HOW DOES A 20 CAL RIFLE COMPARE to a 223?

[Cow Town Bill]

I've been giving some thought to getting a 20 cal rifle. Yes, I know there are quite a few variations available but I'll get to that later.
I love to shoot gophers and prairie dogs at long range. I have a 223, a 22-250 and for longer ranges a 6 BR and a 6.5 Lapua.
So, I have to ask myself do I really need yet another varmint rig? The lighter bullets in the 20 cal means less recoil and less muzzle blast which adds up when shooting 200 to 300 rounds in a day. On the other hand I can shoot 40 grain bullets out of my 223 or go hog wild and shoot them out of the 22-250.
I'm sure the 20 cal has less effective range compared to a 223, but how much less?
I'm certainly not the first shooter to raise this question. So I ask my fellow AO's---what is your experience and advice?
Bill

[catnthehat]

Never had an issue shooting gophers with a .22, and keeping a .223 on hand for the real long shots.
Have no idea how they compare because I have never looked to improve on that particular mouse trap!
Next......
Cat

[elkhunter11]

The effective range is at least 400 to 500 yards if you use bullets like the 39gr Blitzking. It has a B.C. that is quite close to the .224" 69gr Matchking, and with comparable capacity cases, you can drive the lighter .20 caliber bullets faster. For 200 to 300 yard shots, I prefer the 17 hornet to either the .20 or .22 cal cartridges. because using only 9.5gr of powder, the barrel doesn't heat up nearly as quickly as with the larger calibers.

[Redfrog]

It's been my experience that performance falls off in windy conditions. compared to the 223 or 22.250

[densa44]

My wife prefers the .204 over any thing else in the house. No recoil, lots of range and her best shot so far is a coyote off the front porch at 375 yards.

[Fordevr]

Originally Posted by densa44

My wife prefers the .204 over any thing else in the house. No recoil, lots of range and her best shot so far is a coyote off the front porch at 375 yards.

After a lot of forums and talking to ppl about the .204 .223 and .22-250 who had owned different guns I purchased a Tikka T3 in .204, and with factory Hornady Varmint 32gr. superformance you can't go wrong. If you have never played with a .204 borrow a buddies and get ready for a ton o fun. With such light recoil, I have had everyone from 5 - 65 yrs old shoot it and everyone loves it. At 4225fps the bullet travels 400 yards real fast. My personal observation is the wind doesn't effect it as much as most ppl worry about. (Especially out to 400 yrds) I have shot a few calibres in my day and will always be a .204 fan😍

[elkhunter11]

You can compare the wind drift with some bullet weights below, but in general, if the B.C. is similar, and the velocity is similar, then the wind drift is similar as well.

http://www.6mmbr.com/20caliber.html

[tikka250]

the best part i found about hunting varmints with a 20 cal is the fact that i can spot my own hits/misses. i have found the real world wind drift effects to be not bad at all. if its too windy for the round to be effective its too windy to be out hunting gophers in the first place. with some good dust to be able to spot misses i have found mine (20 practical) to be effective out to 500 yards. i will repeat myself in saying the ability to watch through the scope is awesome. sure your 22-250 can do this but you wont get to see it.

[lclund1946]

Originally Posted by Cow Town Bill

I've been giving some thought to getting a 20 cal rifle. Yes, I know there are quite a few variations available but I'll get to that later.
I love to shoot gophers and prairie dogs at long range. I have a 223, a 22-250 and for longer ranges a 6 BR and a 6.5 Lapua.
So, I have to ask myself do I really need yet another varmint rig? The lighter bullets in the 20 cal means less recoil and less muzzle blast which adds up when shooting 200 to 300 rounds in a day. On the other hand I can shoot 40 grain bullets out of my 223 or go hog wild and shoot them out of the 22-250.
I'm sure the 20 cal has less effective range compared to a 223, but how much less?
I'm certainly not the first shooter to raise this question. So I ask my fellow AO's---what is your experience and advice?
Bill

A 40 grain V-Max starting at 3470 fps has the same trajectory and less wind age to 500 yards. The energy is down a bit but not if you push the 39/40 grain bullets to 3600+ fps. So the question should be, " How much less does a 40 grain bullet drop and drift in a 20 caliber and how much more energy does it have at 500 yards than a 40 grain bullet in 223?

Do a 20 Extreme in a 9 twist barrel and it will run 32 grain bullets from 3800 to over 4000 fps. The 39/ 40 grain bullets will shoot bugholes at 3450 t0 3700 fps and at the slower velocities the low pressures do not heat up barrels very quickly or stretch brass. If you want to run more energy and less drift than a 223 or 22-250, at 500 yards, use much less powder to do it a 55 Berger will do the trick.

Originally Posted by lclund1946

The 55 Berger in at 3060 is has more energy and drifts less in the wind than a factory Hornady 55 V-Max in a 22-250. However it has similar energy at the muzzle as the 22-250 at 150 yards which makes it much more fur friendly. As well much less powder is required to do the job.

[IMG][/IMG]

20 Extreme fits in a standard 2.26" magazine and will run 3060 to 3200+ fps, in a 24" barrel, with 22.0 grains of powder and stabilizes with an 9" Twist.
[IMG][/IMG]

20 Practical with 24" barrel and 23.5 grains of powder will stabilize with a 10" twist.
[IMG][/IMG]

[Robmcleod82]

20 EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[H 4895]

I couldn't be happier with my 20 Tac. Shoots flatter and kicks less than a 223.

[PartTimeHunter]

Originally Posted by Robmcleod82

20 EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where's the like button? Seriously, nice looking rifle there. Good job love the cerakote.

[Robmcleod82]

Hoping I will be able to chime in on the terminal ballistics with the extreme soon gotta get out and call a few coyotes. It is a fair bit quieter than a 223.

[gopher]

Blasted at least 3 gophers before and being an esteemed forum member I say it really doesn’t matter that much.
Butt…
22 hornet and fireball are king!

[Big bore dinosaur]

Love my 204 rug.
Accurate with 40 v max..
Going to try the 50 gr long range bergers..

I was impressed with the ballistic data on the 55 gr. Bergers.. check out the wind deflection compared to the 22.250
Interesting stuff ..
Enjoy