20 Practical Dies & Headspacing Question

[SVT_Tactical]

Awaiting a barrel and getting parts ready together to put it on my savage action. Can I use my set of 223 headspace go / no-go gauges to set or is there a special set for the practical? Couldn't locate anything specific for the practical.

Also, I know I can make a FL sizing die using a 223 bushing die however is there a specific 20 practical die made by anyone?

 

[Tommie]

Same Go and No-Go gauges. A .223 bushing die works perfectly. Dude it’s really that easy. Perfectly named cartridge.

 

[pintopete]

Awaiting a barrel and getting parts ready together to put it on my savage action. Can I use my set of 223 headspace go / no-go gauges to set or is there a special set for the practical? Couldn't locate anything specific for the practical.

Also, I know I can make a FL sizing die using a 223 bushing die however is there a specific 20 practical die made by anyone?

Years back Warren built a 20 Practical rifle that was featured on the gun of the week. The link is copied below. As I recall from speaking with him back around that time, all he used was a .223 Redding type S die with the correct bushing(s) for the .204 caliber. The same would be true for a 20-222. Just use a bushing type die for a .222 Rem. He loved this rifle, and reported that it shot extremely well. I haven't spoken with him or seen him on the forums for quite a while.

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[Cemetery21]

is there a specific 20 practical die

Not that I know of. Like above, I use Redding's 223 type S. I did have Lee make a custom collet neck sizer and they furnished a seater. So, I can use the Redding without a bushing, then collet size the neck. Or just use the Redding with a bushing. Lee has stopped doing custom dies for awhile - don't know if they have started back up.

 

[AWS]

Hornady seaters with the sliding sleeve work very well with the 20P as they are pretty much caliber specific not cartridge. Plus they make handling the little bullets much easier with fat, old and arthritic fingers.

Interestingly I built a 22-204 and a 20P and was able to swap the guts from the two different Type S dies and didn't have to buy anything else.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I found a Redding 223 neck bushing die on clearance for 20 bucks, so I size FL size with a RCBS 223( set so brass drops into the Lyman 223 ammo checker). And then bushing(.225) size the necks of the lake city brass I use for my 20p AR hunting rifle. Been watching for the Redding FL 223 bushing die.

 

[jepp2]

is there a specific 20 practical die made by anyone?

I've bought a couple from CH4D and one from Whidden with a 0.224" diameter neck

 

[Bachekermooni]

I spoke to Hornady and they sold me the 204 Ruger sleeve and stem for their seating die which I use in my 223 seater with micrometer. Works like a charm. So does my firster 223 seater.

As everyone said, I use the Redding 223 type S with proper bushing.

Important: remember to always trim the case after it has been necked down. The neck gets much longer as a result. Don't ask me how I found out.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Don't trim to 223 length(1.750), 20p is longer 1.760. I haven't had to trim brass,yet, made brass from LC, and Win 223, some shot several times.

 

[pdhntr]

Don't trim to 223 length(1.750), 20p is longer 1.760. I haven't had to trim brass,yet, made brass from LC, and Win 223, some shot several times.

To the original poster,
I don't know what reamer was used to chamber the above, but my 20 P reamer and several others I know of have a max case length of 1.760 as do many .223 chambers.

With zero headspace, anything past 1.760 could cause problems.

I trim to 1.750, the same as a .223.

Jim

 

[SVT_Tactical]

Same Go and No-Go gauges. A .223 bushing die works perfectly. Dude it’s really that easy. Perfectly named cartridge.

So is there a universal size bushing? I see all sorts of different sizes posted as to what folks are using. I have a rcbs bushing FLS 223 die on the way, no bushing currently ordered.... whats the the best to use?

 

[L.Sherm]

So is there a universal size bushing? I see all sorts of different sizes posted as to what folks are using. I have a rcbs bushing FLS 223 die on the way, no bushing currently ordered.... whats the the best to use?

Its gonna depend on brass used.
On the LC brass I use its a .226.

 

[hogpatrol]

So is there a universal size bushing? I see all sorts of different sizes posted as to what folks are using. I have a rcbs bushing FLS 223 die on the way, no bushing currently ordered.... whats the the best to use?

It depends on the brand of brass but I found it could range from .225 to .228 depending on how much neck tension is desired. I use only R-P (Remington) brass, .001-0015 neck tension, and use a .227.

 

[SVT_Tactical]

So tell me this given i'm kinda new to this advanced reloading... how do I measure that? Measure the OD of the brass after sizing? ID after sizing? Take the OD before sizing subtract out the .204 bullet size? whats the best formula for determining the best bushing to order?

 

[L.Sherm]

Measure the neck O.D of a loaded round if you want .002 neck tension subtract that.
Example .228- .002= .226 bushing

 

[SVT_Tactical]

I'm trying to figure out how to load that first round.

 

[Cemetery21]

You may end up with a few bushings to find the right size for your brass.
I initially sized down from 223 in two steps, so I used an intermediate bushing. Then I ended up with a different final bushing to get the neck tension I wanted. It will depend on the brand of brass you use.
If you had someone close that could size a couple of your cases, then you could seat a bullet and figure out your bushing size.

 

[Cemetery21]

Had to look: I used .233 for the intermediate, then .226 for LC bolt action brass, and .227 for WCC AR brass.
I still used the expander ball on the rod, so I was just looking for a bushing that would minimally size the necks and allow the expander to do the final step.

Edit: then I got the Lee collet neck sizer die, so I do nothing with bushings now on necked down brass.

 

[pdhntr]

I use a .224 bushing. I use that bushing as it gives me the bullet hold for running in an AR platform.

For a bolt action I can go to .225 or .226 depending on the brass used.

Tell us what brass you are planning on using. There seems to be enough of us with bushing experience, we could probably get you close.

After you load a few with the first bushing, you can figure out which way you want to go.

Jim

 

[SVT_Tactical]

Let me sort through my brass i have now and i'll pull out 300-500 of the same brand and see what looks the best.