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9, 10, or 11 Twist for 20 Practical? Need Advice

farmerjohn

Gold $$ Contributor
Have been wanting to try a 20 practical for some time on my prairie dog gun. Finally found a 223 bolt for my Panda, now I am going to try and find a reamer and a barrel. Been reading about the cartridge and want some first hand advice on what twist and length barrel I need, since I am not carrying it around I'm figuring on a#17 light varmint and 24", any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks John
 
Thanks guys, have either of you done enough coronagraph work to know about the length?
The Practical is best suited to 32 grain bullets. You’ll hit 3900 FPS without breathing hard. There’s plenty of load recipes showing showing speeds way higher but I don’t live in max pressure land.
 
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11 twist seems perfect. I have two 20 practical rifles ...one has a 28 inch Pac-nor barrel and the other has a 26 inch Criterion barrel...both bolt actions with saami specs. I am getting 3850fps. average speed with the Pac-nor and 3623fps average speed out of the Criterion with 40 gr. v-max. Both barrels are very accurate. I use the same powder in both barrels but not the same amount. I use less powder in the Criterion barreled rifle because that is where my accuracy was good. As far as the length of the barrels go I really don't think it will make that much difference in speed. As has been mentioned in the past I might be getting 25 to 50 feet per second more out of the Pac-nor because of the extra 2 inches in length...but I don't know that for sure. You probably will achieve good accuracy with any length barrel with the 20 practical as it seems to be inherently accurate round.
 
Thanks fellers, I'm paying attention. One more question if I can, is there anything specific that I need to ask for in a reamer and who is the most familiar with the practical as far as the fokes building reamers, thanks John
 
I'm pretty sure the SAAMI specs for the 20 practical are .233 neck and zero freebore.
When I ordered my barrels I didn't have to buy a reamer because the SAAMI specs being .233 neck and zero free bore seemed perfect to me. I did ask the barrel makers what reamers they used to confirm. With these specs it will be a no turn neck.
 
I'm pretty sure the SAAMI specs for the 20 practical are .233 neck and zero freebore.
When I ordered my barrels I didn't have to buy a reamer because the SAAMI specs being .233 neck and zero free bore seemed perfect to me. I did ask the barrel makers what reamers they used to confirm. With these specs it will be a no turn neck.
The 20 Practical is a wildcat and thus is not a SAAMI cartridge.
 
Thanks fellers, I'm paying attention. One more question if I can, is there anything specific that I need to ask for in a reamer and who is the most familiar with the practical as far as the fokes building reamers, thanks John
Here’s one that I worked for someone that asked about the 20P. It avoids the issue at the base with the original match bolt gun reamer print of having to use a small base sizer and it’s a no turn as well.
 

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Have been wanting to try a 20 practical for some time on my prairie dog gun. Finally found a 223 bolt for my Panda, now I am going to try and find a reamer and a barrel. Been reading about the cartridge and want some first hand advice on what twist and length barrel I need, since I am not carrying it around I'm figuring on a#17 light varmint and 24", any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks John
1-11 for the common factory bullets and I would not strand good barrel material, run at least 25 or 26 inches. The blank costs the same. It would give more barrel available for a set back or recrown.
 
I have a 24" 11T 20P, shoots the 26, 32 & 40's very well, the 32's will do low .3's IIRC at 100yd when I have a good day. It shoots the 26's better than I thought (got half a box in a deal for 32's & 40's) and used 'em for foulers. Have some more 26's coming to see if I can get a good load for them just for giggles.
 
At the top of the home page is info on the 20 cal rifles including a article on the 20 Practical. Also the reamer print.

If your going to stay in the 32 to 40 gr bullets wt i'd go 11 twist. I like my Pac Nor 11 tw. The 39 to 40 gr bullets work well in PD colony. I think they do better in the wind than 32 gr.
 
As many have already mentioned, 11tw will serve you well and though there are many excellent custom barrel makers out there PacNor and Lilja seem to often be at the top of many gunsmiths list when it comes to building a 17 or 20 caliber rifle. I put a Hart 11tw on my 20-222 and it has been an awesome little shooter as well.

20 Practical AKA 20-223 is a great choice. Super easy to load for and using necked down Lapua 223 brass will not only last forever but it is also a premium quality brass that is extremely uniform and has vary little variance from piece to piece.

For PD or ground squirrel shooting any of the tipped bullets would be a great choice. The 39gr Sierra Blitzking would probably be my first choice but good luck finding any.
 
My TC Dimension 204 ruger barrel is 10 twist, so when I decided to assemble a 20p upper I ordered a BHW 10 twist. Both shoot 32-40 gr very well, and I have a couple boxes of Hornady 45 sp I will probably use for coyote sometime.
 
As has been stated, 11 tw minimum.
However, I would go w a 10 jic I would venture into the mid 40 to 50 gr customs. Velocity loss is under 10fps according to Mr. Litz and I really don't think pills coming apart will be a problem. Should it truly be an issue, just back it down 100-125 to the next node.
 

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