Have a rifle in .20 practical?

R

rookie7

New member
Morning all,

Awhile back I posted a thread on getting a .204 ruger. However, I think a more logical route for me would be to get a rifle in .20 practical since I have so much .223 brass.

So, for you guys and gals that have a .20 practical - non-AR - did you have it built? Or did you go the route of buying a rifle in .204 and have it re-chambered to .20 practical?

Reason why I am asking that question is because I am thinking of getting one of the 700 adl varmints at Dick's in .204, and then have a gunsmith re-chamber it for .20 practical.

If anyone has had this done just looking to see how it worked out for you.
Thanks!
 
Just recieved my reamer and go gauge from PT&G. 11 twist pacnor should be here soon. Im setting mine up for the 40gr Berger varmints which I have plenty of. Hoping to come close to 3650fps if not more. Have a 12 twist coming also for the lighter bullets. I have not talked to anyone who's done this, but it seems "practical" to me.
 
Personally,
I don't think its worth the expense to have a smith rechamber a factory 204 barrel just cause you want a 20prac. The factory barrel just isn't worth the investment and theres not a huge differences between the chamberings. Likewise spending the money on such project just cause you've got brass you can use doesn't make much sense either. Meaning..you can buy a lot of 204 brass for what that gunsmith is going to charge to rechamber that barrel.

You could download the 204 to 20 prac speeds and 200 rounds of brass will shoot out the factory barrel if treated properly. Then if you so choose have a quality barrel chambered for your 20prac project and go from there.
 
Originally Posted By: FurhunterPersonally,
I don't think its worth the expense to have a smith rechamber a factory 204 barrel just cause you want a 20prac. The factory barrel just isn't worth the investment and theres not a huge differences between the chamberings. Likewise spending the money on such project just cause you've got brass you can use doesn't make much sense either. Meaning..you can buy a lot of 204 brass for what that gunsmith is going to charge to rechamber that barrel.

You could download the 204 to 20 prac speeds and 200 rounds of brass will shoot out the factory barrel if treated properly. Then if you so choose have a quality barrel chambered for your 20prac project and go from there.



I agree 100%. Give the 204 a chance, you will love it.
 
Furhunter,

You've got a very good point, and I didn't think of it that way. Your way actually makes more sense than my original plan. Didn't think about the $150 to $200 spent on the gunsmith - use that to buy dies and brass.

Re-chambering, setting the barrel back, and cutting a new crown won't help a factory barrel enough to warrant the expense?

Now to look for the rifle on sale, or a cz as recommend in my other thread. And to start looking for brass.

Furhunter - you just killed my thread! :eek:)

Vmax blaster - I tried to read your post buy my eyes kept pulling to the left to your avatar. Not sure why...
 
Rookie

Didn't mean to be thread killer.

I just don't see that much difference in the two cases to warrant paying money to go smaller, especially when you can just download the 204 if you wish.

Its money spent with no gain in performance or guarantee it will shoot any better than the factory chambering. You can set back, re chamber and crown a factory barrel and what you will have left is a reworked factory barrel that hopefully shoots as good as it did before you messed with it. Lots of money and risk... Very little if any reward.

I'll go as far as putting it a different way,
I do my own barrel work so my labor is free and I don't think I would even do it. There's really no plus side to it.
 
I built my 20P on a Savage action, the barrel was from NSS and 1/11" twisted.
was simple as order, wait & assemble in my basement.
Same reason as most, tons of .223 brass I have.
If you bought the 204, then as Furhunter stated above buy dies & brass, no reason to toss more hard earned $$ at it.
I ran 32g/39g/40g bullets at 3600+ fps.
 
Originally Posted By: rookie7
Now to look for the rifle on sale, or a cz as recommend in my other thread. And to start looking for brass.



CZ would be a good choice. I'd look for a 700 though as there's more aftermarket options for later on down the road.
 
Originally Posted By: FurhunterPersonally,
I don't think its worth the expense to have a smith rechamber a factory 204 barrel just cause you want a 20prac. The factory barrel just isn't worth the investment and theres not a huge differences between the chamberings. Likewise spending the money on such project just cause you've got brass you can use doesn't make much sense either. Meaning..you can buy a lot of 204 brass for what that gunsmith is going to charge to rechamber that barrel.

You could download the 204 to 20 prac speeds and 200 rounds of brass will shoot out the factory barrel if treated properly. Then if you so choose have a quality barrel chambered for your 20prac project and go from there.



I would not either, if the original barrel was going to go back on.

I went through two 204r's and they both sucked. I learned that I needed to get a faster twist cuz the 12" was too slow for the 40gr. V-Max.

Because of that, and the new truck axle Kreiger barrel with a 10" twist, I went with the 20 tac, cuz I could get Lapua brass since there is no good 204 brass being made.

Otherwise, it is not worth it.
 
I have a fully custom .20 Practical I built for varmint hunting. I did it because I too had an enormous amount of .223 brass laying around. The accuracy is excellent with 39 grain Sierra BlitzKing bullets averaging less than a 1/2 inch at a hundred yards @3940 fps. Having played with the round quite a bit you wouldn't really have to "download" a .204 Ruger to get the ballistics of a .20 Practical. I've been able to duplicate .204 Ruger ballistics with around 2 grains less powder,and believe the .223 case may be more efficient than the .204 case. In the end the biggest reason I went with the Practical was because I wanted something different and am happy that I went that way. The 1/10" twist has shot everything from the 26 grain varmint grenade to the 40 grain V-Max.

Pictures of my build @http://m.imgur.com/a/A9Z5i
 
Im not to savy with a computer so I cant see the pic of your build GB. What action and brand of barrel did you use ? I bet the 26 grainers with a 10 twist are far from your most accurate load.
 
I have a DPMS heavy receiver with a side charging handle. The barrel is a 10 twist Hart tapered Varmint. The 26 grain doesn't shoot as well as others but surprisingly it does stabilize.
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Click the above link and it should lead you to the pictures
 
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