My 20 Practical

[AlNyhus]

Panda, Kelbly HBR stock, Kreiger twisted 1:11, Jewell trigger, chambered in 20 Practical .233 no turn neck by 'Humble' Henry Rivers.

Range testing. Tested 4198 and N133, f-formed cases with 4198 and Nosler 32 gr. Varmageddon bullets with fairly light neck tension.

Best 5 shot group to date @ 100 yds. N133 with BIB 40 gr. boat tails. Some aggressive neck tension brought the groups right around with f-formed cases.

 

[redrockranger]

Beautiful rifle Al. Where did the rest of the thread go ?

 

[jepp2]

.233 no turn neck

Beautiful rifle. You picked the perfect twist in my view. What brass are you using?

 

[jetboat]

Nice?
I am finishing a 20P using the same barrel. Kreiger 1-11 Rem vmt 26'' barrel but on a rem action. In the process of sizing brass but not sure of what powder to use for FF. Any recommendations for FF loads with 40 gn vmax's?
All advice welcomed to get this off the ground.

 

[Doug30racer]

not sure about the ff, I resized them with a redding type s. Load em and shoot em. Benchmark or 8208 are what works for me

 

[nmkid]

I used N-133 and H-335 with the 40 gr. Vmax. I stayed with the H-335 as I had 6 lbs. of it. Never fire formed, waste of components in my opinion. At this time my 20P is the most accurate rifle I own. It shot great right from the git go.

 

[AlNyhus]

Mostly, there's no need to f-form the 20 Practical.

I chose to prep my cases a bit differently than most....reduced the necks to .242 o.d. with a Redding .223 neck die with a shortened shell holder to push the shoulders back so a false shoulder could be made. Then reduced the necks with a .230 button, stopping where I wanted the false shoulder to be. Done this way, the case stops on the false shoulder when chambered and when fired, it blows out nicely and the necks have almost zero runout.

For a f-form load, 24.0 of H4198 worked well with the cheap Nosler Varmageddon 32 gr. bullets

I would strongly suggest using Lapua cases.

 

[jetboat]

I chose to prep my cases a bit differently than most....reduced the necks to .242 o.d. with a Redding .223 neck die with a shortened shell holder to push the shoulders back so a false shoulder could be made. Then reduced the necks with a .230 button, stopping where I wanted the false shoulder to be. Done this way, the case stops on the false shoulder when chambered and when fired, it blows out nicely and the necks have almost zero runout.

I have a Redding 223 S FL S die and .223 & 226 bushings. Where can I find a the proper sized shortened shell holder. What is the dimension?
What size bushing do you use for the sizing after FF? I do not want to turn necks.
Thanks for the Help!!
Larry

 

[AlNyhus]

I have a Redding 223 S FL S die and .223 & 226 bushings. Where can I find a the proper sized shortened shell holder. What is the dimension?
What size bushing do you use for the sizing after FF? I do not want to turn necks.
Thanks for the Help!! Larry

Larry, I faced off a shell holder in my lathe. But before I had one, I did several by just holding the face of the shell holder against the side of a bench grinder wheel. It sounds crude but it doesn't have to be perfect...you're just using it as a way to be able to push the case further into the die to set the shoulder back.

Interestingly, after I got my lathe I went back and trued up my home made shortened shell holders...none took over .004 to square up.

A .228 bushing is where I ended up.

 

[5spd]

40g VM with the powders below printed tiny hole in targets in my 1/11tw, 24" 20P.
23g aa2015, 24g xterminator, 24g n133, 22g BM, 23.5gBM, 24g BM, 23g h335
I never FF, just necked down with redding bushing dies, load & shot.

 

[AlNyhus]

I did want to add a bit of info on why I chose to push the shoulders back and make a false shoulder instead of the normal 'neck it down and shoot it' approach:

This box of 100 Lapua .223 cases measures .004 shorter base-to-datum than any other .new .223 cases I have (Winchester and Remington). I don't know if this is something specific to Lapua, as I've never used their .223 cases before.

For what it's worth..... -Al

 

[jetboat]

Al
Are the Lapua necks thicker than the Win,Rem,Horn cases?
I will measure the neck dia of a loaded round and order a bushing that is .002 or so smaller.
Suggestions??
Thanks for your help!

 

[Tim s]

Al,
Are you aware of any source for those BIB’s that you don’t need to buy 1000 minimum?
Love to get a couple hundred to play with.

 

[AlNyhus]

Al,
Are you aware of any source for those BIB’s that you don’t need to buy 1000 minimum? Love to get a couple hundred to play with.

Tim, give Randy a call at 515-438-4010. He'll work with you.

Tell him "Hi!" -Al

 

[sundance]

Looks good shoots good .Nice rifle!
Are Bib bullets target only or good for varmints also?

 

[Tim s]

Tim, give Randy a call at 515-438-4010. He'll work with you.

Tell him "Hi!" -Al

Thank you sir