20 vartarg feeding questions

[bobtails]

I am thinking of building a 20 vartarg. I am wondering if it will feed properly using a regular Rem 700 BDL 223 box, spring and follower or does it need a box, spring and follower like a 221/17 FB? I have had one before but it was a cooper model 38.

 

[jepp2]

I can't exactly answer your question, but maybe my experience will help.

I had a 20 Bobcat built on a Sako L461 Vixen action. I never feed from the magazine, but it feeds from a single load block perfectly. I wanted a second one. Had a Model 21 Cooper and a barrel. But I chose to use a Stiller single shot action I had. With the 40 degree shoulder, it is very tricky to get it to feed properly. Takes a bolt bump with just the right speed for the round to jump up enough to feed into the chamber properly. Otherwise it wants to catch on the top and stop the bolt. I really wish I had used the much small bolt face the Cooper model 21 has.

 

[6xcshooter]

For a 700 Remington The vartarg will not load properly without a 221 fireball magazine and follower.
It will not extract properly without the offset ejector in the 700 Remington bolt. It must be like the bolt of a 221 fireball or 300 blackout.
A sako A1 action works with their magazine

 

[NorCalMikie]

Single feeding solves all those problems.

 

[L.Sherm]

Centerfeed is your friend

 

[flatlander]

I built the first & so far only 20 VarTarg I've owned on a M700 CDL SSF in 17FB that I found on sale at a very attractive price on Zanders' website back 10-12 yrs ago. Sent the factory bbl to Bartlein to have them duplicate the profile, and went with an 11tw. Action worked really well with the VarTarg; never had a feeding/ejection issue with that action.

 

[Rick300]

Single feeding solves all those problems.

That's correct. I built a Vartarg from a Rem 700 .223 without any modifications except for a single shot Bobsled. No issues whatsoever.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Thinking it was Cooper and one other that built a factory .221 Fireball or a 17? Go that way from the start or fight it till you give up.

 

[bobtails]

That's correct. I built a Vartarg from a Rem 700 .223 without any modifications except for a single shot Bobsled. No issues whatsoever.

The bolt extracted the brass fine ? Or did you have the extractor offset to get it done ?

 

[ricco1949]

I have also built a single shot VT on a standard 700 .223 bolt face with no extraction issues.

I just looked to to see if I removed the ejector....nope. I don't recall but I may have cut a couple coils on the ejector spring..

Rick M.

 

[Rick300]

The bolt extracted the brass fine ? Or did you have the extractor offset to get it done ?

I didn't change anything. It extracts just fine as is

 

[B23]

The Rem 700's that I've seen that had issues with the little FB case was with ejecting the case out. They would extract from the chamber fine but they wouldn't eject and fling the case out of the action instead when they got to the end of the bolt cycle were the case should eject out it wouldn't spit the case out and would just kind of fall out of the bolt and lay there loose on top of the other rounds or follower if there weren't any round in the magazine.

When I had my 20-222 built my original plan was to have a 20-221 built instead but the donor I was using was a Rem 700 223. I have some 221 brass so I seated a hand full of bullets and did a quick test run to see how it went. They would feed and extract fine but they would not eject out of the action. Running the bolt slow, fast, and everything in the middle made no difference at the end of the bolt cycle where the case should eject out it would just pop out of the bolt face and fall back in the action laying on top. I'm guessing a M16 extractor install would have likely fixed this problem but, for me and the Rem 700 223 donor action I was using, it was more cost affective and much easier to just build a 20-222 instead.

 

[Rick300]

Hmm. Mine ejects just fine. I cut down the ejector spring so the empties fall on the table within 6 inches. I don't know why some work and some don't

 

[L.Sherm]

Mine work fine too

 

[flatlander]

I've experienced the same thing when building 6 Dashers on stock M700 actions - sometimes one will eject just fine, but the next one you build won't eject worth a hoot. When some wholesalers started selling just the bare action - no bolt, no trigger - I started ordering them that way, and would order a custom one-pc bolt from PTG with mini-16 extractor.