Has Anyone tried the 20 Caliber 55 Grain Burger Bullet?

[Colt Kodiak]

I have a gunsmith telling me to order the Pac-Nor 20 caliber, 3 groove with 1-8 twist so I can shoot these bullets. He thinks they are good for long range out of a 20 Practical. I wonder if anyone else thinks that? I have not seen the bullet but he states they are about as long as a pencil. If anyone has some extras, send them my way...

 

[Wirelessguy2005]

If you want to shoot the 55 Berger I would go with a bigger case such as the 20br. While the 55 Berger has a higher BC you will loose a ton of velocity versus the 39 sierra blitzking. Also for the record you don't need an 8 twist to stabilize the 55 Berger, a 9 twist is plenty sufficient.

 

[L.Sherm]

Give me your address and I cans send you one also a custom 55 if your interested. I shoot them in a 9tw. Personally I don't think your gonna gain much shooting them in a 20 prac. what your gonna lose in velocity it will be about a wash with a 39 or 40. The 55 berger can be tough to come by at times too.

 

[Colt Kodiak]

If you want to shoot the 55 Berger I would go with a bigger case such as the 20br. While the 55 Berger has a higher BC you will loose a ton of velocity versus the 39 sierra blitzking. Also for the record you don't need an 8 twist to stabilize the 55 Berger, a 9 twist is plenty sufficient.

Thanks. I will look at the 20BR. I have one of the 20 practical with the 1-12 which will be here soon so what you say might make more sense.

 

[germanlongbow]

I shoot the berger 55 out of my 20-250 with 1x9 twist PacNor Supermatch 3 groove 28 in barrel. Scary accurate. I tried a 1x8 in a 20BR without any decent groups with 55 bergers but it shot the 40gr blitzkings well

 

[sawcarver]

I love my 20BR xp-100, all its ever shot were the 55gr bergers, awesome on woodchucks and coyotes!

 

[Terry]

I have a Pac-Nor 3 grove 1:9 twist. Shot sub 2" at 600 yards. 55 Grain Berger bullets, 20 BR. Shot 6" twice and 4" once at 1,000 yards. Testing a 1:8.5 4 grove Douglas now.

 

[Colt Kodiak]

I have a Pac-Nor 3 grove 1:9 twist. Shot sub 2" at 600 yards. 55 Grain Berger bullets, 20 BR. Shot 6" twice and 4" once at 1,000 yards. Testing a 1:8.5 4 grove Douglas now.

Wow! Great stuff! I must look into the 20Br with this new barrel.

 

[17VLD]

Dennis it does my heart good to see you falling head over heels in love with small calibers!Like the others have said I think your 20 practical sized cases are best served with 39/40s.20BR/improved even 20-250 sized stuff will do better with the 55s,not to say it couldn’t be done,just makes more sense to have a little more horsepower to extract all the potential from the 55s.I really love shooting my 20Dasher with the big Berger.
Matt

 

[Colt Kodiak]

Dennis it does my heart good to see you falling head over heels in love with small calibers!Like the others have said I think your 20 practical sized cases are best served with 39/40s.20BR/improved even 20-250 sized stuff will do better with the 55s,not to say it couldn’t be done,just makes more sense to have a little more horsepower to extract all the potential from the 55s.I really love shooting my 20Dasher with the big Berger.
Matt

I think you are correct. I have not received the barrel yet so will decide.

 

[tonyb]

If you want to shoot the 55 Berger I would go with a bigger case such as the 20br. While the 55 Berger has a higher BC you will loose a ton of velocity versus the 39 sierra blitzking. Also for the record you don't need an 8 twist to stabilize the 55 Berger, a 9 twist is plenty sufficient.

Exactly! You just hit the nail on the head!

Tony

 

[F224]

A friend and I both ran Satern barreled 1:9 twist AR15's for one year on prairie dogs. They were great with 39-45 grain bullets, not giving up too much velocity with the 45's. But you will blow up any weight bullets under 39/40 gr with the faster twist barrels.

 

[rickiesrevenge]

I've built 3 xp-100's in 20BR to shoot the 55's. They all shoot very well.

 

[Jordandavelaar]

I've just got done having my gunsmith build me a 20x47 lapua to shoot these 55 grain bullets. I'm still in load development stage though hoping for velocities around 3850 fps. If you have questions about this bullet I would recommend talking with Todd Kindler or get his book on 20 caliber options. It is a very good read with a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Colt Kodiak]

I've just got done having my gunsmith build me a 20x47 lapua to shoot these 55 grain bullets. I'm still in load development stage though hoping for velocities around 3850 fps. If you have questions about this bullet I would recommend talking with Todd Kindler or get his book on 20 caliber options. It is a very good read with a wealth of knowledge.

I just ordered his book today. thanks

 

[itchyTF]

FWIW, Berger's website says 1:7 for the 55.

 

[B23]

Before I ordered the barrels for my 20-250 build I talked to Berger about twist and what they told me was, even at 20-250 velocities, if I wanted to get the maximum BC from their 55's I needed to use a 1-8tw barrel. They told me a 1-9tw may shoot well enough but I wouldn't be getting the maximum BC from the bullet with a 1-9tw barrel and if I were to shoot these from something like a 204 Ruger I'd need a 1-7tw.

Knowing a 20-250 wouldn't be long for barrel life, I had my smith order two 1-8tw barrels from Krieger so I'd have a spare ready to go without the six month wait. I'm not driving mine nearly as hard as some of the other 20-250 shooters are so maybe barrel life will be a tiny bit better, probably a very tiny bit, but mine shoots tiny little groups with those Berger 55's running along at 3650.

 

[Colt Kodiak]

Before I ordered the barrels for my 20-250 build I talked to Berger about twist and what they told me was, even at 20-250 velocities, if I wanted to get the maximum BC from their 55's I needed to use a 1-8tw barrel. They told me a 1-9tw may shoot well enough but I wouldn't be getting the maximum BC from the bullet with a 1-9tw barrel and if I were to shoot these from something like a 204 Ruger I'd need a 1-7tw.

Knowing a 20-250 wouldn't be long for barrel life, I had my smith order two 1-8tw barrels from Krieger so I'd have a spare ready to go without the six month wait. I'm not driving mine nearly as hard as some of the other 20-250 shooters are so maybe barrel life will be a tiny bit better, probably a very tiny bit, but mine shoots tiny little groups with those Berger 55's running along at 3650.

Nice reply. Maybe my gunsmith knows a thing or two.

 

[L.Sherm]

I have a Pac-Nor 3 grove 1:9 twist. Shot sub 2" at 600 yards. 55 Grain Berger bullets, 20 BR. Shot 6" twice and 4" once at 1,000 yards. Testing a 1:8.5 4 grove Douglas now.

Maximium B.C or notTargets don't lie, especially when it's officially scored.

 

[JASmith]

In have used the 55 gr Bergers in the 20 Grendel and they do well.

Choice between the 20 BR and the Grendel shuld depend on what bolt face is already on your rifle. The BR uses the 0.447” face while the Grendel uses the PPC bolt face.

Yes, the case volume in the Grendel is a bit lower, but not by enough to justify a new bolt or face.