.20 Practical - the place to go for information on problems and fixes

[TrappernGa]

For those guys like me that get into being addicted to the .20 Practical, I could find no consistant forum to go to for "good" information on this cartridge. There was a little here and there about how the cartridge came into being, I read the article that was on the 6BR site shooting and had a receipe or two for what shot well in those guns. How about we all get together on this site and start sharing problems, fixes and share what shoots well for us in our own guns, but we have to list what we are shooting with.
I took a Savage Model 12 lvp and swapped out the barrel for an 11 twist Criterion stainless steel .20 Practical in 24". I went to the range and shot 3 rounds to dirty the barrel and attached is the target on the next 7 shots. I was so impressed with the inherent accuracy of this cartridge I was hooked.
Being honest I have learned a lot about using different bushings with different brass, to where I don't use any military brass or once fired brass. I'm retired and spend time trapping and shooting coyotes for deer clubs around the state.
The target speaks for itself, but the load for my furbearer is 22 grains of H4198 using a 35 grain Berger. I find that it stays in the animal and they usually drop right there.
Off course use at your own risk, but it shows no signs of pressure problems. Now I am building a .20 Practical in an AR15 platform to see if I can have some fun having that second shot available much quicker.
I spent alot of time learning how to reload for this cartridge by making mistakes in my case prep.
I hope others are interested in making this spot the spot to come to for information on the .20 P.
Thanks for listening,
Trapper
I apologize, but I can't get a target pic on here

 

[mattri]

Have you looked at saubier.com?

 

[TrappernGa]

I have, but to be honest. I find sometimes when answers to reloading questions are given, they are sometimes over my head and I find that I am hesitant to ask a question over there. It's like being in elementary school asking a question that gets answered by a college student. Truly only my opinion.

 

[GrocMax]

I personally prefer milsurp brass for my 20 Prac and 6x45, you'll need to do more initial work vs. commercial brass but the end result in $$ spent for multiple thousands of loaded rounds vs. commercial brass is worth it to me. Only thing to watch out for on milsurp brass is having been fired in a squad automatic weapon (SAW) or very loose chamber, they require a LOT of resizing after that.

You should be able to get to 4000 FPS easily with a 34-35g bullet. If you haven't tried the 39g-40g varmint bullets yet, do so, they have a very good combo of speed and BC, and splat for varmints. 4198 will be on the quicker side for 20 Prac powders, just about ANY powder that works well in 223 for lighter bullets will work well in a 20 Prac, it ain't finicky.

 

[nmjwolf]

Robert Whitley has some info on his site about the 20 practical 6mmar.com. He recommends milspec brass.

I find that military brass and H335 work well for me.

 

[TrappernGa]

See how easy this is with quality input! I wish there was just a small .20 Practical forum. Thanks for the input so far.

 

[L1986]

What kind of barrel life are you guys getting out of the prac?

 

[TrappernGa]

After almost 2000 rounds I had a gunsmith scope for firecracking and he said the chamber was clean and the barrel looked great. Most of my rounds run 3600-3750 fps.

 

[DogBuster]

Just loaded 400 20 PT rds today....WCC & LC brass & H4895

Built mine from a re chambered 204R P-N 12T tube in '07

Redding 223 bushing neck w/227" & Forster 204R BR seater

Moly 40 V max is only diet...approx 4700 rds out....luv it !

 

[Tim Singleton]

My 20P is also a savage. Mine is a pawn shop donor model 10 with a CBI barrel 24" varmint. Bedded in a laminate stock. Couple coils clipped off the accutrigger spring. I really love how easy it is to form brass and it seems to shoot anything you put in it pretty well. I've gotten in to other things last couple years. But this was one of my favorite loads just touching the lands in my gun. If I remember right it was just shy of 4000 fps. Redding bushing sizing die Hornady 204 seating die. New Lake city brass
No recoil great accuracy easy to load awesome to 200 on varmints what more can you ask for

Try the app simple resize to get your pics sized small enough file to up load

 

[Tim Singleton]

Savage rifles have their faults. But I have to say if it weren't for the barrel nut system and now the great prefIt barrels by CBI and McGowen among others. The ordinary guy like myself would not be able to try a wildcat cartridge like the 20P. A lot of guys are afraid to try a wildcat like the 20P but the savage is helping people along with it.

