Does anyone stock Swift Scirocco 2 - 150gr, 7mm/.284?

Pine Marten

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone.

I'm not in a huge hurry on this, but it's looking quite uncertain whether I'm going to be able to replenish my stock of Degol DL1 bullets in the future because both the manufacturer in Belgium and the French distributor that I bought them from are suffering from a series of random misfortunes... So as a backup plan, I'm looking at the Swift Scirocco 2, which looks to be a very similar bullet both in terms of construction and importantly shape/profile. I know they're expensive, but I don't use many, so that's not necessarily a big problem. What is a problem is that I can't find any evidence that anyone has any in stock.

Does anyone know whether anyone in the UK stocks them?

Thanks.
 
Ah yes, they do mention them on their website. Doesn't say whether they actually have any in stock, but that would be easy enough to find out. Thanks!
 
PM, the Sierra 150-gr Gameking HPBT is a pretty tough bullet, and you are already loading it for practice. Have you tried it on game?

The 150-gr Remington Core Lokt, and the 150-gr Winchester Power Point and Bonded PP are made for the .280 Remington and 7mm Rem Mag, so they are on the more stout side of construction. The Nosler 150-gr Accubond is like the Sierra and Scirocco in terms of long and sleek, but also a tougher bullet for use in the .280 / 7x64 / 7mm magnums.
 
The other one to look at is the Hornady 139gn Softpoint. I use the Softpoint in my 7x65R with a trundling along load with a MV of c2550 fps. Every deer I have shot with this bullet has fallen over at the point of impact, and you can eat up to the hole. I have taken several shots at a less than ideal angle straight through shoulders - same effect. I have however shot a couple of foxes a wee bit far back that have been bowled over and then run off leaving a huge blood trail behind - it doesn't have the explosive effect of a varmint bullet - but I doubt they got very far. On both occasions they made it over my boundary into very deep cover.
 
PM, the Sierra 150-gr Gameking HPBT is a pretty tough bullet, and you are already loading it for practice. Have you tried it on game?

It's the MatchKing I use for practice, but there's a logic in what you suggest. It's just that having spent over a year developing my current loads because I can't go to the range very much, I don't want to start all over again. Not that I think the Sirocco and the DL1 are directly substitutable, but apart from the boat tail, they appear exactly the same, secant ogive and all.

The French distributor of the Degol bullets had cancer, so did his wife, so that took the wind out of his sails as you'd expect. Then as he was recovering, one of the employees of the supplier has an accident at work, and another was killed when the van carrying their products had an accident. For a small operation, that's pretty devastating.

I couldn't really have anticipated those problems. Note that they have nothing at all to do with the usual reasons for difficult bullet supply.
 
PM you are sadly suffering from unobtaniumitis. It may be sensible to develop loads with normal obtanium bullets like Sierra or Hornady if you are worried about cost, or pay more & go for premium Nosler or Barnes bullets for best terminal results. Saying that, the Swifts are nice bullets & usually work very well. Plus Aftab at Reloading Solutions usually has a good stock of them (& most other things reloading).

Ian
 
I'm looking at the Swift Scirocco 2, which looks to be a very similar bullet both in terms of construction and importantly shape/profile. I know they're expensive

I can't improve on the existing suggestions, beyond agreeing that you should get a taxi out of Bicester Village just as fast as you can!

That said, a friend of mine uses the Swift Scirocco 2's, mainly on Fallow and bigger, and absolutely loves them.
 
PM, I note you are sorted now but my suggestion would also have been Reloading Solutions which is where I source my Swift Sirocco II bullets from. I use 7mm 150gr in my 7-08 and .30 150gr in my .30-06 and get on really well with them for boar and deer.

RL17 is my powder of choice for both calibres which is also currently classified as unobtainium!!

Good luck and have fun.

Penyard
 
PM, I note you are sorted now but my suggestion would also have been Reloading Solutions which is where I source my Swift Sirocco II bullets from. I use 7mm 150gr in my 7-08 and .30 150gr in my .30-06 and get on really well with them for boar and deer.

RL17 is my powder of choice for both calibres which is also currently classified as unobtainium!!

Good luck and have fun.

Penyard

Thanks Penyard. Yes, as you say, Reloading Solutions seem to have plenty if and when I need them. I use a 7mm-08 with 150gr bullets too and they're powered by 39.1gr of Viht N-140. As it happens, that's exactly the same as the rounds I loads with 150gr Sierra HPBTs. I expect that if I switched to Swifts, I would end up with a very similar load, if not necessarily an identical one.
 
