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20 VarTarg vs 20 Practical

Bill K said:
It will depend on YOUR rifle, but

by in large, more often than not the 1/11 twist will not fully stabilize a 40 gr or heavier bullet, when it shoots, for what every reason the 39 SBK's perfect.
Just seems to work that way often.
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I was asking about the VT specifically, as I've had a 204R 12T, and 40's were ok, loved the 39's.

I've got two 20P's with 11T, shoot 32-40g's and everything in-between well. The two 204R's are 11T as well, and they shoot the 32-40's well.

I don't have a VT, and was wondering why a VT 11T would not/might not stablize the 40's when all the other 20 cals with 11T will shoot the 40's very well. What's different about the VT?
 
Heres my take on this
Build the 20 Vartarg on that CZ 527 for a Excellent repeater!

Also the 20 Vartarg with a number 4 or 5 contour barrel with the 17-18.5 gr powder charges will not jump like a 20 TAC or 20 Practical off the bench from sandbags.

If you want to have fun and shoot and spot your hits at the same time then by all means build the 20 Vartarg its Deadly farther out than most believe!

20 TACs and the like need a Heavy barrel to act like a 20 Vartarg when it comes to muzzle jump!

The 20 Vartarg is tough to beat on 400 yard Groundhog shooting in the East and its the Absolute Best in the West on Ground Squirrels and prairie dogs.

The powder used to case capacity makes for a super Efficient and Effective Varmint Cartridge!

The 20 Vartarg will shoot in the Varmint Fields and at the Bench!

If you want to have fun and enjoy a cartridge that dont burn barrels, takes little powder, gets plenty of speed and is just Awesome getting to spot all your hits or misses thru the scope

Build a 20 Vartarg it is a Absolute Over Achiever and will make one very Proud when they touch off on that trigger!

Long live the ~20 Vartarg ~

Todd Kindler was spot on
“The 20 Vartarg hits Groundhogs like a Lightning Bolt”
 
Gabe22BR said:
Evan , my 8yr can do it.. 7shots-2 are doubles
20-221AI 39BK-16.8gr N120
VX3 6.5x20x40 scope..

Wasn’t expecting it to make it paper..
Glad you did you write up.. you need to add to it some more..
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I’d slowed down on posting because I didn’t have new info to share, just more targets of the same. I’m happy to put up more targets to reinforce the point that the mighty Vartarg punches so far above its weight, that it’s rather jaw dropping!

I will soon have 2 new threads for a couple “tiny” 22 cal cartridges I’m going to be using in 1000yd BR this year. Awww… I can’t leave it hanging like that, it’s a 22 PPC and a 222 shooting the 90gn bullets.
 
Not a big reason at all. But I know from experience that if you take multiple similar cartridges ex 204,20tac,20prac and shoot them in the field and put empties back in reload box it’s not terrible. But when you have 500 plus to reload say after a prairie dog hunt. Then you need to tumble everything separately and when you put them into trays it’s kinda a pain. 20vartarg very easy to distinguish!! Just a little nudge maybe?
 
Loved the 20 VarTarg I built on a M700 CDL that was purchased as a SS 17 FB. I pulled the factory 17FB bbl and after calling first, sent it to Bartlein to have them copy the factory profile on one of their 1-11tw 20 cal blanks. My reamer had a neck too tight to work with Lapua 221 brass (which wasn't available yet when I spec'd the reamer), and all I could find at the time was R-P 221 brass. Bought a 500ct box of it, only to find that about 35-40% of it had primer pockets too shallow to seat primers flush. Sold the rifle once I realized that plague & poisoning had wiped out all the old dog towns I used to enjoy shooting in.

Lust for another 20 cal rifle lead me to buy a couple of 20 cal 1-9tw blanks I found on an inventory list, which I eventually chambered in 20 Tactical for a Howa Mini & a M700. They both shoot S39BKs, H40VMax & Berger 40BTHP great, as well as the Berger 55s. Hanging onto these two rifles, even though it's still hard to find a decent dog town to use them in.
 
