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.20 practical

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. Took my Browning a bolt 223 to my gunsmith last night and asked him to make a .20 practical. He tried talking me into a 22 BR but my bolt face isn't big enough. We also talked about going with a different action other than the browning. He will build me whatever I want. I just want a good all around varmit, coyote- truck gun. Thought?
 
I have a 20x45 (20 pract) bbl coming in for my new savage build/coyote rig.
.223 is perfect as it is though.
Build one off a Savage action on your own & save a ton of $$.
 
Keep the A-Bolt in .223 since you will always have a good ammunition supply. (Yeah I know that any ammo is hard to get right now, but .223 exists in huge quantities.)

As another poster indicated, get a Savage and rebarrel. The .20 BR is fine but watch out for bore erosion.

My own prejudice is that a .20 caliber coyote gun should have a twist that accommodates at least the 55 gr Berger. The prejudice is particularly strong when one wants a 20 Caliber to have the flexibility to handle the variety of targets implied by its being used as a truck gun.

For a truck gun in 20 Caliber, I would look closely at getting the Savage Model 10 Scout in 7.62x39 and rebarreling to the .20 Grendel. Dave Manson makes reamers for it on request, you can get a drop-in 7-twist or 8-twist 20 Caliber Barrel from Pac-Nor and they will be happy to chamber it with your reamer. You can get dies from Hornady (Ben Syring). You can swap the barrels yourself if you get a nut wrench and a good vise but your gunsmith would be happy to do it for you. I used standard 6.5 Grendel go no-go gauges when I swapped my .243 for the .20 Grendel.

Why this rifle and cartridge? It is already designed to be short and handy to use which I assume one wants in a truck gun. The bolt face is correct for the Grendel, and you have lots of choices of brass to reform. The chamber was designed so all one has to do is neck 6.5 Grendel brass down, load and shoot. Yes, it is designed with a no-turn neck so all one has to do is the usual chamfering appropriate with any new brass. I get 3100 ft/sec with 55 grain bullets from a 20-inch barrel with a 50,000 psi working pressure.

Another reason for starting with the 7.62x39 is that there's also huge amounts of that ammunition floating around in the world today. So, if components get scarce or you don't have time to reload, you will be able to have two guns that accommodate the two most numerous factory cartridges.
 
First question...what are your reloading skills ?

The 20 PT is a great cartridge...so is the 223 of course.......

The 20 PT will require some extra work....not really much

You'll need Redding bushing dies...I use a Forster BR 204R seater

I am also a 20 cal slut...having a 20 Vartarg..20 Practical & 20BR

All Savage s/shots assembled by myself with heavy Pac Nor tubes

My advise...save your $$ & rebarrel to a 8 or 9 twist 223 and have

your truck gun.....
 
Another vote for leaving your Browning as it is and building a Savage into a "20".

I would recommend going to the .204 Ruger or the .20 Vartag if you stay with the .223 base case.

It's a little hard to keep .20 PT and .223 from getting tangled up. The .204 Ruger and the .20 Vartag would be more easily spotted and not so easily mixed up with the .223 or vice versa.

The idea of a .20 Grendel would also do well to stop mix ups.

You can find a Savage bolt face already converted to the 7.62X39 case or have a .223 faced head opened up to it so that's no problem.

All matters of Savage firearm doodling is found over at Savage shooters forum. I have done a number of builds, found and purchased the parts and pieces necessary and the gleaned the knowledge to make it right there ........ I could not have succeeded with out it!!

Three 44s
 
Another one here for leaving the browning alone. Find a savage action at a pawn shop or somewhere and order a prefIt barrel. My 20P on a savage action is awesome watch the crows blow up no loss of target when firing. This is the best thing about the .20
 
Built a 20 Practical off of a Savage action a couple of years ago. It was by far the most accurate round I've ever shot. Took it to WY and shot prairie dogs out farther than you would believe. Did much better in the wind than I expected. Like an idiot I sold the barrel to build something else. I'll probably build another and keep it.
 
leave the browning alone get a remington SA like I did and it shoots better than I do ..I bought a HB douglas from brownells and my gunsmith went to work I have the reamer and a 20 pilot so i lenghten the throat about 10/100th and it;s perfect food for thought
 

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