20 Vartarg on its way

[Rick in Oregon]

Chris, nice job buddy! She sure turned out nice for sure, and it'll most likely shoot as good as it looks.

I'll wager that once you spend some time afield with that one, your other rifles won't get shot as much any more. I can almost feel your smile from here.

 

[Chris Shelton]

Thank you all!

Chris, nice job buddy! She sure turned out nice for sure, and it'll most likely shoot as good as it looks.

I'll wager that once you spend some time afield with that one, your other rifles won't get shot as much any more. I can almost feel your smile from here.

My wife has claimed it for when we go prairie dog hunting in June lol. As long as it keeps her interested in doing it, she can shoot it. Hopefully I’ll get a couple shots off with it myself hah.

 

[Chris Shelton]

I had planned to cerakote the barreled action black and leave the flutes matte stainless. Kinda like the way it looks now though. What’s some thoughts on that?

 

[Rick in Oregon]

I had planned to cerakote the barreled action black and leave the flutes matte stainless. Kinda like the way it looks now though. What’s some thoughts on that?

Looks purty good now to me, but a stainless barrel with black flutes really tops a rifle off. Just cosmetic I know, but the effect is very good looking if you're into 'good looking'. I know I am.

Nice rig you've got there, Chris. I hope wifey lets you shoot it in the rat patch!

 

[Hal]

TheCZKid nailed it in Post #8 above.

For me, Rl-7 and A2200 have been best with both the Nosler 32gr BT and their 32gr Vgdn, with a bit more velocity using RL-7.



In my Cooper 20VT, both bullets shoot well inside MOR, or "Minute of Rat".

Chris, you're gonna be in love with your new Pac-Nor barrelled 20VT, and be sure to post up just how happy you are when she comes home.

Nice job of keeping record targets. They back up you memory as time goes flying by.

Hal

 

[7315br]

PAC-Nor called today for the final shipping payment. The Howa mini barreled action is on its way home. Should be here Friday! Time to start loading some test rounds.

Planning to run 32 gr vmax and H4198. I have a bunch of 8208. Is it worth a shot too?

Chris,

I've had several .20VT's through the years. I've stayed with H4198. Very accurate and good velocity...but HARD to meter! I tried AA2200. Meters well and very accurate. I usually can find it when one can't with H4198. You might give it a try.

Group out of my XP-100 .20VT and AA2200.

 

[CWB]

Don't be afraid to try some 39 grain Sierra's as well. My buddy's and I have done a lot of long range shooting at 400-plus yards with our 20 Vartarg's and we have found out that the 39 grain bullets even though they are slower that they hit a lot more consistently at longer distances. We have found that the 32 grain bullets tend to get blown around by the effects of the wind quite a bit more which in turn results in a lot less hits.

 

[Chris Shelton]

Don't be afraid to try some 39 grain Sierra's as well. My buddy's and I have done a lot of long range shooting at 400-plus yards with our 20 Vartarg's and we have found out that the 39 grain bullets even though they are slower that they hit a lot more consistently at longer distances. We have found that the 32 grain bullets tend to get blown around by the effects of the wind quite a bit more which in turn results in a lot less hits.

What kind of speed do you see with them?

 

[Mike in Oregon]

Absolutely beautiful setup sir!

 

[CWB]

With the 39 grain sierra's in my 20 Vartarg. I run about 17.6 - 17.7 grains of H4198 and they shoot at about 3400-3450 fps. Could load them a little hotter ....but not loading them to the max makes my brass last a little longer.

 

[Chris Shelton]

With the 39 grain sierra's in my 20 Vartarg. I run about 17.6 - 17.7 grains of H4198 and they shoot at about 3400-3450 fps. Could load them a little hotter ....but not loading them to the max makes my brass last a little longer.

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I’ll have to give them a try. Still in the process of getting my reloading room set up so haven’t been able to load any rounds and see how it shoots. I’m itching to do it though.

 

[flatlander]

I've got several Howa Mini custom barreled rifles, including one with a Bartlein 1-9tw that I chambered in 20 Tactical. I've also got a fully trued M700 action with another Bartlein 20 Tactical that shoots consistently better than the Mini, and since the shank on the Mini's Bartlein is plenty long enough, I've been thinking about setting it back and chambering it in 20VT. But when I tried some 20VT loaded ammo in the Howa's plastic magazine, it nose-dived & wouldn't feed - that was still with the 20 Tactical chamber, as I wasn't about to screw with that bbl until/unless I had confidence in it being able to feed smoothly out of the plastic Howa mag. Am still thinking about it, but would sure like to hear opinions & experiences using the Howa Mini & factory plastic mags in a 20VT....

 

[Chris Shelton]

I've got several Howa Mini custom barreled rifles, including one with a Bartlein 1-9tw that I chambered in 20 Tactical. I've also got a fully trued M700 action with another Bartlein 20 Tactical that shoots consistently better than the Mini, and since the shank on the Mini's Bartlein is plenty long enough, I've been thinking about setting it back and chambering it in 20VT. But when I tried some 20VT loaded ammo in the Howa's plastic magazine, it nose-dived & wouldn't feed - that was still with the 20 Tactical chamber, as I wasn't about to screw with that bbl until/unless I had confidence in it being able to feed smoothly out of the plastic Howa mag. Am still thinking about it, but would sure like to hear opinions & experiences using the Howa Mini & factory plastic mags in a 20VT....

I seated 5 dummy rounds to 1.855 with 39 gr blitzkings which is the OAL that sierra lists. It feeds flawlessly so far out of the plastic mag using DIP bottom metal. If you want to, pm me your number and I can text you the video of it feeding and ejecting with no hiccups. Do you remember the OAL you were trying? Hollow point or tipped? If you tried hollow points, I’d be more than happy to seat some bergers to try and maybe see where we can find the difference in setup or something.

It shouldnt make a difference I wouldnt think, but the factory plastic bottom metal caused the mag to have play and wiggle room. The DIP makes the mag fit very tight with no play at all

 

[Chris Shelton]

There are the 5 dummy rounds in the mag with a bunch of room ahead of the bullet tip.