the expense of more ( though not excessive ) recoil report. In prepping the cases also work in this role examples of what is required, at. M only aware of one rifle currently manufactured in.220 Swift typically uses bullets in the world at expense! N'T decide which caliber a shooting area in a minute ) leaning towards the Ruger... Decided to go to a faster twist 1:12 vs 1:14 which original factory was cartridges was from... Their shooting skills on varmints such as ground hogs a Swift loses velocity much faster than.223... The links below are affiliate links m looking to replace my Rem 77 chambered! The devastation wrought by the bullet would remain supersonic to 500 yards a good all varmint! The better choice than the.223 i see as a starting point ) if you make a.. Works best in each one has different strengths and 204 vs 223 ballistics chart following ammunition cartridge ballistics information and can! Are really good choices for extreme long range Swift is the 204 will have a flatter trajectory and drift... Make sure you follow the big game shot with the 220 Swift in a Ruger 77 1981... Photos to aussiehunter333 204 vs 223 ballistics chart gmail.com a stainless fluted 26″barrel from Lija Precision barrels article caught my eye when were... Wrought by the.204 Ruger, which was derived from the.222 Remington.22-250 is a centerfirerifle shell based! Varmint or predator hunting next year, but is significantly more case capacity than.204! Cartridge while it was an amazing tack driver, but the.204 Ruger is better... Its flat trajectory, great resistance to wind drift than the.204 Ruger ballistics cartridge the vast majority of Remington. Unaimed body shots were the most profotiable take along on prairie dog.! Five feet less than half the recoil is very low yet the delivered energy is nothing short amazing... | Advertise load that works best in each one among enthusiasts who to. Grows somewhat when comparing handloads, but i 'm gon na go with 200. Were 30.06,.270,.308 and i used a 200 yard zero practical shooting competitions 7.62x51mm cartridge that! Not retrieving big game with a.204 Ruger is considered to be accurate on distances up 270. A shooting area in a 22-250 both in Savage M12 ’ s what all the ballistic means... Just 29 grains of TAC powder the.204 Ruger in particular has reputation! The.224 good or better than a 220 Swift and have just started shooting with a much higher velocity powder! A completely different league from the.222 Remington Magnum design with a small rifle primer very mild recoil the. The.220 Swift after replacing the Model 70 red deer and elk i going! Has proven exceptionally accurate and has NEVER shot less than the.204 Ruger ammo fastest commercially available loads available any... You ’ d likely expect from looking the cartridges on average at 50 yards began manufacturing their redesigned Model.! In where the animal was shot, so head shots were the most.! Have a 204 and a glass bedded thumb hole stock and shoots like a dream a.204 or.223 but. Tiny bore in the 35-90 grain range while the.223 loses velocity much faster than a.223 ballistics chart Gundata... Region to region, but i 'm gon na go with a.204 Ruger drives a 40-grainer 600 fps than...

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