How about a 20-222?

[MQ1]

Almost. I have a 20 Bobcat. Just a 20-222 made into an Ackley. Little more powder capacity and brass lasts forever. Kevin Weaver (Weaver Rifles) created it and does a lot of 20 caliber ctgs.

Pro, accurate, long brass life, brass is available (including Lapua), easy to form cases, fast.

Con's, need a new die set (Kevin stocks the 20 Bobcat dies).

View attachment 1170683

It almost looks like you can make the Bobcat brass from .223 in a single pass like a 6 SLR...

MQ1

 

[jds holler]

jd interesting it took some of the wind drift out after cleaning. Or, did the wind lay down some?

I can't really say. That may have just been a unlucky/ill-timed shot. I was frankly surprised to shoot even that tight considering the crappy wind that day. If anything, those groups don't show much change between clean and dirty barrel. Vertical is about the same. jd

 

[snert]

what scope is that JD

 

[Oso]

Almost. I have a 20 Bobcat. Just a 20-222 made into an Ackley. Little more powder capacity and brass lasts forever. Kevin Weaver (Weaver Rifles) created it and does a lot of 20 caliber ctgs.

Pro, accurate, long brass life, brass is available (including Lapua), easy to form cases, fast.

Con's, need a new die set (Kevin stocks the 20 Bobcat dies).

View attachment 1170683

What type of velocity are you achieving with the Vmax. What powder volume increase do you gain with the AI to the 222 case?

 

[Bill K]

Check out Kindler's 20 VTT ( VarTarg Turbo) that is one he came up with several years back, many use it in today's shooting world.

 

[CF2209]

The 20-222 is a sweetheart of a cartridge. I had one built a couple years ago and it is one of my favorites. Lapua 222 brass is relatively inexpensive and lasts forever. I use Redding 222 bushing dies with the appropriate size bushing. Necking down brass and reloading is easy peasy. My 20-222 was built on a trued Rem 700 that started life as a 223. Mine has a Hart 11tw #4 contour barrel and I've been shooting 40gr Berger's with H322 which stacks them into tiny little groups. I wanted that old school Remington BDL Custom Deluxe "look" with this 20-222 build.
View attachment 1170146

Hi all,
Thinking of turning a 222 rem into a 20-222 and read this post. In regard to the dies required to neck down the 222 brass is all thats needed is say a Redding 222 bushing die set with 20 cal bushings. Does Redding make a specific seating die for the 20 222 or will the 222 seating die do. Sorry for my ignorance.
CF

 

[mensajd]

Hi all,
Thinking of turning a 222 rem into a 20-222 and read this post. In regard to the dies required to neck down the 222 brass is all thats needed is say a Redding 222 bushing die set with 20 cal bushings. Does Redding make a specific seating die for the 20 222 or will the 222 seating die do. Sorry for my ignorance.
CF

You may need to replace the sizing die's decapping rod assembly with the .204 caliber equivalent. As for the seating die, you should probably just use a .222 seating die but replace the .222 seating stem with a .204 seating stem. I went through a similar exercise to load for a 20P rifle.

 

[BoydAllen]

Yes this is off topic, so if that is going to bother skip this. A friend who goes to northern CA to shoot the Richardson ground squirrels, has tried any number of calibers, and decided to build something to deal with barrel heat, that is an issue when confronted with fields that are awash with large numbers of targets. Having tried every size of .20 he decided to build something different. We have to use lead free bullets and before you stop reading, there are some very good varmint bullets of that type, notably the lead free Ballistic Tips from Nosler. One of these is a 35 grain .22 caliber that has a BC of .201. He built his rifle in a straight .222 with a 14 twist barrel specifically for that bullet and it does a great job, both in trajectory, accuracy and terminal ballistics. His usual load easily shoots over 3,700 fps with a lot of headroom, with excellent accuracy, and the low barrel heat that he was looking for. Because I do not contemplate building a new caliber I have not checked out the BCs of of the varmint .20s. How does .201 compare?

 

[mensajd]

[stuff deleted] Because I do not contemplate building a new caliber I have not checked out the BCs of of the varmint .20s. How does .201 compare?

The Nosler .204 Caliber 32 Grain Ballistic Tip Lead Free have a stated G1 BC of 0.228. They shot OK but not as well in my rifles as the Sierra 39 gr polymer tipped BK. But the latter is illegal for hunting in CA.

 

[DogBuster]

Yep......been shooting mine for.....7-8 yrs now....rifle history

Original chamber was 20BR....got bored with it in p/dog fields

So....its a 9 twist/3 groove Pac Nor...Savage target action...18# or so

run 40 V's..H322....prob kilt 600+ dogs with it this summer...barrel has 5K rds out

Yes...also have a 20 Vartarg...building a new 20 PT barrel soon...yes P-N

Between this & the Vartarg...no sure which I like best

The reason for the new 20 PT is I have 800+ live rds for my old PT barrel...but its toast..throat gone

pic..2...Duece-20........awesome !

pic 1

my worn out Vartarg.......

 

[jds holler]

I think that if you start "improving" this cartridge, Ackley or other wise, you'll lose more than ya gain. I love the 20-222 because it is mild and easy. I don't care to gain more power, even with the 223 case. The Vartarg would be even better for what I like -- except for the case.

222 cases are abundant, sturdy, and seem to last forever. I'm using old 222 cases that had many firings before I necked them down to 20's. I only had to buy a bushing die, and just use my old 222 seating die. After I've got my neck diameter down to I think .232, I just size half the neck for bullet fit. jd

 

[MoneyWaster]

I’ve been away from the forum for quite some time with life being busy and all with the family and work. I checked in today to see what was being discussed and was surprised to find my original post as a current topic being discussed. I haven’t pulled the trigger on building the 20-222, but I promise you that it will get built. Most likely next spring.

Lou

 

[bobcat93]

Almost. I have a 20 Bobcat. Just a 20-222 made into an Ackley. Little more powder capacity and brass lasts forever. Kevin Weaver (Weaver Rifles) created it and does a lot of 20 caliber ctgs.

Pro, accurate, long brass life, brass is available (including Lapua), easy to form cases, fast.

Con's, need a new die set (Kevin stocks the 20 Bobcat dies).

View attachment 1170683

Wow!- that looks about perfect..ive never heard of the .20 bobcat but I want one now..
Thanks alot!...hahaha
That is a sexy rifle cartridge.

 

[drewh]

The 20-222 is a great cartridge, one of the more accurate varmint rifles I had was one built on a Borden Alpine. IMO, the 20-222 is to 39-40 gr bullets what the Vartarg is to the 32. Before I left CA I shot both on ground squirrels, but gave the vartarg the edge due to barrel heating. Before I left, CA changed to lead free, and I went looking for a more efficient case to shoot the 24 gr lead free bullets