Aw hell, I fell for the 20s.

[6xcshooter]

My 204r, 20 practical, and 20 vartarg. Mmm. Mmm good!

 

[slancey]

So far, the 35 Berger’s shoot so well that I’m hesitant to try another bullet. The throat length on the Tactical seems just right for that one. I do like the reports I have read about the 39-40 grainers, however. I hope Sierra makes their 36 grain Blitz King for reloaders someday.

 

[swimster]

I rebarreled a Rem XR 100 with a Criteron Remage Barrel 26inch 11 twist. With a 20 BR Chamber. It was very easy to tune and shoots several different powders well with 40g bullets. I wish Hornaday Sierra or Nosler would come out with 50g bullet . It is fun to shoot. Amazing how fast that bullet gets too 400yd.steel.

. .

 

[TAJ45]

Agreed on a heavier delivery unit. I'd settle for anything between 45 to 50 of reasonable quality. Say one for varmints and one for semi serious match duty. It doesn't have to be a boutique bullet.

 

[slancey]

I rebarreled a Rem XR 100 with a Criteron Remage Barrel 26inch 11 twist. With a 20 BR Chamber. It was very easy to tune and shoots several different powders well with 40g bullets. I wish Hornaday Sierra or Nosler would come out with 50g bullet . It is fun to shoot. Amazing how fast that bullet gets too 400yd.steel.

. .

I think your twist rate is about right. At what elevation are you shooting? I'm at 600 feet above sea level and I think 1-12 is a little slow for the longer bullets.

 

[swimster]

I`m @ 1000 ft. If I remember right when I ordered my barrel an 11 twist was good for up 50g. I'm running the 40g Vmax 3950 fps. I had it up to 4050 it just grouped better at 3950. I would think your 12 should work for 39 or 40g .

 

[TAJ45]

The button pulled 12s are pretty hit and miss with a 40 Hornady. Hammer forged or cut seem to usually handle them.
I'm just curious why I personally have yet to read anything about the Hornady 45s. Are they that bad or just plain won't stabilise in the popular 11s? I have some on the shelf, not tried them, no 20 bbl chambered yet.

 

[swimster]

I think the BC is a little better on the 40g vmax and 39 Sierra's. I would guess.

 

[TAJ45]

Hmmm, hadn't thought of that. An Obvious point.

 

[flatlander]

I built myself a 20 VarTarg several years ago on a Rem M700 CDL stainless fluted varmint in 17FB that was purchased specifically for the 20VT project, while Zanders was running a special on them. I pulled the OEM 17FB bbl and sent it to Bartlein to have them do a 1-11tw bbl in the same contour, and thought the rifle turned out nice - although after finishing it, I felt leaving the new bbl at 26" was excessive. Loved the way it shot, even with a particularly crappy lot of R-P 221FB brass. Wound up selling it to a varmint hunter who was headed off on a PD safari in the Dakotas - we just don't have any decent dog towns around here anymore. I'd like to do another one on a Howa Mini action, but my reamer was ground with a .232" neck, and I've heard the Lapua 221FB brass gives a loaded neck dia of .232". Would either have to get another 20VT reamer, or try using a neck reamer to open up the neck of a chamber cut with the current one to be able to use Lapua brass.

I did a 20 Tactical Bartlein 1-9tw for a Howa Mini, finished it at 24", and put it in a Boyds ProVarmint stock in their sky blue color. Shot the bbl's action & DBM with sniper gray CeraKote, and have been happy with the performance of the 20 Tac. I bought two 1-9tw blanks off Bartlein's inventory list, thinking I wanted to shoot Berger 55gr LRBT bullets. I get just over 3200fps out of the 55s in the 20 Tac, but accuracy has been a little inconsistent - first trip out to 600yds with it was very impressive, but I haven't duplicated those results since. It shoots great with S39BK & H40V-Max though, at 3600-3680fps. Just need to spend a little more time doing load development with it, instead of pulling it out of the closet to look at every few weeks... 1st photo is a shot of the M700 20VT with my old (purchased NIB in 1971) Sako Vixen 223; 2nd is a shot of the Howa Mini 20 Tac.

 

[gtl1946]

I was chuckling about the title and, slancey, I thought you should’ve written yippee I fell for the 20’s !!!!! The only bad part is the financial when you keep buying them. They are addictive BUT they are everything that they are advertised to be. Welcome to the club !!!

 

[slancey]

I was chuckling about the title and, slancey, I thought you should’ve written yippee I fell for the 20’s !!!!! The only bad part is the financial when you keep buying them. They are addictive BUT they are everything that they are advertised to be. Welcome to the club !!!

