Why the big 20s?

[Lefty2506]

I'm curious why people are doing the bigger 20cal wildcats. Not trying to pick a fight. I'm just generally curious on what the appeal is. I understand the benefits of some of the smaller cartridges like the 20 vartag and 20 practical, but I'm struggling to understand the appeal of the bigger cases like the 20ppc, 20BR, and even the 20-250 in comparison with their 22 cal counterparts.

Just curious
Mark

 

[7315br]

Just curious...you asked soooo here's my $.02 worth. I've had at least a dozen different .20 cal Wildcats through the years...some of them in multiples. I'm now down to the .20 JI (Javelina Improved) as the largest case. I probably at some point will build another .20 PPC, but that would be the largest cased one. I even tried a .20/.223WSSM case a number of years ago (really stupid!). So overbore...not even worth talking about!

Going back now, TK's design on the .20 Vartarg is still hard to beat. RayH's .20 JI is another very well designed .20 wildcat. I still have both.

First off...for some reason (unknown to me), I really like the .20 calibers. Then I got the brillant idea of trying to go looong range (1000 yds plus with them)!! I never said I was smart...lol!! Spent a ton of money to find out it's just not practical. FUN...but has a lot of variables. Too many for my taste!

I do still love the smaller .20 wildcats for GS shooting.

 

[platapus]

20BRA, 55gr Don Ussimeg, 3700 is an amazing coyote round.

I have a couple 20-223 IMP for pd’s

Love the 20 cal, I really wish there was more of a bullet selection besides an annual run on the Berger 55s and Sierra would make something heavier than the 39.

 

[B23]

I can only speak for myself but I'd imagine many others built theirs for the same reason but I had a 20-250 built specifically just to shoot the Berger 55 grainers. Are they the most practical cartridge made, not particularly, but I've done and had a lot worse ideas. Is it my favorite 20 cal rifle I own, honestly, I don't know that I have a favorite in any caliber.

It's kind of one of those do I need it, no not at all, BUT, I think we can all pretty much agree that if "need" was a prerequisite we'd all only have one or two rifles period and where would the fun be in that.

 

[Lefty2506]

20BRA, 55gr Don Ussimeg, 3700 is an amazing coyote round.

I have a couple 20-223 IMP for pd’s

Love the 20 cal, I really wish there was more of a bullet selection besides an annual run on the Berger 55s and Sierra would make something heavier than the 39.

I don't have any experience with 20s (yet), but I'd tend to agree. That being said, it looks like if you're going to go above 40gr, you start start consuming a lot more powder and still struggle to maintain velocity.

I'm surprised that the 20-223AI isn't a lot more popular. Seems like it would be a 204 Ruger killer. Faster, easier and cheaper to feed, and potentially more accurate. The 20 practical looks like its super easy to make. I wouldn't think an AI version would be any more difficult. I don't own any AI cases, but I've always believed that a 223AI was a sweet spot for case capacity and performance for 224 projectiles both in bolt guns, and in ARs. Seems reasonable to expect a similar correlation with the 20 cals.

 

[B23]

Seems reasonable

Ok, so you start using words like "reasonable" and you've already lost me. lol

As anyone that's been doing this very long will tell you "reasonable" is a term we use rather loosely.

 

[nakneker]

If you ask why my immediate thought is “why not” - granted the big overbore 20 cals aren’t practical in any sense of the word but they are fun and very impressive as far as fast and impacts. When you get into anything overbore, no matter the caliber, practical or ”makes sense” goes out the window imo. Your just venturing in the land of the unpractical.

I’m currently having a 20GT reamer being made at JGS, Im building it just to shoot a pile of 55 grain bergers I have. I think it’ll be fun and don’t mind the impractical side of overbore cartridges. I think it’s fun, to each their own….

I just took delivery of 22-6.5 PRC this summer. I’ve only taken it out a couple times but the two coyotes it dispatched were memorable impacts, talk about a thump! 70 grain accubond at 3625 fps is stout medicine.

 

[L.Sherm]

Its pretty simple really if you want to shoot the 20 cal 55's. If you wanted to go 120 mph would you buy a VW or a Chevy Corvette?

 

[Ackman]

A friend shoots very many coyotes every year. Over the years he's used several different chamberings, but his favorite is the 20-250. He says the thing is an absolute laser and very accurate. And extremely effective on coyotes.

 

[Tommie]

All (well, most) of the above. A larger case pushing 55 Bergers turned out to be the ticket for making hits at 700+ yards while still watching impacts thru the scope. The 22’s and 6mm cartridges can reach out there as well but I found muzzle flip killed the view through the scope.

 

[RegionRat]

Agree with Tommie and the others... the sentiments are that life can be short, so that means each one of us has to decide on how we will spend our time on the rock before we go.

To me, the larger and heavier the projectile, the larger the budget. Now when I place that concept on the landscape of varmint/predator hunting, we have the context.

In this context, we can choose things like 6mm or 7mm as well as we can choose the .20 cal, but it doesn't take direct experience to know where that leads us. When you do the math on the trajectory of the 55 Berger at speeds above 3600 fps, then you will understand. Put that 55 Berger at that speed in a heavy varmint rig and you get to watch it fly.

