Help me choose a 20 cal

Yotarunner

Yotarunner

Custom Call Maker
So for the past year i have been toying with the idea of a 20 caliber rifle for shooting richardsons ground squirrels up here in Alberta. I have been doing a lot of research and have been able to decide on all the components i want but i have been fighting with myself on choosing the cartridge to get it chambered in.
The chamberings i am considering are 20 tac 20 prac 20 vartarg and a 20 extreme (designed by a local guy similar to 20-222 with slightly better efficiency )
What i am hoping for is to be shooting 32-40 gr bullets and be able to at least have a chance at 400 yard gophers with the average being between 150 -300 yards.
Things i would like but dont specifically need are minimal barrel heating , ease of loading and ability to find components.
The rifle is going to be built off of a savage mod12 223.
 
Based on brass availability. Ease of using a regular 223 bushing die. Top velocity and superb accuracy I vote 20 Practical. I haven't seen any 222 bulk brass in years. The Vartarg is nicely balanced but leaves some speed on the table and some guys have had feeding issues. I shoot both the Practical and the Tactical. Performance is almost identical as far as my PD shooting goes but the dies on the TAC were not cheap.

Greg
 
I'm going to vote 20 practical. If I did not have several 204'S I would build a 20 prac. Plentiful brass, no fire forming, what's not to like!
 
I have a 20 Tac, 20 Vartarg Turbo and a 204
Of those three I like 20 Tac and think it or the Prac would suit your needs

By the way, I'm having a vartarg built soon
 
awesome thanks a lot! i was leaning toward 20 prac but wanted some input from actual owners just to make sure. i guess now i need to make a call to the gunsmith!!!
 
I built a 20 Practical, 24"bbl, 1/11" twist, due to the ease of necking down and tons of .223 brass and have not looked back. I have no issues at 400 yards out here on p-dogs. 32g bullets are my main slugs.
 
Originally Posted By: Yotarunnerawesome thanks a lot! i was leaning toward 20 prac but wanted some input from actual owners just to make sure. i guess now i need to make a call to the gunsmith!!!

Since it's a Savage you could just order a prefit. You'll need a 223 go gauge, barrel vise and an action wrench. The first one always costs mmore. Very simple to change out the barrel and avoid the 'smith charges.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterOriginally Posted By: Yotarunnerawesome thanks a lot! i was leaning toward 20 prac but wanted some input from actual owners just to make sure. i guess now i need to make a call to the gunsmith!!!

Since it's a Savage you could just order a prefit. You'll need a 223 go gauge, barrel vise and an action wrench. The first one always costs mmore. Very simple to change out the barrel and avoid the 'smith charges.

Greg

I considered that but being in canada its a bit harder to find prefit 20 cal barrels and the ones i can find are expensive with absurd wait times. A local match barrel maker has a 20 cal blank already built for a guy who backed out on it so i am probably going to pick that up.
 
I did a .20practical, so far I like it. The barrel came from a PM member, started life as a .204 ruger. 5spd lent me a set of gauges and I built it on a stevens 223 so the change was easy. You have to buy a bushing size die and a couple bushings to neck it down, other than that no special gear for the caliber, figure $50'ish.
 
Have a couple of .204 Rugers. Was going to get a 20 vt next, but it's pretty much a light bullet caliber. My next will be a .20-.222 about the most perfect case for the caliber.
 
20 VarTarg is a really fun round.

But the most practical is the 20 Practical, hence the name. I had a 20-222 another neat round, still have a 20VT and 204 Rugers. Though I have plenty of brass for both.
 
Originally Posted By: cmatera Have a couple of .204 Rugers. Was going to get a 20 vt next, but it's pretty much a light bullet caliber. My next will be a .20-.222 about the most perfect case for the caliber.

If you are considering a 20-222 i would go use the search function on saubier.com and outdoorsmanforum.ca for "20EXTREME" i have seen the cartridge in action and it is a true lazerbeam. Vern boasts better performance than 20-222 with less work on the reloading end of things.
 
How would the EXTREME be "less work on the reloading end of things" than a 222 necked down to 20 cal? Doesn't the EXTREME change the shoulder angle and require trimming .120" off the brass?
 
Haha after typing that i realized i should have clarified. From what i understand it has very little case stretch and extremely long case life which would mean less having to make new brass in the long run.
 
im not an expert by any means but i found a post from the man who is on a seperate forum. i tried to send a link to another discussion in which he compares the 20 extreme and 20-222 but its not working so i will include a small quote. not saying you should choose one or the other as they are both fantastic cartridges. i just find small calibers fun to discus.
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quote"The shoulder on new 222 Rem, Win Brass, is at 1.26" which is the same as the shoulder on the formed 20 EXTREME brass and chamber. So the shoulder is not bumped back and stays in that same position even when fired in the chamber. The neck shoulder junction is moved down, as the neck is reduced to 20 caliber, thus forming the 30 degree shoulder. The shoulder diameter on a new brass is about 0.3485 so is shrunk down slightly to about 0.002" smaler than the chamber. The 222 rem brass is 0.372" to 0.373" at the base and the chamber isabout 0.001" larger. When the case is fired and resized there is very little working of the brass as the shoulder does not move forward and the dies do not have to move it back. Headspace is created, about 0.0005" along the shoulder angle, by reducing the shoulder diameter back to its original formed size. The huge advantage to this is that a new brass has exactly the same capacity as a fired and resized case. Another huge advantage is that brass stretch is reduced to less than 0.001" on initial firing and subquent firings.

The 20-222 on the other hand has about 0.009" clearance at the shoulder and about 0.005" at the base. As well the chamber is about 0.045" further forward than that of the brass. When fired the brass is expanded out at the base and shoulder as well as being blown forward along the angle of the shoulder. This not only increases case capacity by about 1 1/2 grains, if you neck size, it really stretches the brass and leaves it at with least 3/4 grains more capacity than a new brass. It is virtually impossible to FL size without bumping the shoulder back from the fired position as the shoulder moves forward, along the angle, as the diameter is reduced, and must be bumped bacd so that it will chamber. This usually stretches the bass by about 0.007" on the first sizing. The only way to reduce this problem, short of neck sizing is to get a custom die cut to match your chamber. The 20 EXTREME advantage is that it can be fired about 10 times before the case stretches as much as the 20-222 does on first firing." end quote
 
I'm familiar with that quote. Problem is the number estimates regarding the 20-222 simply aren't factual for a lot of 20-222 reamer designs regarding case volume, fireforming growth, expansion, etc. I have 2 20-222's and have performed extensive case volume comparisons alongside the EXTREME, vartarg, and other 20's with the use of rubbing alcohol. The results were quite different than previous claims that have been stated. I'm actually working on a different 20 cal small capacity and we are now in the load development stages, just waiting for warmer weather. Will try to keep you folks posted.
 
Originally Posted By: M595NutI'm familiar with that quote. Problem is the number estimates regarding the 20-222 simply aren't factual for a lot of 20-222 reamer designs regarding case volume, fireforming growth, expansion, etc. I have 2 20-222's and have performed extensive case volume comparisons alongside the EXTREME, vartarg, and other 20's with the use of rubbing alcohol. The results were quite different than previous claims that have been stated. I'm actually working on a different 20 cal small capacity and we are now in the load development stages, just waiting for warmer weather. Will try to keep you folks posted.

Ok nice thats good to hear someone testing data against the 20ext loads because as awesome as the cartridge is i always kind of wondered how true the data was. That is one of the reasons im choosing the more proven cartridges over it.
Oh realy? Im intrigued care to share any details? Or is it a suprise? Haha
 
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