20 Practical questions

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pyscodog

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Tell me what I need to know please. Going to order a barrel,I think, in 20P with a 10 twist. Tell me about dies and where to get them, forming brass, powder, everything I need to know please. This time, it is my first rodeo!!
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Originally Posted By: pyscodogTell me what I need to know please. Going to order a barrel,I think, in 20P with a 10 twist. Tell me about dies and where to get them, forming brass, powder, everything I need to know please. This time, it is my first rodeo!!
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I use Redding Type S FL bushing dies in 223. Seating is done with a Hornady generic 20. Amazon.com for 223 die search. Make sure they sr FL and not NS only.

I like Winchester brass but LC is fine. Bullets 32-39 Sierra and the Berger 35.

AA2015 RL10 and a few others. I'll check my notes when I get to my computer.

Greg
 
Not sure where you are getting your barrel, but my Blackhole Weaponry barrel has a 'snug' chamber and required the use of a small base die on once fired brass the first time in order for it to chamber. Have not shot it a lot yet, but I really like the rig I have put together, so far.
 
With then Redding type S FL die you will need to order a 204 Ruger recapping assembly and expander bàll for a type S die the threads on the 223 decapping shaft are too large for the 204 expander ball. You will also need a .233 and .225 or .226 bushing there is à good tutorial on U-Tube on forming brass. I did my first 40 rounds last night.

For $20 the Hornady 204 seater it is the best deal around.


A powder funnel that goes down to 20 cal too.
 
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I have a set of 204 Hornady dies already. I'm going to need a sizing die set-up though. I have 200 pieces of Lapua brass I been saving just for something like this. Barrel will be an X-Caliber, 12 twist. Plan on shooting 35 grain Bergers,39 grain Blitz Kings, 32 and 40 grain V-max.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogTell me what I need to know please. Going to order a barrel,I think, in 20P with a 10 twist. Tell me about dies and where to get them, forming brass, powder, everything I need to know please. This time, it is my first rodeo!!
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After talking to Rob at X-Caliber, barrel will be a 12 twist.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogOriginally Posted By: pyscodogTell me what I need to know please. Going to order a barrel,I think, in 20P with a 10 twist. Tell me about dies and where to get them, forming brass, powder, everything I need to know please. This time, it is my first rodeo!!
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After talking to Rob at X-Caliber, barrel will be a 12 twist.

Just curious why the 12 twist?
 
Well, we discussed that and I told Rob a 40 grain bullet will probably be the heaviest I ever shoot and a 12 twist is what he recommended.
 
I have a 12 and 10 twist in Tac 20. My 12 twist won't shoot 39g or up bullets worth a crap. You should err on the side of caution if your really going to shoot 40g bullets. The 10 twist will shoot all weights pretty good but not the 12. This has been my experience
 
I have a 10 twist but haven't shot anything over 35 grains yet. Planning on trying some 39-40's real soon. I am a fan of fast twists anyway, so that is what I always go with. Nothing scientific, just personal observation, but the more rpm's on a bullet the better they seem to perform on varmint size critters.
 
A 12 twist for a 20 caliber custom barrel would be a mistake if you want to shoot the 40 grain vmax. I'd go 10 at least. I went 9 on mine last time. A 12 twist will be borderline on those. Not guaranteed.
 
You guys scared me thinking I ordered the wrong twist so I called this morning and changed it to a 10 twist. Hope it works out!!
 
Well, to further your concerns psyco, I will tell you that I just tore one to pieces this evening shooting the 35 grain berger out of my 20 practical. Granted, shot placement was not ideal, but before it was all said and done, the small male coyote that I called in had a couple baseball sized holes in him. Was a mangy one, but if he had been a nice November prime coyote I would have sure been disappointed. Just goes to show that even a 'good fur bullet' is going to have some failures.
 
obaro- do you use the two bushing method in making brass? Is there any other way? I haven't ordered and dies or bushings yet. Figure there is no real big hurry. Can I get 20 Prac dies from maybe Todd Kindler?
 
Yeah, I use two steps down, but I have some kind of odd ball die that I picked up trading that takes a 22 down to 20-something then I use the redding with the bushing for the last step. I have tried any other way. That said I have sized several hundred pieces, but am still trimming and chamfering. Have only loaded about 150 rounds and shot about 25. Have managed to kill about a half dozen coyotes in those 25 rounds though. It is a really technical break in process that I use as you have probably observed.

I don't know who carries a true 20 practical die. I may look into one someday, cause so far I am really impressed with I have managed to do with the round.
 
You could have C&H4D or Hornady make you a custom die, those are about the least expensive options for a custom die but the Redding Type S FL die is still cheaper in the long run. I'm pretty sure that you could order the 20 Practicle set up directly from Redding and they would take care of switching out the internal components for you. You would need to talk to someone on the CS desk instead of just the order desk.

It looks like C&H4D has the 20-Practicle/20-223 as a stock item.

https://www.ch4d.com/products/dies/caliber-list?page=26

After a long discussion about the 20 Practicle with someone that has done a lot of work with them, the Redding system sounds like the best option
 
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CH4D wants about $110 or so and RCBS wants around $150.00 for the 20-223 die sets. For the price it is a lot cheaper to buy the Redding 223. Be sure and get WILSON bushings. As for the decapping set up I would never run an expander button on these and defeat the use of the bushings. You can take the decapping pin retainer ball, smaller than 223 in the set and turn it down enough to go through the 20 caliber necks and not have to bother with a new stem. It will work in any of the 223 based cases of 20 and above.

Greg
 
Do I really need to bring the neck down in two steps. A friend made me a dummy round using 20 tact dies and brought the 223 case down to 20 in one pass. Just asking, I want to do it right.

I just watched a youtube video, for about the tenth time, and the guy making 20P brass uses a 223 seater to seat the bullets. Can I do that???
 
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I use the 223 seater on mine, every 3 shot group I shot was sub moa, so I guess it works.

I don't know about necking down in one pass, I did all of mine in two passes. Don't know that it would hurt to try doing it in one pass. Please let me know if it works, it will save me time on the next batch I do.
 
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