20 tactical or 204

20 Tac is slightly more efficient, however performance is pretty much identical, but factory ammo/rifles in 204 and the slightly higher performance of the Ruger would win it for me. I handload but would still like the option of factory.
 
Hi,
I reload for my cousins 20 TAC. Easy enough cartridge to load but I recently took delivery of the last Lapua/Dakota Arms brass from Reloading Solutions and probably anywhere else so it will require reforming 223.
CH
 
Last edited:
Neither.
If you don't go with a factory-built 204, build a 20 Practical. Making brass is a straight forward reforming of .223 by simply necking them down. If the chamber is done correctly, there is no neck turning involved. Two member of the prairiedog shooting association I belong to showed with one each, 20 Tac and 20 Prac. I had a 204. We shot them side by side and here is no difference ballistically speaking. What was notable about the Prac is that there was no 'forming' as with the 20 TAC and there was no shortage of brass as happens with the 204. I will eventually have my 204 set back and rechambered to 20 Prac.~Muir
 
Regardless of what the perceived wisdom of the internet would have you believe, forming 20 Tac brass from 223 (should it be necessary) is a doddle. If you can F/L resize 223 brass, you can form 20 tac. Forming dies my a**e!
 
Regardless of what the perceived wisdom of the internet would have you believe, forming 20 Tac brass from 223 (should it be necessary) is a doddle. If you can F/L resize 223 brass, you can form 20 tac. Forming dies my a**e!

when I first got my first 20 tac I used 223 brass,

forming is is a piece of cake, I have now had 3 x 20 tacs one sold,another was for sale but did not sell, that and my other 20 tac are the best thing I have in my cabinet,

not to fussed on a 204 ruger as the 20 does the same job, as for brass I have heard loads of stories about it getting hard to find,never had a problem and aftab has said nothing to me about it running out?

the 2 I still have are below, :)

i wish you well, as said I have been using a 20 Tac for years and love it,

good luck

,bob
 
Last edited:
Its a custom rifle built by a friend 650 he wants for it with modarator fust not sure because of availability of brass and the fact I will have to start reloading
 
Its a custom rifle built by a friend 650 he wants for it with modarator fust not sure because of availability of brass and the fact I will have to start reloading

Is it a 20 tac or a 204,

the he brass for the 204 can be hard to find, the brass for the 20 tac as far as I know is held on stock and not to hard to find,

either way at £650 it depends on what it is, second hand, well used,shot count, etc etc,

more info, who built it?

bob
 
its a 20 tac dont know the name of the gun Smith I know he's a good one has done a rebarrel on my dads 222.50 shot count is 200 built with rem model 7 action pacnor barrel ar15 modarator brass with it boyds stock and two other stocks scope mounts and bullets primmers ect
 
its a 20 tac dont know the name of the gun Smith I know he's a good one has done a rebarrel on my dads 222.50 shot count is 200 built with rem model 7 action pacnor barrel ar15 modarator brass with it boyds stock and two other stocks scope mounts and bullets primmers ect

well it's up to you now,

204,,,,, factory ammo or load your own, not sure on the price of brass

20 tac ,,,,,, home load only, brass is now around £75 per 100.

bob
 
As long as its easy enough to get hold of that was my main concern not so much the reloading been thinking about starting for a long time and having troubles with my hmr has given me a push
 
As long as its easy enough to get hold of that was my main concern not so much the reloading been thinking about starting for a long time and having troubles with my hmr has given me a push

i wish you well,?

bob
 
Last edited:
Regardless of what the perceived wisdom of the internet would have you believe, forming 20 Tac brass from 223 (should it be necessary) is a doddle. If you can F/L resize 223 brass, you can form 20 tac. Forming dies my a**e!
Agreed. But with the Prac there is no 'fire-forming' step. Neck and shoot. What you get the first time out is what you get the second -and third.~Muir
 
This is a post from years back,


I think "Bobjs" on the Stalking Directory was posting about this a few months back. I'm fairly sure he was succesfull. If you're not on the forum I could pass on your email adress to him or vice versa.

Here's one of his posts:

" Forming 20 Tactical brass is generally a two-step process. You start with a 223 Remington brass that has been full-length sized in a .223 die. Then run the brass through a Tactical 20 forming die, and finally run it through a Tactical 20 full-length die. Case lubrication/wax should be used very sparingly just on the neck and the body. Too much lube will result in wrinkled shoulders. Although the wrinkles will blow out once the case is fired, they make the cartridge looks somewhat unattractive. The author has had great results using Redding dies with Hornady Unique Case Lube, while others prefer Imperial Sizing Die Wax. The Hornady Unique Case Lube is a little thinner, so it tends to be more forgiving if too much is used.

Some reloaders, like the author, will anneal the brass as the final step. Although not necessary, annealing tends to help the fire-forming process and extends the life of the brass a bit."

[FONT=verdana, arial, sans-serif]Hope that helps as Bob knows his stuff.[/FONT]
 
If you're a hand-loading purist or just want something different, then go for a different 20-cal. that you can't buy ready-made brass or factory ammo for.

If you want more convenience, and to have a cartridge that will still let you zap small things some way off with modest drop and drift, then the .204 fits the bill.

I have 2 x .204s and both shoot most agreeably with both factory (esp. Hornady) and hand loads (esp. 39-grain Sierras). I've never had a problem obtaining brass, BTW.
 
Went down this road myself earlier in the year. Dropped the 20TAC as availability poor. In the end bought a cz 204r and very happy. When I shoot the barrels out will get it rebarreled to a 20 Practice.
 
Here's another 20 cal wildcat I'll throw into the mix. Called the 20 Extreme. You'll have to google it as I can't post links until I get 5 posts.....this is #3....:)
I have one built on a Sako AI Hunter wearing a 12" twist Krieger barrel.
The cases are easily made by trimming 222 cases back to 1.575 and running them into the 20 Extreme die which forms the shoulder, no fire forming required.
I got the rifle from the fella that came up with it. He had a couple reamers and Hornady dies made for it.
It shoots very well pushing the 32 gr Sierra Blitzking to 4000 and 40 grainers run about 3800.
 
Here's another 20 cal wildcat I'll throw into the mix. Called the 20 Extreme. You'll have to google it as I can't post links until I get 5 posts.....this is #3....:)
I have one built on a Sako AI Hunter wearing a 12" twist Krieger barrel.
The cases are easily made by trimming 222 cases back to 1.575 and running them into the 20 Extreme die which forms the shoulder, no fire forming required.
I got the rifle from the fella that came up with it. He had a couple reamers and Hornady dies made for it.
It shoots very well pushing the 32 gr Sierra Blitzking to 4000 and 40 grainers run about 3800.

had a look at this a while back but getting the dies here was to much like hard work and it would hit your wallet well hard.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...page=3&usg=AFQjCNGTzfE-X0ecT0l1-1huuOeS6uOR1w

bob.
 
I use a .204 Ruger fairly regularly and can attest to its performance. I don't hand load but find factory ammunition easily enough at around £1 per round. There are 26 .204's on guntrader which either tells you that its popular or that folks don't like them. I don't imagine its the later.
 
Back
Top