What die for 20-250?

Z

zr600

New member
If you were going to build a 20-250 what die would u use a Redding 22-250 bushing die? Also what twist rate for 55s would use? Any help would be great been thinking about this caliper for awhile. What would barrel life be like with 55s?
 
I use the Redding Type S .22-250 neck die for mine.

Not sure the twist for 55's. At least a 9. I know a lot of guys have used 8's though.

No idea on barrel life either. The Berger 55's have a reputation for going poof if pushed too hard though. I know two different guys who built 8 twists that had them going poof in under a hundred rounds, had to back off the throttle and/or switch bullets.

- DAA
 
I use the redding S bushing dies as well in my 20-250 AI...26" heavy PacNor barrel, 8 twist. The rifle was built around the Berger 55 bullet. It has shot up to 4000 fps... but it's accuracy right now is at 3770 fps. I am beside myself on how accurate it is... never had a rifle shoot this well.

I also shoot the Blackhole 55's in it... which is even more accurate. The blackholes are a tad tougher than the bergers... I think... I know they're super accurate.

I haven't had any puffs yet... maybe because of the slower speeds.

DAA is the Man on this stuff... he was shooting wildcats before I even heard that word.
 
I use the Redding neck die also. If your choice of bullets were going to be 55gr and lower, 1-14 would be your optimum rate of twist. If you want to push it to 70gr, go with a 1-9, bullets heavier than 70gr should be run through a 1-8 or 1-7 twist barrel. I would look at Nosler and Berger bullets their b/c is generally higher than most of the others.

Here Kitty Kitty
 
I'm using Redding dies also but I did have a Wilson hand die cut to seat bullets for mine, I'm running a 9 twist for the 55 Berger's works very well also running a 9 in a 20br for the 55's over 500 rounds no blowups running around 3750fps not quite full throttle but it's where the accuracy is for mine
 
Originally Posted By: Mark204... If your choice of bullets were going to be 55gr and lower, 1-14 would be your optimum rate of twist. If you want to push it to 70gr, go with a 1-9, bullets heavier than 70gr should be run through a 1-8 or 1-7 twist barrel. I would look at Nosler and Berger bullets their b/c is generally higher than most of the others.

Here Kitty Kitty

Just poking fun here, but where can one find a 70 gr. .20 caliber bullet
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. Let alone a heavier one!

Twenty caliber. Twenty Two Fifty. Not .22
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.

You know what though, now that I said that about a 70 gr. .20 caliber, somebody will probably post up one. I have some experimental stuff a bullet maker friend was doing for the military many years ago that include a 120 gr. .22 caliber bullet. I even tested several 90 gr. designs for him in one of my 8 twist .22-250AI barrels.

- DAA
 
Blaine (blackhole) told me that he also makes his 20 cals in a 60 gr for special orders... well... why not a 70 grainer... that should have a super BC.
 
The twist rate will eventually cause the BT to distort from rotational torque when pushed very hard, and this is the usually the issue in the heavy for caliber bullets. Nosler with the thick solid base is a lesson in how to avoid this type of thing.

Unfortunately, making the Nosler jackets for very high BC for caliber has not been addressed by the company until they were forced to get into the Nosler Long Range Accubond line, which only has a very marginal acceptance because you have to jump the heck out of them, and it goes beyond the scope most reloaders.

If you have a barrel that has some mileage on it where there may be rough fire cracking, try working over the throat with patches of JB and those cheap Lyman bore scopes are worth gold for this type of application.

Fire cracking is not super detrimental, but when it gets real rough, the bullet jacket gets roughed up increasing the pressure.

When you combine a rough alligator hide bore for several inches in combination with crooked alignment between bore and chamber, this combo leads to detrimental accuracy real quick.

Paying good money for a gunsmith that spends time aligning the chamber with the axis of the bore pays off big time, especially on over-bore cartridges that may get fire cracking quickly.

I made up a solution of al oxide mixed with oil to hone(smooth) the alligator hide. This solution is equal to the old Rem clean in the yellow container. Rem clean will lap the square edges of the lands round when used on a brush, better use this stuff only in extremes. I put this liquid on patches and short stroke the bore in front of the throat, only. Some barrels have fire cracking in them for 10" or more, and the use of a bore scope is really helpful.

I bring this up because there is little talk on how to smooth up fire cracking. Nathan Foster in New Zealand had really educated many in this area. Nathan is a goat shooting freek with a 7/300 Winchester using 162g A max. Nathan has documented how the effects of fire cracking can be minimized to allow longer barrel life, it is a very good read. Nathan Foster is way out there in terms of thinking outside the box when it comes to fire cracking. Most here in the USA just put on a new barrel, but there are some alternatives to get more rounds out of a barrel:



You will have to dig around in Nathan's video's to get his contact information, and it is very valuable to those of us that shoot over bore cases.
 
Ok so should I go ai or standard will ai have less case trimming? Also I looked on Blackholes website what is the BBC of there 55 g bullet? Now also does this have anything on a 6x47 lapua or 6 creed for long range or what would be your first choice for a long range coyote round? The 20-250 has a big interest for me might also see some prairie dog shooting. Shoots on to coyotes could end up from close to 600 plus yards.
 
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