20 Practical components help

[st338]

I am doing my first savage build and it is going to be a 20 Practical from my dad as a surpirse. It is going to have a 26” 12 twist Shilen barrel. I have read the 20 Practical page and am still confused on what reloading components I need to purchase. If someone could steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it. He has a 223 Rem. set of dies, one is small base and one regular with a comp. seater which if I understand right he can use to seat .20 cal bullets. I was planning on ordering him a .223 Redding S FL sizer die. What bushings should I start with? Also the terminology in reference to a different decapping stems and sizing buttons is throwing me off and if I need to purchase different ones. If someone could tell me exactly what I need to order to get him started this would be helpful. I have done a lot of straight forward reloading, but have never had to change parts out in a set of dies to make it work and do not quite understand it all. Any help in this direction would be appreciated.
Thanks
Shannon

 

[BigDMT]

Sounds like you are on the right track with the redding type s fl die. Just need a .228" to .230" bushing and you should be good to go for sizing. Just buy a 20 cal expander ball and swap it out with the 22 cal ball on the stem. But sometimes stems can be a little different between calibers so Iwould recommend ordering the entire 20 cal expander ball and stem as a set. No biggie if you end up with and extra stem. Good luck.

 

[DogBuster]

Recently set up a 20PT for a guy...ordered these items from Sinclair

Type S 20 cal stem...749-002-155 (I use a .227 bushing)

Type S 223 neck die..749-006-071

Redding 223 body die..749-003-815

Then a Forster BR seater for 204R

He had no 223 dies to start with..so it was a fresh set of complete dies
You at least have a start...

 

[itchyTF]

I have two .20 P's in an AR platform. I was advised to use an 11 twist barrel. You might check Berger's twist rate calculator with the bullets you plan on using.

I neck down in 3 steps - first is the standard for .223 bushing, then a .232 (or thereabout) then a .224 (I believe). I believe some people had trouble doing it all in one step. Probably could reduce it to 2 steps.

I have a separate decapping assembly for the .20 - the threaded section on top that screws intot the die, the stem, carbide expander, pin & retaining collar. Easy to swap.

 

[hogpatrol]

I have an AR platform in .20P with 1-10 twist. It'll shoot lights out up to 40gr bullets but the 32s are my favorites. I neck down in two steps, .233 bushing first & for the brand of brass I am using, a .225. You need to measure the diameter of a loaded round and then use a bushing .001 or more smaller, depending on your desired neck tension. I use the redding die with a carbide button. I removed .015 from the shell holder face to get down on the neck a little further. For seating, I am using a Forster 223 competition seater. Good Luck, You will like the .20 P. Hog

 

[st338]

Thanks for the help guys got my component list together now. My intent is for this one to shoot 32's so I hope it likes them.

Thanks
Shannon

 

[BigDMT]

Thanks for the help guys got my component list together now. My intent is for this one to shoot 32's so I hope it likes them.

Thanks
Shannon

The 1 in 12 twist barrel will be perfect the 32gr bullets. Good luck.

And if you ever want to buy me a rifle for a present as well, please feel free ;D

 

[Dvldawg]

I have built a 20 Practical w/.231 NK Krieger Rem.HB contour 1-11 twist as for the dies and bushing..
Redding 223 S-Bushing die FL - #77111
NK sizer - #71111
20 cal. S-Bushing decapping rod assembly #14206
I ran the brass thru the 223 die w/ no expander ball, then used the .234 Bushing and then down to the .227 to finish.. Good luck and enjoy, hope this was helpful..

 

[GrocMax]

For volume shooting don't discount the Midway Dogtown/Midsouth VNE 34g .204 bullet, cheap and effective to about 350 yds or so, its child's play to get them to 4000 FPS. Great value, and yes they work very well on small varmints.

Don't let the lack of BC sway you, they work fine, shoot POA flat to about 275-300 yds before they drop off the BC cliff.

 

[greg8012]

i bought a set of dies from 4d tool and die works great 25.0 gr of 8208 32gr v-max and your in business I put a boyds thumbhole stock on it and it is a favorite rifle and I have plenty of them

 

[moorepower]

I ran some LC brass through a .223 SB die without the stem, and it chambered in my .20P. IF you have a .223 SB die, that's an easy way to form. I am not the one who came up with this and take no credit for it. I am going to load some like that and some formed the proper way and see if the accuracy suffers.

 

[moorepower]

For curiosity sake, I measured a loaded .204 round and the .223sb sized neck, with no expander installed. It sized the neck .003 under the neck of the loaded round. That's close to perfect in my book for forming.

 

[Tommie]

For curiosity sake, I measured a loaded .204 round and the .223sb sized neck, with no expander installed. It sized the neck .003 under the neck of the loaded round. That's close to perfect in my book for forming.

Dude. This thread is 9 years old.

 

[moorepower]

Dude. This thread is 9 years old.

And people still shoot .20P's. I got two likes and a pm, so somebody noticed!

 

[DogBuster]

And people still shoot .20P's. I got two likes and a pm, so somebody noticed!

I'm soon retiring a 20P......Savage s/shot Accue trigger action & Shilen 10 twist barrel

Just shooting it today & it still amazes me...40 V max main bullet I use...then the 39 TNT

P/dogs die a very long ways away....Wind has been relentless this spring...today no different

So simple to set up....especially back when components & dies were easy

 

[Tommie]

And people still shoot .20P's. I got two likes and a pm, so somebody noticed!

How nice

 

[Bill K]

You can also read a lot of information on the 20 Practical, by clicking on the 20 cal on the list on the left side of the main page of this site.

 

[jpx2rk]

I'm soon retiring a 20P......Savage s/shot Accue trigger action & Shilen 10 twist barrel

Just shooting it today & it still amazes me...40 V max main bullet I use...then the 39 TNT

P/dogs die a very long ways away....Wind has been relentless this spring...today no different

So simple to set up....especially back when components & dies were easy

What powder are you using with the 39 TNT, and how is the performance vs the vmax ??

 

[Bowhunter-tw]

All these set ups sounds like they are for initial forming, do you have to run the brass through all 3 dies for resizing after they have already been fired in a 20p chamber?

 

[L.Sherm]

The 20 Prac just needs necked down to 20 cal. You can do it in 2 steps with a bushing or one with a forming die then run them in a FL 223 Bushing die with the proper bushing. Theres really no forming to do, only if you have brass that has alot of the shoulder pushed back. Gotta have a comparator to measure fired case vrs new ive seem .010 difference in new brass compared to fired.