Bolt gun “break-in”

[ar15barrels]

What I learned when I got into the 20 practical has been a chore for me...making cases, developing loads, the whole ball of wax.

The 20 practical is one of the easiest wildcats there is.
All you do is size the case.
The shoulder angle is the same and no fireforming is required.
That's why the high volume guys use it instead of 204 or 20 tactical.

I'm not a high volume user of 20cal so I stuck with 204 for my personal rifle because I prefer my cases to have the correct headstamp.

With Lapua offering 20 tactical fully formed and headstamped cases, I suppose I could buy a couple boxes of that brass and build one of those too.
It would be nice to have Lapua brass.

I have a 20 vartarg reamer too though.
If only I had a super tiny action that would feed 221 cases I would build one of those for myself too.
Then I could have a 17, 20, 22 and 30 caliber rounds all on the same 221 case.

[longrange1]

Thank you for the response. I am not into competition and know absolutely nothing about it. What I learned when I got into the 20 practical has been a chore for me...making cases, developing loads, the whole ball of wax. My reloading equipment cost as much as what I paid for my current vehicle I drive.

I'm a high volume squirrel hunter that has gotten lucky to have a couple of good barrels go the distance for me...and they were never broken in per the manufactures recommendations.

i asked because ive shot out a lot of barrels and have NEVER seen a barrel go as many rounds as most..or a lot of ppl claim...im not saying its not possible or that your barrels do not have that many rounds and still shoot 1/4" groups its just hard to believe.

[LynnJr]

Boattail
My uncle and his wife own seven properties between New Pine Creek,California and Lakeview Oregon.
We shoot Squeaks all the time in the alfalfa fields so I am familiar with high volume shooting.
Again good luck with your shooting.

[boattail]

The 20 practical is one of the easiest wildcats there is.
All you do is size the case.
The shoulder angle is the same and no fireforming is required.
That's why the high volume guys use it instead of 204 or 20 tactical.

I'm not a high volume user of 20cal so I stuck with 204 for my personal rifle because I prefer my cases to have the correct headstamp.

With Lapua offering 20 tactical fully formed and headstamped cases, I suppose I could buy a couple boxes of that brass and build one of those too.
It would be nice to have Lapua brass.

I have a 20 vartarg reamer too though.
If only I had a super tiny action that would feed 221 cases I would build one of those for myself too.
Then I could have a 17, 20, 22 and 30 caliber rounds all on the same 221 case.

While easy my first adventure into it had me small base sizing and necking down all on a single stage. All range brass, most had crimped primers. Trimmed and cut by hand. A lot of work to make up 6000 cases that way.

I invested in a 650 and a Giraud after that and I can make cases pretty fast now. I work in law enforcement and get to pick up all our .223 cases from the range so I have a small boat load of those in various stages of readiness waiting to be made into whatever chamber I need more of them for.

Needless to say I keep track of all my cases and don't let any slip away when shooting them.

[boattail]

Boattail
My uncle and his wife own seven properties between New Pine Creek,California and Lakeview Oregon.
We shoot Squeaks all the time in the alfalfa fields so I am familiar with high volume shooting.
Again good luck with your shooting.

This winter has been wetter up there than usual but I have a hunch we will have critters this year. Two of my bigger ranches started using poison and put me out of work but I still have places to go that don't poison. I currently only have lead free loads for two of my 20p's and if the critters to come back this season I will need to fill cases so I can shoot all three 20's.

I started out with 2000 rounds per barrel of loaded ammo so I did not have to back fill cases during the season. With two of those barrels at the high round count I only load 1000 each at a time. I would hate to have to break down a bunch of loads that no longer shoot well.....I got stuck with just under 2k of leaded rounds when the ban hit last year and there was nothing to shoot. I decided not to break those down just yet. If the barrels hold on a while longer I will need those cases and will break them down and save the components.

One of the guys I know from Lakeview area shoots 204's as well. He was the first one to mention that caliber to me years ago. He was shooting pretty good distances with his. I still cannot match his distances as I am just not that steady. I like to keep things in the 350 yard range or less and can just move my shooting trailer if the shots get longer than I like. I like to keep my kill rate at 80%. Some days I struggle to keep 60% at those distances but we can't be 100% on our game all the time.

I stay away from the heavy shooting areas like Dorris and Macdoel. I also don't venture over to Cedarville either. I have property closer to the Big Valley area and usually find all I need there. Growing up there I know enough people, and am related to half of them, to keep me busy.

If you see this ugly rig along the road stop by and pop a couple with me....

[LynnJr]

If I mention her name you will know her in an instant.
They both have properties near goose lake and offer special deer hunts as well.
On the Cedarville Eagleville side of the mountain my buddy buys quite a bit of that entire areas alfalfa as he is a broker.
I wait until squirrel wars is over each year then hunt the shot out fields for predators feasting on the dead squirrels.
My uncle shoots mainly 17's but also has a well known purple and white 6BR.
His nickname is Buzz

[boattail]

If I mention her name you will know her in an instant.
They both have properties near goose lake and offer special deer hunts as well.
On the Cedarville Eagleville side of the mountain my buddy buys quite a bit of that entire areas alfalfa as he is a broker.
I wait until squirrel wars is over each year then hunt the shot out fields for predators feasting on the dead squirrels.
My uncle shoots mainly 17's but also has a well known purple and white 6BR.
His nickname is Buzz

I logged off of Fandango above Fort Bidwell one summer back in the 80's. A good friend of mine had a field in Davis Creek but sold it last year. I shot and still shoot 17's a bunch....I got caught with 4000 leaded rounds left over I can't use.....I need to hit up my shooting buddies in Oregon and trade some of it off just to get rid of it. I'm going to have to make trip before the end of the month and visit my contacts and see who has critters and who doesn't. I have two friends that come down from Portland area each year for four days of shooting...they missed last year and are antsy to go again this year. I'm not sure we will have a good enough season to warrant the trip for them...it's too early to tell.

[LynnJr]

http://www.seecalifornia.com/festivals/cedarville-squirrel-roundup.html

Here is a link for those interested in shooting 1000 rounds a day at Squeaks. Squeaks are a smaller version of your typical ground squirrels
They have team events as well as individual titles.