I was talking to my gunsmith about a 204 yesterday and he sugested tht i look at the 20-250. Does anyone have a opinion on these two?
Thanks
Dr B

Doc;

I am looking at a 20 caliber also... In my research it seems that the 20/250 is going to fall into the overbore category.. meaning short barrel life...

I am finding the 20 Tactical ( 20/223) as the most practical....for economy of brass and not giving up a lot of velocity over the 222RemMag case of the 204....

The 20 BR is also appealing based strictly on performance/velocity... I think it is about as big as one really needs to go... after that, you are burning more powder with not a lot of increase in velocity but a big increase in throat erosion....

A 20 in a 218 Bee case or a 221 Fireball case has a lot of efficiency also.....

I took my first step today, buy picking up a box of 20 caliber V Maxes....

I will probably make up some dummy rounds out of it.. and then see what "looks right"... or seems to catch my eye the most....

A 22.250 case does look appealing... but like an 06 case on a 6mm bore... it burns too much powder for little gain....

Just my thoughts after exploring the same subject....

cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
Doc;

I am looking at a 20 caliber also... In my research it seems that the 20/250 is going to fall into the overbore category.. meaning short barrel life...

I am finding the 20 Tactical ( 20/223) as the most practical....for economy of brass and not giving up a lot of velocity over the 222RemMag case of the 204....

The 20 Tactical is a very impressive cartridge, no doubt! I really wanted one!
In fact I would have one except for the fact that it costs so much to get set up with everything you need before you even get to the range!
Consider the cost of chambering for it and then getting the reloading dies to load for it!

Now I have a 204 Ruger barrel on my Encore and I'm very pleased with it!
I can shoot 3-shot groups that measure .330 with my handloads!
The factory loads were printing 3/8 inch!

Ye, I have an opinion, your gunsmiths on crack for suggesting it.

If you get a 20-250, its not just oh lets go buy some brass and shoot it.

You have to buy 22-250 brass and then reform it to 20-250 brass.

You will need special dies which will cost you in the neighborhood of $200.

Then lets not even talk about the custom chamber reamer and such.

If you take the rifle on a hunt and the ammo gets lost your also totally SOL.

Built a .204 and shoot the hell out of it, it will be a hell of a lot more fun with a lot less work.

If you don't like the .204 you can always rebarrel it to .223. The .204 is a good little cartridge. If you also get bored with the .204 make a 6mmx222Rem out of it. That is a cute little cartridge with a lot more bullet selection.

Talk to Walt Berger about his 20cal 50gr bullet on the 250 case. Great LR PD rifle. Your limited to those heavy bullets. We have afew varmit hunters who are even doing a 20-250AI. Good to see a gunsmith who keeps up with the latest in 20cal.

How about the 20 practical? For a handloader already set up in 223, it is an inexpensive option with similar performance to 20 tactical.

What is the difference in velocity and powder consumption between the 204 and and the 20 practical, with a common varmint bullet like the 35 berger?

If I ever again go the 20 caliber route (I had a 204 Ruger) it'll be a .204 based on the (very abundant) .223 case.

Can someone clue me in on the 20 practical.....what is it?...how is it made?

what would a .256 win mag necked down to .20 cal be????

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
Doc;

I am looking at a 20 caliber also... In my research it seems that the 20/250 is going to fall into the overbore category.. meaning short barrel life...

I am finding the 20 Tactical ( 20/223) as the most practical....for economy of brass and not giving up a lot of velocity over the 222RemMag case of the 204....

A 20 in a 218 Bee case or a 221 Fireball case has a lot of efficiency also.....

I took my first step today, buy picking up a box of 20 caliber V Maxes....

I will probably make up some dummy rounds out of it.. and then see what "looks right"... or seems to catch my eye the most....


Just my thoughts after exploring the same subject....

cheers
seafire

seafire,

Get a 204 Ruger! P.O.Ackley listed it in his book many years ago with the 222 case as perfect. While I like the 20 practical, others have said it is similar to shooting 40 grain bullets out of a 223.