My experience with scirocco bullets was that you need to back off compared to most lead cored bullets, start with Barnes data instead of cup and core.

they liked to be driven fast ( my 06 gave good results with 150 grain bullets but the 180s didn't expand much) and were accurate.

given the thick copper jacket I wouldn't use them in rifles that forbids the use of brass or copper solids.
 
Hello Grandhubert! How have you been of late?

Anyway, here's a cross section of the DL1 on the left:

dl1_210.jpg

And here's the Swift Scirocco:

st_swift-6mm-bullets_a.jpg

Do you think there's much in it? Obviously you have to careful and follow all the usual safe load development protocols. When I developed the loads for the DL1's, the French distributor also told me to approach it as a load for a monometallic bullet.
 
Hello Grandhubert! How have you been of late?

Anyway, here's a cross section of the DL1 on the left:

View attachment 67818

And here's the Swift Scirocco:

View attachment 67819

Do you think there's much in it? Obviously you have to careful and follow all the usual safe load development protocols. When I developed the loads for the DL1's, the French distributor also told me to approach it as a load for a monometallic bullet.


Well, thank you. :)

your budding fame in the shooting press punctured my reverie and I thought I'd look back in. :D


I think if you work up you'll be fine. I suspect they may be a bit hard compared to the dl1 but it's a case of. plastic tip in the one vs the thinner nose jacket in the other.

i would be tempted to take this is as some sign, infernal or divine as to your preference, that more readily obtainable supply of bullets bought in bulk and stored at a friendly RFD might be an idea once you've found your load.

i was thinking the other day that round nose bullets are sufficiently rarely used in the UK as to qualify for a cognoscenti bullet choice.

under 200 metres the shape makes no odds and they hit like a freight train without too much over expansion in calibre so like yours and mine.
 
your budding fame in the shooting press punctured my reverie and I thought I'd look back in. :D
[...]
i would be tempted to take this is as some sign, infernal or divine as to your preference, that more readily obtainable supply of bullets bought in bulk and stored at a friendly RFD might be an idea once you've found your load.

Glad you enjoyed it, there's another one in the pipeline due for print in April or May, yet to be determined. But I'm in sore need of some raw materials. Because the sad thing is that I'm quite unlikely to run out of bullets. In fact, if I continue to blast them off at the same rate as during 2015, I have enough left for about 15 or 16 years... Still, it's good to have a plan.
 
Glad you enjoyed it, there's another one in the pipeline due for print in April or May, yet to be determined. But I'm in sore need of some raw materials. Because the sad thing is that I'm quite unlikely to run out of bullets. In fact, if I continue to blast them off at the same rate as during 2015, I have enough left for about 15 or 16 years... Still, it's good to have a plan.


Well, the simple would be more rifles. :D

i think the scirocco will do well, they certainly did a number on everything I used them on.

the round nose thing is something I'm considering for my ought six, need to take it to Africa again and do some bush hunting.
 
Regrettably, the 154-gr RN .284 bullet was discontinued by Hornady. It is a great bullet in the 7mm-08 and 7x57 Mauser. I am hording a few boxes my 7mm-08, 7x57R and 7x64. Norma or RWS RN may be available to you as components.

Another bullet you might want to look for is the Speer Grand Slam in 7mm, 150 gr and 160 gr, semi-spritzer... getting hard to find as components.

The Trophy Bonded Bear Claw is like the Scirocco or DL1, but thick, solid copper base.

The Hornady RN bullet for the .303 Enfield is great shooting.
The 180-gr Remington Core Lokt shoots great and performs superbly in every .30-06 I have ever owned.
Same for the 117-gr RN Core Lokt in the .257 Roberts, and the 150-gr RN Core Lokt in the .270 Winchester.
 
I finally managed to speak to the French supplier yesterday and it turns out he's retrieved all the machinery to make the DL1 and DL2 bullets from Degol in Belgium as they just weren't supplying the bullets. These bullets are in fact made to the specifications of Freyr SARL in France as a custom product. So he's bringing the manufacture in-house as of next month, and will be churning them out again soon. At which point I'll just order a massive stockpile. Well, as many as I'm allowed to, which is about a decade's worth at the moment.
 
Winchester and Remington bullets are started to show up on the store shelves again. I picked up 100 of the Winchester 7mm 150-gr bonded bullets, which they load in their 7mm Rem Mag ammunition. It has a thicker jacket at the rear, too. I am going to load them in my .280 Remington and 7x64. The 150-gr CoreLokt is loaded in the Remington ammunition for the .280, the 7x64, and 7mm RM, and shoots very well for me. I think the Remmy and Winny would be good bullets for the 7x57R for boar and large deer, inside 100 yards, where there is still good terminal velocity.
 
Back
Top