I love the 20 Vartarg 2 rifles both shoot incredible.

[bhoges]

I have a Rem700 with a Shilen barrel and recently had a Bat SV action built with a awesome piece of english walnut and a Shilen barrel. Both guns shot great right out of the gate with no load developement. Im using 32gr Nosler BT with 18.0grs of 4198. I have never had such an easy caliber to load. I won't even take anything varmint hunting I love the 20 so much.

 

[FURMAN]

The 20VT is an awesome cartridge. I am sure I would be afraid to take that Bat into the field. Nice rifle.

 

[Minesweeper3433]

Amazing peice of wood. What was the finish on it?

 

[MrMajestic]

Beautiful but the bolt on the wrong side! I'd be afraid to scratch it!

 

[RJinTexas]

rfurman24, What classy looking rifles, wow!!!
I agree with you completely, the 20 VT has perfect ratio of case capacity / powder charge to get the most from the little 32gr & 40gr bullets. It just kills me when I hear folks say that they can't get accuracy with RP brass. I've been reloading long enough by now to have a feel for whether or not a gun does or doesn't like a particular load. Here's a perfect example, anyone can clearly see my 20 VarTarg really loves 32gr Vmax's & 18.5gr-H4198 by the looks of the 1st 5 shot group. It also let me know immediately that it wasn't going to shoot the 39gr SBK's by the poor results shown on the middle target. Yet it shot the 40gr Vmax's & RL-10 very well also. These were the very first 5 shot groups shot through this rifle after mounting and sighting in the scope. Ya can see why I instantly fell in love with this little cartridge which really is impressive out to around 400yds in a p-dog towns, absolutely no recoil and ya get to see every hit and miss. But as good as those little 32's shot I elected to shoot the 40's after I got a chance to shot both bullets at 300yds and saw first hand what a 10mph wind would do to those little 32's. The 40's aren't nearly as prone to get blown around in the windy p- dog towns. These loads were shot using new RP brass, so do any of ya guys still think ya can't get accurate loads with RP brass.

RJ

 

[2dogs]

Well, I can see there's prairie dog huntin' and prairie dog hunting with CLASS!!!! ;D

 

[ab_bentley]

Welcome to the fold there brother. Try the PPC next, it's as accurate as the VT but will whack em' out there much further. Adam

 

[flatlander]

That's a gorgeous chunk of English, and I really like the shape & the checkering. It's almost too pretty to risk dinging by carrying it in the field.

My little 20VT isn't quite that pretty - I swapped out the SS fluted 17 FB bbl. on a SS M700 CDL for a Bartlein of the same contour. Haven't had time yet to try some new H4198 (the stuff I tried originally was at least 20yrs old), and some Viht N130 with the 39/40gr bullets, but am looking forward to the end of summer field work so that I can devote a bit of time to this neat little round.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Right on buddy! Outstanding looking and performing rifle.....just beautiful. I too have been swept up with the 20VT fever, favoring it now more than any of my other varmint rifles/calibers.

Mine is not as purty as yours, a Cooper M38 VR 20VT, and shoots almost as good, even with that 'crappy' R-P brass.

This target was shot during load development, and like you, I found it shot great right out of the gate.

In a alfalfa field loaded with hordes of ground squirrels, it's a match made in heaven!
(Honestly though, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about 'bogus' R-P brass...with a little prep work, it seems to do just fine, and avoids all the work making VT brass from Lapua cases.)

 

[hedditch]

I am getting a Cooper Varmint Supreme in 20 VT. It has a French Walnut stock which is just beautiful. Now its time to purchase dies and brass. What should I get. What is the neck size of the Cooper? What are you Cooper VT shooters using for bushings? Favorite loads?
Dave

 

[Rick in Oregon]

20VT Stuff

hedditch: I'm using R-P 221FB brass, using Redding form dies, bushing neck die, and their Comp seater. Using a .226" bushing in the neck die; my loaded neck dia. is .228", and I'm using the expander ball and neck turning. I believe Cooper uses a .232" dia neck, same as SAAMI spec for the 204R.

By suggestion from another 20VT shooter, I've only used RL-7, as it does what I want.....dinky groups/great accuracy with speed in the 3,725 fps range using either the 32gr SBK or the 32gr Nosler BT, Rem 7-1/2's. Some friends also use H4198 in theirs with good results.

Of course if you've got time on your hands, making VT cases from either 222 or 223 Lapua brass is also an option, but alot of work for minimal gain in the accuracy dept. With decent prep work, R-P brass has been okay for me.

Pet Load for my Cooper M38 is 18.5grs of RL-7, Nosler 32gr BT, seated .005" off the lands in turned and annealed R-P brass. Good luck with the new Cooper....sounds like a dandy rifle on the way.

 

[bhoges]

Its got an oil finish on the stock. My other Vartarg is a REM700VS so I don't have to worry about that one. I use Rem brass and have no complaints. For my long range rifles I use Lapua only.

 

[RonRouse]

bhoges, who built your stock? That's a breath-taking peice of wood on that rifle. I have a warm spot in my heart for nice wood stocks.

RonRouse

 

[GrocMax]

The 20's don't get the respect they deserve, its very difficult to believe how flat and wind resistant they are at short to medium ranges until you try one yourself.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

With a safe stuffed full of varmint rifles from .17 to 6mm caliber, I find myself shooting my .20's now more than any of my other rifle calibers.

The 204 Ruger works great out to about the 500+ yard mark - about as far as I can hit a ground squirrel with any degree of repeatablilty. But the little 20 Vartarg is good almost out to the same yardage as long as the wind cooperates, and that's much further than my 17M4 will perform reliably. Although I'm a rifle nut, I'd be the first to admit that I could do every bit of my varmint chores with these two calibers alone......but what fun would that be?

Just for fun, here's a shot of my Cooper M38 Varminter in 20 Vartarg with a few Oregon rock chucks taken in April this year:

All chucks taken with 18.5gr RL-7, R-P 221FB annealed brass, Nosler 32gr BT .005" off the lands, Rem 7.5 @ 3,715 fps. It seems to work........ I love the .20's.

 

[North Fork]

With my copper 20 vartag i can only use 17.5gr of of re loader 7 18Gr's was to hot for my gun.