Should I go 20 practical?
- Thread starter akdad
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I have been lucky to access to excellent prairie dog hunting on some farmland in SE Colorado for the past 15 years or so. My group shoots everything from a 17 mach 2 to my 22-243. I mainly shoot an AR in 223 and a 204 Ruger bolt gun. Most guys who shot their 22-250s switched to 204 Ruger due to the minimal recoil allowing for shot spotting. The 223 AR was great, but the ballistics were inferior to the 204. Also, I've never heard a ricochet with the 204, but I have with the 223 with anything heavier that the 55g spire points.
I wanted to combine the ballistics of the 204 and the fast follow ups with the AR, so the obvious solution was an AR in 204 Ruger, but I was limited by the magazine length using the 40g VMax.
The 20 Practical was the perfect solution, and it performed very well. Shots are easy to spot, follow ups on misses are nearly instant. I'm not giving up much to the 204 Ruger, with CFE223 I'm getting 3625 fps with the 40 Vmax's, and I don't thing the prairie dogs notice the missing100 fps from the 204 Ruger.
The cartridge is easy to make, and I've had good results with cheap mixed headstamp 223 range brass. The truth is, if I was starting now with just one prairier dog gun, I would go with the 20 Practical as it is close to the 204 Ruger in performance, and it smokes the 223 in both accuracy and ballistics. Its realtively low in component cost and easy to reload.
I will add that I am nervous about mixing my 223 ammo and the 20 Practical ammo. It would be an easy mistake to make if I had both ammo out and I'm certain I could accidentally fire a 20P in a 223 gun, and worse- I could probably fire a 223 in the 20P if the bolt had enough force to push the bigger bullet into the case when it cycles. For that reason I have not brought the 223 and the 20P out at the same time and I don't let the ammo roll around loose anywhere. If I shooting the 20P, the 223 stays home and vice versa!
I wanted to combine the ballistics of the 204 and the fast follow ups with the AR, so the obvious solution was an AR in 204 Ruger, but I was limited by the magazine length using the 40g VMax.
The 20 Practical was the perfect solution, and it performed very well. Shots are easy to spot, follow ups on misses are nearly instant. I'm not giving up much to the 204 Ruger, with CFE223 I'm getting 3625 fps with the 40 Vmax's, and I don't thing the prairie dogs notice the missing100 fps from the 204 Ruger.
The cartridge is easy to make, and I've had good results with cheap mixed headstamp 223 range brass. The truth is, if I was starting now with just one prairier dog gun, I would go with the 20 Practical as it is close to the 204 Ruger in performance, and it smokes the 223 in both accuracy and ballistics. Its realtively low in component cost and easy to reload.
I will add that I am nervous about mixing my 223 ammo and the 20 Practical ammo. It would be an easy mistake to make if I had both ammo out and I'm certain I could accidentally fire a 20P in a 223 gun, and worse- I could probably fire a 223 in the 20P if the bolt had enough force to push the bigger bullet into the case when it cycles. For that reason I have not brought the 223 and the 20P out at the same time and I don't let the ammo roll around loose anywhere. If I shooting the 20P, the 223 stays home and vice versa!
I like the 20P, for the 20cal 39-40gr has a better BC than the 55's in the 223, and it is simple and cheap to create from the 10's of thousands of 223 brass I have. That said, I do shoot much more 223/222 than I do the 20P. Mostly because, I spent too many years with those before using the 20P, and by that time, I had, and still have, a rather large supply of 22 cal bullets
Rflshootr
Well-Known Member
I'd look at a 22BR if you don't already have an action with a .223 bolt face. Or if you are set on 20 caliber, a 20 BR with 50 grain bullets in the neighborhood of 3800 fps.
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Or the last!I do reload so that's taken care of I may just try a remage just for kicks. Ed is right about having ammo in bulk but this would just be for fun. Wouldn't be first time I did something that wasn't completely intelligent
highfinblue
Well-Known Member
I have a custom 20VT, Savage 12 204 Ruger with a Rifle Basix trigger, CZ 223, all left hand and like them all, now I want a 20 Practical
My 2 buddies and I have been shooting PD's for an over 20 years w calibers from 17 AI hornet to 6 dasher. All of us have switched to a 20 caliber as our primary PD gun. Our favorites are 204 Roger, 20P, and 20BR w a 39 gr Blitzking or 40 gr V-max. The 223 w 40 to 55 gr bullets just can't compete with the 20 calibers for flat trajectory, wind drift, and reduced recoil.
Note that the 204 Ruger / 20P stop violent expanding around 450 to 500 yards. You can make hits out to 700 yds without much trouble.
I typically get over 3,000 rounds of good accuracy (1/2 MOA) out of my 204 Ruger barrels at 3,875 fps w 39 gr BK's and H4895. I am just now switching to XBR because I can't get H4895. Not enough experience yet to see if I am getting the same accuracy w XBR yet but looks promising.
I am a huge fan of the 223 for its versatility, but it isn't as good as the 20 calibers for PD shooting.
