Anybody shooting a sporter weight .20 Practical? Seems like a good ground squirrel prairie dog cartridge. Tell me the positives and any negatives to this round. Any good reloading recipes?

Thanks, Nelson

I had a XR-100 in 204 Ruger when the brass was really tough to find had it converted to the 20 Practical and never looked bac. There is not enough difference between the 20's ( 204, Practical,Tach) to ever be seen in the "Real World" .

With the availability of 223 brass and the ease of forming it is a no Brainer.

Jim

+1

I don't think the "ground squirrel prairie dog" would know the difference in the real world from .223 to the .20 practical.

You could still save more money in bullets and brass just by shooting a .223/5.56, no fuss no muss

Been shooting a 20 Practical nearly 10 yrs now...

although its not a field/carry weight...it 17# or so

its a helluva p/dog gun...I see no negatives...use 223 brass

Redding bushing neck dies..std 223 FL die to form/less the stem

Forster 204R seater to seat....loads ? if it works in a 223...

it will work in the Practical....if you don't like the Practical

think about the 20-222 or 20 Vartarg (Fireball) of which I also use

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/20caliber/

You use the same brass as a 223 so thats a moog point as far as bullets I shoot the 34gr. varment nightmares from midsouth and if I remember correctly they are about 45.00 for 500 don't think you can find 22 cal. bullets that cheap

No time spent necking down brass, and you sure can get .224 bullets cheaper than that. 55g SP all day long for 7cents each. Even at Midsouth prices, .224 rules the day. And for even better savings, there's sites like AmmoSeek....


Ammo Seek

oh and it's "Moot" not moog

IMO the 204 Practical is what the 204 Ruger should have been but it would not have created a market for the 204 brass from Hornady and it would not have hyped the Ruger name.

I too am a 223 fan having tried the 204 Ruger and found that for all practical purpose it held no advantage over the 223 for varmint shooting but rather the 223 held the advantage for other types of shooting (large game and long range match).


drover

Nels,
If you are an experienced reloader, I see no problem with a Practical, although when I get my dream 20, it will be a TACTICAL (same brass, longer neck).
If you've already got a 223 and know your way around that cartridge, you're in a good position to move on. That's something I always recommend to friends -- get a 223 first, wring it out, then use that as a jumping-off point for whatever else strikes your fancy.
People rave about the 204...my experiences haven't been that great but that's just me.
It depends on whether you like taking that step into wildcat land -- which honestly isn't that big a deal. If you like getting that last bit of performance out of what will be a custom rifle, then go for it.

the .224 FB 55 gr SP doesn't hold a candle to a 20 cal 40 gr V max

spend a day in the p/dog field with each...BT vs FB...3900 fps vs

3300 fps...BC for the 20 is .275 vs the 224 at .235......20's are

like a laser in the field....remember the 204R is nothing more

than the 222 Rem mag necked to 20 cal....20 Practical will never

have a brass shortage.....

BC's don't kill Pdogs, the shooter does

That dog can't tell the difference from a laser to a muzzleloader.

I don't consider my 20 Practical a light weight but not all that heavy either. Super accurate with the White Oak PacNor barrel.

^^^^^^^^^^

nice...looks like a good load.......barrel twist ? 11 ?

how's 39-40's do...

It groups the Sierra 39 BK's with 4895 just as well as the 32 gr. I built or I should say I assembled the rifle myself. If I can remember right the barrel is a 1&10 will have to check .

Thanks for the info. While the target will not notice the difference I am looking for a rifle that slings small projectiles at a high rate with awesome terminal frappage. My 223 lvsf has just a bit of muzzle raise to affect site picture on target. Also it's an excuse for a new rifle

That AR platform looks great.