Well, I'm definitely happy now, but that title is a little tongue-in-cheek in that I always thought the .22s were the best varmint cartridges. Having shot the dogs with .222 Rem. Mag., .220 Swift, and .22-250 over the years, I just couldn't imagine the trade-offs were worth it. Finally admitting I was wrong was the hardest part! Not that the .22s aren't great. It's just that the .20s elevate the experience to a new level.

 

[Tommie]

Well, I'm definitely happy now, but that title is a little tongue-in-cheek in that I always thought the .22s were the best varmint cartridges. Having shot the dogs with .222 Rem. Mag., .220 Swift, and .22-250 over the years, I just couldn't imagine the trade-offs were worth it. Finally admitting I was wrong was the hardest part! Not that the .22s aren't great. It's just that the .20s elevate the experience to a new level.

100% mirrors my experience

 

[Ledd Slinger]

After years of reading about the 20s, hearing about the 20s, watching the 20s do their thing, and resisting the 20 calibers, I finally jumped in. I bought this .20 Tactical and liked it so much I bought a couple of .204 Rugers, all Dakota Varminters.
Yup, you guys were right. They're easy to load and tune, and they shoot like crazy. The lack of recoil is the real bonus. So if you are like I was for all this time, and still on the fence, be careful. Once you buy one, you may never shoot anything else. I've owned, loaded, and shot rifles in 35 different cartridges over the last 35 years, and this is turning out to be the most fun I've had with a rifle.
I'll be taking this one to my family farm in Wisconsin soon, which just happens to have a woodchuck and ground squirrel problem. More pictures to follow...

View attachment 1177531

I was kind of the opposite. My very first "strictly varmint" rifle was a Remington 700 in 204 Ruger when the rifles first started hitting the market back in 2005. I was instantly lovestruck! So much that I never bought any 22 cal varmint rifles. Had 5.56/223 in AR15s of course, but not in a varmint platform. After the 204R, which is on its second barrel now and still shoots 1/3" groups at 200 yards, I went on to build other rifles in 20 VarTarg, 20 Ackley Hornet, 20 Tactical, and most recently a 20 PPC. Absolutely love the 20 cals. So much fun to shoot and all of them are deadly accurate.

Took me a handful of years to turn my father in law onto the 20 cal kick. He was a 22 and 17 guy for many years. He still likes his 17 cal Wildcats, but has since abandoned all 22 cal builds for 20 cal rounds. So much fun

I will say that I also enjoy my 6mm varmint/target rifles. Have a 6mm Rem, 6mm Creed, and 243 LBC Turbo 40. Though they are not as easy to load for and cost more to shoot, but man oh man when a 75gr HP bullet hits a gopher at close range after leaving the muzzle at 3500 fps it's pure carnage! LOL.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I think the BC is a little better on the 40g vmax and 39 Sierra's. I would guess.

Not sure about that, but the Sierra 39gr will outshoot the V-Max across the board. Most forgiving bullet I have ever loaded for. Flat shoots in every single 20 cal I have ever tried with 12 or 11 twist barrels. I found the 40 VMax to be a lot more finicky, especially in 12 twist.

 

[swimster]

The 45g Hornadys we were talking about are lead spire point flat base. Hence the lower BC.

 

[JSH]

I am not seeing Hornady listing a 45grain .204 bullet.

I have had little issue with the Vmax, with the three 204’s I have worked with seemed to like a jump.

I will say the Sierras shoot well, but at the price point for high quantity shooting, I have not seen enough better to make me flip clear over.

Maybe I just like to tinker to much
I am still trying to wear out a factory barrel so I can get a new one.

 

[swimster]

Check Midway I think that's where I saw them.

 

[slancey]

Now that I've gotten the 35 grain Bergers to shoot, I wonder how the 40 grain Bergers and the 39 grain TNTs shoot. I do like the hollow points for accuracy and explosiveness.

 

[Fast14riot]

I had built a 24" 10 twist 20P on an AR15 upper 5 or 6 years ago. Thing was an absolute laser! Like having a semi auto pellet gun as it weighed 13lbs and recoil was less than a fly swatter. Then I lost access to the few thousand acres of varmint hunting I had due to the patriarch of the owning family passing and too many relatives wanted the land.

So it sat in the safe. Fast forward a couple more years and after a nasty break up and moving, I desperately need some money quick and sold that barrel. Still kicking myself for that. Loved that cartridge and even though I can only shoot unleaded at anything with fur or feathers now, I still want another 20P.

One of these days I will own another.

I ran the 39TNT with success over BL-(C)2 around 3750. The 32vmax liked IMR4198 and about 4100fps. My 100m and 200m zero was 0.1" different with 150m shooting 0.8" high, so from 0-200m was always poa/poi. Couldn't get any easier than that!