20 vartarg barrel length

[Chris Shelton]

I will be calling pacnor this week hopefully to order my vartarg barrel for my Howa mini. I am thinking the length will be 22-24” and will probably split the difference at 23”. Wanted to get everyone’s input on what they think is the best. It will be a fluted varmint contour with 11 twist and mainly shoot 32s. I have read through the threads on the search function and there is a lot of info there, but most posts are older. Seems now days, people are cutting barrels shorter and shorter so I just wanted to see what everyone thought. Feel free to ignore the thread if it’s repetitive hah. Thanks in advance!

 

[pacificman]

Mine is a Pac-Nor 26 inch. with 11 twist. I think I get a bit more velocity with the extra length?!
With 18 grains of H4198 velocity is 3770 avg. with 32 grain v-max. With 18 grains of RL-7 velocity
is 3660 avg. The extra length is fine for me as I use this rifle on the bench for sage rats only. This little 20VT
is one of the most accurate rifles I own. I'm not sure what the velocity would be with a shorter barrel but
I would say there would not be enough of a difference to worry about. I remember most guys were using
barrel lengths of 24 inch.

 

[searcher]

The small .20's tend to shoot best with faster powders, so reducing the barrel length might not result in as much lost velocity per inch (roughly 30 fps?) as some cartridges running longer barrels with slower powder. Given the Vartarg is a bit "anemic" compared to some of the other .20's like the .20 Practical, I'd be inclined to keep the barrel as long as will balance with your rifle - but how you will use your rifle should dictate how much weight you want to lug around if not shooting off a varmint rest. I run 26" barrels in my .20 P's, and I definitely wouldn't want my Vartarg tube less than 24", but I shoot entirely off a varmint rest. If my shooting was to be nearly all "shorter" range, the tube length wouldn't matter as much. If I carried the rifle, I'd entertain 22". I've had enough fluted barrels from the top barrel makers to want to forego fluting entirely if extreme accuracy is in mind. I'd rather chop the barrel even shorter and forego the additional stresses in the barrel that are induced when fluting if weight is the concern. I've just never had a fluted barrel that shot better than my non-fluted ones, so my bias is based on my own observations. There are reasons bench rest shooters don't flute them. Have fun with that new build!

 

[Rick300]

I have 2 20VT's, one with a 24" and one with a 26". The 26" is approximately 70 fps faster.

 

[L.Sherm]

Is it the barrel or length? Not all barrels will be the same fps length being equal.
I've probably shot an have had 8 different 20VT all 24" and they have been 3680 to 3750fps with same powder, case, primer and bullet

 

[Rick300]

Is it the barrel or length? Not all barrels will be the same fps length being equal.
I've probably shot an have had 8 different 20VT all 24" and they have been 3680 to 3750fps with same powder, case, primer and bullet

True, but the 26" barrel is consistently higher across all loads. Could it just be a faster barrel? Sure, but it seems like the extra length has something to do with it.

 

[Richard Jones]

Mine is 18 1/2", but it's a 'walking around' rifle for here on the farm. Doubtful that it will ever see anything over 300 yds, if that. I didn't want it too long, since the suppressor would make it too muzzle/nose heavy. So I guess it all depends on what you're going to use it for....

 

[kojaone]

15" contender 17.8 N120, 3530 ,32 vmax, did get a tad over 3600,craters.
20" would be a good truck/tractor length gun.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I’m w/ Richard!!!!
Mine is 21” ..has a supressor on it.. tractor, combine, semi truck, jeep, gator… easy swing & balance

Although a improved version of the VT, I only shoot WS2 coated Nosler 32gr, pushing them 4012fps…

I think all components come into play
-powder choice, bullet manufacturer, primer choice, barrel manufacturer, and the action choice..


Having a 22” put on a CZ527 at the moment… I ordered a PREFFERED barrel blank …

 

[K9TXS]

My favorite 20 VT is built as a bolt action handgun with a 15" barrel. My 17 HMR and 20 Practical are also 15" barrels. Normally I shoot 300 yards or less with the 20 VT and 20 Practical with very good accuracy. I have shot steel with both at 400 yards, but nothing past this point. I also have a rifle with a 20" Pac Nor barrel that gets little use now since I prefer the hand guns. Before buying the Pac-Nor, check out The Urbanrifle barrels as well as X-Caliber barrels. You might save a little money. All of mine have barrel nuts. The barrels nut does not hinder accuracy and over all will save a little money in the long run since you would have to send in your action in for fitting, postage 2 ways, etc..

 

[Chris Shelton]

thanks for all the info so far. It seems like hitting 3600+ is pretty standard from anything 22”+. I will probably split the difference like I said before and go 23”. I also like odd number length barrels because it makes one of my shooting buddies uncomfortable with OCD by not going in even numbers hah.

 

[Chris Shelton]

My favorite 20 VT is built as a bolt action handgun with a 15" barrel. My 17 HMR and 20 Practical are also 15" barrels. Normally I shoot 300 yards or less with the 20 VT and 20 Practical with very good accuracy. I have shot steel with both at 400 yards, but nothing past this point. I also have a rifle with a 20" Pac Nor barrel that gets little use now since I prefer the hand guns. Before buying the Pac-Nor, check out The Urbanrifle barrels as well as X-Caliber barrels. You might save a little money. All of mine have barrel nuts. The barrels nut does not hinder accuracy and over all will save a little money in the long run since you would have to send in your action in for fitting, postage 2 ways, etc..

That’s a really good price on pre-fits but unfortunately he doesn’t do howas or howa minis.