Look at the 19 calhoon or 19 Badger at JamesCalhhoon.com for other, smaller choices.

Snapper, I have a 204 Barrel on order for a Ruger Action...

I still liked the idea of the 20/250...but that may be down the road...

I also have a 19/223 Calhoon on my radar sites for ordering a barrel... I have liked what I saw of them at the range of the guys who have them....

However, this just got me thinking...
As I like things that are just different, I have a Springfield Action that needs a barrel on it.. ( and new stock)....

A 20 caliber heavy barrel, chambered on a 20/250 would definitely be a rare bird....on a 1903 Springfield action.... Hmmmmm

Dr.B
If you go do a Google search on 20-250 Weaver Rifles you will get all the info. you need.
Keavin Weaver rebarreled a Ruger#1 into a 20-250imp. for me.
This rig has become my goto coyote rifle, but I wouldn't use a 20-250 or 20-250imp. on colony varmints unless you own pac-nor.
sierrabravo45,
You can use 22-250ai bushing dies from Redding. Just buy smaller bushings, you'll need a .246 a .236 a .226 and if you geet the tight neck like me you'll need a .222 as well.

As for loads and velocity I've only worked with four powders.
W.748, W.760, H-380 and Varget with 40 gr v-max's Win. brass
long story short, Varget is to fast, 748 is the most accurate but a little fast as well. 760 shot great and had the highest muzzle velocity at 4674 with the molied 40's and finaly H-380 was surprisingly inaccurate. To bad it's my favorite powder.

Best load is W-748 at 38.3 gr. for a M.V. of 4380ish with a c-t-c group of five going .362 (with four of them in .229)

My coyote load is 44.7 gr.of W-760 for 4555fps and .4 groups
P.s. fire forming load was 18.0 grains of Blue Dot and 40gr.v-max's for 3350 f.p.s. seafire/B17G

PM me if you want any info on the 20-250 or 20-250imp. or goto Keavins site.

338vt

Dr B,

I have been making similar decisions recently and after shooting both the .204 Ruger and the .22-250 Remington I choose the .204 because I could see bullet strikes through my scope with the .204 and I could not with the .22-250 because of recoil.

I want a factory rifle not a custom rifle and I don't always have a spotter with me so for my application the .204 worked better.

Sorry, mis-read the post. You were asking about a 20-250.

However, my reasoning is still valid regarding recoil.

In my view the most practical 20 IS the 204......factory rifles, standard priced dies and very reasonable brass.

You can buy more than enough brass to wear out a rifle barrel for around 80 bucks........the cheap 223 brass is just a non issue for me.

Dr. B: I came within an eyelash of buying some Nosler brand 204 Ruger brass just yesterday!
I have three 204 Ruger Varminters and have dedicated brands of brass for each. I use Hornady in one Rifle, Remington in another and Winchester in the third - if I were to have bought that box of Nosler brass well I just would have had to have bought another.... well YOU know!
Brass costs are about the last thing I consider when I am looking at a new Rifle or a new caliber in a new Rifle.
By the way the Winchester and Remington brass I saw yesterday in the 204 Ruger caliber ran $15.99 and $16.99 per 100!
I am sure I am going to get 10 - 12 firings per piece of brass - so thats about 1.5 cents cost per shot per case, rounded off thats next to nothing!
Boy, Dr B, I have as yet to find something I needed done that my 204's can't do and do VERY, VERY well!
I agree that the added smithing costs, custom barrel costs, cost of dies and etc would make the 20-250 a pricey deal at best.
All the factory heavy barrel 204 Rugers I am familiar with have shot for me, and my friends, extremely well!
I would opt for the factory offerings in heavy barrelled 204's if I were to do it again. And come to think of it, I just might!
Same-o, same-o with the 204 Ruger vs. a custom Rifle in 20 Tactical!
Best of luck with whichever caliber you choose!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy