20 tac or???

[GAnderson]

Gene, would a 20" be a waste of time? This gun is going to replace my fireball and I love the balance of it. Im about to place an order for a couple barrels ( 20 tac, 6 cm) and I cant decide between 20" or 24". Thank you!

I wouldn't go any shorter than 22"...that would be a compromise between the two lengths you posted. I prefer 24" but had a 204 in 22" and didn't feel like I was handicapped in any way...killed a load of coyotes with it and it was balanced very well. Now, if I were going to put a suppressor on it then I would have to look at possibly a 20".
22" should serve you fine if you think it will balance better...the 2" difference from 24" is minimal...if I have a load that is right at 4000fps out of a 24" and go with a 22" barrell and velocity drops to say 3800, have I really lost much? As long as it is accurate, I don't see the loss of 200fps as being a problem...sometimes these fast velocities just mean a quicker miss.
My 20Tac has a 24" Krieger and I really like it.

Gene

 

[GAnderson]

I personally like the 24 inch kreiger #4 11 twist on my 20tac. Nothing wrong with either, it's up to you as you can always shorten not vice versa. As mentioned above that Dakota brass was the cats ass just make sure your chamber can handle it. Yes Gene, it was a match made in heaven, a 788 in a McMillan stock chambered in 20tac, a coyote hunters dream rifle.

Pat, I think Holloway would like to see that rifle shoved where the sun don't shine

 

[sundance]

I bought some Dakota Lapua Tac 20 brass from this website a while back. It surfaces on other sites but it is rare and you have to be quick!

 

[GAnderson]

Another caliber I have to have. Thanks guys.

Orbitup, you won't be disappointed...the 20Tac and 20Practical are easier on barrels than the 204 because of the lesser amount of powder used to get them knocking on the door of 204 velocities. I am not knocking the 204 at all...I have 204's, 20Tac's, 20Prac, 20VT, 20Blitz, had 20BR's...of them all, the 20VT is the most fun cartridge to shoot of them all, but I won't be without a 20Tac.

Gene

 

[pmg]

Another caliber I have to have. Thanks guys.

That's the fun of it, after awhile you won't switch bullets, you'll have a 32gr gun, a 35gr gun, a 39, 40, then a 55gr gun. Don't say it can't happen, the 20's can be addictive.

 

[GAnderson]

I bought some Dakota Lapua Tac 20 brass from this website a while back. It surfaces on other sites but it is rare and you have to be quick!

That's for sure.
You also have to know what your chamber neck dimension is...a .232 neck chamber can be a little tight with the Dakota/Lapua brass.

 

[vmaxpro]

That's the fun of it, after awhile you won't switch bullets, you'll have a 32gr gun, a 35gr gun, a 39, 40, then a 55gr gun. Don't say it can't happen

You couldnt of said that better!

 

[pmg]

I bought some Dakota Lapua Tac 20 brass from this website a while back. It surfaces on other sites but it is rare and you have to be quick!

Been there done that worrying about that damn brass. Missed a double because I had already killed one and was worried about where that 60cent piece of brass went in the weeds instead of seeing the other coyote. Lesson learned. I figure I could form it if I ever run out.

 

[GAnderson]

Been there done that worrying about that damn brass. Missed a double because I had already killed one and was worried about where that 60cent piece of brass went in the weeds instead of seeing the other coyote. Lesson learned. I figure I could form it if I ever run out.

Ya right...if someone gave you 10x fired junk brass, you would still be looking for it in the weeds just so you could get one more loading out of it.

 

[chuckshooter]

Ya right...if someone gave you 10x fired junk brass, you would still be looking for it in the weeds just so you could get one more loading out of it.

we are not cheap, we are thrifty

 

[GAnderson]

we are not cheap, we are thrifty

chuckshooter, you would have to know PMG to appreciate him...thrifty, he is not...but he is absolutely CHEAP and a hoarder and uses his "friends" to buy rifles from and won't sell them back when they have regrets. There are other words for him, but I won't go there.

 

[Tim s]

Ok, 20 tac it is! The practical sounds good too but I do like the minimal trimming of the tac. Ok, so barrel length. I prefer 20", but I doubt 3700-3800 with a 39gr is possible.

As others have stated, I'd really avoid. 20" even a 22".
I have two ith Liljas..25 1/2".
Benchmark is a wild card, had great accuracy, slower than I wanted. 8208 should be OK.
I got 3900+ with N133 and R10X and 40Vmax's which in a Dakota Predator would print .2's in nice conditions, all using Dakota brass.

 

[ND shooter]

I went 24 inch. Bought shilen prefits. One 20 tac. One 17 mach IV. Bought 2 savage 223's and converted. Have tooo many 223's anyway(nice problem to have)!!!

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I usually do 22" to 24" barrels on most of my 20 cals. I can get really good speeds with both lengths. 22" keeps the rifles handier in a truck for driving around shooting gophers and prairie dogs. My 20 Ackley Hornet on a Ruger 77/22 action makes for an excellent compact truck gun.

I have a 20" on my 20 Tac since it is built on an AR15 and I still get good speeds.

I have 26" on my 204 Ruger because I wanted to see how fast I could push a 39gr Sierra BK. It's not that much faster than a 24". I was thinking about cutting it down to 24" but it's so accurate I won't dare touch it at this point.

No matter what length barrels I throw on a 20 cal build, I seem to like them all. Don't think I'd ever go over 24" again tho.