Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

[DP425]

I'd like to hear some feedback from those of you who do or have loaded and shot this bullet.

After doing a LOT of looking around, it seems to be the only available bullet that is bonded, over 65gr, lead core and with a BC similar to 75gr hornady match (it actually exceeds it a bit).

Read a few very brief reviews on it's performance on deer; some of which were old posts here on the hide. But I'd like to run this by the best group of guys on the net one more time.

Experiences? Thoughts? Loads with Varget or 2230? My goal is to get exterior ballistics close to that of my 75gr hornady loads out to 300m. I doubt I'll be taking deer that far in the upper peninsula of Michigan, but you never know. If I plan on sitting on a lane over 250 I'll just take my .308. That said, I took a deer at about 90 yards last year with my .308 and 175SMK's- left a TON of bruising on the meat; it was simply over-kill for the distance and game. Plus, it took out the heart and a lung and the deer still went 20 yards before dropping... so I don't see much advantage in running a larger caliber. Your opinion may be different, and that is fine- but I'd rather not hear the debate on .223 for deer; I'm simply stating why I am looking at this particular bullet.

Okay, looking forward to hearing what you gentlemen have to say.





Edit: forgot to mention- both my AR and my 5R are 1:9 twist. They do great with 75gr match... but I hear this puppy is about a 0.10" longer; anyone run it with 1:9?

 

[223ai]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Long bearing surface, so watch for pressure early but an excellent bullet for game out of my 223ai. Ever animal that I have shot with this bullet (and 75 amax, for that matter) dropped with no issues. I think a .22 cal is perfect for deer, regardless of where you are. It did take a bit more tweaking to get accurate, and Varget is my go to in 223ai.

This smaller hog was taken at about 75 or 100 yards, one to the head, dropped it right there. I shot a much larger hog about a month ago, broadside high shoulder while it was almost too dark. Dropped right there. It's a great bullet.

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

I checked JBM for stability and it rated at 1.08 for my pressure (29.22 and 70 degrees), I have not had much luck in my 9 twists with anything that didn’t have at least a 1.15 rating. The berger 75vld gives me 1.155 and the 80 nosler cc is 1.225. Reports from others on my 223 tactical post suggest the 75 bergers don’t work in everyone’s 9 twist. But if you wish to try I have found seating into the lands to help with bullets right at the edge of stability. Take it for what it is, free advice.

I will say this, I loaded a 53 grain barnes triple shock for a guy who took a very large mule deer at 130ish yards and we had complete pass through with a spine hit. I also shot a coyote last week in Montana with the nosler 77cc and had a complete pass through while taking out both front shoulders leaving about a 2-3” exit, this was at 265 yards and a muzzle velocity of 2690ish.

I was very tempted to shoot my mule deer this year with the 77cc but with a draw (150+ feet deep) right behind him that would make recovery difficult if it did not perform perfectly, I dropped him with a 140g amax in 260 in the spine instead.

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Thanks for the input! I really hope I didn't screw up ordering 200 of these!

Just ran current weather data for Felch, MI... Along with max velocity listed for a 75 VDL (seems it would be about as close to the 75gr swift as one could get since I found no data for the swift).

I got .986.


Guess I'll order up 100 of the gameking 65gr bullets as a just in case option. I really how this pans out though!

Just do not understand WHY Remington decided 1:9 was ideal for their .223 5R

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Anyone else have reviews on this bullet?

There may come a time not too far down the road where I have a 1:7 or 1:8 barrel put on my 5R

 

[JayCarver]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Would like to try these in my 1in9 twist

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Jay, my bullets and brass should arrive today. I should be able to send some down range tomorrow morning- however, temps are not fully into winter here; if I get to my range when they open, I could possibly get some shooting done with temps around 35 degrees F.

My bigger concern is them shooting well down here being right at the edge of stability, then when I head to the UP where temps will be at least 15 degrees cooler, having my groups turn into key-holed shotgun patterns.

I will let you know how they shoot for me. If you'd like, assuming these work for me I could prob mail you 5 bullets to load up and see if they will stabilize out of your gun. Not enough to get any accuracy info from, but at least you wouldn't waste $47 plus shipping if they don't work for you. I ordered 200, so I sure as hell hope they work. 200 will likely last me a few years if they work- why shoot bullets that are nearly $50/100 when I can shoot the hornady 75gr match that my gun loves for only $17/100? So if they work it will be for sight-in and some quick dope checking, and hunting.

