20 PPC Curiosity

[Frans]

Good day all. Dont know if here is an introduction section on the forum but here goes.

My name is Frans (almost pronounced like the country France) I'm all the way from South-Africa. I'm a youngster (21 years old) and I am an avid hunter, sport shooter and Varminter. I'm Currently shooting a Savage mod12 LRP 243Ackley and an old Sako 222Rem. I grew up in a Small Country town and Love the farm and outdoors since I can remember.

I just joined the forum a couple of hours ago when I came across some nice 20 PPC threads as I was doing some research on the cartridge and I decided to make contact and get in touch.

I'm very excited about this little cartridge. I'm considering it as a build project for a medium range flat shooting Varmint gun and also for some Steel Gong shooting competitions.

I have a ton of questions regarding the way forward... Barrels, Brass, Die Sets, load data etc. But if have read some threads and have a general idea of what is going on. Even saw one member mention a 20 Blitz (PPC Ackley Improved version) anyone tried it yet?

Still being a Student at College I have a tight budget but I already lined up a Howa Mini Action 6.5Grendel of which I will remove the barrel... In my opinion I'm sitting with a very nice little (budget) action for the project. According to my limited knowledge the PPC will fit perfectly as it is also a 220 Russian based cartridge like the Grendel.

But that's enough from me. Curious to hear form the other 20 PPC shooters.

Best Regards From South-Africa
Frans.

 

[SmokinJoe]

Since you already have the PPC boltface action, I would recommend that you build a 20 Titan, which is based on the Grendel case. I built a 20 PPC and wasn't all that impressed with the performance versus my 20-223AI. The extra from the Grendel case might be worth doing the 20 Titan over the 20-223AI though. Somebody else may chime in with more specific knowledge of these different cartridges for a better comparison. Good luck with your project and have fun.

 

[TAJ45]

I'm sure you're all over the diff articles on twist rate. The 20 is my next two planned chamberings. A Duster and a TAC.

 

[17VLD]

Joe has a great idea with the 20 Titan and the fact that Lapua brass is readily available makes it an even better idea too.Welcome aboard Frans,just be careful the small caliber addition has no cure.Well maybe,building more
Speaking of 20 Dusters I now have 3,2 Sakos and a BAT.Hold on to your wallet.
Matt

 

[GAnderson]

Hard to beat the 20 Blitz...extremely accurate and fast. A real pleasure to shoot with the right set up. Neck down Norma 22PPC brass, load and shoot. 4000FPS with 39gr sierras and that's not pushing them hard. JGS makes the reamer and Whidden makes the dies.
Plenty of other 20cal options out there too.

 

[JASmith]

Since you already have the PPC boltface action, I would recommend that you build a 20 Titan, which is based on the Grendel case. I built a 20 PPC and wasn't all that impressed with the performance versus my 20-223AI. The extra from the Grendel case might be worth doing the 20 Titan over the 20-223AI though. Somebody else may chime in with more specific knowledge of these different cartridges for a better comparison. Good luck with your project and have fun.

The Grendel necked to 20 caliber is known by more than one name. The 20 Grendel is another and should effectively identical chamber dimensions. The major difference might be in chamber neck diameter and freebore. This article discusses ballistics: http://shootersnotes.com/articles/20-grendel/

The ballistics discussion is based on the premise of using a maximum chamber pressure of 50,000 psi to accommodate AR rifles. How much more pressure can be safely used in the Howa action is best gleaned from discussions about the Grendel in forums like the http://www.65grendel.com/forum/forum.php.

The case volume is midway between that of the PPC and the BR.

 

[17VLD]

Thanks for the links JAS,very good info.It seems that a lot of interesting thoughts and builds are conceived for the AR,we Varmint shooters reap the reward sometimes.I think I may rebarrel my XP that is currently a 17PPC to 20 Grendel,sounds like a great project.Sounds like a great way for people that shoot 308s and such to get a lot of good practice at long range with less expensive components.My use would be for long distance pd and chuck shooting,perhaps if enough people build ARs with fast twist barrels and the manufacturing companies take note 52 grain poly tipped bullets will become a welcomed byproduct that we Varmint shooters would enjoy.
Matt

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Fransman why dont you run the grendel as is for a bit, a 100gr or 120gr ballistic tip should be plenty in that little case

 

[jds holler]

Welcome Frans. My 20 cal. of choice is a 20-222. A gentler powered 20.
I think you'll enjoy the 20 cal experience, and the ppc based version sounds very practical. I'm one of those guys who appreciates simple practicality more than bells and whistles, so I'd probably do just what your plan is with a simple neck-down.

Have a ball both with your project and this forum. jd

 

[nmkid]

Well, I went the 20 Practical route. Millions of .223 available to neck down and no fireforming. Plus, it is so much fun to shoot.

 

[JASmith]

Fransman why dont you run the grendel as is for a bit, a 100gr or 120gr ballistic tip should be plenty in that little case

Excellent point!

Stay lwith the 8 twist so the longer, especially lead free bullets will stabilize and your ‘interim’ barrel will give a huge amount of hunting — from small varmints all the way to rather large animals.

 

[Frans]

A Big thanks to everyone and your replies! I was absent for a bit, but just read all the replies again.
Seems that there are a number of alternative options to look at with different approaches to this 20Cal curiosity that struck me. I will surely be running the Grendel with light for caliber bullets for the time being to see how they will do. Pretty sure it will be a pleasure to shoot with and hunt medium sized game at short range. But as soon as my cash situation allows it..I'm building this 20...

Best Regards to all. I enjoying the forum alot.

Cheers

 

[B23]

The .20 cal has become one of my favorites. I just picked up my new 20-222 build last week. I'm usually not a big fan of wood but this one turned out pretty well. The 20-222 is about as easy as it gets. They won't quite run with the 20 Prac/Tac or the 204 Ruger but they aren't to far off and a 8lb jug of H322 will last a really longgggg time.

 

[jds holler]

Hey B23! Looks like maybe you've got the ol' BDL thing goin on there? Or one of the newer detachable mag whatevertheycallums? Looks like new, right off the rack.

322 is about the only powder I don't have for my little gal, and I'd like to know how it works for ya. Should be just the ticket. I stumbled into good groups with BLC with mine, and have been lazy about trying the other stuff I've got.

Drop a line and compare notes sometime. jd

 

[B23]

Like I said before, I'm not much for wood, but I've always really liked the look of those Rem BDL Custom Deluxe rifles and that is exactly the "look" I was going for. The barrel is a Hart #4 so it's a little larger than what they used on the factory guns and unfortunately it doesn't have that deep rich bluing like the factory guns had so black Cerakote will have to do.

Good eye on catching the detachable mag setup, it's a det. mag system from HS Precision.

My gunsmith just did kind of a quickie load work up to test fire it and check everything out and the load is relatively mild at 3600fps , Lapua 222 brass necked down using Redding FL Type S bushing die with .230 bushing, 22.5gr H322, 40gr Berger, 205M, loaded 15 thou off from touching. Seems to shoot this load really well.

 

[jds holler]

Here's a target I logged a few months back to compare dirty vs clean barrel. Shot a few groups with my main load in a filthy barrel, then cleaned and started over. After a couple fouling groups, things got back to peachy. This was the first time out with the rifle mounted in one of the Remingturd plastic stocks. The kind you can get at any gun show for twenty bucks. It's just not very hard to get these rifles shooting pretty well. jd