We have also tried heavier 22 caliber bullets (69 to 77 gr) in slow twist 22-250 and 22 BR to reach a little farther out, but you can't always see your hits / misses and not much splat factor. We like the 6mm 105 gr bullets in 6BR and especially the 6 Dasher / BRX better for long range.
Note that the 204 Ruger / 20P stop violent expanding around 450 to 500 yards. You can make hits out to 700 yds without much trouble.
I typically get over 3,000 rounds of good accuracy (1/2 MOA) out of my 204 Ruger barrels at 3,875 fps w 39 gr BK's and H4895. I am just now switching to XBR because I can't get H4895. Not enough experience yet to see if I am getting the same accuracy w XBR yet but looks promising.
I am a huge fan of the 223 for its versatility, but it isn't as good as the 20 calibers for PD shooting.
We have also tried heavier 22 caliber bullets (69 to 77 gr) in slow twist 22-250 and 22 BR to reach a little farther out, but you can't always see your hits / misses and not much splat factor. We like the 6mm 105 gr bullets in 6BR and especially the 6 Dasher / BRX better for long range.
Shrapnel
Active Member
I'm not sure what's practical about a 20 Practical. The 204 Ruger is already available in ammunition, reloading components and rifles. It just seems more "practical" to shoot the 204.
I'm not one to shy away from odd cartridges, I have tons and some that few people have ever heard of. But Prairie Dogs for all practical purposes are best shot with a rifle that you can feed as much inexpensive ammunition that you can.
I don't stay away from odd varmint cartridges. I just find it easier to get brass that is more common so when it wears out, you can get some more. I would vote for a 204 Ruger and buy as much ammunition and components, then get a 17 Hornet, and a 17 Remington, a 22 Hornet, a 222, a 223, 222 magnum, 22 PPC, 6mm PPC, 224 Weatherby mag, 22-250 and 220 Swift. That way when you go shooting prairie dogs, you will have something in the shade to keep the barrel cool…
I'm not one to shy away from odd cartridges, I have tons and some that few people have ever heard of. But Prairie Dogs for all practical purposes are best shot with a rifle that you can feed as much inexpensive ammunition that you can.
I don't stay away from odd varmint cartridges. I just find it easier to get brass that is more common so when it wears out, you can get some more. I would vote for a 204 Ruger and buy as much ammunition and components, then get a 17 Hornet, and a 17 Remington, a 22 Hornet, a 222, a 223, 222 magnum, 22 PPC, 6mm PPC, 224 Weatherby mag, 22-250 and 220 Swift. That way when you go shooting prairie dogs, you will have something in the shade to keep the barrel cool…
All those rifles are beautiful. I could and would never take them out of the house if they were ours''. They are just too fine and I could not imagine putting a scratch on the wood or messing up the Bluing.
You have one of the nicest collections.
I don't want to say that I am jealous or green with envoy because that is a sin (but I am).
It is hard to find a rifle like one of these let alone the whole collection!
Haven't played with mine long but with lite bullets it's quite a bit faster and flatter shooting out to about 400
RE "I'm not sure what's practical about a 20 Practical."
The primary reason the 20P exists is that 223 brass is more readily available and cheaper than 204 Ruger brass.
I get 8 to 10 reloads w my brass. I use Hornady 204 Ruger brass and sometimes it's hard to come by.
Reloading dies are slightly more expensive for the 20P, but if you already have lots of 223 brass the 20P is more economical. Only downside is about 50 fps slower.
The primary reason the 20P exists is that 223 brass is more readily available and cheaper than 204 Ruger brass.
I get 8 to 10 reloads w my brass. I use Hornady 204 Ruger brass and sometimes it's hard to come by.
Reloading dies are slightly more expensive for the 20P, but if you already have lots of 223 brass the 20P is more economical. Only downside is about 50 fps slower.
As I understand it, the history of the name ".20 Practical" was a response to a different cartridge. The ".20 Tactical" wildcat came out and made a bit of a splash as you could resize .223 brass into the .20 Tactical. But it required a resizing die.
Someone else responded with the ".20 Practical" wildcat that also uses .223 brass, but can be formed merely by using a smaller bushing in a Redding .223 bushing die. So if you already have a Redding bushing die, it's more "practical" than the .20 Tactical.
It's not intended to improve on replace the .204 Ruger, but a "practical" way to get into .204 caliber projectiles with cheap/free readily available brass.
As much as I'd love to use brand new Lapua brass in my .20 Practical...it's more practical for me to use the free .223 brass I've accumulated over the years from other shooters.
Hope that makes sense.
Oh, and I have .204 Ruger too so I like both. .204 in a bolt gun, .20 P in an AR which I prefer for predator hunting for the quick follow up shot.
TigerOnThe Hill
Well-Known Member
I understand you concerns. My son-in-law and brother-in-law both mainly shoot 204 Ruger's that I load for. OTOH, I sometimes shoot the 20 Practical. I use different bullets to help me differentiate the loads. The 204's use red tipped V-Max bullets whereas the 20 Practical uses black tipped Varmageddon bullets.
