20 BR vs 22 BR

[stinnett1981]

Thinking about a new build for varmint and prone target shooting out to 600 yards max. I read comparisons about the 22-250 and .204 and seems like the .204 with 40g Vmax has less drop, wind and more energy out to 600 yards than the 22-250 does shooting 40g, 50g and 60g bullets. Or i could be wrong.... I know comparing a .204 and 22-250 isn't the same as comparing a 20 BR and 22 BR. Please give me some good data and pros and cons about the 2. It will be my first custom rig and i wanna make the right pick. Thanks

 

[rickiesrevenge]

If your only two choices are the 22 br and 20 br I would pick the 22. I like the sub calibers but for target shooting a 20br barrel will be burned up pretty quick. If your just going to use it for varmint hunting where you can control your rate of fire and give the barrel time to cool down the 20 would be awesome. You might want to ask your question over on saubier.com as there are a bunch of guys with 20br experience.

Aaron

 

[expiper]

Hi Stin,,,if it was me I would go 22 with an 8 twist bbl...that way you can shoot up to 80 gr bullets and target shoot at any distance and also use 52-53 for short range and any of the varmint bullets ...Rx 15 for 60 and under/Rx 22 for the big-uns....but,,,why not???? a 6mmBR !!!!! If you could chooze a 20 why not a 6mm??its the best of all..!!!!....remember you can sell that 22 cal bbl rite on here and get a 6mm from Bruno in a cupla days.....Roger

 

[Gadget]

I use a 22br in comp to 800 mts 1:8 twist 80g Bvld's @3200 fps awsom rig.

Gadget

 

[fredhorace77]

a good friend of mine whom also wrote for Precision Shooting Mag. once built a .20BR. It was a neat little cart. but accuracy never trumped the. 22BR. He stated it was something fun to play with and he had always dreamed of building one,so he did. He told me the accuracy was really better with the .22BR....And even better again with the 6BR.

 

[MarkS]

stinnett1981,

Of the two I would go with the 22BR. But, I am with expiper. I have had All three. I would go with the 6BR. That is what I use. I like 70gr to 87Vmax for Varmints and 105 to 108 for long range.

Mark Schronce

 

[stinnett1981]

I already have a HV .224 Hart 8 twist barrel. I thought about buying a .204 or .243 barrel if i was gonna go the 20BR or 6BR route. I decided since i already the .224 barrel I will just go with the 22BR. I also considered the 22 Dasher??????? Don't know if i wanna try the whole fire forming thing

 

[birdog]

Don't know if i wanna try the whole fire forming thing

Stinnett,
The fireforming 'deal' is a one time only thing with the Dasher.
If you go 22 BR you are going to have to trim the cases every 4 to 5
firings as they stretch like crazy with the 30 degree shoulder.

The 40 degree Dasher may go 15 firings before trimming.
You would be happier with the 6 mm version.

 

[stinnett1981]

What kind of barrel life would I get with the 22 dasher if I never over heated it and only shot heavy rounds when target shooting. The only time I would shoot the light rounds is when coyote hunting.

 

[lpreddick]

another vote for the 22BR. i too have a 1in 8 tw hart and it will one hole the 77 gr smks all day at 3100fps. a kreiger 1 in 12 tw puts 63 gr cheek bullets in the one 's and occ in the zeros ...i'm not a benchrester but a varmint hunter and killed 26 consecutive ghogs last summer without a miss. currently awaiting a kreiger 1 in 14 twist for pushing 52 fowlers at 3600 fps+. thought of a 20 BR but bullet selection is limited compared to the 22 cal. re the dasher...seperate dies will be required. my 6 BR dies work for the 22 BR, 6 BR, 6 BRX, 6x47 lapua and 22 BRX, all having 30 degree shoulders. i did get a 22 BR bullet seater (forster with the micrometer dial).

 

[BoydAllen]

If the mix is targets and coyote shooting, I would pick a 6 BR over the .22, for reasons of accuracy and barrel life. A friend has a couple of slow twist 6BRs ( one with a 12" twist, and one with a 14") and I have seen one of them shoot at the same level of accuracy as my 6PPC, when the same custom bullets (67 gr.)were used.

A friend that did a lot of varmint hunting stopped using HP match bullets after he became aware of the number of ricochets that he was getting, switching to plastic tipped varmint bullets. If you look at the BC of a 55 gr. .22 Ballistic Tip, and compare it to that of the 6mm the 55 gr. Ballistic Tip, I think that you may be surprised.

Just for fun, I have loaded some hot loads with the latter, in my 20.5" barreled 6PPC, without any load workup, and they are amazingly fast, for the case size and barrel length, and plenty accurate for any field use, even though there is considerable jump.

 

[fdshuster]

birdog: Case stretching with 30 degree shoulders on my 6BR's and 6ppc's has never been an issue.

But then, I'm controlling headspace when sizing, bumping the shoulders back .001" to a maximum of .002" each time. My 6BR & ppc brass (Lapua of course) in some cases have 45+ loadings on them ( I keep a count on number of times loaded) & I have yet to throw away a case because of the incipiant head case seperation, common to someone who is oversizing their brass.

If someone is trimming after 4 or 5 firings they would experience case head seperations long before 45+ loadings. Brass trimmed off the case mouth has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is from the area of the case head, where the greatest pressures are.

On my BR's & ppc's I'm trimming after every 12 to 15 loadings & then only removing a maximum of .004".

I will agree to case stretching, even with minimal sizing with the 243 Win.(20 degrees), 220 Swift (21 degrees with a reputation for stretching), 223 ( 23 degrees) and 22-250 (28), so do believe there is some connection between shoulder angle & case stretching with these cartridges, but I do not see that as a problem with 30 degree shoulders.

 

[stinnett1981]

whats the heaviest bullet a 12 twist 6mm BR can shoot? I wanna shoot the lighter bullets for hunting and some heavier bullets for target out to 600 yards

 

[MarkS]

stinnett1981,

See my write up on this site. http://www.6mmbr.com/Schronce600.html A 87gr Vmax is the heavest bullet a 12 will shoot. The 80gr flat base bullets are a great 600 yds bullet. You may want to set up your gun like mine, switch barrel. I have a Stiiler Diamondback with 3 Barrels 12, 10 , and 8 tw all in 6BR.

Mark Schronce