L.Sherm said:
I know some 12's shoot them i know some have trouble with the 40's but the 39BK seems to be more forgiving in a 12 I suspect just being a tad shorter helps.
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Yes - seems a few on the forum have had problems with the 12" with the 40's. Some seem to think the 10" is necessary for them - which is overkill. An 11" should do fine if in doubt.
 
I think if you either don't mind paying stiff prices for brass relative to .223 (or making your own cases from .223), that VarTarg sounds pretty interesting to me. I already have a few .20 Practical rifles (love them!), yet there are areas where I shoot where 90% of the shots are inside 350 yards, yet in very high volume. Seems the greatly reduced powder charge of the VarTarg would allow far more rounds fired before needing to set the rifle aside. That it uses much less powder is a plus for powder cost and barrel life. Because of this - I'm thinking of having one of these built for that purpose - a role now filled with the .20 P. The drop at 300 yards is a lot more than the .20 P, yet I dial my scopes in pretty well within that range, so I doubt it would be an issue other than needing to judge wind a bit better. I usually load up about 800-1,200 rounds per rifle before heading out on Spring hunts. In my case, I'd want to make up a batch of my own brass from .223. If I were shooting less volume, like ground hogs, I'd just buy a box of Lapua brass, neck down and be good with that. I have a .17 Hornet that is just a little light when the wind starts blowing, though not too bad when using 30 grain Bergers. The VarTarg would fill the gap nicely, I think. I'd not build a .20 Practical if your .204 Ruger shoots well. The .204 Ruger brass has come down substantially since it came out (the initial high price was a main reason for the .20p) and now with Starline and others making it - it isn't worth building a .20P for either brass savings or expected big performance over the .204 Ruger. If my shooting was expected to extend much past 400 yards, I'd stick to the .204 R or .20p just for the extra velocity.
 
I'm itching to build a 20VT for efficiency and lower recoil. Just for 50-300 yard varmints and plinking. BUT the brass issue has me leaning towards a 20P.
 
Brass issue???

:D:D:p

There’s over 1000 pc for sale on the classifieds section now- !!!

I like to reload, so I bought 100-200 pc myself awhile back…


SELLING - 20 Vartarg brass "NEW" Lake City -5/4/25

I don't promote my brass every other day, but I want people to know I am still kicking and am still selling 20 Vartarg brass........... 20 VT brass from "new" unfired LC-16 nato .556 brass. . This brass has-never been loaded, never fired, never primed nor crimped. Inside flash holes deburred...
forum.accurateshooter.com


SELLING - 20 Vartarg Brass - Matching Lake City Brass, 600 available

Offering 20 Vartarg caliber brass, ready to load. 600 of Lake City matching 2015 year brass, with .0125" neck wall, good for all chamber $110 per 100 shipped priority Primer pockets swaged with Dillon Super-Swager, formed with Redding dies, trimmed, chamfered & deburred necks, primer pockets...
forum.accurateshooter.com
 
Last edited:
Gabe22BR said:
Brass issue???

:D:D:p

There’s over 1000 pc for sale on the classifieds section now- !!!

I like to reload, so I bought 100-200 pc myself awhile back…


SELLING - 20 Vartarg brass "NEW" Lake City -5/4/25

I don't promote my brass every other day, but I want people to know I am still kicking and am still selling 20 Vartarg brass........... 20 VT brass from "new" unfired LC-16 nato .556 brass. . This brass has-never been loaded, never fired, never primed nor crimped. Inside flash holes deburred...
forum.accurateshooter.com


SELLING - 20 Vartarg Brass - Matching Lake City Brass, 600 available

Offering 20 Vartarg caliber brass, ready to load. 600 of Lake City matching 2015 year brass, with .0125" neck wall, good for all chamber $110 per 100 shipped priority Primer pockets swaged with Dillon Super-Swager, formed with Redding dies, trimmed, chamfered & deburred necks, primer pockets...
forum.accurateshooter.com
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Well, there can be issues forming it from 223 brass, so I've read, and $1/ea is a gamble hoping it works without issues. If it's worth $1/ea in quality, that's excellent to know.
 
I'm not aware of issues with 20VT brass formed from 223 brass. It's very common, have not read of problems. I'm one of the ones who has formed a few thousand of them and offer them here. They're actually very precisely made, with turned necks, etc.
 
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