The bigger bullets come with bigger recoil. I have personally never had a problem with big recoil, however I also appreciate the trajectory of the 55 grain Berger when sent at speeds above 3600 fps. At those distances, you might not get the wind call right on the first try, but you have to see it impact to have a chance for a correction.

To get one to that speed without crazy pressure in a small case means you are typically going to pay the over-bore price. If you don't want to shoot critters are beyond 600 yards using a 20 cal 55 grain bullet, then no worries and I completely understand that it isn't for everyone.

If a coyote makes the mistake of stopping where it felt safe to take a look back, then I am ready. When prairie dogs are dumb and suicidal, and you enjoy shooting them out past 600, then you may want to try this idea before you leave the planet. YMMV

 

[Lefty2506]

That makes sense. I assumed that at least part of the reason was "because I can" or "because I want to." I was looking at the ballistics an comparing them with a 22CM pushing a 75gr ELD at 3450, and the 22CM does noticeably better in the wind with a very similar trajectory. I wasn't sure what the recoil was going to be like from either cartridge, but I can understand that the 20s are going to be less. Plugging the info into a recoil calculator, the 20 would have over 20% less recoil energy which could really help with spotting for yourself.

 

[Tommie]

That makes sense. I assumed that at least part of the reason was "because I can" or "because I want to." I was looking at the ballistics an comparing them with a 22CM pushing a 75gr ELD at 3450, and the 22CM does noticeably better in the wind with a very similar trajectory. I wasn't sure what the recoil was going to be like from either cartridge, but I can understand that the 20s are going to be less. Plugging the info into a recoil calculator, the 20 would have over 20% less recoil energy which could really help with spotting for yourself.

Bingo! You get it!

 

[L.Sherm]

If you compare the 22 75 ELD in a 10 mph at 500 to the 20 cal 55 your talking 2" difference and 6" at 800.
48" for the 75 and 54" for the 20 cal 55.
I dont know about others but if I got to hold 48" I'm leaving my gun in the truck or going to alot shorter distance, I doudt i could even make the 500 yard wind cal between 16 or 18"

 

[Lefty2506]

I can't speak for anyone else, but most of my PD misses are due to elevation and not wind. Don't get me wrong, gusty days suck, but a solid 8-12 mph cross wind doesn't bother me much. After the first miss or two, I've figured out my wind hold, and I'm good to go. Moving from one dog to another while looking through the glass, its hard for me to judge how much farther/closer the dog is. Its not that I nail the wind call on that next shot, its just that I'm off more vertically than I am horizontally.

 

[Gabe22BR]

What would be considered “Big” ???

30gr of powder capacity???

 

[Tommie]

If you compare the 22 75 ELD in a 10 mph at 500 to the 20 cal 55 your talking 2" difference and 6" at 800.
48" for the 75 and 54" for the 20 cal 55.
I dont know about others but if I got to hold 48" I'm leaving my gun in the truck or going to alot shorter distance, I doudt i could even make the 500 yard wind cal between 16 or 18"

It aint easy! Generally I’ve found Berger’s originally published BC of .381 to be more consistent with how the 55’s fly when launched in the 3750 FPS range.

 

[RegionRat]

That makes sense. I assumed that at least part of the reason was "because I can" or "because I want to." I was looking at the ballistics an comparing them with a 22CM pushing a 75gr ELD at 3450, and the 22CM does noticeably better in the wind with a very similar trajectory. I wasn't sure what the recoil was going to be like from either cartridge, but I can understand that the 20s are going to be less. Plugging the info into a recoil calculator, the 20 would have over 20% less recoil energy which could really help with spotting for yourself.

Not sure it makes any real difference to you, but wouldn't the 22 CM be in the same part of the woods as running the 20 cal 55 Berger in a wildcat?

Not sure how often you get out for PD hunts, but as often as not when you find yourself in the circle of the folks who like to shoot them far away, the same ones who run the Berger 20 cal 55 grain in a wildcat are the same ones shooting the 22 CM and the like. (Count me in that bunch.)

When the 22-250 Lapua brass got sucked into the vortex, I went with trying the 22 CM brass. When you neck one down to 20 cal, it is roughly in the same ballpark as the 20-250. When I burn up these barrels, I will probably try the 20 GT, but I will still carry the 22 CM as well. The 22 CM isn't for everyone either, but I like it.

 

[L.Sherm]

It aint easy! Generally I’ve found Berger’s originally published BC of .381 to be more consistent with how the 55’s fly when launched in the 3750 FPS range.

Oh I get it, I'm not a numbers guy. I dont believe any of them untill I test it.
I was just trying to make the point that trying to compare 22 bullets to the 55 20 cal is really a moot point.
I run the 55 in formed brass at 3730fps

 

[Clancy]

They are lasers and fur friendly but completely impractical to me. I don’t care anything about a rifle that won’t shoot .250 with regularity, and with 500 rounds of barrel life on a giant 20, regular is out of the question. I can see myself chasing seating depth into the abyss.