Looks like some of you guys are using a quite a bit faster powder than I was. Goes to show how wide the load window is.

Nice thread helped me think of how much I like my Practical.

 

[L1986]

After almost 2000 rounds I had a gunsmith scope for firecracking and he said the chamber was clean and the barrel looked great. Most of my rounds run 3600-3750 fps.

Wow thats pretty good. Exactly what I wanted to hear. I believe this will be my next build just cannot decide if I should start with an AR platform or savage.

 

[SShooterZ]

See how easy this is with quality input! I wish there was just a small .20 Practical forum. Thanks for the input so far.

We have a couple of .20 Prac shooters here if you're interested.
http://www.burntpowder.com/forum/index.php

 

[dedogs]

Trapper, Looks like you've found a good place right here

 

[GrocMax]

They will get surprisingly good barrel life and stay PD accuracy clean for hundreds of rounds IF you don't overheat them.

 

[L1986]

Would you guys suggest an AR or bolt gun for the first one. Would also be my first ar build. Thinking mostly prairie dogs and other small vermin.

 

[Tim Singleton]

Would you guys suggest an AR or bolt gun for the first one. Would also be my first ar build. Thinking mostly prairie dogs and other small vermin.

I guess that depends more on your taste. IMO a savage bolt gun will be more accurate. But I really like my AR rifles too. A 20P would be a great first AR build. Easy enough to change the barrel on it later if you wanted to make a 223 out of the AR. Varmints are small targets at 250 yards. A nice shooting .3 moa or better gun will help at longer ranges. I do good to get .5 to .75 out of my AR on a regular basis. That's with a $275 trigger
I guess I'm saying if ringing out the best accuracy is the main objective I would build a bolt gun

 

[searcher]

I have just over 4,000 rounds on a Hart 1-11" tw. 24" barrel on my A/R. I had some once-fired Remington brass in a box wanting to be used - so I loaded it up after turning the necks for a clean-up after sizing down to .20. I use LT-32 powder which is pretty fast but incredibly accurate in my rfle. I do not pamper this rifle, I get it hot, hot, hot when action is good and go 100 rounds at a time without cleaning. I borescoped it recently and it does not look much worse than a Rem 700 bolt gun (.223) with similar round count. Still shoots 3/8"- 1/2" 5-shot groups at 100 yards in no-wind conditions. That thing puts 'em down! Shot some squirrels at 600 with it two weeks ago using the 39 BK's. My only peeve (despite proper brass shoulder setback) is case stretch. This is a higher-pressure round than that of the parent .223 and I expect a bit more - I also think the Remington brass may possibly be a contributor but I am just now preparing another batch of brass as the Remington is worn out. This is also the only round that I had to get small-base sizing die for to load properly, though that was the reamer which supposedly is of the same print as the one Mr. Whitley uses. When this tube is shot - I'm getting another!

 

[TrappernGa]

Dedogs,
I'm waiting for Jim w/ Apache Gunworks to finish an AR15 drop in .20 Practical as my new toy. Jim has done a 6.5 Grendel for a Savage bolt action donor and a 6mmbr for a Remington 700 donor and they are all shooters. I'm glad that there are so many guys to share their thoughts on the .20 Practical. Time for me to start saving for good glass on all these guns to replace what I am using.
Thanks guys,
Trapper

 

[searcher]

L1986: For a gun that would be used for target shooting, I'd go bolt gun. For small and distant varmints, I'd opt for the A/R hands-down. While a well made bolt gun will almost always outshoot a well made A/R from a pure accuracy standpoint, when you miss that first shot at 500 in a little breeze, the A/R will have the second round down range in under three seconds without having to change your hold. Same with more follow-up shots if needed. Because of this, the A/R can actually allow you to connect more, shot-for-shot, than a more accurate bolt gun. I always take a bolt gun to shoot when letting an A/R cool down, just to slow me down. The close-in critters (under 300 yards or so) rarely escape the bolt gun, but the A/R is what more often gets them at distance - despite the accuracy difference. Unlike paper targets at the range, varmints pop up at different ranges each time. When way out, the first shot is often going to be a miss - but how quickly one can make that mental hold correction and get the second off will often make the difference. I'm still a die-hard bolt man for targets.