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Okay, due to an appointment running late I wasn't able to get out until the afternoon-

About 37 degrees and around 30.09 for pressure

I had loaded 6 strings of 5 shots each- just to keep an eye on pressure, get velocity averages and have a very rough idea of grouping potential.

Loading Varget, seating bullets .002 off the lands, I loaded from 23gr to 25gr in .4gr steps. Had some rather mild cratoring of the primer at 23.4; 24.6 was a good bit more pronounced, although the primer itself had not flattened.

Groups were mostly nothing to be excited about. Keep in mind that this is about a .6moa gun when using my 75gr hornady match hand loads.
23gr: 1.02"
23.4gr: 1.1"
23.8gr: 0.60"
24.2gr: 1.02"
24.6gr: 1.78"

All were measured center to center without diameter of bullet removed. The last group was not shooter error, there weren't any fliers- it was 5 shots, randomly dispersed without a cluster to be had.

I was figuring on the first two groups that these just are not as accurate in my gun- until I hit that third group; which was one ragged hole with four rounds through it and one just outside of that hole.



So, long story short- at least down to 37 degrees, my 1:9 5R will stabilize these bullets. I will be loading the rest of these bullets with 23.8gr of powder and shoot a few more groups to be sure this wasn't some sort of fluke.

The 6th and last string loaded will be pulled down and loaded to my new spec- the cratoring was just too significant at 24.6 to continue.


Oh and I haven't looked at my velocities yet, but as I recall, 23.8 gave about 2715fps. 24.6 was around 2800fps. Oh and of all of the groups, 23.8gr was the only one to be exactly at my point of aim- so I can use the same zero as I do for my match loads.





edit- After doing more looking around, it seems crataring primers on a rem 700 are normal (also after looking at previously fired brass I know was either factory or at a safe load)- I'm going to load some more for testing tomorrow; and should be out at sun up so I can see how she does in the 20's-30's

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Update-

Loaded up 10 shots in 23.8gr to 25gr in .2gr incriments. Accuracy became spotty; one five shot group would print under 1", and the next- with the same charge weight would open up to 3-4".

Did some research- it appears they use a pure copper jacket and tend to foul the bore in a quick fashion; the cleaning I did today with sweats would indicate that to be accurate... Haven't had this much or dark of a blue/green result in a while. I have fired 95 of these bullets between today and yesterday, and had about 100 or so hornady 75gr match down the bore prior.

After I fired all of the Swift bullets today and was not happy with my groups, I fired two groups with my hornady loads; the POI shifted about 3/4-1" left from where I zeroed yesterday (similar weather) and one group came out at about 1" center to center and the other about 1.2" center to center. This is around twice the size this rifle usually does. I'm crossing my fingers I'm just experiencing the results of excessive fouling.


I have 100pc of brass left that are ready to be loaded- I'll load up 50 of these Swift bullets @ 24.5gr and 50 SGK 65gr @ 26.2gr. Head out tomorrow morning and see which performs better, starting with the SGK's (doing a 10rd group) and finishing with the swift load (10rd group). If they end up similar I'll run the swift due to it's weight and being bonded.




I'll report back tomorrow before I head north to hunt. Hopefully this info will be helpful for others wanting to load this bullet for use in a 1-9 twist.

 

[DP425]

Re: Swift Scirocco II 75gr (.223)

Okay final update-

Loaded up and fired off 10rds with 24.6gr of Varget under the swift bullet, and 26gr under the SGK @ 100y. Groups were fairly close in size, both printing just just under 1".

Picked up and moved to 200y and fired a five shot group with each load- the SGK came out at about 1 3/4" and the Swift about 2".



So in the end, my horrible groups were likely a result of excessive copper fouling; the difference between today's and yesterday's groups are considerable. I am still somewhat worried about cold temp performance with the Swift, but I'll have to my a decision which load to take to the field when I get up there. They are within 1/2" from each other for POI... If I shoot any deer I'll be sure to provide photos of the damage.