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March 31, 2009
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Has anyone loaded ammo for this rifle? I have an urge to do so. I have some 220 Swift brass and have a general idea what to do. Dies are really hard to find and I can’t even find what shell holder the Lee or Swift uses. Help needed.
November 1, 2013
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Chuck said
Dies are really hard to find and I can’t even find what shell holder the Lee or Swift uses.
If you had a Bonanza press, you wouldn’t need a shell holder.
Here is the book you need:
November 19, 2006
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Chuck said
Has anyone loaded ammo for this rifle? I have an urge to do so. I have some 220 Swift brass and have a general idea what to do. Dies are really hard to find and I can’t even find what shell holder the Lee or Swift uses. Help needed.
Long ago, I had the urge to do this. Then Glenn deRuiter had his incident – that left him dead on the range. I realize isolated incidents happen. And as proof of not being excessively hysterical, I do a fair bit of shooting with .280 Ross rifles built on the MkIII action. Here’s an account of what happened to Glenn – along with some photos of the destroyed action. Glenn was a friend of one of my friends, so we had a fair bit of discussion of this. One conclusion – the article mentioned this – is the brass failed.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/winchester-lee-navy-safety/
November 1, 2013
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steve004 said
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/winchester-lee-navy-safety/
Clearly use of the .30-40 case is inadvisable, but the Swift case is stronger, as mentioned in this report. Even .30-40 cases have apparently been used without previous disasters.
A guy in Wisconsin who advertised that he loaded obsolete ammo made me 250 rounds using .220 Swift cases and pointed partially jacketed bullets 10 or 15 years ago. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly thereafter. I still have a few left and they seem to work fine in the two Lee Navy sporting rifles I have.
March 31, 2009
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clarence said
Chuck said
Dies are really hard to find and I can’t even find what shell holder the Lee or Swift uses.
If you had a Bonanza press, you wouldn’t need a shell holder.
I have a Forester co-ax that doesn’t use shell holders. I need a loading die set. My machinist friend will reduce the rim diameter and re-cut the extractor groove. The problem, as I see it is how to hold the cases in the lathe? My friend is going to take some of my original 236 ammo and the Swift cases home to play with. I have Donnelley’s Cartridge Conversion book and it has all the instructions.
I have read all the reports of these guns malfunctioning. Usually the culprit was the loader not the gun. Remember the 6mm/.236 was the parent cartridge for the 220 Swift. So going backwards makes the most sense. I wish I had some die that could get the brass small enough to fire form.
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